Wreck’s Warren James-Dunning on going ‘feral’ in series two and hopes for series three
Exclusive: The actor who plays Beaker has told Attitude, "There's no more Mr. Nice Guy. The chase is on"
One of the stars of the BBC horror-slasher series, Wreck, has spoken about his hopes for a third series, as well as his character entering “feral” mode in series two.
Warren James-Dunning returns in Wreck series two as Beaker, a disgraced and humiliated officer from The Sacramentum in series one. After finishing the first series beaten by the staff uprising and with an arrow in his chest Beaker is back in series two with a vengeance.
Speaking to Attitude as filming wound down in 2023, the actor spoke about playing a villain, as well as a possible redemption, and Beaker’s future.
Were you a fan of horror slasher genre already?
Yeah, I grew up with a lot of horror. My dad used to show us a lot of horror when he was younger which he probably shouldn’t have done. But to be involved is really special and fun because you get the balance of jeopardy with the splash of comedy. It’s really fun to play.
People often talk about the villains being more fun to play. How’s your experience been on Wreck?
Absolutely. Especially with this kind of genre as well you can heighten certain elements and they’re always off-kilter. They’ve got some wild side to them. It’s been nice to find different layers of Beaker as well. He’s got a different purpose for why he’s doing what he’s doing. It’s hard to try and humanise a villain. And it’s been quite fun trying to be able to navigate that.
Where do we pick up with Beaker? At the end of series one, he had an arrow in his chest…
Ego-wise he’s hurt. He was humiliated in front of a lot of people at the end of the last series. So, he’s not happy with the gang. He’s sent to do some dirty deeds. That’s where we’re at with him at the minute, he’s a wounded animal.
That could make him quite dangerous. He was already an intimidating character but in that headspace…
Yeah. And if he’s let loose, what can you do? The thing I love playing about Beaker is his unpredictability. You never know what he’s going to do next. There’s no more Mr. Nice Guy. The chase is on.
Ryan J Brown has said he wants to go “wild” in series two. Is that a fair assessment?
Yeah. Beaker is a character you want to go feral. Let’s get him to go feral. There’s a wave of things going on, a lot of really cool set pieces. There’s a lot of nice moments and beats that are hit in this one that we weren’t allowed to do in the first one because we were contained on a ship, whereas now it’s just out in the open. All hell is breaking loose. It’s more action-packed.
You mentioned humanising Beaker. Does that mean we see why he’s the way he is? Is he redeemable?
Beaker is a product of what he’s been brought up to be. I’ve always seen it like that anyway. He’s an animal but he is a human after all, and there’s a reason why he does what he does. In the first series, it’s like he’s got licence because he’s an officer, and he can get away with things. And he’s an ex-military. And he’s seen things before. But in the first series, you never really saw him kill. You just saw him be part of this system.
Now, it’s nice to show the reasons why he’s doing what he’s doing. It’s almost like he’s made to do it. He’s always a dog’s body for someone. He always needs to follow someone as well. He needs a boss to tell him what to do all the time, and that’s sad for a character like that because he’s unsure of who he is. I don’t know whether he’s redeemable.
Would you want him to be redeemed?
I reckon we could try and make him redeemable in some way.
Why do you think horror lends itself well to messaging about diversity and representation?
It’s the fear, isn’t it? When you’re in a situation fraught with adversity and you’re thrown into jeopardy. What I loved about the first series was how we learn to band together and accept one another and you can be whoever you want to be. That was the whole point of being on the ship. You can be anyone on here. It’s lovely to see a show like this where people can be strong together. The way Ryan has written it holds up and it’s a special show.
Ryan’s talked about a three-series plan in place from the offset. We’ve got Wreck series two coming. Are you hopeful for a third?
There’s hope. Ryan is amazing at what he does. And his ideas are incredible and mad at the same time. So to go for third, I mean, maybe, who knows. Maybe you’d see Beaker crop up. Ryan’s always said Beaker is a bit of a cockroach, he can survive things. Who knows?