The War Between the Land and the Sea showcases how the world reacts when a fearsome, ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically reveals itself to humanity, and triggers an international crisis. The War Between the Land and the Sea premieres on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on December 7.
Barclay (Russell Tovey) is a low-level UNIT staff member whose ordinary life becomes a world of terror when an ancient species rises from the sea. He becomes humanity’s ambassador when the mysterious Salt (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) emerges from the Tank at a summit on the Thames. Meanwhile, UNIT, led by Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), fights for control as humanity faces destruction.
BBC Studios/Bad Wolf/James Pardon
Q. So let’s start by talking about the casting process for The War Between the Land and the Sea, and your reactions to securing your roles.
Russell – I worked with Russell T Davies on Doctor Who and Years And Years, and he wrote to me to say something is coming my way and he’d love for me to do it and take a read. I read it and met up with the director, Dylan Holmes Williams, and Executive Producer Jane Tranter, and had a big chat about it. I was incredibly excited once I got my head around the concept, how it was all going to play out, and what was going to happen to my character. It was an amazing thing to step back into The Whoniverse and work with Russell T Davies again.
Gugu – I also received a beautiful letter from Russell, offering me the role of Salt! I had worked on Doctor Who many years ago; it was almost one of my 1st TV jobs ever, so it felt like a special full-circle moment to have the opportunity to work with Russell again. But you know, I wanted to think about it because the character is quite extraordinary! I understood that she’s an amphibian, but as an actor, I was thinking, ‘Well, how’s that going to go? What is that going to look like?’, but also, what an incredible challenge and opportunity to transform. It was really a combination of being very excited to work with Russell again and having this incredibly extraordinary and unique character to play.
Q. What can you tell us about your characters?
Gugu – Salt is a part of a species that lives under the sea that has been dormant for many years, called Homo Amphibia. We initially meet her because she has come to represent her species as an ambassador, to defend their rights, and expose the human race for what they have done to the oceans. She’s quite a fearsome character. She comes with a posse of Homo Aqua and other sea-dwelling species, and they’re incredibly intelligent. I think what I’ve loved throughout the series is that you get to see so many different sides of her. She is in this ambassadorial role, with a formal and regal quality, and as the series goes on, she becomes more human.
Russell – Barclay is a very regular guy who books taxis for very important people. He’s a drifter, he’s a divorcee, he’s a single parent. He’s slightly numb and going through the motions. We find him at the beginning just suddenly thrust into a situation he wasn’t expecting, and that ricochets through the trajectory of his life.
Q. What was your reaction when you first read the scripts by Pete McTighe and Russell T Davies?
Russell – I loved them. I just thought they were beautifully written. Pete McTighe and Russell T Davies created something very original, exciting, nuanced, and moving. Barclay’s journey moved me incredibly; it allowed me, as an actor, to process many emotions. He goes on a gauntlet of highs and lows.
Gugu – I also thought they were epic and ambitious and extraordinary. I believe that the ambition, scope, and scale of the show are massive. Some of the messages behind the show, for audiences to discover, are topical and resonant with our times.
Q. Let’s talk action, stunts and underwater filming. That must have been exciting?
Gugu – Yes, oh my gosh! [Laughs] My very first day in prosthetics and makeup, we were filming in a wave pool. So, not only was I in the prosthetics for the first time, but I was neck deep in water – outside! That was a real challenge and quite a bracing start to the character. We also worked at Pinewood at the famous water stage, which has hosted so many epic movies over the years, so that was quite iconic to film there. We also did quite a lot of wire work, shooting up high into the air that will, through the magic of the process, be converted to look like we’re underwater.
Russell – There were a lot of stunts! Running around a lot at full pelt! A lot of water stunts. I love swimming, and I embraced all the swimming underwater with panache; I loved it. I feel very at home in the swimming pool or in the sea, so those were easy for me. Barclay has a lot of leaping, jumping, and fighting.
Q. How would you both characterise the relationship between Barclay and Salt?
Russell – I would say they are soulmates from totally different worlds, and unbeknownst to them, they’ve been thrust together. It feels kismet or astrological – the universe has made these two connect most profoundly, and it’s affected the planet.
Gugu – It’s an interesting and epic love story. They initially meet professionally, and I think Salt feels she has been othered and ostracised by most of humanity. He’s really the first person to see the Homo Aqua and Homo Amphibia and give them a sense of humanity and respect. I think that is where their connection grows from. It becomes this beautiful journey of trust, him going into her world and liberating her to be more playful and multifaceted.
Q. Finally, what are you most excited for the audience to see in the series, and what would you like them to take away from The War Between the Land and the Sea?
Gugu – A bold, epic, and ambitious story with an emotional heart to it. There’s so much going on in the world that is difficult, and I think that this show really has an escapist element to it. It’s grounded in our real world but takes it to another level.
Russell – I want them to go on this journey with Barcley, for him to take you through this world, be changed, connect with Salt, and start to really consider the state of the planet and what we’re doing. It’s about dramatising and humanising something that is fundamentally serious.
The War Between the Land and the Sea premieres on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on December 7.
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