Jack Rooke and Dylan Llewellyn say goodbye to Big Boys
"It does feel like we’re still growing as a show, but for now everyone is left where they should be."
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
Will the real Jack Rooke please stand up? The Big Boys creator admits that his hit Channel 4 comedy is an amalgam of three personas: lead character Jack, played by Dylan Llewellyn, loosely modelled on his young self but increasingly put in fictional scenarios; Jack the wry narrator, voiced by Rooke himself, and the 31 year-old Bafta-winning writer and performer.
More confusingly still, he says, "there’s definitely a lot of me in Jack’s cousin Shannon and a bit of me in [his friend] Yemi as well".
Since the largely autobiographical first series, the character of Jack has been honed by the pair of them with director Jim Archer.
The journey of discovery undertaken by Jack, a young gay man navigating student life following the death of his father, certainly rang true to Llewellyn.
"I read Jack’s book [Cheer the F*** Up] and studied the man he was then rather than him now," the actor reflects. "I related to his shyness in series one – meeting new people and coming out of his shell. At drama school, I became more comfortable with myself and bonded with a group of friends – and like Jack, became sassier too."
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It must be an odd experience to be effectively playing your boss, but the growing bonds between Rooke and his cast have helped. The writer has seen a strong parallel between Jack and his friend Danny and the friendship that blossomed between Llewellyn and co-star Jon Pointing.
Away from the show, there have been bowling nights and dinners, including one where they pretended it was Llewellyn’s birthday just to get a cake.
"I’m quite a curious person and I ask Jack lots of questions about what ‘Jack’ would do," Llewellyn says. "I feel super comfortable with sharing my thoughts on how to get the best out of the character, and I hope Jack feels comfortable with that too.”
Season 3 kicks off with Jack’s 21st birthday (though now 32, Llewellyn’s still baby-faced enough to pull this off) and a horrific case of sunburn on summer holiday with his friends in Greece – an experience that pale-skinned Jack has never endured in a place that he has never visited.
“It’s much more a piece of fiction now but the emotion comes from a truthful place – I write stuff that’ll be funny for the characters even if there’s not any direct evidence.”
Nor is he proffering any direct evidence that Jack’s striking wardrobe mirrors that of his younger self. Berets feature heavily this series as Jack goes through a pretentious phase.
“There’s a red-knit vest that we both hated but Dylan’s only in it for 10 seconds!” says Rooke. “He can be absolutely smothered in red paint and go ‘this is great!’, but when he put this on, even I was anxious for him…”
He says he has increasingly leant into Llewellyn’s talent for combining vulnerability and physical comedy as the series has gone on.
“People love the character because Dylan conveys a complex range of emotions really well – he understands the vulnerability and there’s a joy when he does something brave,” Rooke says.
“There’s some real tension in this series between Jack and Danny – there’s one scene in episode 5 that I haven’t been able to watch without crying. I’m like an oddly proud mum!”
An equally proud moment for both of them was watching the Pride 2022 special of Celebrity Gogglebox, particularly presenter Rylan’s response to the climax of season 1. “He’s remained a cheerleader for the show – and I gave him a cameo in this series,” Rooke reveals. “He’s playing a chaotic version of himself and hit our comic tone really well.”
But it’s Jack and Danny’s story, with the series leading up to their final university dissertation. Does Rooke want to follow them into their adult lives?
“It’s funny - before, I’ve raced into writing each series, but I might take my time to consider what I want to do next. It does feel like we’re still growing as a show, but for now everyone is left where they should be. We’ll see if one day I want to take them out of the box and put them in another situation.”
Anyway, he says, he has bigger plans for Llewellyn: “I definitely want to work him again, but it could be something completely different. I would love to write him as a villain – an absolute horrowshow of a person.”
A baby-faced baddie? Llewellyn’s game. “Anything Jack writes, I want to be involved, if he’ll have me. I don’t want Big Boys to end – I want it to be like an American show where we go to series 12. But we’ve got to face reality...”
Big Boys season 3 will air at 10pm on Sunday 9th February on Channel 4. The first three episodes are already available to stream on Channel 4+ Premiere.
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