Mr Loverman stars on creating intimacy for BBC gay drama: ‘On the first day, we had to kiss’
Ariton Bakare and Lennie James will play lovers Morris and Barry in the TV adaptation of Mr Loverman. (BBC/Fable Pictures/Des Willie)
Lennie James has explained how he and co-star Ariyon Bakare built “trust” with each other for intimate scenes in the BBC’s new gay drama, Mr Loverman.
The eight-part series, based on the novel by Bernardine Evaristo, follows The Walking Dead star James as Barrington (Barry) Walker and his best friend of 60 years, Morris De La Roux (Bakare).
While their friendship is known in their tight-knit Hackney community in East London, what is unknown is that they’ve been in love – and involved in a passionate affair – ever since they were teens in the Caribbean. That’s despite Barry’s five-decade-long marriage to Carmel, played Sharon D Clarke – seen recently in Lost Boys & Fairies – and his reputation as a family man with two daughters.
Barry insists he’s not a homosexual, and is instead a “barrysexual”. But despite his hesitancy, as he approaches his 75th birthday, he has to make a decision: to come out as his authentic self, or remain in the closet to keep his family together.
Speaking to PinkNews and other media at a screening recently, James and Bakare recalled how they created intimacy to reflect the pair’s life-long love affair in the ground-breaking series.
“We had a really great intimacy coach, Robbie [Taylor Hunt]. He helped us. Also, a sort of trust in the room. I really trusted Lennie and loved his work,” His Dark Materials star Bakare said.
“There was just this trust. On the first day, our first moment together, we had to kiss. Robbie did this really great exercise and Hong [Khaou] directed it.
“Hong has this way of rehearsing… imagine being hugged by everybody you know, and you’re being supported in the most beautiful way, and you’re going to breathe through it.
“This exercise becomes, basically, episode seven. It was touching then.”
Throughout earlier episodes, viewers see a few tender moments, including the men dancing in Barry’s living room, kissing and lying nude in bed together. Other scenes show younger versions of their characters getting intimate on the island of Antigua.
Episode seven shows the pair at their closest with a fairly audible sex scene.
“A lot of it was to do with, as Ariyon says, trust in the room,” James echoed. “But also, there were certain facts in the book that you can’t avoid. They have been lovers for 60 years. [Morris] is in [Barry’s] house every day. That’s the relationship you’re building, that’s the truth you’re telling. That’s what you’ve got to aim for.
“Barry does have two daughters and a grandson, and you have to navigate the facts of all those relationships. These two men love each other. If you don’t believe these two men love each other, then we haven’t done our job.”
Mr Loverman will be available to stream on BBC iPlayer from 6am on 14 October. Episodes one and two will air from 9pm on BBC One the same day, with remaining episodes showing as a double bill the following three weeks.
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