Black Mirror Plaything star on how he worked with Peter Capaldi for unsettling shared character
Lewis Gribben plays a young version of the Doctor Who star's character.
*Warning - contains mild spoilers for Black Mirror: Plaything*
The fourth episode of Black Mirror season 7, called Plaything, has been highly anticipated by fans, as it brings Peter Capaldi into Charlie Brooker's universe.
Capaldi stars alongside Lewis Gribben, with the duo playing an older and younger version of the same character, Cameron - an anxious man who goes on a journey when he discovers a new 'video game', Thronglets.
Gribben spoke exclusively with RadioTimes.com about appearing in the episode with Capaldi, and revealed how they worked together to craft two iterations of the same character.
He said: "With Peter, we had a little discussion with David Slade, the director, and what I basically came up with was just like, 'Well, you have to play older me,' which was the way that we managed to do it. It was a collaborative effort of him being like, 'How do you sound?'
"So I would send him voice notes. I would read some lines for him on the day, the few days where we did crossover, I'd walk in front of him so he could mimic my movements. It was more about him - because we both knew that they would do two different versions of the character at the same time."

Gribben continued: "I think young Cameron's very anxious. He has a lot of anxiety. He's very terrified of people in general.
"By the time he gets older in Peter's version, he has a purpose. He still maintains that kind of weirdness and shyness that he has, but there's a purpose to it. There's a direction with it.
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"So we knew where both versions of the character were at that time, and then it was mainly him taking from me. I didn't take anything from him! Because, one, I'm lazy - no, I’m joking. Realistically, when I was filming it, I was like, 'I have no idea.' I tried to forget everything he does so that I can just focus on the '90s version of him and make that authentic."
Also featuring in Plaything are Will Poulter and Asim Chaudhry, who Black Mirror fans might recognise - they're reprising their roles as Colin Ritman and Mohan Thakur from choose-your-own adventure story Bandersnatch.
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They aren't the only returning characters in this season of Black Mirror. The season also features a sequel episode, USS Callister: Into Infinity, which picks up with the characters last seen in season 4's debut episode.
This means Cristin Milioti, Jimmi Simpson and more are back - while the rest of the season features newcomers such as Chris O'Dowd, Issa Rae and Paul Giamatti.
Black Mirror streams on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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Authors

James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.