He hopes the comedy sheds an honest and important light on mental health
The co-creator and star of Sky’s Brassic has said the comedy series explores his character’s bipolar disorder – and it’s all based on his own real life experiences.
Joe Gilgun, who portrays Vinnie, said his mental health is “fucked” and that he “really wanted to show everybody what it is to really suffer – no, live with the condition of bipolar” in the new TV show.
(L-R) Joseph Gilgun, Michelle Keegan and Damien Molony attend the preview of Sky original ‘Brassic’
“I’m a lunatic; I really struggle,” Gilgun told NME in a video interview. “I wanted to be very, very honest…and make it as autobiographical as I possibly could. And I would say the mental health side of things is the most honest part of the show,” he said.
He went on to explain that the devil is in the detail, with his character Vinnie even taking the same medication as Gilgun does in real life.
Elsewhere in the interview Gilgun joked: “When I say I wanted to expose myself I’m not talking about me knob,” and added that he will be “pretty fucked” if the reviews are bad.
“If people don’t like it, I mean, I’m pretty fucked. I’ve really put my neck on the line,” he said.
Gilgun, who is perhaps best known for his work in This Is England, made Brassic with the Bafta-winning writer Danny Brocklehurst. The show is described as being about “a group of working-class friends finding unconventional ways to win at life in northern suburbia.”
The Sky Original series, which also stars Michelle Keegan (watch her interview here), is available to watch on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV.
