'The Innocents' star Guy Pearce: 'People love to find controversy in anything these days'

Supernatural romance series The Innocents has dropped on Netflix.

The eight-part series starring Guy Pearce (LA Confidential, Neighbours, Iron Man 3) and newcomers Percelle Ascott (Wizards vs Aliens, Youngers) and Sorcha Groundsell (Clique, In Plain Sight) revolves around the romance between Harry (Ascott) and June (Groundsell) – who discovers she has shapeshifting abilities.

In the vein of Netflix’s successful yet controversial series 13 Reasons Why, Pearce says it is inevitable that some critics and viewers will find aspects of The Innocents contentious: “People love to find controversy in anything these days. I’m sure people will take any kind of element from the show and not skew it but view it and relate it something that relates to their lives.

When you are dealing with any kind of subject matter I think you’re up for it to be pulled apart and analysed. You can’t please everyone – it’s bound to happen,” he said.

Meanwhile Groundsell said June’s primary focus in the show will be attempting to control her shapeshifting skills, “She is just so shocked by it and is trying to work it out herself…it’s a thing that just happens to her, which causes her a lot of trauma and upset. So I think that is her main goal trying to figure out what is happening to her and then to hopefully control it that is her aim.”

Identity is a huge theme in the series adds Ascott, who says the shapeshifting theme is used as a vehicle to explore complex, relatable subjects, “Anything new that happens we shift and we change and we grow. And that’s the main message of the show about identity. Things changing for you, how do you define yourself in that moment, who are you in this new dynamic,” he said.

The Innocents writers Hania Elkington and Simon Duric said when creating the series they drew inspiration from Tomas Alfredson’s Swedish vampire thriller Let the Right One In, David Lynch’sTwin Peaks and and the work of writer and director Jeff Nichols – Midnight Special, Take Shelter, Loving.

Elkington explained she drew inspiration from these particular creators and shows because, “You will never be pulled out the family emotional stories by ‘special effects’ or the supernatural but it just provides a mends to magnify the emotional stakes and that’s the sweet spot we really wanted too,” she said.

The Innocents is available to watch on Netflix now.

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Variety: The Innocents review
Guy Pearce describes filming The Innocents
Percelle Ascott explains how he got involved in The Innocents