HUNGRY EYES

MITCHELL ROBERTSON delivers a standout performance as Niall, a teenager struggling with his identity, while being the victim of bullying and navigating his coming-of-age years in the hit HBO drama, Half Man.
Best known for starring as Eddie in Curfew, there’s a spark when he talks about this latest role, stepping into the complex world of Richard Gadd's follow-up to the monumental Netflix hit Baby Reindeer. Reliving all the exhaustion of filming, here, the Scottish actor unpacks the role and discusses his career trajectory.

Left Full look **MM6**
Right Top and pants **Miu Miu**, shoes **MM6**

When you auditioned for Half Man in early 2024, were you aware of Richard Gadd’s name before Baby Reindeer blew up, and then were you chomping at the bit to step into this next complicated world he was creating?

I wasn’t aware at all. I don’t live in London, and I’m not the best at keeping up with what’s happening, so I had no idea about all the stage success of Baby Reindeer and Richard’s other work. Of course, like almost everyone else, once Baby Reindeer came out, I was all over it. I was super excited for a lot of different reasons! I think I also really wanted the challenge and to measure where I was at as an actor, to see if I could actually deliver and carry that body of work. I obviously had some nerves, which is normal and shows you care. I always find that once you’re on set, once that first take is out of the way, you settle into it a bit. I love Richard’s writing and the characters he creates. I feel grateful for the opportunity to be a part of that.

You play Niall, a self-conscious teenager who gets a lot of stick at school for being quite meek and soft. He's a familiar character to resonate with, as he's the kind of person we've all met at school or in social groups – but were there parts of him you found challenging to connect with and bring to life, rather than identify with?

The biggest thing for me with Niall was making sure he was nuanced, layered and not one-dimensional. I didn’t find it hard to connect with him at all. In previous interviews, I have referenced how I could relate to him growing up in the West of Scotland as quite a soft and gentle boy, but I also think some of what Niall is experiencing is quite universal.
He’s a young person who is carrying shame and feels like parts of him are wrong. I think in some way nearly all of us can relate to that. The world is often telling us that we are wrong because, in a lot of ways, that’s how it profits. Like a lot of us, Niall just needs an arm around his shoulder and to be told that who he is, or might be, is okay. I wanted to make sure I didn’t do Niall a disservice by playing too much into him being small or soft. He’s more than just any one thing, like we all are.

Left Full look **Givenchy by Sarah Burton**
Right Full look **Miu Miu**

The show further shines a spotlight on the issues facing young men today and how they tackle and talk about inner pain and conflict, or hide or feel shame, and so you don't quite know what they're presenting to others. This is more about masculinity, rather than the manosphere. How did you prepare for the role?

Shame is a heavy and intense emotion. Shame is also a bodily emotion in the manner that it manifests and exists in us. We don’t really have the vocabulary to talk about; at least in this country, it feels like that. It is something I thought a lot about while preparing to play Niall and I have continued to think a lot about it after – where am I carrying shame? What parts of me have I always believed are wrong?
Truthfully, I think I prepared by doing a lot of thinking. It feels like a bit of a cop out answer, but it’s the truth. I just took the time to think about these things and how I wanted to approach the whole project, what I wanted to give and how I wanted to be. It’s crazy how much of a luxury just being able to sit and think is becoming, but I think I needed that kind of space before going into this project. I’m really interested in masculinity anyway, and a lot of the other wee creative pursuits I have outside of acting explore parts of that, so it was a theme I felt that I was already surrounded by in different ways anyway.

How was it finding your voice in the character, alongside Stuart Campbell, who plays the younger version of Ruben, who is the total opposite of Niall – quite a violent and volatile guy who holds all the power over you and gives you the nickname "Bambi"? You basically spend decades trying to both heal and ruin one another in this weird brotherly kinship. Had you both met before the chemistry read, and how was it finding that energy between you both?

We had never met and weren’t aware of each other either, which is funny because with young Scottish actors it can sometimes feel like we all know or at least heard of each other in some way. However, from the moment that we met, we had a very strong connection. I could feel that both inside and outside the audition room. It’s funny talking about it because it sounds like we are an old married couple, which isn’t too far from the truth at this point! We call just to check in and make sure everything is okay with each other. We got super close and really leaned on each other throughout the shoot. I think with us being as good friends as we are and so comfortable around each other, it made finding that energy a bit easier and allowed us to really go to those places.
It’s all play at the end of the day, and the more comfortable you are with each other and the more love there is between us, then maybe we can make things like me being thrown against a wall look a lot more believable. When you have that kind of relationship, it’s fun to have an argument or be angry at each other or shout. The big things can be the most enjoyable sometimes in acting. The most valuable thing I’ve probably taken away from the whole experience is my friendship with Stuart.

Left Full look **Dior Men**
Right Full look **Isabel Marant**

How did you work with both Stuart and Jamie Bell (the older version of Niall) on creating a character which felt consistent over the decades, for developing the story ahead?

I had conversations with Jamie, mostly talking about the inner workings of the character, his relationship with Ruben and his relationship with himself. One of the biggest things for me for my performance was making sure that between episodes, you see Niall age up. We jump roughly three years between episodes one to three. I had to think of what those years in between would have looked like and how that would sit in Niall’s body. Of course, so much of that work is collaborative and comes from make-up, costume and script, but it was always in my mind while shooting, thinking, “Okay, where are we meeting Niall now?” In terms of consistency, all that credit is to Jamie. He had access to what we were shooting, and he did all the work to mirror the mannerisms, accent and all those wee details. He’s amazing. It’s such a dream to share the character with him. I really look up to him both as a performer and a person.

What about the kind of conversations you had with Richard about Niall – his vision for the character, and then giving you the freedom to put your own stamp on those mannerisms?

Richard was great with all that. He really had a lot of trust in us and gave us a lot of freedom when it came to the development of the character. I guess that comes from the casting process also; they cast you for that reason, so it’s about having trust that it’s all there. I worked a lot with our director Alex, with Stuart, we had a wee bit of time before principal photography started to workshop and play about with the characters and scenes, finding physicality, nuances, and where the shifts in the brothers’ relationships were and what that looked and felt like. As the EP, showrunner and writer, Richard was on set pretty much every day, so we had him there to help guide us with the story in that way. Between us all, it really was a push to always go that little bit deeper or try to find that little bit more truth. Richard obviously knew the characters inside out, so it was massive having him there.

Were you prepared for the emotional weight of the show, as it's quite gruelling to watch, and filming so intensely for a lengthy period must have been tough. How did you navigate that both physically and mentally, switching on and off?

I was prepared, yeah. I made a real point of making sure I was. I really felt like I had a point to prove, not so much to other people but to myself, maybe. Above everything else, I want to be an actor, and I want to do the things that actors do, and that means all the difficult, vulnerable, emotionally heavy, physical stuff.
I switch off mostly by listening to football podcasts or football radio shows. It was one of my first loves, and I’m still such a huge fan; my team is Manchester United, so that helps me kind of turn the dials in my brain down a little.
I also just really enjoy listening to men talk so passionately about it. I always feel like talking about sports is maybe one of the only places where there is a kind of allowance towards being passionate and showing emotion for men. You listen to these podcasts and the amount of thought and detail that goes into the conversations. They use words like ‘beautiful’, and maybe for some men that is the only place they feel safe enough to use the word ‘love’ so casually. I think people are sometimes surprised when they find out I’m a football fan, but it really takes me out of my own life and out of my head for a bit.

Left Full look **Givenchy by Sarah Burton**
Right Full look **Paul Smith**

What about filming the show in and around the surrounding areas of Glasgow, where you grew up? Did that make it easier to play Niall in his natural surroundings?

I guess it added to it, yeah. I haven’t really thought about that until now, but I guess subconsciously all these things added to it. I love Glasgow. And we shot some of it in Cumbernauld, the town where I’m from, so it felt very special for me in that sense. It felt very full circle.

You did a drama course at Langside College in Glasgow. What first drew you to acting, and was there a specific moment you knew this was your career?

I kind of gave a half-tongue-in-cheek answer to this the other day, but I do really think it was EastEnders that made me want to be an actor. My mum is a big fan, so I used to watch it with her, and I loved it. Transformers is always in my head as well when I think about this. I have strong memories of watching that and thinking, “I want to run about with cars that can transform and talk to me.” I also vaguely remember learning that David Tennant was Scottish and thinking, “Ah, so Scottish people can do this.”
I’m not one of those actors who was whisked off to the theatre at age nine, so it was really the most accessible form of visual storytelling, television and big blockbusters, that ignited the flame and love in me. I don’t think there has been a specific moment; it’s that kind of career where you’re constantly pushing forward or chasing, so it’s hard to be super reflective about it because it’s always changing. I’m always feeling like if I’m not on my toes, it could disappear, so it still doesn’t fully feel real that it’s my career yet. Maybe ask me in ten years!

So, what’s next for you? Do you have a dream project you’d like to do?

I just want to make great things that I adore. I love being heavily involved, so anything that wants me in that way. In terms of a dream project, the Star Wars universe for sure. I really want a light sabre, preferably blue!