Samuel West - Eternal Law

Samuel West
Eternal Law

23 December 2011

Samuel West plays Zak Gist in Eternal Law, a good angel sent to earth to right modern society’s wrongs in a new drama from the creators of Life On Mars.

You’re not usually cast as the romantic lead. Are you enjoying it?
It feels terrific. I’ve always found television very difficult because of its bitty nature. And although my theatre career was doing fine, thank you very much, my agent told me I should get stuck in, and I began to think I should put myself out there a bit more.
Tell us about Zak in Eternal Law.
He’s on his 20th tour of duty on earth and he’s cross about it. On his last trip to earth he discovered love and pain, and he can’t separate the two. He has been told by Mr Mountjoy, the head of the angels, that his love for the world and his love for Hannah, whom he met on his previous tour, is best served by being a lawyer on earth.
So he is sent to earth to do good? Is he mending Broken Britain?
Yes, although I would say there’s very little to do with Conservative Party politics! As a lawyer, Zak’s mission is to take on very difficult cases, both as a defence lawyer and the prosecution. His job is to do so with tolerance and refusing to condemn people.
All this talk about angels leads us to think this has a religious message…
I would say it’s monotheistic. It’s not something we would know to be explicitly Christian — we don’t go on about Seraphim and Cherubim. And we don’t refer to ‘heaven’ either.
Tell us about your wings.
They’re not always visible, and only appear at moments of high emotion. You won’t see us flap across the sky, and a birdwatcher I spoke to said he was glad of that. They should never be like birds. They’re symbols of grace really.
So would you wear them on a night out, Lady Gaga style?
Ha, well I might try in York. I might get into some rather interesting clubs. But let’s just say I would not be doing that in Newcastle.
Ben Lawrence