Charlie Cox Reveals His Real Life Informed Performance on AMC's 'Kin' (Exclusive)

09/25/2021 11:49 am EDT

Charlie Cox plays a desperate father in the new AMC+ original series Kin and tells PopCulture.com that this was certainly influenced by his real life. Cox married TV executive Samantha Thomas back in late 2018 and they have two children together. In an exclusive interview earlier this month, he said that this role was a big step for him.

"This is the first time I've played a father on screen," Cox pointed out. "That was something I was kind of looking forward to doing because you know, I have children. I've been able to, fortunately, be a very present dad, because in my children's lifetime I've worked either very close to home or they've been able to come with me." As fans will soon find out, that has not been the case of Cox's character Michael, who is released from prison after eight years, desperate to reconnect with his teenage daughter Anna (Hanna Adeogun).

"I was really interested in that dynamic between Michael and Anna, and I was fascinated by this idea of this guy who, in some ways, is kind of not a very good person and not a very nice person, and has caused great pain and suffering to other people, and has been incredibly violent and destructive — and at the same time, is still a really good dad and a really good father, and is greatly loved by his daughter," Cox said. "And then, suddenly, he's taken away from her and it's so horrendous for him that whilst he's in prison, he decided to completely change his life and try to almost make a U-turn."

Cox went on to discuss aspects of Michael's story arc that have been withheld here to avoid spoilers but said that it was all "really rich for an actor, and something I was really excited to get sucked into." However, even now Cox said he is not entirely confident in the performance, saying: "I don't know to what degree I succeeded in" portraying that dichotomy. "I haven't finished yet."

Kin is a family crime drama set in present-day Dublin, Ireland and concerning the Kinsella family, of which Cox's character Michael is a member. The family's interpersonal drama comes to a head just as its business drama does the same, embroiling them in a slew of violent crimes and an international drug trafficking operation that they are not equipped to handle.

In addition to Cox, the show stars Game of Thrones alumni Aiden Gillan and Ciarán Hinds, as well as Clare Dunne, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Emmet J. Scanlan and Sam Keeley. There are eight episodes in the first season, premiering weekly. Kin streams exclusively on AMC+ in the U.S. It will be airing simultaneously in the U.K. for the first time, creating a unique global TV sensation on both sides of the Atlantic.

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