You might not know Nicholas Denton just yet, but that’s sure about to change! The Australian actor’s charming portrayal of Pascal Valmont – a young mapmaker working on regaining his social status in 18th century French society – is one of the shining points of the opulent new series Dangerous Liaisons, inspired by the classic book with the same title. The funny and often very naughty production (out now on Starz) acts as an origin story of the deliciously manipulative duo known from the novel – presenting them as villains-to-be who are slowly finding their feet in the art of seduction and blackmail. For Nicholas, the story he gets to show on the screen in many ways feels incredibly modern despite its historic surroundings. “You get to meet these cats when they’re at a young age and they’re vulnerable and they’re confused and they’re trying to both figure out the world they’re in and themselves,” he explains. “ And I think that gives it a contemporary flair.”

The first episode of the series came out last week – did you do anything to celebrate the premiere?

Yeah! The day before the show premiered, I did a screening party with 16 of my friends – we were all crammed into one bedroom and watched it on a shitty projector. The quality was quite rough, but it was fun! [Laughs]

Amazing! Was there anything that surprised you when you were watching it?

I didn’t think it would be so charming, that it would be a show that felt like a storybook that I’d want to read when I was younger! That’s the thing about the show – it doesn’t take away from the films made about this story before and the book itself. What we’re seeing are not the evil characters that people know so well from the novel or the Stephen Frears version. The characters that me and Alice [Englert] are playing are baby villains, they are slowly finding their feet. And I was most happy that we caught that – it was like capturing something very sweet in a bottle. That’s the really important part: to show the vulnerability, show why they are the way they are and give the audience the context to what those two will end up being, which is these conniving jerks.

Have the previous adaptations of this story that show your character at an older age influenced in any way the way you approached Pascal?

Well, I love John Malkovich and I knew that it was a very big job in terms of setting up this character that people know very well and love to hate. That said, I never watched the film – I didn’t want to see it because I would’ve ended up copying John. I remember actually that Leo Lonsdale, the director of the first block of the show, said to me that one of the reasons I got the job is because I didn’t come into the casting trying to mimic John’s version. So I’m quite proud that I was able to bring in something unique to this character.

Despite being set hundreds of years back, the show feels very modern…

Yeah, it’s the modern version of this story and at the same time, it's just a nice starting point – it’s their origin story. You get to meet these cats when they’re at a young age and they’re vulnerable and they’re confused and they’re trying to both figure out the world they’re in and themselves. So I think that gives it a contemporary flair.

What do you like the most about Valmont?

I like the fact that he’s incredibly inconsistent. [Laughs] For me, to play a character like that is really a blessing because I can kind of just do whatever I want. And in a way, it also makes a lot of sense for him to be that way because he has so many different kinds of attitudes and faces that he takes into the world. He’s a snake, but he’s also a deeply sad young man. He’s got some rage in him. He’s lonely. I find him deeply conflicted as a human being because he’s so willing to use anything he can to manipulate and get what he wants. But that’s such a human thing – people do that all the time! They’re like, ‘If I have something taken away from me, I feel that it is my right to get it back and I’ll do everything I can to do so.’ So that’s a super strong anchor for me as an actor to go, ‘Alright, this is what he wants, and he’ll do anything to get that.’ It’s very fun, but also quite morally distorting for me. I don’t respect this guy, but I do admire his rambunctiousness in going to get what he wants. I’m not like that, I’m quite a passive person…

That actually reminds me of this quote from the interview you and Alice did for The New York Times, where you said that you guys are ‘betas pretending to be alphas.’ What did you find most helpful in your preparations for the role to enter this ‘alpha’ state?

I do a lot of fencing and love-making in the show, so I was very aware that Pascal had to have a sense of a quite strong physique to be both able to have a bit of this bull-like quality to him and also hold people up. I did a lot of training to get some sort of a [muscular] body out of the pickle-like body that I have. Also, the costumes were incredibly helpful in terms of just getting a bit more posture and stature.

The show has been already renewed for its second season. Where do you hope to see this story evolve? Do you have any insight on what’s happening next?

I don’t, actually! But I know that the revolution is coming and things are definitely heating up. Also, the war between Camille and Valmont will be very apparent in the second season, so it will get a lot darker. Which I’m all about! Also, I hope I get to do some more sword fighting and some dancing. [Laughs]