Dublin Murders actor defends his character's chain-smoking
Dublin Murders actor Killian Scott says his detective Rob Reilly's habitual smoking in the BBC One crime drama reflects his character's "flippant attitude towards death".
The star argued that any "compulsion to manicure out a flaw is something to be resisted" in popular culture, following Netflix's announcement that it would cut back on smoking depictions and e-cigarette use in shows rated TV-14 and under (except for "reasons of historical or factual accuracy").
An anti-smoking report found that Stranger Things season 2 contained the highest rate of smoking on the streaming service.
Dublin Murders is set in 2006, not long after the Irish smoking ban was introduced in 2004, but Scott argued that this trait is part of who he is.
"This compulsion to manicure a flaw out is something to resist I think," Scott told Digital Spy. "There's certainly a flippant attitude towards death [that Reilly has], something philosophically attractive about smoking because that's what it represents.
"Rob is occasionally... he's not nihilistic at all, he finds meaning in his work and he loves what he does. But there's also a pleasure in that idea of, 'I don't care, I'm going to do it anyway'. Which is a very compelling character to portray in a person. This sort of idea that Rob will drive a train off the edge of a cliff if it's going to get him to where he's wants to get to."
Sarah Phelps' adaptation of Tana French's acclaimed crime series novels follows detectives Reilly and Cassie Maddox (Sarah Greene) as they investigate a harrowing murder which Reilly has an indelible connection to.
Greene and Scott revealed that they had a former detective on set to guide them through the particularly gruelling scenes, including their character's grim discovery of the body of missing 13-year-old Katy, and when they have to inform her family of her death.
"We had a former detective on set with us most days and he would give us great tips of what we should do in certain scenes," Greene told us. "For example, before you walk into see a dead body, you take a deep breath.
"[With the family] you're studying them – you're giving this news but you're also analysing every single breath they take, the way they speak, their interactions with each other, how they look at each other, because they're suspects.
"[The ex-detective] said you'd be watching for any signs of guilt. It's so bleak. You're giving them life-changing news but also having to scrutinise them."
Dublin Murders continues tomorrow night (Tuesday, October 15) on BBC One at 9pm.
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