Christopher Eccleston took the reins in this year’s much feted detective drama, Safe House. The series has just been released on DVD, and actor tells us he’s never been afraid of hard work.

 Actor Christopher Eccleston has had a busy year. His four part ITV thriller Safe House was a critical success, bringing audiences to the edge of their sofas across the UK.

Eccleston plays Robert, a former police protection officer trying to start a new life in gloomy Cumbria with his wife Katy, played by Marsha Thomason. Loathe to give too much away to those who haven’t caught up yet, the actor explains the plot revolves around “a fall from grace”; inevitably, the past quickly catches Robert up.

Away from the camera, Eccleston has been bettering his workout game with cross training and boxing; useful, considering the physicality sometimes demanded by his Safe House role. “My character is probably suffering from a stress disorder and he really has to evaluate his place in the world and how he sees himself. He does exercise to regain his confidence and his physical strength, so there’s a great deal of swimming in the lakes,” he explains. Despite low temperatures, he decided to do the outdoor swimming scenes himself. “Yes, it was all me and it was cold but it was also exhilarating and I’m very proud that when I’m an old man can look back and say I did that. And it’s good for the crew, they can look and see the lead actor is chipping in and getting involved because they’re working in those conditions so why shouldn’t I? It only comes round once so you might as well do it.” But then, a former marathon runner, Eccleston was never going to take the easy option and pull in a sub. “I enjoy hard work – and I’ve found if you work hard, you get results.”

Filming up in the chilly Lake District gave an angle to the distinctly British, brooding series. “There were a couple of days in Manchester but the Lake District was basically our location and we wanted to make the lake and the landscape a character itself, to have a part in the drama.” Recent dramas like Broadchurch and even Vera have also been seen to embrace the British landscape, and it’s a trend that looks likely to continue. “I would say if you’re going to shoot up in the Lake District you’ve got to utilise it,” says Eccleston. “It becomes a secondary character in the piece and can define the mood, the weather, the way the cinematography comes to light. We thought if we have a beautiful landscape we should use it.”

Eccleston has also been making use of less rural landscapes in the South of England, visiting London to film Legend, a film centering on the lives and psyches of the notorious Kray twins. Eccleston plays policeman Nick Reed against Hollywood’s Tom Hardy, who plays not one but both of the twins. “Legend is a psychological investigation of their relationship and the era itself and the character I play is based on a real person who pursued the Krays and eventually arrested them.” The London centric film allowed Eccleston to roam some of the locations heavily associated with the gangsters and their dealings, including Limehouse in East London. “It’s always great to go to the authentic places… it does a lot of the work for you, it feeds your CMYK imagination and it’s also interesting architecturally and socially to see these places,” he says.

Salford born and raised himself, Eccleston has performed on the big and small screen (with a season a Dr Who behind him, no less), in the UK and America. He attended Central School for Speech and Drama in London and, being trained in the theatre, still considers it his preferred medium. “I never imagined having a television and film career. It’s more lucrative but ultimately I think theatre is more an actor’s medium. It’s more exciting, there’s a live audience, once you’re on the stage it’s an unbroken performance for 90 minutes or so.” Ecclestone is quick to add, “I’m very fortunate to do both, absolutely,” but we imagine that, with Safe House released on DVD, once he’s finished rounding up East London criminals in Legend, he’ll be back on the stage in no time.

Credit Line: Safe House is out now on DVD courtesy of RLJ Entertainment’s Acorn Label Ends CMYK