Hermione Corfield and Babou Ceesay star in BBC First’s cat-and-mouse thriller about a pair of London killers on the loose.
The show, “We Hunt Together” premiered earlier this month and explores the intoxication of sexual attraction, the dangerous power of emotional manipulation and how finding a volatile form of solace in another person can have dire consequences for those who dare to get in the way.
Corfield, who plays the main female lead, Freddy chatted more about the psychology behind her role.
Describe “We Hunt Together” in one sentence?
It’s a multi-led cat and mouse crime drama which follows two sets of partners as they try to find themselves and happiness.
Tell us about Freddy?
I think she has a solid idea of what she is and what she believes in. She’s described as a free spirit, but I think it’s more than that.
I think she has a set of ideals that are completely alien to most people, but she strongly believes them, and she has a way of going about her life where she doesn’t rely on anyone else.
She’s a chameleon, so every person she meets she almost becomes a different version of herself.
Where do we find Freddy at the start of the series?
We find her in London and living a life that is quite ambiguous. Meeting Baba marks a turning point in her life because she sees him as a kindred spirit and someone who has the ability to carry out things that she’s perhaps always, deep down in her psyche, wanted to do.
How does Freddy’s past affect her actions?
Quite a lot of what she believes and what is the truth is mixed and blurred.
I think that’s going to be a subject of debate for viewers because it’s going to be really subjective how people perceive the whole thing.
It’s a combination of nature and nurture for Freddy. I think she was born with a desire to kill.
She felt different from day one and like an outcast, so her brain works differently, and she’s definitely got sociopathic tendencies.
Why did you want to play Freddy?
I hadn’t really read a character like her before. In order to find the character, I did a mix of digging out details from the script and doing research into cognitive behaviours.
There’s always room for interpretation, exploring and working out exactly who someone is. You have to find elements of yourself within them, so I tried to do that as well.
What were the themes that attracted you to “We Hunt Together”?
I think the main theme was the dysfunctional relationship between Baba and Freddy.
I think the idea that all humans are flawed as well and that we’re all just trying to do our best.
Not that Freddy isn’t blameless because she’s definitely to blame for lots of it, but I think everyone is doing their best with the hand they’ve been dealt.
Do you think the series will get viewers talking?
It will definitely encourage debate amongst viewers. I think people will have quite different views and perceptions of the characters, which is a good thing.
It’s good to question each of the characters’ morals and reasons for doing things as everyone in it has a different background and start in life, so it’s good to question who’s to blame. It’ll be interesting to see if people like Freddy and relate to her.
“We Hunt Together” is a mix of drama, thriller and comedy genres. What was it like to switch between those tones?
I think those three elements reflect real life. Life is never one tone; it’s never all laughs or all drama or all thriller on a daily basis.
You’re switching between all those genres constantly. I think the twists and turns in “We Hunt Together” are reflective of the chaotic lifestyle that Freddy and Baba have.
What makes "We Hunt Together" different from other dramas?
I think the physical act of the murder will take a backseat to the human story.
Baba’s being told by Freddy different reasons why they have to carry out killings and for Freddy, that’s her reality.
She’s not just doing it for the fun of it, she’s. doing it because she truly believes that’s the right thing to do.
It’s important that people know the backstory and invest in them as people so that they enjoy watching their relationship and enjoy watching them as humans, doing their day to day things.
Why do we all love crime drama?
I think people enjoy crime drama because it’s a window into an area of life that most of us don’t see. It’s not something we have access to on a daily basis.
You see it in the news, you hear about it, but you never have a window into crime, and I think people love to question why people do it.
For most of us it’s unthinkable, the crimes that Freddy and Baba commit.
They’re something that would never even cross our minds or even be a possibility of entering our lives and I think that there’s a fascination in that.