‘Big Boys’ star Dylan Llewellyn: ‘I’d love to get into horror’

Emerging as “wee English lad” in the beloved Derry Girls, Dylan Llewellyn has made a name for himself as the perfect casting for a lovable character working things out in real time. This week, he returns as the lead in Channel 4’s poignant and hilarious Big Boys.

In the final season of Big Boys, Llewellyn’s character Jack – named after and based heavily on series creator Jack Rooke – finds closure regarding the grief of losing his father and instead turns his attention towards finding himself, losing his virginity and helping his friends, all portrayed with endless charm by Llewellyn.

While he could be seen to have cornered the market in this type of character, Llewellyn tells us that he is seeing the end of Big Boys as an opportunity to branch out from comedy towards darker and more diverse roles.

Read our Q&A with Dylan Llewellyn, about the end of Big Boys, his hopes for his next roles and more, below.

Jack takes more of a back seat in season three of Big Boys – how has his life changed as the show comes to an end?

He’s really grown as a person and as a character – he’s more there for Yemi and Danny and Corinne, helping them out and helping his family out. It’s lovely to see him grow in that sense, and it’s really good to see him in a good spot.

It must be a really unique experience to play a character heavily inspired by the creator of the show – how have you found working with Jack Rooke on that?

He’s always been an amazing support throughout my journey of my Jack. I worked a lot out on my own with regards to the history of it all, by researching and reading his book, Cheer the Fuck Up. On the lighter stories, I wanted to ask him what happened, but on the more sensitive ones, I just knew what to do. I wanted to have that comfortability to do it on my own.

Does the end of Big Boys also feel like the end of a part of your career? Has it given you the itch to do something totally different?

I will always have a place in my heart for for comedy, and always want to do more, because I just love it so much – it’s a real challenge to make people laugh. It’s something I don’t want to give up, but at the same time I would love to explore more, and do more dramas or thrillers. I’d love to get into horror. I love horror! I’m very, very open minded, but there will always be a spot in my heart for the comedy pieces.

In this hypothetical horror role, are you the villain or the victim?

Probably villain, although to be eased into the horror scene, maybe I’d be the victim first. A bit of both? I’ll be the victim first and then BOOM! I’m the secret killer!

What else have you got coming up?

I’m doing Beyond Paradise, a spin- off of Death in Paradise, set in the West Country, in a fictional town called Shipton Abbott. I play a policeman, PC Kelby Hartford, who is a lovable, naïve, heart of gold, golden retriever energy character. It’s a really great watch, an easy watch. It’s lovely.

All three series of ‘Big Boys’ are available to stream on Channel 4 now, with seasons one and two available via Hulu in the US.

Grooming: Charlie Cullen
Styling: Sarah-Rose Harrison