Rivals fans aren’t the only ones who developed an appreciation for Declan’s mustache — so did Aidan Turner.
“It’s so funny. I don’t think I’ve told anyone this yet. But usually whether it’s a costume or facial hair or an accent, I’m always very eager to let them go when the job is done,” Turner, 41, who plays the beloved character on the hit Hulu series, exclusively told Us Weekly. “It feels almost inappropriate to be walking around wearing a costume piece from the character. You want to get out of the city and out of the thing and just leave it all behind. But I found this one quite tricky.”
Turner recalled finding ways not to say goodbye to Declan and his iconic facial hair.
“I was making an excuse with the showrunner Dominic [Treadwell-Collins]. I was saying, ‘I need to keep this mustache for a few weeks because we have reshoots.’ And he said, ‘OK, maybe a week or so.’ And sure enough we did do some reshoots,” he recalled. “But I remember at the time thinking, ‘I really don’t want to get rid of this.’ And when the reshoots were done, I think I kept it for another week when I didn’t need to.”
Rivals put in a lot of work to make their cast look very different on the show. Based on Jilly Cooper‘s novel of the same name, Disney+ and Hulu’s Rivals centers around a feud between two men fighting for control of a television station in 1980s Britain. It stars an ensemble cast including David Tennant, […]
After having so much fun bringing Declan to life, Turner didn’t want to let go of the character or his signature stash, adding, “I kind of lied to a few friends saying that they might call us back for more reshoots. I wasn’t ready to get rid of it — and that’s never happened to me before. I think the universe does tell us things and there’s something in that. There’s a reason why I didn’t want to get rid of it. I enjoyed the show so much and I really responded to this character and I didn’t want the world to be over.”
Fans — and the cast — are still awaiting news of a possible renewal. But if and when Turner gets a call about another season, the actor said he would be ready to start growing the mustache back.
“I delayed ridding myself of the character before the next job, which is strange. But yeah, I did that,” he shared. “[Growing it for season 2] would be a really fun thing. I can’t wait to grow it again. I’d love that.”
Based on Jilly Cooper‘s novel of the same name, Disney+ and Hulu’s Rivals centers around a feud between two men fighting for control of a television station in 1980s Britain. In addition to Turner, Rivals stars ensemble cast David Tennant, Katherine Parkinson, Victoria Smurfit, Alex Hassell, Bella MacLean, Nafessa Williams, Emily Atack and Danny Dyer.
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Word about Rivals traveled fast, with many viewers tuning in for the age gap romance between Rupert (Hassell) and Taggie (MacLean). Fans then stuck around for Turner’s performance as Declan, a journalist trying to balance being a present father and husband with his drive to tell stories that mattered.
“It’s always lovely [to hear how well-received the show and Declan is]. Any actor who says he doesn’t want to hear nice things like that, I don’t believe them. It’s always nice to hear those things, especially in the early days of a show being released,” he told Us. “I’ve been aware of how it’s been received in this country [in the U.K.], which has been really positive.”
Turner, who has been in the industry for nearly two decades, knew Rivals was something special.
“There’s a funny thing that happens when you’ve done a fair bit of work over 20 years. You land the plane on some things and some you completely miss the airport,” he quipped. “When you do land the plane, you start hearing from people that you’ve not heard from in a little while. My friends whom I haven’t spoken to in months have just emailed me saying they love the show. And it’s like, ‘Wow, it must be really touching people.”
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Turner continued: “But not having the social media element, it does keep you very much out of the loop. But I love to hear that it’s being received on a really positive level. … I suppose to some degree it is always still a surprise when people respond to a show and really like it.”
While Turner saw the potential with Rivals, he knew the public’s reception and reaction was out of his hands.
“You wish great things for your project, especially [with] U.S. It’s such a huge market of English speakers so it’s a very big territory for that market. But you just see how people respond,” he noted. “Being an actor there is a lot of disappointment and some shows you think will travel that don’t — and you get confused by that. I just gave up years ago trying to figure out what the business wants and what the markets pick. So it’s so lovely to hear you say these things though [about the support]. It puts a real smile on my face.”
Rivals is currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+.