‘Sex Education’ debuted on Netflix on 11 January, and has already sparked plenty of conversation online, with fans lauding its impressive and diverse cast, frank sexual conversation and a heavy dose of nostalgia.
In the middle of the action are Adam Groff and his father, whose already-strained relationship is hurt even further by the fact that the teenager’s dad is also the headmaster of his school, where he already has something of a reputation.
Speaking to ‘BUILD’, actors Connor Windells and Alistair Petrie – who play Adam and Mr Groff – lifted the lid on the critically-lauded series, and shared their experiences of working on it...
1. So, first off, we’re relieved to hear that Gillian Anderson is as dreamy to work with as one would hope
″She’s really cool,” Connor says. “She’s really professional, sweet, funny. You’d never know that it was Gillian Anderson when you’re doing a scene with her, which is obviously the best thing.
“And she’s very giving as an actor… it’s nice when people take the time to be like that when they really don’t fucking have to. I’m no one, so she could have blanked me the whole time, but she didn’t.”
2. The cast remained largely unfazed by the show’s sexual conversations
″I think the great thing about being actor, the stuff I get to say on screen I would never say in real life,” Alistair explains. “You’re given this gift of saying someone else’s words, in real life. And so you totally run towards it, rather than away from it.”
Connor adds: “And a lot of the time, all these sexual problems, they’re actually mirroring other problems. So I think, you’re actually talking about those other things, rather than an erect penis or viagra or scampi. It’s just a chance to talk about the deeper stuff, but in a crude way.”
3. And Connor’s nude scenes were never an issue for Adam, either...
“Nah, I love getting my arse out, a lot,” a blasé Connor reveals. “So, I was really up for it. And it’s just easier for guys as well, it just is. So I had no qualms about it.”
4. ...And nor was filming the various mortifying scrapes his character winds up in
He insists: "It was just fun, this is the funnest job I’ve ever done. It’s the best job in the world, you just fuck around with dildos and fleshlights and whips and chains. The only thing I didn’t see is a double-headed dildo.”
5. Dildos and fleshlights aside, Connor points out the show does tackle some heavier themes, many of which resonated with him
″I think that any son at some point or other… struggles with their father in some way, shape or form. I know that I have, and my friends have, and my brothers have as well. It’s just kind of that person that’s around and is sort of your first role model,” he explains.
“I think I would always be more inclined to express my emotions to a female. It’s just weird this macho, toxic masculinity that I have for sure, I don’t know where it comes from.”
6. Similarly, Alistair has some interesting thoughts about the main message of ‘Sex Education’
“Adam [Connor’s character] really epitomises someone who’s trying to figure out who they are,” he says, “As are all the young people in the show. And that’s what Sex Education is all about.
“When I first read it, it took me straight back to being 17, and it made me laugh and wince and all the rest of it… and as adults, we’re still trying to figure out who the hell we are, we’re just a little better at hiding it.”
7. Alistair had no issues adding yet another “jerk” character to his CV
“I love playing those kind of people, because generally they’re trying to figure out who they are themselves,” Alistair says. “They’re deeply, deeply flawed, and for all Mr Groff’s flaws, you find the opportunity to try and find the humanity within him.
“You do get typecast, and that’s OK. I remember my agent saying years ago, ‘if you find your track, don’t try and rebel against it because it’s probably something you’re good at, and there’s always something new to find’.
“Sometimes writers create characters that are just sort of evil or bad, and I love that challenge, of finding something else within that. So I’m not a jerk, but I like playing jerks. I’ll go with that.”
8. And Connor was similarly unbothered about playing a character who isn’t always easy to like
He says: “It’s always fun to play characters like that. And it’s always fun to play the idiot as well. It is fun pushing people up against the locker, and being intimidating, and all that jazz, but I was definitely worried about… because you do feel sorry for him in a way, and all bullies, that’s coming from somewhere, and with Adam, we know where it comes from.
“That was the more scary thing, whether people would just think I was a dick, or whether they would feel sorry for him. That was the hardest part.”
9. Because of its sexual content, ‘Sex Education’ hired an “intimacy director”, to ensure the young cast were comfortable at all times
″The show announces itself in no uncertain terms”, Alistair says, of the sexual opening scene.
″[Connor and Aimee Lou Wood, who plays Aimee] were both so brilliantly exposed, I was downstairs marking Maths papers when all this was going on, but they were amazing. Huge respect to them. It’s the first scene of the show, what a hugely gutsy move.
“And on set there was a director but also an intimacy director to make sure everyone was comfortable and safe, which is a hugely new aspect of our business which I think is really, really important.”
10. The show’s much-discussed 80s aesthetic was very much deliberate...
″I think there’s just a taste for that at the moment, so why not?” Connor says. [Excecutive producer] Ben Taylor is a real 80s film nerd anyway, so if he had the opportunity to put anything 80s in there, he would.”
Alistair agrees: ”It’s been rather beautifully described as a British love letter to that era. And that was my era, and films like Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club and St Elmo’s Fire really spoke to my generation, as a cinema goer, and I think to bring that sensibility back into the era is a really lovely thing.”
11. ...And so was the American vibe of the ‘Sex Education’ high school
“They wanted to get away from that grey Grange Hill-type aesthetic, and just flip that and I think it works brilliantly,” Alistair says of the eye-catching school set.
“I think it was a really bold decision, because it’s easy to go ‘where is it set, I need to know where we are…’, but actually, that’s not what the show’s about, get over yourself, frankly. I just think people get tied up in knots about stuff that’s not particularly relevant or helpful.”
Connor continues: “It just keeps up the ambiguity. People keep saying, ‘is this the US, or…?’ and that’s the whole point, it could be anywhere, it’s just this made-up place.”
“It exists in its own thing, and it’s absolutely not a cynical thing to try and appeal to the American market,” Alistair clarifies. “Because if you come from that standpoint, what are you doing? Make something else, or don’t make television.
“There was none of that, it’s very much a bold stylistic choice, and it works, it is its own world, which people are invited to step into.”
‘Sex Education’ is now streaming on Netflix. Watch Connor and Alistair’s full interview on ‘BUILD’ below: