This script has been lightly edited for clarity.

 

Jace Lacob: I’m Jace Lacob and you’re listening to MASTERPIECE Studio.

For the past few years, the residents of Darrowby have keenly felt the effects of World War II. Many families anxiously await the safe return of their fathers, sons, brothers, and uncles who have gone off to fight for king and country. War rations have left their mark on the kitchens and pantries across the nation, and new faces have appeared throughout the countryside in the form of land girls, volunteers, and air raid wardens like Darrowby’s Mr. Bosworth.

 

CLIP

Mr. Bosworth: Now, next on the agenda, the Victory Gardens. I’m afraid to say that since Dot Fawcett’s operation has put her out of action, they are looking decidedly untended. So I must ask our volunteer gardeners to redouble their efforts whilst Dot is recuperating. And we are still in need of additional wardens for blackout duty.

 

Although Mr. Bosworth’s no-nonsense attitudes about safety come from a good place, he quickly gets under the skin of several Darrowby residents. Many do their best to accommodate Mr. Bosworth’s strict protocol, but when he orders a local farmer to paint stripes on her cows so they’re visible to motorists at night, Siegfried has no choice but to put his foot down.  

 

CLIP

Siegfried: Mrs. Sudderby, paint is toxic.

Mrs. Sudderby: I’m not feeding it to them.

Siegfried: No, but cows like to lick things, including each other.

Mrs. Sudderby: Well, not if they’re squashed flat on the road Mr. Farnon.

Siegfried: Your bright idea was it?

Mrs. Sudderby: The warden’s.

Siegfried: Of course it was. Stop that at once!

Mrs. Sudderby: Hold on, I haven’t got brass for another fine.

Siegfried: You won’t be getting one.

Mrs. Sudderby: What if Mr. Bosworth comes back?

Siegfried: Don’t worry about Bosworth, I’ll deal with him.

 

The following evening, on their way home, Siegfried and Mrs. Hall almost drive right into a cow crossing the street. Much to their surprise, and to Siegfried’s frustration, they’re able to see the cow just in time because of one very unusual physical feature. 

 

CLIP

Siegfried: Tristan certainly seems to be living life to the full. What did you make of his letter?

Mrs. Hall: Watch out! Well I never. It worked!

Siegfried: No, I never said it wouldn’t work.

Mrs. Hall: All is forgiven. Mr. Bosworth saved us.

Siegfried: You’re the one who saw the damned thing.

Mrs. Hall: Only because she’s got stripes.

Siegfried: Debatable.

 

Today, actor Jeremy Swift makes his MASTERPIECE Studio debut to discuss playing the regimented and sentimental Mr. Bosworth, and perhaps even some of Jeremy’s other fan-favorite MASTERPIECE roles over the years.

 

Jace Lacob: And this week we are joined by All Creatures Great and Small star Jeremy Swift. Welcome.

Jeremy Swift: Thank you for having me.

Jace Lacob: You are I think one of the most extremely prolific actors that we’ve maybe had on. Your CV is extraordinary. You’ve got roles in film, television and theater. You were coming off of Ted Lasso and an Emmy nomination for your turn as Leslie Higgins, and you get a call about All Creatures Great and Small. What was it about the role of Mr. Bosworth that made you sign on?

Jeremy Swift: I think that he’s quite a sort of bothered and damaged character and is funny because of it. So there’s a delicious cocktail of emotions stirring around inside him. And the writing is so good on the show. It sort of picks up on that and really kicks it into place. It was a no brainer really, yeah, just had to do it.

Jace Lacob: In looking at Debbie O’Malley’s script for Episode One, there isn’t a ton of character description for Bosworth. A lot of his character is captured in his attitude and the way that other characters, like Mrs. Pumphrey, react to him. In approaching the character, what sort of backstory did you look to concoct for Bosworth?

Jeremy Swift: I do go from the script that I’m given, usually. I work out actions and I go from what other characters say about my character, what I say about my character and what I say about other people. So that’s the kind of starting point. But as far as a backstory goes, we just felt that he was probably because he’s a real pedant, that he was an accountant because everything is literally by the book.

But other than that, we just have the story of the fact that he’s a kind of lonely guy. He’s never really coupled which transpires in further episodes. And he’s not somebody who’s used to talking something out. He’s an isolated person to a certain degree. And so he’s just used to making a decision and everybody’s going to follow it through whether they like it or not. And in this new role as a warden, he doesn’t always get his own way, obviously.

Jace Lacob: You have a knack for stealing scenes. Director David Evans, for example, cast you as Spratt in Downton Abbey for two scenes, and you turned that into 17 episodes. As an actor, how do you approach your characters regardless of their initial scene count?

Jeremy Swift: I literally go from the script, and I think there was something about that character that was not going to go away. It was too impactful to just sort of float off into the distance. I think that it wasn’t just from my performance. I think it was really focusing on a relationship for Maggie’s character with somebody in her staff that they thought they could get juice out of. And so that’s one of the reasons why they extended that really. But I just try and hit my marks emotionally and whatever is needed. I’ve always done that really. I just try and find truth. And if it is comedic, make that truthful as well.

Jace Lacob: He can be a bit of a martinet, I think, Bosworth. He’s kind of jumped up at times. But you have a substantial theater background. Does backstory work, then, help you to find that truth, as you say, of a character? Is it something you often turn to within your actor’s toolkit?

Jeremy Swift: Certainly I have done that on stage and it’s nice to have that language, particularly between you and the director or anybody that your character is close to, particularly if they’ve had a longer relationship. You know, you don’t have that in television so much. You just have to dive in there and hope the director and the producers trust from your other work that you will make something happen for them.

I got Downton Abbey sort of because I’d worked with David Evans, the director, quite a bit, and I’d done Gosford Park as well. And with Robert Altman’s work, there were often dozens of characters, literally, who are the stars of the screen for the moment that they’re on. That was his conceit. And so when you do that, you do have to have a fully formed character. And there wasn’t really anything backstory for my character in that film. But I wrote a couple of pages out of it, a whole life story. Don’t ask me what it was, it was 20 years ago. But that was really helpful to me because I felt much more confident walking onto set and just suddenly being in focus.

Jace Lacob: You referenced Gosford Park, so I have to ask, during the filming with Gosford Park and the scene where you chase the dog down the stairs, is it true that Robert Altman turned to you and said, “Jeremy, were you a cartoon character in a former life?”

Jeremy Swift: He did, yeah. Yes, gosh I had kind of forgotten about that. Yeah, he was great. I just think he’s such an underrated person in film history. My favorite thing that he did almost was overlapping dialogue. And Robert Altman encouraged that. He got cross if people waited for each other to finish speaking. And I just found that fascinating.

For good or bad, if people are having an argument in the street and they will talk across each other because they’re trying to put their point over, you’re drawn to it. And if people talk like that, then you will have the audience’s attention. He was a proper genius, I think, and should be remembered as such for his work.

Jace Lacob: It is, I think, in my top five favorite movies of all time, Gosford Park.

Jeremy Swift: Is it really? Oh, wow.

Jace Lacob: It is. It is. I’ve seen it so many times. You grew up in County Durham in the north of England. How familiar were you with All Creatures Great and Small ahead of time with either this incarnation, the earlier incarnation, or the Alf Wight James Herriot books?

Jeremy Swift: I didn’t know the books, but my mom loved the books in the 70s. And I watched it in its first incarnation with Christopher Timothy. But yeah, I loved the show and I loved the story. And I remember the film as well with John Alderton. And you know, when I was younger, there weren’t an awful lot of films or television series that were set in the North. So, if you were from the North, it was like, what? I can’t believe it. Something that reflects some things that I know about. And, I hadn’t seen this current incarnation until I had actually done my filming and then we started to watch it. Oh, goodness me, it’s such a special show. It’s got so much nuance and great comedy in it and rounded characters. Yeah. It’s not surprising it’s doing so many seasons.

Jace Lacob: It’s my happy show.

Jeremy Swift: Yeah

Jace Lacob: It makes me very happy indeed. It’s clear that there’s perhaps some history between Bosworth and Mrs. Pumphrey, who squabble over territory in the church hall as well as Tricky’s presence. The Women’s Institute and the ARP are sharing the space and it ought to be sort of all blitz spirit, but these two can’t help themselves. How would you describe Bosworth’s dynamic with Mrs. P?

Jeremy Swift: He’s very of his time. He’s a man who thinks a man’s word should be it. But when it comes to somebody of a higher ranking class, as it were, when push comes to shove, she has the final word. We hadn’t really worked on the fact that they had history, but they do now. Because it’s this kind of misplaced chivalry that a woman could do the job because of safety, being out at night, of warden that is. But this old fashioned idea of what it is to be a man and a woman, it really comes out to play in those first scenes.

Jace Lacob: So, Audrey stuns Bosworth with a passionate defense of her qualifications with Mrs. Pumphrey egging her on, forcing Bosworth to relent, despite his insistence that it would be most irregular.

 

CLIP

Audrey: Mr. Bosworth, I’ll have you know I were a female when I joined the Wrens in the last war, and when I learned to fire a rifle and operate a wireless telegraph.

Mr. Bosworth: I suppose you would’ve—

Audrey: And I were most certainly a female when I were on the crew of a harbour launch assigned to mine spotting duties, many of which, as I recall, took place at night.

Mr. Bosworth: I see, but the thing—

Audrey: So, I feel fairly confident I can manage to ride a bicycle around Darrowby and tell people to close their curtains. Don’t you?

Mr. Bosworth: It would be most irregular.

Mrs. Pumphrey: Oh, come now Mr. Bosworth. You can’t deny she’s better qualified than any other volunteer. And a commanding officer needs troops he can rely on, as I’m sure you remember from your own time in the services.

Mr. Bosworth: Uh, well, I, um, yes. Um, I’m sure I can make some accommodations. I’ll fetch me rotor.

 

Jace Lacob: Why does he relent in the end? Is it that he’s more bark than bite? Or more of an all hands on deck sort of war mentality?

Jeremy Swift: Well, I think Mrs. Pumphrey kind of corners him with a kind of indication that he didn’t really do any sort of military service himself. And rather than have that probed further, he relents. I think that’s the final sort of card that is thrown down. But of course she makes an incredibly powerful story about why she should do it and yeah, he has to relent. I think that there are some people that he would win over, but he’s mixing it up with the W. I. now. And so there are some tough cookies in there.

Jace Lacob: The W. I. ladies do not mess about.

Jeremy Swift: They do not. Yeah.

Jace Lacob: Bosworth quickly runs afoul of Siegfried Farnon after he barges into Skeldale House to admonish Siegfried for leaving the blackout curtains open at night.

 

CLIP

Mr. Bosworth: Oh, what a to do!

Audrey: They come loose sometimes, I’ll mend them.

Mr. Bosworth: As a warden you’re supposed to set an example for neighbors.

Siegfried: She does, constantly. It was my fault.

Mr. Bosworth: It doesn’t matter who did it, it’s what it looks like.

Audrey: I understand, won’t happen again.

Mr. Bosworth: Rules are rules. I shall have to make a note. We have to maintain standards, otherwise we risk panic and loss of morale.

Siegfried: Mines deserting me as we speak.

Mr. Bosworth: I beg your pardon?

Siegfried: I said, thank goodness you’re on duty all week, with those eagle eyes of yours.

Mr. Bosworth: Right then.

 

Jace Lacob: These are two of the most persnickety characters in Darrowby and I love seeing them needling each other. Do you think that these two men are perhaps more alike than they realize?

Jeremy Swift: I think that, yeah, they’ve got a lot of crossover there, certainly. They’ve both got a combative streak, certainly, and can play wounded as well, which is that other flip side of the coin to when you have somebody who’s a little bit, not so much a narcissist, but who has that degree of self importance, that if they don’t get what they want, they will be very hurt and then play that card.

Jace Lacob: He’s out of his element with people, I think, in general. He doesn’t necessarily approach that in the best way. But there’s an inherent loneliness to him, even when he is surrounded by others in say the church hall scene or elsewhere. And despite this being a portrayal that’s rooted in 1941, I think Bosworth’s loneliness feels very contemporary. Did you see any overlap between him and the isolation people might feel in the 2020s? Is he a character that you think we might still encounter today?

Jeremy Swift: Possibly. Yeah, you could imagine in those villages in the Dales during the pandemic, that people were very isolated and particularly if they were older. I think that people could relate to it. My mom died during the pandemic, but she had been ill anyway, but she didn’t see anybody, except through my sister through the window came to sort of see her. And she died in isolation, and she would have been one of many people, older people.

So yes, there is a link there, certainly. I hadn’t made that link at all. No, that’s a very pertinent link indeed. Yes, people will recognize that. And I think when you see later on, you see him in his home and you sort of get a feeling for the fact that this man is a loner and can’t connect in a kind of casual way with people.

Jace Lacob: We get the sense early on that he’s potentially destined for a great fall, but there is this sadness to his character who seems to cling on to rules and regulations, perhaps in an attempt to exact control on a world that he can’t control. Did you find him to ultimately be a tragic character more than, to quote Mrs. P, an odious one?

Jeremy Swift: I don’t think he’s odious. I think he would veer more towards the word tragic. But there is a kind of patheticness about him as well. We see later on that Mrs. Hall is a pragmatist and he doesn’t listen to her words of wisdom. He’s got rigid thinking and he can’t move away from a certain set of rules and regulations. It is sort of tragic, but he does acknowledge that he hasn’t partnered with anybody. And he’s made his deal with it.

 

CLIP

Mr. Bosworth: I’d always hoped there’d be more than two of us. But I were never lucky enough to click with anyone.

Siegfried: Perhaps, if you’re ready, we could discuss what poison Bingo—

Mr. Bosworth: Now it’s too late. I’m not much of a prospect.

Audrey: Nonsense. You’ve still got your health.

Mr. Bosworth: I made my peace with it.

 

Jace Lacob: That scene and that line, I think broke my heart completely. It’s such a small but heartbreaking statement. And it almost, I think, could be the crux of Bosworth as a character, this desire to connect, but an inability to do so. How did you read that line?

Jeremy Swift: Yeah, that’s that’s beautifully put, yeah. It’s a thing. Not everybody can or wants to. And of course, it suits some people very, very well. In that period and in the provincial north, it would be a strangeness, it would be odd to be a lone gentleman. So I think that would sort of cripple him a little bit. I think he might feel things like shame and a bit of self loathing in there, to be honest. When those things happen to a personality, when people like that interact, then it comes out in a quite aggressive way.

Jace Lacob: I think the death of Bingo in Episode Two does a great deal to humanize Mr. Bosworth. The discovery of the dog on the side of the road was already distressing to watch, but then to have Bosworth sadly identify the dog as his own broke my heart. What did Bingo mean to him and how bereft is Bosworth?

Jeremy Swift: It’s his world. Having an animal for a person on their own, my son, we bought him a dog this year and that dog is everything to him. He lives on his own with the dog and the dog is a personality to him. He knows everything about the dog and of course with dogs, there’s just this unconditional faithfulness, just almost magnetic. To lose that is so tough for him. Of course, being Yorkshire, he’s not going to show his vulnerable side. But I think it really, really breaks his heart. I think it’s a tough one for him to deal with.

 

MIDROLL

 

Jace Lacob: Siegfried says of Bingo, “He was a fine dog. I wish there was more I could have done to save him.” What does that sentiment mean to Bosworth? That acknowledgement?

Jeremy Swift: I think it’s some of the kindest words that have been spoken to him. I hope that I came across that I got Mr. Bosworth to feel that. It’s not often that he would have such empathy. I think he doesn’t always know what to do with that kind of kindness and warmth. But I think in this situation, it’s like open heart surgery for him. He’s really quite as vulnerable as he can sort of get, really.

Jace Lacob: As someone who does a lot of backstory work, I am curious, what is Mr. Bosworth’s first name? I want to call him Barnaby Bosworth or Bernard Bosworth. Something alliterative. Did you come up with a first name for him?

Jeremy Swift: I think we just thought he might be called something like Richard, because it was the Battle of Bosworth and all this kind of thing. It’s funny, again, characters that I’ve played who are known by their surname and their first names are, their full names are revealed later on. When I played Spratt, I don’t think it was until the final series of Downton Abbey that we found out that he was called Septimus Spratt. And I think it was Episode Nine of Ted Lasso before we knew that Higgins’ first name was Leslie. So, I don’t know how this pattern, repeated pattern happens to me, but you know, if I was to do some more episodes, who knows, we might find out his first name.

Jace Lacob: Aloysius. Definitely.

Jeremy Swift: Aloysius. Oh.

Jace Lacob: Good old English name. Mr. Bosworth, whatever his first name, is back in Episode Five when he and Mrs. Hall must investigate a potential bomb falling on a nearby farm. What can you tell us about that upcoming episode?

Jeremy Swift: Again, working with Anna was fantastic. We did the main location in a field that was really, really high up with a lot of sheep. And our green room, you couldn’t really get trailers and things up there, was in a farmhouse where the great grandparent, we were told, was upstairs. He was in bed. He was 102. I just found that so evocative because we never got to see him, but just knowing that this elderly man was upstairs and had just probably spent all of his life on this farm, and as we find out in the show, people don’t really travel very far from where they work, certainly the people who work on their farms.

And I got to drive one of the very old cars. It’s one of the few times that I got somebody from the crew to whom I said, can you film me? Because my first entrance is driving through Darrowby Square and nearly having head-on collisions with two of the drivers who were stuntmen, you know. I couldn’t get it right the first time because my natural reaction was to swerve away from them.

And Andy, who’s directing said you just got to hold tight. They are going to get out of your way. And of course, when I played it back, it doesn’t look that impressive. And I sent it to my American reps and they said, really exciting. Fast and Furious is casting soon. Did you know? I was like, okay, okay. It’s an old car. It can only go 35 or something.

Jace Lacob: You’re not called “Swift” for no reason.

Jeremy Swift: Yeah. But that was terrific fun. And, gosh, sheep dogs as well. Sheep dogs are amazing. We were sat waiting for all these sheep to be sort of guided and bullied through a little road into the field. And, wow. It’s amazing to be close up to that. Really, really extraordinary.

Jace Lacob: In addition to acting, you are a jazz double bass player, which was true of Ted Lasso‘s Leslie Higgins as well, as a singer, songwriter, and composer. You released an album in 2023, Songs of Escape and Endless Night, which feels miles away from 1941 Yorkshire, and are working on a third album. Both your parents, I believe, were music teachers. What does music mean to you?

Jeremy Swift: Well, music is my life, really, more than acting, really, but I mean, acting is my career. But I listen to music all the time. And I listen to new music, and I like a lot of different genres. I wish I could have time to play more, but I do what I can. And I love producing things as much as anything and I love multi tracking vocals and working out counterpoints and things like that. I’m here in my office surrounded by musical instruments. I’m always twiddling about or listening to music all the time.

Jace Lacob: Your career indicates being in the right place at the right time, but you tell stories that go against that notion where the wrong clothing to a Shakespearean audition for drama school. Or say, missing your entrance cue for a nude scene on stage at the National.

Jeremy Swift: You’ve really done your research, blimey. Wow.

Jace Lacob: Has your success been down to luck or to intuition, to following the green lights?

Jeremy Swift: I’ve always prepared as much as I can, and been audacious. Olivier, Laurence Olivier said, “Successes when talent and preparation meets opportunity.” And I think it’s bang on to be honest. It still makes sense. And of course, there’s luck, being available at the right time for something. Just before Ted Lasso, I went up for a play and I should really have got it, but they didn’t give it to me. If I’d have got that play, which would have been a two month job, I wouldn’t have been available for Ted Lasso.

And I wanted to write to those directors and go, thank you, thank you, thank you for not employing me because I got a job that changed my life. But it might sound a little bit, I don’t know, a little bit could be indirectly poisonous or something. I know some incredibly talented people and I sort of think, why haven’t you gotten further? But my wife sweetly says well, you’ve always believed in yourself.

And that’s certainly true. But at the same time, you get to a certain age and think, well, what else am I going to do? I can’t retrain now. So there’s that as well. But it hasn’t always been, there have been periods where I’ve not had much money, been worried about it for regular periods throughout my life. But you know, one job can change a lot.

Jace Lacob: You, you could end up with your face on the side of a gigantic building in Los Angeles in an ad for Ted Lasso.

Jeremy Swift: Yes, indeed. Yeah. I don’t take it for granted, I have to say.

Jace Lacob: What is next for you then?

Jeremy Swift: It seems like season four of Ted Lasso is happening. I don’t know quite when yet, but I’m excited about it. All I know is that my contract has been renewed. So even if they don’t do it, they still have to pay me. Yeah. It should be fun. But I think they will do it. And at the moment I am working on my third album. And I’m doing a voiceover for a Disney show in January. And I’m also doing a radio play in which I’m playing Alfred Hitchcock.

Jace Lacob: Oh, wow.

Jeremy Swift: Yeah, that’s not an easy voice to do. But I’ve got a month or so to get on it.

Jace Lacob: Jeremy Swift. Thank you so very much.

Jeremy Swift: Thank you. It’s great chatting to you. A lot of fun.

 

Next time, one of Victorian-era London’s most unorthodox private detectives is back on the streets to tie up a few loose ends.

 

CLIP

Nash: I’ll pay what I owe you, Mr. Fulton, soon as I am settled. I never forget a debt. Oh, in the meantime, I don’t suppose you could call me a cab?

 

Next week, actor Felix Scott joins us to reflect on Patrick Nash’s rise, fall, and uncertain future.