Interview: Jamie Bell on Niall Having “Absolutely No Idea Who He Is” in HBO’s ‘Half Man’

Actor Jamie Bell stepped into the shoes of Niall, a fractured man in Richard Gadd’s HBO limited series Half Man, and found himself exploring the character from the inside out and back again.

Though many only see the most toxic, combustible, and tragic parts of Niall’s relationship with Reuben, his so-called “brother from another lover,” Bell looked further to the source of it all: shame, secrecy, self-loathing and “the power and the pull that this one person had over them.”

In the series, adult Reuben is played by Gadd (the younger versions played by Stuart Campbell as Reuben and Mitchell Robertson as young Niall) as the story of the two dysfunctional “siblings” is told over several decades.

Bell is careful to note that Niall doesn’t start as the cruel, vindictive, narcissistic figure we see later. He picks up his journey from Robertson and takes the character into darker territory. The actor sees Niall as a hundred different people depending on the circumstances, none of them real. He is a man trapped in a cage of his own broken insecurities, self-hate, and shame that prevents him from living his truth.

Bell responded to a question about who Niall really is, as such: “I absolutely know who he is in the sense that he has absolutely no idea who he is. I mean, I think he’s a hundred different people every day depending on the circumstances. And not one of them are real. Not one of them are true. He’s often defined by other people, but especially Ruben, certainly Ruben, more than anybody Ruben.” He continued, “he is entirely incapable of of living his true self.”

When asked if Niall truly loves Reuben, and vice versa, or are they just filling a void, Bell believes there has to be real affection and connection underneath it all.

“I think there has to be for him to keep him around as long as he does. Reuben’s presence kind of gives him confidence because Reuben undeniably is who he is. That’s the thing that Niall craves the most. He longs to just be confident. In all Reuben’s problematicness that he is, he is undeniably who he is. So Niall is in awe of that. He wants that so badly. I think there is an element of Tom Ripley in Niall in some ways. Like he kind of craves his lifestyle. He wants it. He wants to kind of consume Reuben, like step into who Reuben is in a way. And underneath all of that there has to be an immediate kind of affection, love, appreciation, some kind of connection.”

In another world, with different upbringings, they could have been best men at each other’s weddings, godfathers to each other’s kids. But in the world they inhabit, “they’re like a stick of TNT and a lit match. There’s only one ending to that.”

It is possible to see some Romeo and Juliet vibes in this obsessed, self-destructive pair. By the end, you’re left wondering if there was any point where someone could have intervened. Bell admits he’s thought about that threshold often. “I’ve often thought about that, you know, what is the threshold where someone could have intervened and done something about this. Where is that line? And how could it have ended differently?”

“In another world, if they were raised differently, if they were conditioned differently, they would certainly be best man at each other’s weddings. The godfathers to each other’s children at some point, you know, that would could certainly be the case. But I think the world that they’re growing up in, the environment that has conditioned them, it doesn’t leave much room for that, much choice for that. They’re like a stick of TNT and a lit match, you know, it’s just there’s only one ending to that.”

Half Man doesn’t offer easy answers or redemption. It forces viewers to sit with the discomfort, the shame, and the very human cost of living a lie. Jamie Bell’s performance delivers a complexity with gut-wrenching authenticity. If you haven’t watched it yet, brace yourself. It “goes to 11,” as Bell makes clear, that’s exactly how Richard Gadd does things.

Awards Radar (and Joey specifically) previously spoke to Bell here for All of Us Strangers. Now, he’s back with Half Man.

Watch all of Bell’s work in Half Man, now streaming on HBO, and the full interview with Jamie Bell below.