On location for The Devil's Whore - a lavish four-part English Civil War drama - John Simm, one of its stars, appears before us as we've never seen him before.
After two hours in make-up and wardrobe, the actor famous for gritty contemporary roles has been transformed into what he describes as the 17th-century equivalent of "Han Solo and The Man With No Name."
He wears leather boots, a fedora, cape and a leather jacket with bullets for buttons. He has swords and pistols at his disposal and a six-inch facial scar that stings like hell, both when it's applied and taken off at the end of the day.
Over his own hair, he wears what he calls a "slaphead wig" - a mane of hair that's long at the back but receding at the temples. The unkempt beard is all the actor's own, but fortunately, the metal prosthetic hand, worn by his character after his own gets unceremoniously chopped off (and with barely a whimper), is not.
"Edward Sexby is possibly the hardest man who ever lived," he smiles. "It's the kind of role that an actor dreams of playing."
Certainly, the role is not for wusses. Yesterday, for example, filming on the set in the wine region near Cape Town - doubling for strife-torn, 17-century England - involved Simm's character being hung by his feet above a blazing fire pit. "At the same time, I was being spun around and people were shooting me," he says.
Worse still, he says, the day before he was chaines to the wall of a rat-infested prison cell. "Unfortunately, I've got a thing about rats and even though the trainer was telling me they wouldn't hurt me, I was terrified. It's like Indiana Jones and his fear of snakes."
"I was trying to be brave, but in the end I was just sweating with terror. I said, 'That's it, I've got to go now. It was like being on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!'"
Simm is laughing. He knows that The Devil's Whore is as far from your usual tawdry, reality TV show as it's possible to get. Penned by award-winning writer Peter Flannery in collaboration with historian Martine Brant, it's period drama of the highest order. A fact that's reflected in everything from the bloody, large-scale battle scenes, to the meticulously detailed costumes.
Then, of course, there's the cast that also includes Peter Capaldi as Charles I, Dominic West as Oliver Cromwell and rising stars Michael Fassbender as the revolutionary Rainsborough and Andrea Riseborough as Angelica Fanshawe ('The Devil's Whore' referred to in the title.)
Though no such character existed, Angelica, a spirited, aristocratic beauty has been created as a focus for the seismic events that changed England's history forever. It begins with her birth in 1623 - when England was divided both politically and religiously and continues for the next four decades during which civil war tore the country apart.
It's part history lesson, part tale of passion, loss, murder, courage and betrayal. From Simm's point of view, too, it's also a towering love story.
"Sexby falls in love with Angelica the moments he claps eyes on her," he says. "But he has to go through years of unrequited love and disappointments before he finally gets the girl."
For John, of course, who finds himself swashbuckling, fencing and horse riding, in a drama that has the visual quality of a Renaissance painting, the role represents a huge departure.
Before The Devil's Whore he was mostly known for cutting-edge, modern dramas such as The Lakes, State of Play and more recently Life on Mars - the show that turned him and his co-star, Philip Glenister, into household names.
After Life on Mars he also appeared as The Master in three episodes of Doctor Who.
John says: "It all went a little bit crazy for a while because both those shows have massive fan bases. I felt I needed to pull back and disappear for a bit." He left our screens to star instead in the West End comedy Elling.
When he's not working, John would rather be at home in London with his wife, actress Kate Magowan, and their two children; seven-year-old Ryan, and Molly, who is nearly two.
Being separated from them, he admits, is the hardest thing about his job."Life on Mars was really tough. We were filming for six months in Manchester and, during that time, I'd dash back to London to spend Sunday with them."
Although The Devil's Whore has put him even further away from home, in South Africa, his family has travelled out to be with him and are on the set today. "Dominic West and Tom Goodman-Hill (who plays John Lilburne) also have their kids here - we're thinking we might get them all involved in a crowd scene we're filming later today," he smiles.
He doesn't know yet whether either of his children will follow in their parents' acting footsteps. But if they did, he wouldn't discouraged them. "Acting," he says, "is the best job in the world."
Simm himself, who grew up in Nelson, Lancashire, is the son of a musician. Ronald Simm taught him to play guitar and from the age of 12 he joined his dad on the stage of Northern working men's clubs.
Still, it was a teacher, Brian Wellock, who introduced him to acting, casting him in leading roles in school plays. "Where I came from, you left school, found a menial job, got someone pregnant and married them. Game over, pretty much. But Mr Wellock inspired me and showed me that there was another way."
Now aged 38, you wonder if Hollywood might be the next big hurdle. But John says not. He notes, with a touch of cynicism, that he wasn't approached to reprise his role in the soon-to-be released movie version of State of Play (the role went to Oscar-winning A-lister Russell Crowe). "And I'm not going over to Los Angeles to butter people up and go to premieres and parties. I can't be bothered."
He might make an exception, he laughs, for a part in a Bond movie.
"Not that I could ever play Bond. I'm not tall enough and I don't have the right looks," he says. "But I'd love to play a Bond baddie."
He is thinking then of keeping some of the props he has courtesy of The Devil's Whore production. "I already have the scar and the metal hand," he laughs. "Now all I need is a cat."
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