Powerful court case drew Daniel Mays into new role in Against The Law

FILMING the BBC’s new drama, Against The Law, was the speediest of affairs for Daniel Mays.

There was just a tight 10 days of filming to get the whole thing done.

But the affable star has told The Sunday Post how starring in Line Of Duty gave him the perfect preparation.

Daniel, 39, starred as Sgt Danny Waldron, the firearms cop under investigation by AC-12, in the third series of the hit cop show.

And the role included one of the show’s trademark long, intense interview scenes which involved a huge number of lines to be learned.

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“Everything’s a walk in the park after that scene,” laughed Daniel.

“With Against The Law I had just finished filming Guerrilla and I was going straight on to Born To Kill, so it was very tight.

“There had been some huge scenes on Guerrilla so I was ready to go.

“I just went with my instincts and it felt really good – but it was exhausting.”

Against The Law is a powerful factual drama about one of the most explosive court cases of the 1950s, the Montagu Trial.

Daniel plays Peter Wildeblood, a gay journalist jailed in the days before homosexuality was decriminalised, who comes out of prison determined to change the law.

He admits it was a case he wasn’t aware of but did plenty of reading up before starting it.

And he says he’s proud to be a part of it and reveals filming it took him back to one of his earliest film roles.

“I was thinking about Vera Drake a lot when I was making this,” confides Daniel. “That was all about back street abortion and, like this, that was happening really pretty recently.

“It was a repressed era.

“The more the years tick by, the more the people that lived through those times aren’t going to be here any more so it’s important to tell the stories.”

Daniel’s appearance in Line Of Duty is one of the most memorable in his impressive career.

Everything was packed in to one explosive, much talked-about episode.

“It captured the audience’s attention and everything blew up after it was shown,” he admits.

“I’ve never had that kind of reaction. I was a huge fan going into the show and as soon as I read the script I was desperate to get the audition.

“To be the main protagonist in Line Of Duty is a real sought-after role.

“They had Thandie Newton in the last one and I’m sure they’ll get the highest calibre of actors for the next two series.

“It was powerful TV. People were repulsed by him in the beginning when he executed the guy but by the end there was a degree of sympathy for him.

“It was a real gift for me.”

Stepping back in time for Against The Law was nothing new for Essex boy Daniel who memorably played bank robber Ronnie Biggs in the excellent ITV series Mrs Biggs alongside Sheridan Smith.

“It was massive for me,” says Daniel. “There was such a weight of expectation playing such an infamous character as Ronnie Biggs.

“I was at a barbecue when I got the call to say I had the part and I remember my dad and all his mates jumping around like loons because they really knew of him.

“I had the notion he was this Robin Hood folk hero, then you realise he acted in the most deplorable way.”

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Daniel has become one of Britain’s hottest actors, with film as well as TV roles.

He’s been in the big screen version of Dad’s Army and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

But he well remembers his earliest taste of a blockbuster movie, a part in the epic Pearl Harbor.

He had a scene with Ben Affleck – which sadly ended on the cutting room floor – and the experience was mind-blowing for a newcomer.

“Ben’s trailer was like a house on two floors complete with gym and the director was on a crane bellowing instructions through a megaphone. It was incredible.”

Against The Law, BBC 2, Wed, 9pm.