Nicholas Gleaves plays Ray
Filming Conviction was a great experience for actor Nicholas Gleaves.
Not only does he describe it as "one of the best working atmospheres
I've ever experienced", but he and his co-stars also had the chance to
film at the Salford Lads Club, the building made famous by one of his
favourite bands, The Smiths.
"I did specifically enjoy the Salford Lads Club," grins the Bolton born
Gleaves. "I'm a big Smiths fan. I'd been there on a pilgrimage before
to stand outside the sign like lots of Smiths fans do. I even have a Salford
Lads Club t-shirt!
"There is a famous photo of The Smiths taken outside the club and I
got someone to take a shot of the five of us in exactly the same pose.
"When I knew we were going to film there I was so pleased because I knew
wonderful things had happened there before and I hoped they were going
to happen again with Conviction."
Gleaves plays Ray, older brother of fellow CID officer Chrissie and headstrong
lawyer Beth.
He is the leader of the investigation team who are trying to track down
the murderer of 'Little Angela'.
"Ray is essentially, to use a footballing term, a player/manager. Footballers
always spring to mind when I think of Ray purely because of their sheer
will.
"Chris Coleman was a player at Fulham and then was dropped in the
deep end as manager but he has succeeded and I imagine Ray would have
very similar qualities.
"Ray was an ambitious CID copper who worked his way up the ranks to become
DI - he's one of the gang but they know he's the boss.
"The 'Little Angela' murder is his first major case in charge. He's
incredibly bright and determined and is keen to get a result.
"But no-one expected the case to be as long, difficult and emotive as
it turns out to be.
"He starts off very enthusiastic and maybe even na茂ve but that doesn't
last very long - he is soon bogged down by the sheer weight of his responsibilities."
Once his prime suspect, Jason Buliegh, goes missing, Ray's job is made
ten times harder.
Not only does he have to find Angela's murderer but he also has to deal
with the local community's need for revenge, 'van bangers', and as emotions
are running high, even some of his team are cause for concern.
"All the pressures from work and home make Ray much harder; it's a massive
learning curve for him.
"There's a turning point for Ray when they still don't know where
Buliegh is and he realises he has no clues to help find him. That really
gets to Ray and he turns into a man possessed.
"Joe, who has been around the houses before, can't bear the fact that
Ray's in charge. He finds it difficult to take orders from someone who
is younger than him so he questions Ray's every action.
"Ray has to work incredibly hard to dominate Joe but he does. He keeps
his role as leader of the group even though Joe is constantly chipping
away at him about his sister representing Buliegh, and questioning his
judgment."
Ray also has family issues on his mind. His father is suffering from
Alzheimer's and there is a constant battle between the siblings about
how best to look after him.
Gleaves explains: "Ray finds that he is becoming the head of the family
and really doesn't want to be. He can't bear to acknowledge that his father
is ill."
Gleaves talks animatedly of the camaraderie on set and how well all the
cast got on.
In fact, Gleaves felt that the comradeship and joking off set within
the Conviction CID team may mirror the way real police overcome the traumas
of their work.
"If I was a real copper I do think that it would be healthy and important
that I enjoyed being with my colleagues.
"The policemen and women that I'd met in my research were very similar
to the characters we were playing. There's a real gang mentality which
is fantastic to be a part of and I really felt that was at the core of
what our CID team had."
Gleaves, who has recently written and starred in his own short film
Mary And Mick, became the butt of some of the on set jokes.
"There was a scene in the woods where I had walk down a hill and come
straight into shot and give some instructions very confidently and clearly.
"We rehearsed it twice which went well and so we started to film
it.
"Of course this was the time that, as I started to walk down the hill,
my feet went from under me and I fell flat on my arse! I was so embarrassed
and shamed because I was trying to be really cool and macho.
"I looked up sheepishly, hoping that no one was looking at me, and
there was nobody there - they'd all run off to where the monitor was and
they'd rewound it and watched it over again.
"I just heard this enormous burst of laughter. They laughed when I first
did it, then they laughed when they watched it on the monitor, and then
they rewound it and laughed again!"
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