Contribute to the Q & A

Do you have a question for Gareth? Send it in to GDL Live here. Please remember, this is an all-ages site.

Q&A, March 08

Q: Are you doing a TW audiobook?
A: I haven't been asked to, but I'd be happy to do one. They sound like fun.

Q: What preparation did you do to play a gay man?
A: None really, it's just the suspension of disbelief. I'd played a gay man before. At first it feels a bit odd but you just get used to it... and John's a gentleman (laughs).

Q: If you could relive any one day of your life, what would it be?
A: The Saturday just gone! I was watching Wales win the 2008 Six Nations Cup, that was rugby. I was at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and I think they must have crammed the whole of Wales in there; it was awesome. Brilliant.

Q: Where would you like to live and why?
A: A farmhouse, maybe in West Wales by the coast or maybe in the Valleys. Wales. (nods)

Q: What was your most embarrassing moment filming Torchwood?
A: (long pause for thought) There's been a few, I don't know. Most of them it's been about forgetting that the radio mike is still on - you think you're talking about personal matters to one person and then you find out - not.

Q: What are your defining character traits?
A: (grins) Oh, I don't know. Impulsive? Friendly? Sometimes a bit over-friendly, especially to women (grins even more).

Q: Will your band [Blue Gillespie] release a CD of your music?
A: Yes, we want to, if people like us. So far for Blue Gillespie we've written five original tracks and we will be doing some more along with some covers. We've already recorded a few tracks and there should be limited edition CDs available at both Sex, Wales & Anarchy and at The Rift.

Q: Do you think Ianto wanted Jack from the start in Torchwood?
A: If he did, he didn't know it himself. Maybe the sense of something was always there, but it took some time for it to become clear in his mind. There's stuff in Episode Twelve of Season Two that gives a hint.

Q: Are you doing any theatre in the near future?
A: I'd love to - that's a hint to any theatre producers out there reading this - I really miss it. Call me!

Q: What is your favourite song from Labyrinth (that's what you get for saying it was your guilty pleasure)?
A: (immediately) Dance Magic Dance (does the gestures and sings along). We might cover it, you never know. I want to, I just have to convince the rest of the band! (laughs)

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Q&A, New Year 08

We caught up with Gareth after Christmas for a chat and to ask some of your questions:

1. Going into the new season, what are your goals for Ianto in terms of growth? In general, how do you see him growing and changing?

There's more maturity as he goes along, he's getting stronger as he faces more situations. He's less easily intimidated and he's becoming a more efficient cog in the TW machine.

2. Why do you think James Marsters and you got along so well?

We have similar philosophies in both life and work and we have similar interests. I think sometimes I surprised him a bit, with things like Conrad's Heart of Darkness that we both love. And we're politically similar.

3. In season 2, does Ianto get to have at least a few moments where he's happy and contented, even if it doesn't last?

Most of the season, actually. There's always an underlying darkness with him from his past, but he's getting a lot more comfortable with himself. He makes a lot more jokes this year and he looks at the lighter side of things even if he does do it with a wry smile on his face.

4. What is your musical guilty pleasure?

Well... I suppose a lot of people might find it embarrasing, but I don't. I like the soundtrack from Labyrinth.

5. Is there much preparation time for audio work on books, or do you go into the studio 'cold'?

You just get a copy of the book a couple of days before you go into the studio. It's up to you if you haven't read it before, you choose whether to read it then or go into the studio cold. I do know people who have done that. But in the studio, you may only get one take, two if you're lucky.

6. Do you have any favourite poets? Or a particular poem?

Oh yes, Dylan Thomas. Not just because he's a Welshman, I also played him in one of the first plays I did in amateur dramatics, A Child's Christmas In Wales for the Dolman Theatre in Newport. The lines that open his Under Milk Wood are my favourite. The whole thing is amazing, but the opening lines always give me goosepimples.

7. Is there a particular view in Wales that has taken your breath away?

Loads of them do. The view from the Sugar Loaf mountain in Abergavenny for starters. And the view from the Goose and Cuckoo in Goytre, it's in the middle of nowhere with amazing views. To get the beer up there, they have to use a four by four. My family come from round there.

8. Even though you can't give away specific Ianto plots in series 2, are you able to tell us which episodes Ianto has his most significant roles in?

The episodes in general are a lot more shared this year and there are very few that concentrate on specific characters. But in episode ten, the P.J.Hammond one, Ianto's the one most affected by what goes on. It's very spooky and I like that, it's one of my favourite episodes. Another significant one is the twelfth one, the one next to last, when you see a key part of Ianto's past.

9. If you could work with any actor who would you choose?

[no hesitation at all] Gary Oldman.

10. What's the best thing about working with John Barrowman?

[chuckles] Probably the fun he brings to the set. I've got loads of stories, but he might not like me telling them in public. [chuckles again]

11. Can you tell us anything about Alan Dale's appearance and did you get to do scenes with him?

I got to do one scene with him, but we didn't have any dialogue. He's a very cool guy, one of the coolest actors I've ever met.

12. Who do you hang out with from the TW cast?

Probably Burn and Eve. John's always so busy with things that he's not around so much.

13. Which do you prefer? Acting on stage or for the camera?

Ooh, that's difficult. They're different. Stage I like for the immediacy and the audience response, but working for the cameras needs subtlety and naturalism. For the theatre, you have to use a lot of stagecraft and technique to convince the audience but the camera picks everything up and you can't do that, you have to convince the person you're speaking to.

Do you have a question for Gareth? Send it in to GDL Live here and we'll ask him. Please remember, this is an all-ages site.

Please note: this is an occasional series and is not intended to be strictly monthly

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Q&A, December 07

1. What is your greatest achievement?
Staying alive. And getting the role of Ianto on Torchwood.

2. What's your greatest extravagance?
[laughs a lot] To get rid of all my money as soon as I get it. On friends, on my family and on women.

3. Is there one thing you always carry with you?
[long pause]

And remember this is an all ages site
My lighter.

4. What's on your iPod right now?
A lot of prog rock. Tool, The Mars Volta, Nine Inch Nails. A lot of Electronica. Hip Hop, Portishead, Lamb, Massive Attack. Everything from Pantera to The Beauty.

5. What's the best advice you've been given?
Learn from your mistakes, and whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

6. If you could change one thing about yourself?
Financial responsibility. I need some!

7. If you had to be stuck in a lift with someone?
Intellectually, Dylan Thomas. Physically, Scarlett Johansson [grins]




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Q&A, November 07

1. What kind of music do you like?
Diverse sort of music, or it depends on my mood. I love my rock or my Classic Soul and Blues. I will listen to pretty much anything except commercial pop.

2. What qualities do you value in your friends?
Loyalty, generosity. I'm attracted to unique characters.

3. What's your ambition as an actor?
To be able to choose my work. To do what I want to do and to design or produce what I want to do.

4. What would your perfect night off be?
A glass of red wine, a plate of meatballs and pasta and six episodes back to back of The Sopranos.

5. Who did you model your character on Torchwood on?
Nobody in particular. There's a sense of humour that I like and a fascination I've got with very clean cut individuals with dark undertones.

6. If you had to play a female role, who would it be?
Lady Macbeth.

7. Whose advice do you listen to?
My mums, but she passed away. I tend to listen to a lot of different people, I've always been independent in my decision making. For my career, John Barrowman's been a great advisor.

8. What's the most fun you've had playing Ianto?
I've had loads of fun times - last night was brilliant but I can't talk about it. Socially, for the work and the setting it has to be Countrycide. Filming in the Brecon Beacons in the heart of my beautiful country in an old hotel, all five of us working together, and it's my favourite episode.

9. What show would you most like a part on?
The Sopranos, but it's over now. I'd have been a Welsh importer of wool. There's never been a Celtic character on it - Europeans and English but never Celtic. I'd be one of Tony's shady Welsh connections.

10. What would you have been if not an actor?
A musician, a singer. I'd have been in a band. I'd have tried, anyway.

(Gareth's Blues band A Breath of Blue Fire played a 30 minute set at The Point in Cardiff on the 17th November, see the celtic blues page for details)

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