Dept Q star looks completely different in forgotten Call the Midwife role
Netflix's new drama Dept Q stars Leah Byrne as cadet Rose - however, some fans may recognise the Scottish actress for her role in an episode of BBC One's Call the Midwife
Netflix's brand new crime drama Dept Q arrived today on the streamer, starring Downton Abbey's Matthew Goode as a detective attempting to track down the mysterious criminal who shot him in the face. After returning back to his Edinburgh police station for the first time since the attack, Carl (Goode) is tasked with setting up Department Q - a cold case unit - while he covertly tries to investigate the crime himself.
In his new team, Carl is joined by Rose - a cadet who is keen to prove herself to Carl - played by Scottish actress Leah Byrne. The actress has just a few credits under her belt, including small roles in BBC drama Nightsleeper and Channel 4's Deadwater Fell.
However, before taking on the role of Rose, Leah appeared in a 2019 episode of Call the Midwife as Maggie Nickle - an expectant mother. With a brunette head of hair, Leah couldn't look more different in the BBC role.
Meanwhile, in Dept. Q, Leah sports a ginger perm as rookie detective Rose. Leah isn't the only unrecognisable star in Dept Q. Matthew Goode takes on a scruffy look and a beard for his role as DCI Carl Morck.
Speaking about the Netflix drama ahead of its release, Matthew said of Carl: "He's so aggressive and rude. I loved his sense of humour. He's a complex character, and you get to see him warts and all."
He added that he was hooked on the character from the moment he was sent the script. "Scott could have cast anybody,' Matthew said. 'When someone trusts you like that, you take it seriously. There was pressure but, as Billie Jean King said, 'Pressure is a privilege.''
Matthew opened up about one scene, where he needed to drive an old Ford Sierra with dodgy brakes. 'Every time Scott told me to drive fast, I'd be thinking, 'I hope it stops and I don't plough into anyone,'' says Matthew. 'Occasionally, I'd turn the car off and walk away, then I'd hear it start again and have to give it a kick.'
The series also stars The Queen's Gambit actress Chloe Pirrie as Merritt - an ambitious lawyer whose disappearance is investigated by Carl.
"Merritt's main strength is she doesn't feel the need to please people," Chloe said. "She's loyal, someone you'd want on your side, but she's also isolated herself. She uses people and doesn't think that highly of them. She's similar to Carl in that way."
Dept Q is now streaming on Netflix.
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Scotsman
5 hours ago
- Scotsman
Inside the "strange and weird" world of Dept. Q with Edinburgh's Chloe Pirrie
Surreal, strange, weird... what happens when you set a Scandi noir crime drama in Scotland. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... 'Extraordinary moments, surreal, strange things…' Attempting to describe her favourite part of filming new Netflix drama Dept. Q when we speak ahead of its launch, Chloe Pirrie is immediately tied up in avoiding spoilers, such is the extraordinary turn of events that befall her character. 'There are moments, but I can't say what they were because it'll give it away,' she says, 'strange, weird things…' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad An adaptation of the novels of Danish author, Jussi Adler-Olsen by acclaimed showrunner Scott Frank (The Queen's Gambit), written with Chandni Lakhani, Stephen Greenhorn and Colette Kane, the nine-part Netflix drama launches this week. Following the tale of Merritt Lingard, a high-flying lawyer played by Pirrie whose fate becomes intertwined with that of detective Carl Morck (Matthew Goode), who has been kicked downstairs to head up a new cold case department after an investigation went awry leaving his partner paralysed (Jamie Sives), the tense thriller sees them both pushed to their limits. Also starring are Alexej Manvelov (Jack Ryan, Top Dog), Kate Dickie, Kelly Macdonald (Line of Duty, Operation Mincemeat) and Leah Byrne (Call The Midwife, Nightsleeper) and an ensemble cast featuring many Scottish actors. Pirrie is a familiar face from TV and film, appearing in last year's Canadian horror film Kryptic, The Crown, Netflix's The Queen's Gambit, Emma, War & Peace, BBC's miniseries thriller The Victim and as Emily Bronte in Sally Wainwright's To Walk Invisible. Chloe Pirrie stars as Merritt Lingard in Dept. Q, filmed in Edinburgh. | Netflix Raised in Edinburgh, the daughter of a physiotherapist and a lawyer, Pirrie started acting at school in The Cherry Orchard and went on to study at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. After a career launching appearance in Scott Graham's award-winning indie feature film Shell with Iain De Caestecker and Kate Dickie in 2010, she was named Best Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards and a Screen International Star of Tomorrow. She soon landed roles in BBC2 Cold War spy thriller The Game alongside Brian Cox, Sky Atlantic's crime series The Last Panthers with Samantha Morton and John Hurt, Oscar-nominated comedy drama Youth with Michael Caine and Rachel Weisz and black comedy road movie Burn, Burn Burn. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad At the start of the series Pirrie's Merritt Lingard is a prosecutor at the top of her game, fighting for justice and described by some as a 'blunt instrument'. Brought up on Mull by an absent father, when her brother suffers a brain injury she becomes his protector and following the biggest case of her career, decides to make a change, with dramatic consequences. 'Merritt operates on a basis of not needing to be liked, doesn't have many friends and is a bit of a mystery to the people around her,' says Pirrie. 'She has very successfully compartmentalised her life in terms of her past and current work situation but is starting to struggle under the pressure of the case she's prosecuting. 'We're seeing somebody who is maybe not as in control as they're used to being. Chloe Pirrie and Mark Bonnar as lawyers in Dept. Q, Netflix's Scottish adaptation of Jussi-Alder Olsen's Scandi Noir series. | Netflix 'This case is more high profile but is coming with baggage she hasn't anticipated. Obstacles start to emerge that she doesn't understand and the frustration is starting to get under her skin. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Alongside this she is receiving anonymous threatening messages.' In terms of preparing for the part of Merritt, the lawyer element was straightforward as Pirrie has experience of playing a lawyer from The Victim in 2019. 'That was less of a thriller and more about depicting and anatomising someone's trial, so that gave me a lot. I did a lot of research for that and you become a bit more acquainted with the differences in the Scottish legal system and I went to the WS society and Signet Library where my dad works and got a bit of insight of the culture and expectations in that legal world. 'Also I watched a lot of murder trial documentaries where you learn so much about how a profession works and I just love doing that kind of research. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'And for Merritt, she's somebody who has quite a different background from others in that profession so it was understanding what might be most challenging for her and those encountering someone who does things differently or doesn't conform.' For Merritt, a belief that those who commit a crime don't ever truly get away with it and that through justice, conscience or karma, the universe will see them ultimately punished, helps sustain her on the wild ride on which her life takes her. Chloe Pirrie at the premiere of Under The Banner Of Heaven in Hollywood, California, 2022. |'This may be one of Merritt's blindspots,' says Pirrie. 'She's very hyperfocused on the right thing when it applies to others but has so successfully buried things as she's evolved that I don't think she ever turns the lens on herself. We learn more about that later in the show. It's interesting playing someone who isn't interested in self-reflection. We see that in scenes I have with Mark Bonnar, and her colleagues, where she's butting heads because she is unwilling to listen, and that serves her in some ways but not in others.' Does Pirrie think it's true, that people ultimately get punished? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I don't know. I'd like to think so. Maybe the gentler version is 'what's for you won't go by you', but I don't know if that is entirely true. You obviously trust in the justice system as much as you can, but we all know it has limitations and is always trying to adapt. It depends what justice means to you I suppose.' Originally a Scandi noir thriller, Scott Frank has transposed the story to a Scottish setting with Edinburgh locations, institutions and fictional characters up front and centre. 'The show does that so successfully, Scott did a fantastic job. Being an American, it's amazing how somebody can assimilate and locate, very specifically, people and qualities and with excellent performances and the right cast, bring something to life that felt very specific to me. For the Edinburgh born and raised actor this was a homecoming. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Because I'm from Edinburgh, it was really cool seeing it on screen, and a full circle moment as I've never worked here before. It was quite magical from that point of view. I just loved that.' Now based in North London, Pirrie's career has taken her all over for work, from Calgary to Prague, but once back in the capital for Dept. Q she enjoyed getting reacquainted. 'Chips and sauce, chips and cheese,' were top of the agenda, as well as catching up with family and friends. 'I had an apartment and it was really nice to spend more time in Edinburgh. I brought my car and my dog and had the freedom of returning as an adult with my own life. It was like discovering the city again, finding new places I hadn't known growing up like The Secret Herb Garden and there are so many restaurants because the food scene's gone insane. I really enjoyed going to old favourite places but also discovering new ones.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'And the cast were amazing, some of whom I've worked with before and some who are new. It was great to see all these amazing Scottish actors together.' Chloe Pirrie | Photographer: Josh Shinner Stylist: Fabio Immediato Make-up: Amanda Grossman Hair: Davide Barbieri Now 37, if Pirrie reflects on her career, what would she say to her younger self? 'That it doesn't really get any easier but you're also doing way better than you think you are in terms of how you are navigating it. I'd say continue to try to not compare yourself to others as much as possible. I would tell her you are going to have the fortune to work with some really amazing people so savour the really amazing moments on set - that is the most important thing I think. 'Increasingly the industry is very noisy, there are so many extraneous things, but always return to the work because that's what is important, the time between action and cut. Keep focusing on that, because that's always where I felt 'oh I know how to do this', so keep feeling that way.' What sort of things make the industry 'noisy'? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Things to do with publicity and knowledge about how things are made, which can make it really daunting. When I graduated a certain naivety was possible because whenever I didn't get a job I didn't know how to look up who got it but now there's an overwhelm of information. 'Being able to go into rooms, do an audition, leave and that would be that, was an amazing privilege. It's so rare to go into a room and meet someone in person, which is mad, because your interaction with another actor is such a personal thing. I'd tell my younger self soak up those opportunities to work in a room with people, whether you get the job or not.' Pirrie has worked with the show's acclaimed runner Scott Frank before, on The Queen's Gambit, in which she played Anya Taylor-Joy's birth mother. What insight did this give her into how Frank works? 'The Queen's Gambit was a wonderful job and what happened with the series blowing up was so rewarding. Scott creates an environment that is so special; he's so in control but also very freeing. That's a really amazing quality in a director. The quality of attention on set from everyone there is something you feel like you're part of and that's created by him. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'With The Queen's Gambit I was terrified because it was the first time I'd done an American accent and the first thing I had to do was improvise a load of stuff but it was so supportive. You feel like you're able to do your best work and can also fail and it doesn't matter. He's the best in that sense as a director. So stepping into this which is a role much more on my shoulders I suppose I did feel a lot of anxiety but he'd asked me to do it and I knew I was in safe hands.' Playing everything from heiresses and Mormon wives to petrol station assistants, the particular circumstances that befall Lingard make this role a unique experience for Pirrie and led to some of her favourite on set moments. 'I liked the emotional intensity of it. I have played people in a similar state for a short time - not the same circumstance - but not in such a protracted way. It's such a strange situation… 'And we spent a day on a ferry from Thurso and that was really cool because I'd never been that far north and it was a beautiful experience, to be doing your job on a little ferry travelling, and also the drive up there is really stunning, you pinch yourself. People pay a fortune to do this as tourists and I'm getting to go for my job. There were lots of moments like that. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'There was also my first day on set walking around Edinburgh and the first thing I did was sit in Princes Street Gardens where I spent so many Saturdays as a teenager. It was quite extraordinary to do that and really full circle.' Chloe Pirrie attends the Vogue x Netflix BAFTA Television Awards 2024 in London. | Getty Images Which roles or people she's worked with have been pivotal in her career? 'Well Shell was my first big job, it was a leading part, and was a really formative experience with Scott Graham. It was my first time being able to play somebody the camera follows through every scene. I had to throw myself into it and didn't really know what I was doing. It was purely on instinct and you're figuring out technique as you go. 'And I would say playing Emily [Bronte] was really big for me, because it was such a freeing thing. Emily's somebody who's surprising to people and working with Sally Wainwright and that cast was amazing so I really cherish that job a lot. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Then The Queen's Gambit I loved for the way it worked. That part was quite small but important, and that's something I love about Scott, that there are no small parts. Even if someone's got one line, there's nothing perfunctory or accidental in the way he works, and that's amazing to be around. 'Under The Banner of Heaven [in 2022, in which Pirrie played a Scottish woman who has married into a fundamentalist Mormon family from Utah who commit a series of murders] which I did a few years ago, was amazing but different because I was playing someone profoundly not free, so that was also a really interesting experience from that point of view. Next up for Pirrie, after a well-earned week in the sun in Greece, is season four of Industry, the HBO hit about a group of junior traders at the London office of a city firm, now expanding its scope to follow the characters in the US. 'I did a little bit in season 3 and I'm reprising that. Industry is really fun, such a different thing. That's something I love about my job, that all sets are the same but also profoundly different and how the energy of a show really translates and how what is required of you can be really different. Industry means playing highly competent people which is hard because there's nowhere to put the vulnerability, you have to hold that together. It's really interesting, highly competent people who are melting down from the inside out is a really niche thing, and Industry definitely runs that concept to its absolute extreme. And then I don't know what I'm doing,' she says and smiles. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Pirrie is content to take each role as it comes, and doesn't think too far ahead about parts she'd like to play. 'I try to take it as it arrives towards me as much as possible. And when you receive a script that makes you sit up and be forward and hoover up whatever it is, you give it everything you have, regardless of the outcome.' As for genres, she has a surprising penchant, as yet to be explored. 'Ok, so one of my favourite genres is submarine movies. I have a real thing about submarines and I would love to do one of those. And I can ride horses fairly competently - I learnt as a kid - and I've never got to do it because it's often something men do in things, go off into battle. So I'm waiting for that moment where someone says 'could you do that on a horse?' and I'll say 'Absolutely!' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I actually made a short film recently that I'm editing now, that's a little bit about when I was young and working at a stables and imagining a life where I continued to do that. Maybe I'm creating opportunities for myself somehow, but I'd love to use that skill in some way. And it would be fun to learn to climb, swim in a particular way, dive, do stunt driving, to really push it.' In the meantime what Pirrie wants most is to be able to talk about Dept. Q without worrying about spoilers, which brings us full circle back to those 'extraordinary moments, surreal, strange things…'
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