Fair City actor Rodrigo Ternevoy, who plays Cristiano on the RTÉ soap, has said he hopes the domestic abuse storyline will help viewers in some way, "perhaps even to seek the help they need".
Cristiano had been abused by his partner Will, culminating in a brutal physical attack where Will left him for dead.
Ternevoy has said filming the abuse scenes put him in a "very dark place emotionally", but that he hoped to do "justice and to honour those people at home" who have suffered domestic abuse.
Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment, Ternevoy opened up on the traumatising trial, Cristiano's hardest moments and why this storyline has been a dream for him as an actor.
Cristiano has been through such traumatising experiences and now has to face Will in court.
Cristiano has indeed been through many traumatising experiences in his life. He lost his previous husband Leandro to cancer a few years ago and didn't think he'd be given another chance to find love in life until he met Will. He fell in love with him in a way that kept him blind to all the signs until he was so involved, trapped physically and emotionally to the point he couldn't find a way out.
Cristiano is experiencing all sorts of emotions at once. He is feeling that he's done the right thing coming forward and standing up to Will, but at the same time he sees how much damage this whole situation has caused everyone around them - especially Phoebe, Dolores, Damian and Mairead.
Will tried to bully Cristiano into staying silent.
Will knows exactly which buttons to push when it comes to manipulating Cristiano. Cris is a very loyal friend and he'd do anything to protect the people he loves. Will tried to convince Cris to drop everything; he tried to persuade Cris to say that he made a mistake and that Will isn't as bad as it sounds so people can go back to their normal lives. Will even told Cris that he still loves him in an attempt to gain Cris's trust again, which came as a big shock to Cris.
Cristiano took all that in but decided to do the right thing in the end and go through with the trial and his testimony - the truth of what happened throughout their relationship and all that led to the final assault back in 2019.
Cristiano took the stand and relived some painful memories. Were those scenes difficult to film?
Filming the trial scenes was extremely difficult, no doubt, but as an actor getting to play such a strong part in a very strong storyline is really a dream come true. They were difficult to film, but I enjoyed every minute of it. We have been waiting for so long to do the trial storyline on Fair City that everyone on set was quite excited to actually get to do it. We were given a brand new set - the courtroom and the court corridors - every single member of the crew and cast gave it all to do justice to this storyline. Our director, Sam Atwell, was a pleasure to work with and the atmosphere on set was just so peaceful and inviting, which really helped me to stay in character the whole time. The scripts were really good as well and the actors playing the barristers were so good at their job that as an actor I felt all the pressure Cristiano would actually be feeling on the day. From there, I just trusted the emotions I was feeling and I can only hope the audience will like the final results.
His cross-examination was brutal, how did this affect him?
Cristiano knew that testifying against Will would be one of the hardest things he's ever done. But still, I don't think he was expecting Will and his team to attack him, to question Cris's integrity at that level. Reliving all those horrendous experiences he went through with Will in front of a bunch of strangers was no doubt heartbreaking for Cristiano. Unfortunately, Cristiano represents thousands of real people out there that go through domestic abuse like that on a daily basis. Cris knows that, no matter what, he must face all that and stick to the truth, it will set you free.
How did Cristiano feel when Dolores said she would testify for Will?
I think for Cristiano finding out that Dolores would testify for Will instead of him was one of the saddest moments he's experienced since he arrived in Carrigstown. Dolores has been almost like a mother to Cristiano since day one. She was there during the good old days and was also present when Cris felt the lowest in his life. She was in the hospital taking care of him when he needed it most. He thinks he probably lost one of his closest friends - but he still could not blame her because he knows Will is a master manipulator and somehow got his claws into her. Cris is devastated but yet doesn't blame Dolores for that. And working with Martina Stanley [Dolores], one of my favourite people on Fair City, is a blessing. We get on very well together and we love doing emotional scenes with each other. I just love her!
Damien was previously a victim of domestic abuse. Has his experience and insight been a big help to Cristiano?
Absolutely. Damien is one of his best friends in Carrigstown and was the first one to spot all the signs of domestic abuse in Cris and Will's relationship, much earlier than Cris himself was aware of it. After all the struggles Cris went through with Will, Damien was the first person Cris admitted the truth to about the abuse. He confides in Damien a lot; they share the same experience with abuse, they understand each other.
Did you find this domestic abuse storyline emotionally taxing?
Yes, domestic abuse storylines can be very emotionally draining to go through. Not only because some of the scenes where you need to put yourself in a very dark place emotionally, but it also can also be quite physically challenging when it comes to the choreography behind the fight scenes - the assaults, for example. But all that comes secondary when you're prepping yourself to live a character in that particular situation. To think you are portraying a fictional character on a show, knowing that real people might be watching those scenes four weeks after we film them at home, experiencing all that for real every single day of their lives - that's when you realise how emotionally taxing it can be for them. I try to use that energy, those thoughts to play the part well, to do justice and to honour those people at home. I can only hope that this particular storyline can help them in some way, perhaps even to seek the help they need.
If you have been affected by this story, please visit: www.rte.ie/helplines.
Fair City airs on RTÉ One on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
