Adelaide
November 2-3, 2024
Adelaide Showground
Supa-Star Gareth David-Lloyd may have carved his pop culture path as Ianto Jones on Torchwood, but horror is where his true passion lies.
“It’s horror that got me into acting, really,” David-Lloyd begins down the line from his home in South Wales.
He recalls growing up and watching films like A Nightmare on Elm Street; they terrified him, but that’s not all. “It actually got me really interested in acting and filmmaking and storytelling,” he tells.
“I was too young to be watching them, but I think I was just fascinated with the way those stories could make you feel… how you can be scared, how you can make somebody sad, how you can make somebody laugh, through storytelling.”
It’s not surprising the UK star has branched out into writing and directing in recent years, this week unveiling the first episode of his three-part horror/drama web series Black River Meadow.
“It’s set in an otherworldly village hidden under mist and fog in the Welsh wetlands,” he explains.
“It’s somewhere you can only find if it wants you to. And, its existence stems right back to the time of the druids. That is all I will say.”
Episode one, which was funded through Kickstarter, is called The Hiding, and as David-Lloyd explains, unable to stop himself from revealing more, “is about characters that have been drawn to the village, and what that means for them and what they have to do to survive.
“The plan is to do three episodes over three years, and then use those three episodes as our pitch for a larger series.”
The new series features David-Lloyd’s Blue Gillespie bandmate Nick Harrison as composer and sound designer, which is probably as close as we’ll get to a reunion anytime soon.
“That’s as close as I’ve gotten to music since Blue Gillespie,” he says.
“We’ve talked about doing a one-off for Christmas and what not, we just haven’t had the time, but the interest is there so I’m sure it’ll happen at some point.”
Whether he’s behind or in front of a camera or singing, David-Lloyd has one goal in mind.
“Whether it’s music, whether it’s writing novels, whether it’s comic books, whether it’s TV, film, theatre, it’s all storytelling,” he explains.
“It interests me and always will. I won’t put a handle on it. I’m an actor and I’m a storyteller.”
His time on Torchwood deeply influenced his writing, with David-Lloyd attributing a balance of great characters, escapism, comedy and drama to the Doctor Who spin-off series’ success.
“It’s been ten years and [fans] still come to see us, they still watch us and they’re showing it to their kids who are now old enough to watch it,” he says.
“We’ve got a real loyal fan base, and it’s nice to think that the work you’ve been involved with has affected someone to the point where they are that loyal; to the point when they get so upset when the shoot is finished. It’s been a hell of a ride and they’ve made it wonderful.”
You can catch Gareth David-Lloyd at Supanova Comic Con & Gaming this November.
