Virdee star Staz Nair explains why it was "actually terrifying" to play the lead
The BBC crime thriller is streaming now.
Staz Nair plays the titular Virdee in BBC's new adaptation of A A DHand's crime series. His job? Track down the serial killer who's targeting Asian locals in the streets of Bradford. But at one point, someone else almost had the job of playing Harry Virdee.
Before Nair came on board, Doctor Who star Sacha Dhawan was originally supposed to play the lead in Virdee before scheduling conflicts forced him to withdraw. Nair previously worked in ensemble pieces such as Supergirl, Rebel Moon and Game of Thrones, so when he was asked to replace Dhawan, this marked his first time in a lead role of this magnitude.
"It's like getting a promotion, and you go, 'Oh, am I ready for this promotion?'" recalls Nair. "You're hiding behind the leads in certain ways, whether you're intentionally doing it or not, because you're not being asked to drive the storyline, the tonality, and be the reason why people keep coming back. That's a whole bunch of pressure that you can't think about."
"It was actually terrifying," Nair says of stepping up to play Harry. "I remember having… The closest thing I can compare it to is a panic attack before coming over, because I was like, 'This a lot, a lot I need to do…' It was because I recognised the opportunity and the opportunity for representation and the complexity within that."
"It being a story of 18 years, there were many factors that made it very personal for a lot of people, so that was obviously daunting, but you find the similarities between yourself and the character.
"You figure out why the story is being told, who it's being told for, and then you just dial into the human aspects of the character, their motivations, and try to embellish them yourself or be whatever you need to be to find it."
Nair adds: "A lot of actors suffer from imposter syndrome, wondering whether we're going to get found out or that we're faking. It was a lovely opportunity to prove to myself that I am exactly where I'm meant to be, that I can, hopefully, you can tell me, carry a show and pull it off with some tenacity and honesty."
It's not just Nair's position on the call sheet that was different now compared to previous projects like Rebel Moon.
"Physically speaking, it was different in the sense that I actually put on weight for this role. Hollywood has a tendency sometimes to just strap abs on someone and create this unrealistic aesthetic of what people look like. This isn't that story," he says.
"It's a father in his mid to late 30s with a kid trying to systematically manage all of his worlds while a serial killer is directly attacking his community, holding it ransom. You haven't got time to go and do crunches. You're working your ass off trying to save your city, coming back home, trying to be a husband and a father, getting on with it."
Read more:
- Doctor Who's Sacha Dhawan drops out of thriller Virdee – replacement confirmed
- Virdee is a love story wrapped around a crime thriller, says author Amit Dhand
"Reading the first book, Streets of Darkness, [Harry's] rugby-esque in his stature. So, for this role specifically, it was a case of really enjoying the food, but also making sure I maintain the level of fitness where I could still be active and physical, yet relatable."
It looks like Nair might have to maintain that level of fitness for a while longer if he gets his wish for more seasons of Virdee.
"I definitely want to see more. There's so much that is left unsaid. I think it comes to an interesting ending, but I don't think that's the end. I think we've got many more books and many more stories to tell."
Virdee is streaming now on BBC iPlayer. It will air on BBC One from 9pm on Monday 10th February.
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Authors
David Opie is a freelance entertainment journalist who writes about TV and film across a range of sites including Radio Times, Indiewire, Empire, Yahoo, Paste, and more. He's spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and strives to champion LGBTQ+ storytelling as much as possible. Other passions include comics, animation, and horror, which is why David longs to see a Buffy-themed Rusical on RuPaul's Drag Race. He previously worked at Digital Spy as a Deputy TV Editor and has a degree in Psychology.