Tell us about City Of Tiny Lights…

“It’s like one of those classic private eye, private detective movies that we might have seen back in the day: LA Confidential, Chinatown, The Long Good Friday, updated to right here, right now. It’s a combination of that classic detective movie with a voiceover, a missing girl, and a lot of it’s shot at night – but there’s a lot about it that’s fresh. It’s set in London today, with what people in London today actually look like and sound like.”

What drew you to the role?

“I just loved the idea of chain-smoking and drinking fake whisky all day, stood under rain machines filming at night for six weeks…”

Did you really need rain machines?

“They thought it’d be raining because it’s London, but it was a beautiful summer, so we spent all our money on making it rain the whole time.”

Apart from the soggy cigarettes, what did you like about Tommy, your character?

“I think you grow up wanting to be a superhero and a private detective – at least I did, I thought they were the coolest characters. Tommy’s sarcastic and stuff, but actually he’s quite a vulnerable dude underneath all
that. I thought that was an interesting combination: that tough exterior, when there’s a lot of heartbreak underneath the surface.”

What will surprise people about it?

“Most classic noir films are a world without any morals – people without any scruples willing to do anything – but actually this is a noir that has the opposite starting point. Everyone’s trying to do the right thing, as they see it. It just drives some people crazy. Really it’s about friendship, family and romance. It’s about that as much as it’s about living in a shady world and crazy stuff happening.”

Are British roles important to you after all your work in America?

“Yeah – but it’s not like coming back and doing a bit of community service: this is where I want to be working. We’ve got some amazing talent here, we tell interesting stories: I believe that Britain is one of the most exciting countries in the world. Our multicultural mix means that we’ll always have exciting stories to tell, and if I can help tell those, I’d love to be involved.”

In your speech to Parliament about representation, you said you have to go to America to get interesting roles…

“To a large extent that’s still true. The stories we tend to tell are historical dramas that don’t engage with what the British population is really like today. And I think that’s a bit of a shame. A lot of the projects that could cast someone like me are in America, so we lose a lot of talent – I mean, forget about losing me, that’s no great loss – but there are so many amazing actors who are forced to go over to the States to work, because they can’t play ‘Lord Winthrop’. They’re not considered for those roles. But there’s a growing awareness that we’re missing a trick here. We’re sitting on some really exciting stories and we should tell them – I think the world’s ready to hear them.”

Would you ever start a production company to tell those stories – and not ones about ‘Lord Winthrop’?

“I wanna play Lord Winthrop! That’s my ambition! In a way, our history in this country has been really mixed up. Our first border patrol was a legion of North African troops fighting for the Italian/Roman army trying to keep out the Scots from Hadrian’s Wall – so even our anti-immigration movement has been really multicultural for thousands of years. We’ve got a very mixed-up history here. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t be playing Lord Winthrop. Riz Winthrop. That’s my new tag. #Winthrop.”

Let’s discuss your recent American TV work: what was it like being in The OA and Girls?

“Working with [Girls creator] Lena [Dunham] was one of the most inspiring and hilarious things I’ve ever done in my life. She’s a genius and I love her. She’s writing, directing, producing and starring in something, improvising her lines totally fresh every take – and you’re trying to stop yourself from laughing – and between every take she’s giving you really sensitive, nuanced directions. I hope she continues to make more and more film and television and theatre – she’s a really valuable voice. Working on The OA was very different because obviously it’s not a semi-improvised comedy situation: it’s a very tightly crafted story, with two very intelligent, sensitive, cool people [Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij]. I would work with either of those teams again in a heartbeat.”