Connor Swindells opens up about his ‘challenging’ weight loss journey to play imprisoned lieutenant in season two of SAS: Rogue Heroes
British actor Connor Swindells has spoken about the challenges of filming the second series of SAS Rogue Heroes, which included losing ‘a lot of weight’.
The drama, from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, 65, will follow rebellious Paddy Mayne (Jack O’Connell) as he takes control of the SAS and attempts to prove that the regiment remains essential to the war after former leader David Stirling (Connor) is captured.
Connor, 28, said his problem-solving character was ‘descending into madness’ in his cell, both ‘thirsty and malnourished’.
The Sex Education star said of the new show, directed by Stephen Woolfenden: ‘I lost a lot of weight for this series.’
‘I knew in reading the scripts I was going to have to and that was a big challenge, as it’s something I’ve not done before.’
‘I felt like I had to do that in order to get to this place, I had to try and live as much like David as I could.’
British actor Connor Swindells has spoken about the challenges of filming the second series of SAS Rogue Heroes, which included losing ‘a lot of weight’ (pictured 2022)
The drama, from Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, 65, will follow rebellious Paddy Mayne (Jack O’Connell right) as he takes control of the SAS and attempts to prove that the regiment remains essential to the war after former leader David Stirling (Connor centre) is captured
He added: ‘To feel the hunger of “I need to get out of here”. I didn’t realise how helpful it was going to be to lose weight for a project like this, but it was really helpful.’
The new series is based in Sicily but filmed across 81 days in Croatia, Italy, England and Scotland.
Connor said much like his character, he had to come to terms with ‘missing out on all the fun’ as his cast mates were ‘shooting in very wonderful conditions and I was in a cave’.
Prison set locations included an old World War Two barrack with his performance involving ‘a lot of creeping around on my hands and knees’ with ‘a couple of rats I got the great privilege to work with in some scenes’.
He said: ‘It was a challenge to shoot at times, but ultimately it’s been a great joy and an honour.’ Meanwhile, Jack, 34, described it as ‘the best job in the world’.
The British actor said: ‘You have to dig deep in this job, you’re up against it,’
‘It’s an ambitious story and in order achieve it you have to suck it up and get on with it quite a lot, which is good because it has to be difficult; if it was too easy then it wouldn’t be that much of an enjoyable drama to watch.’
‘I feel that anything that has SAS in it isn’t going to be cups of tea, dressing gown and slippers, sitting pretty.’
Connor, 28, said his problem-solving character was ‘descending into madness’ in his cell, both ‘thirsty and malnourished’ (pictured 2022)
The Sex Education star said of the new show, directed by Stephen Woolfenden: ‘I lost a lot of weight for this series,’ (pictured on the second season)
He added: ‘I knew in reading the scripts I was going to have to and that was a big challenge, as it’s something I’ve not done before’ (Connor and Sofia Boutella pictured 2022)
The Lady Chatterley’s Lover star said ‘it was a relief’ to discover the cast would reprise their roles in the drama, describing Knight’s script as ‘banging’.
The new series will also feature new characters, including Bohemian Rhapsody actor Gwilym Lee starring as diplomat Bill Stirling, who comes on board to save the regiment while his younger brother David is a prisoner of war.
He said: ‘I’ve loved being embraced by them, it’s a really special job,’
‘It can be tricky coming into a second series with a really established cast of actors and a great crew, as you worry about ruffling feathers or breaking into a clique, but there was none of that whatsoever.’
The star added: ‘It was open arms from day one.’
The Crown star Dominic West, who reprises his role as Lieutenant Colonel Dudley Wrangel Clarke in the series, said he had not seen Lee since he performed alongside him in a production of Shakespeare’s Othello a decade ago.
The new series is based in Sicily but filmed across 81 days in Croatia, Italy, England and Scotland (Gwilym Lee and Jack O’Connell pictured on the second season)
The second season of SAS Rogue Heroes will air on BBC One from 9pm on January 1 (Pictured L-R Gwilym Lee, Jack O’Connell, and Connor Swindells)
Adapted from Ben Macintyre’s best-selling book, the series offers a dramatised account of how the SAS was formed during the Second World War, having been granted access to secret SAS archives.
Knight said: ‘The fact is that the true story of the SAS is a piece of drama better than anyone in fiction could invent.’
‘The characters are beyond belief but, in the majority of cases in the series, they’re real.’
The first series concluded in December 2022. The second season of SAS Rogue Heroes will air on BBC One from 9pm on January 1.
