It’s a great thing as an actor to have such a strong objective in a character. Ian wants to do one thing only, and everything else is secondary to that. The trick is to throw in shades and different colors of that. Initially, you can go, “Oh, this poor guy has lost his daughter and is going on potentially a hero’s journey to find her.” But then, his single-mindedness leads to a lack of thought about the people around him. There’s a lot of collateral damage that happens because he’s so focused on this one thing. It’s not just about recovering his daughter. It’s about recovering his sense of who he is for himself. Eleven years ago, he felt that it was his fault that Maggie was taken. He failed as a policeman, father, and husband. It’s about his guilt and redemption because his life has unraveled.
So it’s not pure intention or altruism on Ian’s part. There’s something deeper going on that becomes clearer as you go on. You can see that this protagonist may have more in common with the potential antagonist, Henry, than you first imagined. And it was great working with Brendan Cowell because our characters are thinking about each other the whole time, even if we don’t get a lot of scenes together. It’s a great thing for the audience to see Ian and Henry circling each other and be in each other’s orbit to ratchet up the stakes. I loved playing opposite Brendan, who has a great on-screen presence. We’ve known each other for a long time and been friends for years.
AVC: What was your biggest takeaway from Last Seen, and what do you hope is the audience’s?
PB: Daniel Henshall’s character, Donald, says something to Ian in the first episode when they’re both on top of that cliff getting ready to swim. He says, “Hurt people hurt people.” It’s a cliché, and it’s a cliché because it’s true. It is at the heart of this show. We have a lot of damaged people hurting each other and hurting other people. Hopefully, what good drama does is offer catharsis. You watch this thing unfurl and, hopefully, you get who these people are and how they’re the drivers of this story, and that they lack some empathy or compassion because they’re damaged. It’s this transmission of damage inside the family. But also, hopefully it offers the potential for healing because I do think we have an unexpected ending. It’s not the sort you might hope for or come to see in a show like this because it’s morally interesting yet satisfying. And actually, the women drive that. For lack of a better word, there’s a more feminine energy and influence that starts to heal the damage that has been done.
AVC: Is it wild for you that Last Seen and Colin From Accounts are premiering within a day of each other, at least in the U.S.?
PB: It’s pretty amazing and strange. We filmed Last Seen at the start of last year, when Harriet and I were writing Colin From Accounts season three. Then we went on to another job that Harry had in Montreal, where we continued writing. Last Seen wrapped up last June or July, but Colin didn’t start shooting until February of this year. We really only delivered a few weeks ago. So for both shows to come out within a day of each other does seem strange. It’s great for me, because they’re so tonally different and so is the subject matter. As an actor, that’s the dream because you want people to see all those sides of you.
AVC: What was it like to be in Ian’s shoes during the day and then to go back and find your way into Colin From Accounts?
PB: It was actually a great relief. We had to meet deadlines, which could get stressful at times, but Colin is such a joyful world that it was in stark contrast to work on that after filming Last Seen because it meant I had to go home and inhabit Colin‘s world and go to these comforting, joyful characters.
AVC: Since you knew season three would be the last, what were the things you and Harriet wanted to ensure you fit in?
PB: We mainly wanted to make sure we punctuated the show’s big question, which is whether these two people, who met in a chaotic way, do they choose to embrace it and the love or not. We wanted to answer it in a really satisfying and interesting way, and also to respect our audience. We like to have some fun and then pull the rug out, and we did consider that with the end of the season. And there is some rug pulling, but ultimately it’s a nod to our audience and saying thank you.
AVC: How much do both of you pull from your real lives while writing about Gordon and Ashley?
PB: Oh, we do it all the time. We also borrow stories from friends or things we’ve heard. If it’s real and it’s funny, then it’s in the show. We’ve put versions of things that have happened to us in life. In season one’s first episode, when Ashley is in the toilet and it doesn’t work, she throws the poo out of the window—a version of that happened to Harry when she was writing the Colin pilot. She went into this office in L.A., a hot-desking situation, where there was one other person she knew. She went to the toilet and realized later that the water was off. She had to fish it out and put it in some box. And we went, “We have to put this in the show.”
AVC: Colin goes to some dark places, like Gordon’s dad dying in season two, or Colin’s health issues in the third. What are your processes for wringing humor out of these situations?
PB: Everything’s funny or can be funny. Tragedy is funny. It’s just that do you choose to find it to see that or not? That’s what we both love. We’re committed to the silliness, as long as it feels real. Of course, you feel it out once you start putting down the plot, and while writing, shooting, or even editing it, to feel the rhythm of it, to see if we’re earning that, or if it feels out of place
AVC: Have you and Harriet gotten to reflect on Colin’s ending and the experience of making it together? Will you continue working together in the future?
PB: We’ve been in it for so long, and we’ve said goodbye to it so many times while writing, filming, and editing it. It was a farewell tour, so I think only now are we processing what that era or that chapter has meant to us. We loved making it, but we need to draw the curtain a bit because even though it’s a fictionalized version of us, it’s still our energy and chemistry and connection. It’s good for us to step back for a little while and create other worlds, which we’re definitely going to do. We love working together.
We’ve got a drawer full of ideas. They vary in terms of their tone and how dramatic they are. Well, we’re not gonna write another rom-com since we’ve done that. But where we always are is in this tragicomedy land, so whatever we do next, the balance of it might shift, but it’ll be in that realm. There’ll always be laughter in what we do.
AVC: To take you a bit further back, you were an established actor in Australia, but what made you want to come to the U.S. and start exploring roles here, including bringing over No Activity?
PB: It’s like you jump off the building and find the wings as you’re falling. Looking back, it can feel like those were choices I made, but it’s just that things occurred in a particular way. I was doing well in Australia as an actor and a creator. Then I booked a job on a pilot in 2015. I went to L.A. to do that. We actually shot that pilot in Vancouver, and it was really good, but it didn’t go ahead for whatever reason. I got a few meetings out of that, and in one of those I just said, “Hey, I write as well.” It was kind of arrogant to say that because I hadn’t really written much at all at that point. I had co-written a couple of plays with a mate. But I got commissioned to write the pilot of a script, which also didn’t go ahead. Still, before I knew it, I had enough reason to stay in L.A. I told myself, “Okay, I’m going to set up shop here, I’ll get a green card, I’ll get a lease, and I’ll stay.”
Trent O’Donnell, with whom I had created the comedy No Activity in Australia, was in L.A. working on New Girl. He had been producing and directing for a while, so he was knocking down doors early. He said to me, “I’ve got a meeting with Funny Or Die about No Activity.” So we went in there, and they really wanted to make an American version, which was another “Here we go” moment for me. So we got to make that, and I was really proud of it. It was a different beast from the Australian one, but it was more reason to stay in L.A. By that point, I had been here a few years, and Harry had moved, too. She had written the Colin pilot, although it was still just sitting there. We hadn’t done anything with it yet.
As time goes by, you go, “Wow, we’ve been here for a few years now, and I have got an agent and a manager, and I’ve been put up for roles.” I got a little role on Life In Pieces, and Trent gave me that New Girl role. So it’s bits and pieces, but you have to hang in there. It’s crazy to think about it now, though.
AVC: How did your role on Evil come about? Because I do think Andy Bouchard is maybe one of the most tragic characters you’ve played. How did that experience inform your understanding of U.S. TV dramas?
PB: That was amazing. I got a call from Katja Herbers, who’s a dear friend. She said, “Hey, we’re a few episodes in, and my husband shows up in episode eight or nine or something. I’ve put a few names down for it, and you’re one of them.” But then I just got offered the role. They didn’t audition me. So I used to do two or three episodes at a time. It was awesome because it meant I got to fly into New York City, and they’d put me up. I got to work with Katja, who is brilliant. Evil is so bonkers. It’s smart and weird because Robert and Michelle King are geniuses who just wanted to make this offbeat thing.
I would just show up and ask, “So what’s Andy doing now?” and it would be things like, Leland’s kept him in a cellar and is taking his blood or something. And then by the end of it, Andy ended up in an asylum or something. Wow, they did him dirty. [Laughs.] But as a showrunner, I totally get it. You have to think about what the story is that you want to tell. It’s not The Andy Show, you know? They have to serve the three main characters. It’s a fun ride for me, and I’m very happy to do whatever they want me to do.
AVC: Did that lesson apply to something like Devil Wears Prada 2, where paparazzi shots of you filming with Anne Hathaway were constantly leaking and there was a lot of discourse after the release, too?
PB: It was pretty weird. I got back to the hotel after filming a scene, and someone sent me the clip of it an hour later. It was a strange experience. For me, I was just trying to remain as present as possible because suddenly I’m walking down the street with Anne Hathaway as my girlfriend, with 300 people watching and taking our photos. It’s surreal. And, I mean, that scene was cut anyway. When I saw the movie, I just went, “Yeah, some scenes of mine have gone.” But that stands to reason. This is not a rom-com about them. It’s a different story, and people are here to see what happens with Andy Sachs and Miranda Priestley. I was just very happy to be a part of it because it’s such a strong, beloved world.
AVC: After what feels like a busy year, do you know what you’re tackling next or want to tackle next?
PB: Not yet. As in, Harry and I are writing a script for a British production company, but that’s very early days, so that’s nothing that I can really talk about just yet. It’s a big open road ahead. I think we need to just parent our two girls for a while, let the silt settle, and refill our tanks. That’s the order of the day.
Saloni Gajjar is The A.V. Club‘s TV critic.
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