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Baptiste star reveals the terrifying way he got into character

Photo credit: BBC
Photo credit: BBC

From Digital Spy

Baptiste star Alec Secareanu has revealed how he made his ruthless Romanian gangster so chilling in the six-part thriller which concluded tonight (March 24).

Secareanu's Constantin divided viewers: while some were left quivering and too petrified to ever have their meters read again, others were rooting for him, despite his psychopathic tendencies.

He met his brutal end midway through the series – and Secareanu accepts Constantin had it coming.

Photo credit: BBC/Two Brothers/Jaap Vrenegoor
Photo credit: BBC/Two Brothers/Jaap Vrenegoor

"I think he got what he deserved. I hope the audience will be satisfied by the ending," the God's Own Country star told Digital Spy.

Revealing what influenced the character of Constantin, the 34-year-old actor recalled: "I met a couple of Romanians [in Amsterdam] who were doing nasty business.

"It was one of the most awkward things that happened to me during the shooting. I was in the front of the hotel at 6.30am, having a coffee, and a guy approached me and asked for a cigarette. He was Romanian, and he started to talk to me.

Photo credit: BBC/Two Brothers Pictures
Photo credit: BBC/Two Brothers Pictures

"He confessed that he was dealing drugs and taking care of girls, and he ran away eight years before because he was charged with murder. It was shocking for me.

"I tried to incorporate that into the character. I don't know how much was true or a lie, but it helped me understand that side of Amsterdam.

"And I met a friend of a friend, of a friend, from Romania, who at one point used to do these nasty things, and I talked to him and tried not judge.

"I tried to understand the reasons behind his actions, and how he ended up doing these things – and it's the environment you're living in. They don't know anything else.

"They are quite smart and cover their tracks. This is what I learned and it helped me with that character."

No wonder Constantin was so convincing and frightening...

Meanwhile, Secareanu also spoke about his new upcoming project, a feminist horror film written and directed by The Hour's Romala Garai.

Outside follows a refugee who finds solace from war in a dilapidated house, caring for a woman and her dying mother. He suspects the younger woman is enslaved by a demon – but everything is not what it seems.

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

"I met with Romola a couple of weeks ago to reshoot some of the scenes, but she is very happy with what she has so far," he disclosed. "Because it's a genre – it's a horror – so it's quite tricky to be able to create the atmosphere that you need.

"It wasn't easy at all – it was very, very intense. It's a very good story – I hope it's going to be good."

On working with Garai, he added: "Romola is really great. Her being an actress really helped on set, because it wasn't easy for any of us. We had only five weeks and a lot of footage to shoot.

"She was nailing it. Before every single scene we discussed the story. We didn't shoot it chronologically, so that was confusing sometimes, but she knows the process as an actor and she helped me a lot."

Secareanu has also begun filming Francis Lee's Ammonite co-starring Saoirse Ronan, Kate Winslet, and Fiona Shaw. Released next year, the film follows a fossil hunter and a young woman who are sent to convalesce by the sea, developing an intense relationship.

Baptiste is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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