The Decameron star talks scenes viewers will "probably never get to see"
"Whenever someone would have an idea, we would lean into that to take it to the next level."
The Decameron, Netflix's latest comedy offering, follows a group of Italian nobles and their servants as they congregate at a lavish rural villa to flee the Black Plague in Florence.
Kathleen Jordan, best known for Netflix's Teenage Bounty Hunters, wrote the eight-parter, which is loosely based on the short story collection of the same name, but the cast were also given the green light to improvise – some of which made it into the final edit, and some which didn't.
"Whenever someone would have an idea, as a group we would try and lean into that to take it to the next level," cast member Karan Gill told RadioTimes.com.
"And if it makes the cut, it makes the cut, and if it doesn't, it doesn't."
He went on to say that there was "so much funny stuff that came out of people improvising that we'll probably never get to see".
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"There was a lot of room for that, and the team were really in support of that and really encouraged that as well," he added.
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Gill plays Panfilo, a member of an influential political family in Florence who he describes as always "plotting" when we first meet him. But as the series progresses, the actor began to see him in a different, more sympathetic light.
"It's fun to play someone who is plotting, but as it went on he has to rise to other challenges, lots of things get thrown his way. And to fail, again and again, your character is trying to get one over on this person and that person and thinks he's really good at it, but it's never panning out, that's quite confronting.
"So all those challenges as they as they crept up throughout the show kind of softened him a lot in my eyes, especially when stuff with him and [his wife] Neifile (Lou Gala) gets serious and honest. There are some really touching scenes written in there for them and for him, and he learns a lot."
Panfilo's relationship with Neifile, while outlandish in some ways, will be relatable to certain viewers, added Gill, who praised Jordan's writing for capturing the human element of their dynamic in the midst of the show's more bizarre elements.
"There are relationships out there where an element of the relationship has faded, or died, and that is now the elephant in the room," said Gill.
"And it's easier not to speak about that and to keep going because everything else is so good, because there's such safety and trust, because we're best friends. And so maybe we can keep coasting. But the braver thing, the more courageous thing to do, as hard as it is, is to meet that face on, which is something that the characters have to face as the show goes on.
"I remember reading the early episodes and I was like, 'Gosh, she seems like kind of a handful, and more work for him than he is for her.' But as the episodes went on, it really highlighted what they actually get from each other, and how important they are to each other."
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The Decameron is available to stream from Thursday 25th July on Netflix – sign up for from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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