Cult Times Interview
JONES THE STEAMY
by David Richardson
Cult Times, January 2007, issue #136.
As Ianto Jones, Gareth David-Lloyd is in charge of making tea, hiding Cyberwomen and being an all-round lovely Welsh chap.
IANTO JONES IS the facilitator at Torchwood 3. He keeps the base running, helps secrete away evidence of alien incursions into Cardiff, and assists the five agents in a succession of cases. He's also responsible, presumably, for topping up the hungry SUV with petrol and clearing up the large amount of pterodactyl excrement that must plummet from the rafters of the base.
"He's a sort of Alfred to Jack's Batman, if you like," offers actor Gareth David-Lloyd. "He puts up a bit of a front at first - he's this quiet, reliable, very smart guy who's always in a suit. But I think it's a hard exterior he puts up to cover something that's probably a bit more vulnerable and a bit more child-like underneath."
It could have been a predominantly servile background role, but along the way writers have rather taken to the initially taciturn yet vulnerable Welshman. David-Lloyd may only have around five lines in the opening episode Everything Changes, but it's not long before he is brought to the forefront of the action.
"As the series progresses, he develops personal relationships with the other members of the team and becomes gradually more integrated. I think he probably feels a little on the outside of things to begin with and he might feel that his talents aren't being used to their full potential. He loves Torchwood, he's fascinated by it and he constantly wants to be better at the job and make even more important contributions to the work they do."
ALONG THE WAY, Ianto has also gained a neat line in witty comments, he's been sent off to the Brecon Beacons and become part of a human larder, and the character became the emotional focus of the fifth episode, Cyberwoman.
Written by co-producer Chris Chibnall, that story was Torchwood's first major crossover with Doctor Who. It recounted the aftermath of the Canary Wharf battle between Daleks and Cybermen, and factored in the personal cost as Ianto tries to help his girlfriend Lisa, whose body has been augmented by cyber implants leaving her just 40% human.
"It completely took me by surprise," says David-Lloyd of the episode. "I had no idea when we started filming that I'd get the opportunity to play some of those scenes, but Ianto really earns his stripes." David-Lloyd also proved his mettle in that episode. Though Cyberwoman wasn't the most popular of the season, it allowed the actor to shine as he played to the more desperate and damaged aspects of his character. And it proved to be a physically demanding episode too, as Ianto suffers the wrath of both Lisa and his colleagues and is left for dead in the Hub's central waterfall. "I had to lie face down in a pool of water for three days in a row," grimaces David-Lloyd. "I was there for about 158 hours and I came out with a few rashes!"
He may have suffered for his art on that set, but the actor nevertheless credits production designer Ed Thomas and his team for bringing the show to the screen in all its glossy High Definition glory. The massive multi-storey standing structure, which shares a soundstage with the TARDIS interior from Doctor Who, has given the series an identity all its own. "The Hub is absolutely amazing," he beams. "When I first saw it I was a bit scared to be honest with you - scared about whether my acting skills could match the skills of the art department! I was completely knocked out by it. But now I'm more relaxed in my character and I feel more at home. Now I'm just really proud of it."
LIKE CO-STAR EVE MYLES, David-Lloyd was born and bred in Wales. In fact, he originally hailed from Newport, very close to the studio facility at Upper Boat.
"I moved to London to get my career of the ground," he says, "but it's great that my biggest and most exciting project so far has been filmed here. I love Cardiff and I'd love to make it my base in the future if circumstances allow."
The 25-year-old trained at the National Youth Theatre, and his professional roles in the past have included Absolute Power and The Genius of Beethoven. Torchwood is his first major TV role, which has brought national exposure (he's even featured on the cover of the Radio Times), and as a bonus he got to meet girlfriend Sara Lloyd Gregory, who guest starred as the troubled Carys in the show's second episode Day One. So at least they'll be able to compare on-screen same sex experiences: while Sara had an extended snog with Myles in her episode, David-Lloyd has locked lips with Captain Jack himself, John Barrowman. It started as a kiss of life in Cyberwoman, but judging by advance photographs from the season finale, End of Days, the intimacy between the two characters has just got recreational...
"Torchwood is completely different to anything I've ever seen on television before," offers David-Lloyd. "It's definitely not a dark, sexy version of Doctor Who, because it's different on so many levels. There's temptation - temptation for the characters that they can't always resist. It's a lot naughtier... I have a feel for darker characters and darker situations, so it really appealed to me."
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