As the second season of KIN starts tonight on RTÉ One Sam Keeley, who plays Viking, talks about his character's life behind bars, his evolving relationship with Nikita, and the challenges he faces navigating the Kinsella family with Amanda at the helm.
Fans of the gritty Irish crime drama have been eagerly anticipating the release of season two, and it seems that the wait will be worth it. With Viking in prison, viewers have been wondering how he has been coping behind bars.
Speaking to RTÉ Entertainment, Keeley shed light on Viking's state of mind and hinted at his plans for when he is released.
Watch a five-minute catch-up of season one of KIN.
The actor also discussed the changing dynamics between Viking and Nikita (Yasmin Seky) following her visit to him in prison and the evolution of their relationship.
Meanwhile, Amanda (Clare Dunne) has taken charge of the Kinsella family, leaving Viking to question his place within the crime clan. The return of Bren (Francis Magee), who wasn’t prepared to protect Viking in prison, adds another layer of complexity to the upcoming season.
Here, Keeley reveals what's in store for Viking in season two of KIN.
RTÉ Entertainment: The last we saw of Viking he was in prison. How has he been coping with life behind bars?
Sam Keeley: I think it's given him a lot of time to think about what type of man he wants to be and how he wants to traverse this world that he's in. I think taking initiative into his own hands at the end of season one, when he inflicted physical damage onto his person to get a message outside, was his first step on a long journey of really taking control of his own space and who he is. I think he's had a lot of time to think about his relationship with Amanda (Clare Dunne) and with his dad, Frank (Aiden Gillen). And, you know, he's not messing around when he gets out. I think he's got a plan and he’s going to execute it.
After lying for Viking, Nikita visited him in prison at the end of the last season, and for the first time told him how she really feels about him. She wants to stand by and stand up for him. How did this change the dynamic of their relationship?
It was important to me and Yasmin that when we were building this relationship for the characters - that they were very like Bonnie and Clyde in a way. If all else failed, they had each other. I think Nikita taking the steps to get her hands dirty to pass a message is another kind of evolution of their relationship as well. I think there's confidence in his relationship with Nikita because he feels if he didn't have all the family, if he didn't have anyone else, he could still crumble with her and be the most kind of vulnerable version of himself with her. And I think that's a very powerful dynamic that they can capitalise on in the future.
Amanda appears to have taken charge of the Kinsella family - how does Viking feel about this?
I think it was very apparent in the first season that Viking wasn't totally enamoured by Amanda climbing the ranks in the family and, making her presence known as a front-runner to be the head of the family, especially with the implications of Viking in her son Jamie's death. With the time passed since, he's been in prison, he's not been out in the world to see how Amanda has been, you know, navigating this new position that she has. So, when he gets out, it's pretty jarring for him. He has a lot to say about that. Viking is very gung-ho, and I think in the coming season he has to learn how to be more cunning in order to be able to deal with Amanda.
Bren (Francis Magee) who is Jimmy (Emmett J Scanlan) and Michael’s (Charlie Cox) dad is also about to be released from prison. Bren wasn't prepared to protect Viking on the inside, so how will their relationship play out when they are both free men?
Viking has enemies all around him. And I think his pride is damaged pretty easily. Even though he's maturing, he's still kind of a boy. Bren’s an unknown entity as he has been in prison, getting up to whatever he's getting up to in there. His dealings with Bren inside the prison will have an effect on their relationship when he eventually gets out.
And then there's Frank, his dad, who, when we last saw him, was at death's door. Things are bound to be very different for him with Amanda now in charge and Bren getting out…
The one thing about this season that I can say is that Viking will be more out on his own in terms. In the first season, we got to see that Frank was very much trying to bail Viking out of his various mistakes. But this season Viking will have more autonomy as a character from his dad.
You filmed season one during lockdown, the streets were empty in Dublin. Whereas this time everywhere was fully open, how different was the experience filming season two?
It's crazy and it was so weird to have seen Ireland in that place because everything that we knew about Ireland and being out and meeting people and seeing friends and family was just not allowed. So, it was a strange time. I think we still turned out a quality show and it looked beautiful. Season two was a polarizing experience because not only was it completely free for us, but it was also summer in Dublin, which is also a very different look, you know, not as rainy, not as gloomy. Beautiful hot days and blue skies. So, I think the feel of the show is much bigger this year. It's like you really get to see Dublin in a very different way than we saw in the first season.
KIN returns to RTÉ One and RTÉ Player this Sunday at 9.30pm.
Series one of KIN is currently available to watch on RTÉ Player.
