‘MobLand’s Emmett J. Scanlan on Paul’s True Loyalty & That Attack

The Harrigans headed back to the Cotswolds for another fiery family meeting, but things got out of control in a way they didn’t expect in Friday’s (October 16) episode of MobLand. Warning: Spoilers for MobLand Season 2 Episode 5, “Birdland,” ahead!

At Harry Da Souza’s (Tom Hardy) insistence, Conrad (Pierce Brosnan) and Maeve (Helen Mirren) agreed to a “sit” with Kevin (Paddy Considine), Bella (Lara Pulver), and Seraphine (Mandeep Dhillon) at their summer manor to hash things out and take cover from Kat McAllister (Janet McTeer) and her attack dog Frankie (Johnny Flynn). As expected, it was not a happy family reunion, and no kind or loving words were uttered between them. They had to come together, though, after Sera accidentally alerted Kat — by way of Donnie (Alex Fine), who Jan (Joanne Froggatt) finally discovered the truth about — that the main family was all in one place, ripe for the attacking.

Making matters worse, after Paul O’Donnell (Emmett J. Scanlan) overheard Maeve on the phone with Eddie (Anson Boon) and discovered she’d sent him and Gina (Teddie Allen) on, essentially, a suicide mission to murder a man named Medusa, he informed Harry, who took off on a mission to save his estranged daughter and the youngest Harrigan, leaving Paul as the lone foot soldier on the ground when Frankie’s troops came storming in.

Fortunately, Paul was able to rush the family to safety on a helicopter — and, at the last minute, caught a ride himself — but it was simply too close of a call for everyone involved.

Paul, of course, has already been through it in a big way in Season 2. After reluctantly allowing his young nephew, Fergus, to join the family’s protection detail, he had to spearhead the cleanup himself after Fergus was shot in the head in another attack on the Harrigans in London… and he had to keep his mouth shut when Maeve called the boy an “idiot” for having that fate right to Paul’s face.

So, at this point, who is Paul most loyal to in this Season 2 crew? And how did he really feel about what happened to his poor, hapless nephew? TV Insider caught up with actor Emmett J. Scanlan to break down all of those details and more!

I am excited to see more of Paul this season. Is his loyalty to the Harrigans or to Harry?

Emmett J. Scanlan: That’s a great question. He works for the Harrigans. He has a loyalty to Conrad. Of course, he does. That’s who pays the checks that allow this life. I think we can see what he does in his free time, actually. And he’s on the fence when it comes to Maeve — let’s face it, I think everybody is. But he has an admiration and a loyalty to Harry, and I think he looks up to Harry as well, and he looks at Harry as probably one of the most sane people in an insane world. He knows that if anybody can fix it, Harry can fix it.

I wanted to talk about his reaction to Fergus’ death earlier in the season. He immediately jumps to just covering up the scene for the Harrigans. What is that about? 

Well, I mean, it’s his nephew who’s killed, and then you go straight into propping up [the crime scene], straight into your job. You go straight into the thing that you’ve been hired to do, and you can’t [dwell]. But I think there are moments, certainly, when he’s looking up there, and he finds it difficult to deal with it. There are moments where he will mourn and where he will talk to his sister Roshi that aren’t on camera — just the show doesn’t have time for, and rightly so. But when you’re in a position like Paul is, when you’re in a position like Harry is, and indeed all the characters in such a violent world, you’re going to have to really learn very quickly how to compartmentalize things. You’re going to have to learn very quickly how to not let family life bleed into work life, and vice versa. And if you do, then it’s going to cause a lot of chaos. If you do, you’ll show weakness. And in a world like that, if you show weakness, you’re brown bread, you’re dead. So it’s one of those things.

You see glimpses of the effects … and you see also the kindness — albeit in a teasing nature — that he’s had with Fergus for the episode before that and giving him advice to get out of this world. “You don’t want to be in this world. It can purr, sure, it can purr, but this isn’t for you. There’s a certain DNA and a makeup for people like this, and you don’t have it. So please, for the love of God, for my sanity and so I don’t get killed by my own sister, please, for the love of God, get out.” So he gives them an out, but by that stage, it’s too late, and that shows you how unapologetic and ruthless this world is.

Luke Varley / Paramount+

In this week’s episode, we see him overhear a call with Maeve, and she’s talking to Eddie. Afterwards, she comes to him and says his nephew was an idiot, and he keeps a straight face and continues to get back to work. But do you think that stung? And maybe does he hate Maeve as a result?

I think if you tune in every Friday, you’ll find out… You can see that he has no particular love for Maeve.

Also, he goes to Harry immediately with the information that he gets from Maeve. But after the loss of Fergus and then he saw Dog [Tobi Bamtefa] die, the new character that came in this season — I mean, does he still believe that Harry can fix it?

I mean, you might as well give up if you don’t think Harry can fix it. He’s the best of the best.

Does he ever fear — especially this episode, when he goes to Harry, and that information includes details about Gina — a kill-the-messenger type of situation when he’s giving such bad news?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You don’t take situations like that lightly. You know you’re putting yourself [on the line]. But you also know who you’re talking to. You’re talking to Harry, and you give him negative information to help save his child. Because let’s face it, Paul is a bad guy in a bad world, but he’s not a sociopath or anything like that. He knows what it’s like to be a parent. So it’s something that he knows that by giving that information to Harry, he has an opportunity to save his daughter, and he also knows that Harry is nothing if not a man of utter unbreakable loyalty. He knows that Harry’s not going to rat him out. That’s for sure.

When Harry leaves to go deal with Gina, Paul’s left back to sit back and watch this “sit,” and it’s just funny because everybody has their piece to say except for him. What do you think he’s thinking the whole time this wild family fight’s going down?

What’s he thinking? I know what he’s thinking: “F**k, I’m starving. What I wouldn’t do for a pack of cheese and onion.” [Laughs]

Things obviously unravel when the compound at the Cotswolds is attacked. Who’s his number-one protection detail in that moment? 

Conrad.

Does he hesitate at all?

No, I don’t hesitate because he’s the boss. That’s who he works for. That’s who hires him, Conrad. Conrad tells me what to do. I do it.

And also, can I just say a side note? I know we’re talking about character here, but Pierce is, one, not only is he a wonderful actor, but he’s such a beautiful and warm human being to play with on set and off set, in between takes and during takes. He’s a master to watch, but then again, they all are.

I was going to say it might give you whiplash to see Helen, too, because I know she’s a doll in real life.

She is, yeah. I mean, they’re all just masters at their craft. I grew up watching these guys destroy the big screen, the small screen, and then you get to get on screen with them and just play around with them, and it’s one thing you know watching them work and seeing their process, so to speak, or whatever that hell that means to some people… Seeing them work, that’s a joy in itself. And then it’s another thing getting to know the people behind that mask and befriending them when the cameras aren’t rolling, that’s a gorgeous blessing. It’s something that I don’t take lightly. It’s something that I’m incredibly grateful for.

That’s probably especially true in scenes like what we’re dealing with in this episode with the sit. It reminds me of the penultimate episode last season with the dinner, how it’s an ensemble and just a chaotic back and forth.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Luke Varley / Paramount+

When you read that scene, your character was the last one on the helicopter. For a minute there, I thought, “They’re not even going to take this guy. He’s going to be left in the shootout by himself.” Did you think that?

[It’s like,] “How long can that guy get away with it?” Did I think that? Well, no. Obviously, I didn’t think I was going to be left behind because I’d read the scripts… But Jez [Butterworth, executive producer and writer] has created a really visceral, wonderful, unapologetic world where anything is possible, and anybody could go at any given time. That’s what’s really gorgeous about reading the writing. Season 1 was remarkable; in Season 2, I thought he upped the game. He brought it to new levels that we didn’t even know were possible, and Esther [Watson], his cowriter, as well.

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'MobLand's Pierce Brosnan & Helen Mirren on 'Shooting From the Hip' in Season 2

Every time you got a script, you didn’t know what was going to happen, and I don’t want to know what’s going to happen. I want to be surprised. I want to be brought on this journey, like the audience … and it’s titillating, and it’s exciting, and all those types of things. And then you turn the page, and you get to the end of the episode, Episode 5 — because this is what we’re speaking about — and you realize you’re on that chopper, and you ain’t going anywhere. You got it. It’s a nice feeling, but I’m here to serve the story. So whatever the story says is what I’ll do. The story is king.

It’s totally true. Ever since the beginning, anybody can go. So you may not like to know what’s next, and I understand that, but this is the halfway point in the season, so can you describe what the second half of the season — without being specific — has in store for fans to look forward to?

If you liked Season 1, then Season 2 is Season 1 on steroids. If you thought… the first half of Season 2 is like a rabid dog, then the second half of Season 2 is like the dogs of f**king Hades. You ain’t seen nothing yet. Just when you think it couldn’t get any crazier and wilder, it does. It does.

MobLand, Fridays, Paramount+