Dogs of War
The CIA is gunning for the four
friends as Philip Glenister, Max Beesley, John Simm and Marc Warren return in a
thrilling new series of Mad Dogs.
On the scorching roof terrace of a five star Cape Town hotel, four of Britain's most recognizable actors are lounging about in the mid-morning sun.
Philip Glenister is in a casual combination of chinos and a blue shirt, joking loudly with anyone who will listen, whereas Marc Warren is quietly seeking out a spot of shade. Lively Max Beesley is in full Manchester United strip and smoking cigarettes, while John Simm is nursing a Coke, claiming he has an upset stomach caused by a chicken jalfrezi cooked by Beesley the previous evening.
On the surface, the four actors could scarcely be more different, yet their close relationship is undoubtedly a key to the success of Mad Dogs, the Sky1 drama in which the quartet play a group of fortysomething friends on the run.
"I didn't know Phil or John before Mad Dogs and they are two of my best pals now; we care about each other a lot," says Beesley. "The show's writer, Cris Cole, also knows us really well and he writes for our personalities now, so I think that's why it works. When we get on set, we know each other's dynamics and it's incredibly natural."
We are on set for series three of Mad Dogs which sees Beesley's character Woody and his former school friends Quinn (Glenister), Rick (Warren) and Baxter (Simm) turning up in South Africa in extremely challenging circumstances. Viewers originally met the gang as they arrived in Majorca for a reunion with old pal and property tycoon Alvo (Ben Chaplin), only for the trip to turn sour when Alvo was shot dead and the boys were sucked into a world of crime and violence that forced them on the run. The second series changed location to Ibiza as the foursome tried to extricate themselves from a complex web of crime involving shadowy Mafia types, corrupt police officers and a drug kingpin, Mackenzie (David Warner) for whom Alvo had been working.
As the new four-part series begins, the gang arrives in Morocco after being tricked by Mackenzie and are immediately arrested by the authorities . "Because the boys accidentally got involved with Mackenzie in Ibiza, the new series starts off with them being interrogated in a detention centre," explains Glenister. Once behind bars, the boys are given the bad news that Mackenzie was giving kickbacks to the American security services and a covert department of the CIA has now activated a 'kill contract' on them. Returning home would only endanger their loved ones, so the friends are furnished with new identities, flown to South Africa to begin new lives and advised not to contact each other.
"I think episode one of this series is the best I've ever read." says Simm. "I closed the script and went "Oh my God" It's got everything. It's poignant, funny and exciting."
Next week's episode moves the action forwards two years to discover how the gang have got on in Cape Town. "It's really interesting because you see who has coped well and who hasn't," says Glenister. "All Baxter wants is to get back to his family, while Rick is living in the past and having a mid-life crisis, refusing to grow up. Quinn and Woody are the only ones that make something of the change that's been forced on them. The characters come out more in this series that they have before; we find out who they really are. When they meet again in episode two, it is funny, melancholic and awkward, in that way male friendships are. It's quite moving."
Not surprisingly the four actors relished the opportunity to film in South Africa. In their spare time they went horse riding, took boat trips and visited the local vineyards. "You can point a camera at any bit of Cape Town and it looks absolutely epic," says Beesley. "The land here is so diverse and the storyline in this series is very diverse, so the two work well together."
All four actors have signed up for a final series of Mad Dogs, which will bring the story to an end and they have different ideas of where they would like to film next. Beesley wants to go to Argentina and Warren fancies Thailand, but Glenister would like somewhere less exotic. "I'd love to film the last series in Richmond." he smiles, "So I can go home to my family every night."
On the scorching roof terrace of a five star Cape Town hotel, four of Britain's most recognizable actors are lounging about in the mid-morning sun.
Philip Glenister is in a casual combination of chinos and a blue shirt, joking loudly with anyone who will listen, whereas Marc Warren is quietly seeking out a spot of shade. Lively Max Beesley is in full Manchester United strip and smoking cigarettes, while John Simm is nursing a Coke, claiming he has an upset stomach caused by a chicken jalfrezi cooked by Beesley the previous evening.
On the surface, the four actors could scarcely be more different, yet their close relationship is undoubtedly a key to the success of Mad Dogs, the Sky1 drama in which the quartet play a group of fortysomething friends on the run.
"I didn't know Phil or John before Mad Dogs and they are two of my best pals now; we care about each other a lot," says Beesley. "The show's writer, Cris Cole, also knows us really well and he writes for our personalities now, so I think that's why it works. When we get on set, we know each other's dynamics and it's incredibly natural."
We are on set for series three of Mad Dogs which sees Beesley's character Woody and his former school friends Quinn (Glenister), Rick (Warren) and Baxter (Simm) turning up in South Africa in extremely challenging circumstances. Viewers originally met the gang as they arrived in Majorca for a reunion with old pal and property tycoon Alvo (Ben Chaplin), only for the trip to turn sour when Alvo was shot dead and the boys were sucked into a world of crime and violence that forced them on the run. The second series changed location to Ibiza as the foursome tried to extricate themselves from a complex web of crime involving shadowy Mafia types, corrupt police officers and a drug kingpin, Mackenzie (David Warner) for whom Alvo had been working.
As the new four-part series begins, the gang arrives in Morocco after being tricked by Mackenzie and are immediately arrested by the authorities . "Because the boys accidentally got involved with Mackenzie in Ibiza, the new series starts off with them being interrogated in a detention centre," explains Glenister. Once behind bars, the boys are given the bad news that Mackenzie was giving kickbacks to the American security services and a covert department of the CIA has now activated a 'kill contract' on them. Returning home would only endanger their loved ones, so the friends are furnished with new identities, flown to South Africa to begin new lives and advised not to contact each other.
"I think episode one of this series is the best I've ever read." says Simm. "I closed the script and went "Oh my God" It's got everything. It's poignant, funny and exciting."
Next week's episode moves the action forwards two years to discover how the gang have got on in Cape Town. "It's really interesting because you see who has coped well and who hasn't," says Glenister. "All Baxter wants is to get back to his family, while Rick is living in the past and having a mid-life crisis, refusing to grow up. Quinn and Woody are the only ones that make something of the change that's been forced on them. The characters come out more in this series that they have before; we find out who they really are. When they meet again in episode two, it is funny, melancholic and awkward, in that way male friendships are. It's quite moving."
Not surprisingly the four actors relished the opportunity to film in South Africa. In their spare time they went horse riding, took boat trips and visited the local vineyards. "You can point a camera at any bit of Cape Town and it looks absolutely epic," says Beesley. "The land here is so diverse and the storyline in this series is very diverse, so the two work well together."
All four actors have signed up for a final series of Mad Dogs, which will bring the story to an end and they have different ideas of where they would like to film next. Beesley wants to go to Argentina and Warren fancies Thailand, but Glenister would like somewhere less exotic. "I'd love to film the last series in Richmond." he smiles, "So I can go home to my family every night."
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