Sherlock star Martin Freeman went to extreme lengths to perfect his convincing Liverpudlian accent.
The actor is donning his police uniform once again as The Responder finally returns to our screens (May 5). The crime drama, written by ex-copper Tony Schumacher, follows Chris Carson (Freeman) - an officer who gets demoted to the night shift while 'trying to deal with his personal problems'.
"Chris is attempting to rebuild his life, and his relationships, desperate to avoid the corruption that nearly sucked him under," the show's description reads. "He is trying to be a better police officer, a better man, and most importantly, a better father to his daughter Tilly. All whilst still dealing with the relentless trauma of being a night response officer."
But off-screen, protagonist Freeman was doing everything he could to not mess up his Scouse accent.
Speaking to the Metro on how he aced the strong dialect, Freeman said: "I didn't watch anything [for inspiration], I have spent a lot of time in Liverpool in my life. Talking to people in the city and talking to people to Tony was part of it."
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The actor explained that for around a year and a half, he would 'occasionally just talk to himself in Scouse', adding: "Even though you're not always the best judge of your own thing, I do trust my ear."
Freeman has developed an instinct for when his words sound 'off' and says he became very 'exact' with his pronunciation for one of the UK's most distinguishable accents, in fear of 'making a balls up of it'. Well, it looks like 18 months of talking to himself did pay off.
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Earlier this week, Freeman broke his silence on the controversial age gap romance in Miller's Girl. The erotic thriller follows the explosive relationship between teacher Jonathan Miller (Freeman) and 18-year-old student Cairo Sweet, played by Wednesday star Jenna Ortega.
The film garnered backlash due to the 31-year age gap after one of the raunchy scenes went viral online. "Man what!!! I get she's an actor but man it's hard to watch," one person fumed. Another added: "I think I am finally done watching these age-gap movies. They are all gross, and I am tired of it." But Freeman defended the film, stating: "It's not saying, 'Isn't [an age-gap romance] great?'" - arguing that 'stories about difficult subjects' can be 'tainted by association'.
You can watch season two of The Responder on BBC1 at 9pm on Sunday, May 5. It will also be available on iPlayer.
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