Richard Dormer, who plays Beric Dondarrion in HBO’s Game of Thrones, joins the cast of Gangs of London Season 3. He portrays newcomer Cornelius Quinn, Sean and Billy Wallace’s uncle. He also leaves an instant mark – both through his character work and Cornelius’ trademark shillelagh.
Cornelius is a new antagonist thrown into the mix of the gang warfare, but Dormer revealed he didn’t take the role because he thought Cornelius would stand out from the others. “I didn’t think he was a standout character, but I did want to make him my own,” Dormer said. “I wanted to give him a certain look, a certain silhouette, and I really wanted them to have the fighting stick, the blackthorn fighting stick. So I wanted that little idiosyncrasy – that was what I wanted from the character – to explore that which is much more interesting than just using a gun.”
Throughout Gangs of London Season 3, viewers see Cornelius glued to Billy’s hip. For Dormer, he considers the dynamic between Billy and Cornelius to be akin to another relationship (or two) from Star Wars. “Cornelius sees Billy as a way to gain power, and he’s encouraging his lunatic, psychotic behaviour, because that is getting him closer to becoming the leader of the gang, the strongest gang leader, and that is his way of getting his feet under the table,” Richard Dormer said. “So, Cornelius is invested in Billy staying alive, but also discovering his dark side. He’s almost like Palpatine trying to get Darth Vader to turn to the dark side, or Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. But, yeah, that’s what he wants. He’s manipulating his nephew so he can get what he wants as well.”
Cornelius has bad intentions, especially after he had been banished from London in the past. However, he lets everyone know that he’s not about to be run out of town again. His plan is further aided by Sean’s death, as it brings Billy and him closer. However, like Beric Dondarrion in Game of Thrones, Sean appeared to have nine lives, so it’s almost unfathomable that he’s well and truly gone this time. Dormer laughed when this comparison was pointed out and added, “Well, if [Sean] does, I think he ran out of them in this season.”
Sean’s death sets off a host of new rivalries across the city, as Billy wants to know who killed his brother and seeks his own brand of an eye-for-eye justice. It leads to a number of memorable encounters. In fact, there’s one scene that Richard Dormer shot in the aftermath of Sean’s murder that he described as one of the best to film. “The scene in the pool hall when Billy and Cornelius go to get the guys who they think have killed Sean Wallace, that was fun,” he said. “Because that’s how I imagined the character when the producers were telling me about him. He just relishes mayhem and violence – just let him loose with this lethal weapon. Yeah, so that was fun, and it took two days to do. It was good. I enjoyed that one.”
Read our full review of Gangs of London Season 3.
Catch Richard Dormer in Gangs of London on Showmax. Also, read our interview with Gangs of London‘s Andrew Koji.
