Critically-acclaimed drama Industry is back, catapulting the already-stressful lives of a group of young and hungry employees working at an investment bank into the danger zone. This time around, betrayal, treachery and deceit are on the menu, and the stakes are higher than ever, as Pierpoint handle the IPO of a new energy company that's set to go public.
Set against the backdrop of London's financial district, the eight-part series once again goes full throttle, with the graduates now associates, continuing to play as hard as they work, taking risks, and doing dodgy (drug) deals.
Harry Lawtey, the actor responsible for playing the show's resident soft boi Robert Spearing, compares making season three to throwing a soirée. His character is now working hand-in-hand with Sir Henry Muck, the CEO of said 'green' company, marking Kit Harington's first foray into the Industry fold.
"With new cast members coming in, you start to look at the whole project like a house party that you happen to be one of the hosts of," he says over Zoom from his West London flat. "I see it like if me and Marisa [Abela, who plays Yasmin] have a flat-share, and we're hosting a party, and inviting people to come along. Ultimately, you want them to have a nice time at the party. And whether they're there for a couple of hours or for the whole night, you want them to feel glad that they came."
He's likely also referring to Miriam Petche, who joined the cast as the sprightly and underestimated Sweetpea Golightly this series, a trainee yet to be disillusioned by Pierpoint's toxic ways.
To celebrate the new season, Cosmopolitan UK listened in to a virtual interview between the pair, as Harry asked Miriam about everything from her first day on set, to what she learned from joining the show, and where she'd like to see her character go next.
This conversation has been edited down for clarity.
Harry: I'm quite nervous, by the way.
Miriam: Oh no, don't be nervous!
H: Well, I've never done this before. I'm going to try and do it so I can still see you, but also see the questions I have prepared.
M: That's really good organisation skills.
H: Maybe I'm in the wrong the wrong biz. Here we go. Bear with, bear with, bear with. Okay. So. How are you today?
M: Did you have to write that down?
H: That's actually off script. That's improv.
M: Oh my god, you're actually really good at this. I'm good thank you. I just came back from the gym, which was really fun. Actually it's not fun, but it's like, you've got to do it.
H: I completely agree. For the mind and the body.
M: Yeah. I saw this person online say, 'It's just 45 minutes of your day. Get over yourself.' And I was like, 'Oh my god, I need that kind of tough love.' Because otherwise I'd find every other excuse to not go. But yes, really good. My dog hurt his paw.
H: Oh no, I love your dog.
M: I know. He hurt his paw so we had to bandage him up. So he has a bandage with little paw prints on the bandage.
H: When we were doing the show, didn't he have a cone?
M: Yeah, he's got so many problems. He did have the cone of shame, and he didn't like that either. He's so eager and excited about life that he throws himself at everything, and in every bush and at every fence. He's just being a dog,
H: Exactly. And that's quite an inspiring quality. Remind me of his name.
M: This is Woody, and the older one is Wilf.
H: I love Wilf. I feel very connected to Wilf, even though I've never met him. Right, that really eases us in. So first of all, let's talk about the name. I'm sure you've answered this a lot, but Sweetpea Golightly. Was she christened that?
M: That is her birth name. When I first read [the character], I just had Sweetpea - I don't think Golightly was there when I got the scripts. I thought she was fun. I thought her name was really iconic, and as it progressed, I realised what it would be like to grow up with a name like Sweetpea, and what that would mean for her. I asked them if that was her real name and if Golightly was a Breakfast at Tiffany's reference, but it wasn't.
H: I would say Sweetpea has some really clear, defined traits, both in the way that she presents herself, and personally, too. Obviously she's got this really unique name, but she's also got this very distinctive style, and this bold, intelligent, witty personality. What was your approach to that?
M: I wanted it to feel like it was a real person. Who would she be if she was online? Who would she be at home? A lot of my work was background work on who her family [would be], and where she comes from, and what her situation was growing up. What's her relationship to men and women, and friendships, and all of these things.
To be honest, it only really started to make sense when we started filming, and how she works in relation to others in the workplace. As the character progresses throughout the season, I found I could engage with her peaks and troughs, if that makes sense.
H: As far as I know, this was your first time on a set of this scale. Is that right? The thing I find fascinating is that if you ever bring a friend or family member to set, they very quickly become bored of the acting side of things, because you realise people are just saying the same thing over and over again.
What department did you learn the most from, or what was a real revelation that you had working with a specific person on the crew side of things that informed the way you played the role?
M: Very good question. You learn different things from different departments, and especially as I hadn't been on a set to this scale. I was wide eyed and taking everything in.
I find costume fascinating. I would have the best day ever in the costume department, and I would give my two pence on every outfit, which maybe wasn't always needed. Fashion is how you present yourself and how you engage with the world around you, and I find that very fascinating about characters. I suppose that's akin to makeup and hair.
H: For sure. To some extent, it's a big thing to come into a show that's already up and running. I remember how nervous I was back in season one. Me and the girls [Marisa Abela and Myha'la Herrold] saw a lot of ourselves in you being a graduate, and securing an opportunity like this so early in your career, which is an amazing thing.
But the difference for me is, looking at you, you always seemed really confident and assured, in a way that reminded me of Marisa in the way she's always been unphased. I'm wondering where that came from, and whether you saw yourself reflected in Marisa at all. I know you guys knew each other from way back. Was it a bit of a full circle moment?
M: It's really interesting to hear that, and very flattering! I was really apprehensive, but more than anything, I wanted to do a good job. I thought if I was a bag of nerves all the time, that's not really going to help me. And credit to everyone in the cast and the crew, because I immediately felt welcomed, and I never for a second didn't feel that I couldn't speak my opinion, or that I wasn't held or safe. Having that in the workplace really allowed me to feel like myself.
H: No that's good! I can only speak for me and the girls, but as we've gotten older and grown up through the show, it feels like the three of us have started to take a bit more responsibility with it. What was your feeling entering that environment? Do you remember your first day?
M: Yeah, I remember it. You were there. It was a rehearsal at Pierpoint. I remember being a very eager beaver, and I got there really early, so they said, 'Why don't you just go and wait in there?' And I was sitting on the trading floor by myself, and it was completely empty. I was like, 'What do I do? Do I sit at one of the desks? Am I allowed to do that?' I was texting my mum like, 'I'm going to be sick. I'm so scared.'
H: That's a really weird situation, to be put in this set that you've seen before, if you'd watched the show.
M: I'd seen the show when it first came out, and I was a huge fan of it. And then when I got the part, I rewatched it for my preparation... being plopped in the middle of that room, which is huge by the way! I remember it very clearly, and I remember everyone coming in, one by one, and it felt like a meet and greet. Everyone was very friendly, down to earth and welcoming. I immediately was like, 'Okay, thank goodness. This is a lovely group of people.'
H: Well that's good! Off the back of that, I remember people always used to ask, 'Do you have any funny stories from set?' And I never know what to say, because you don't think about it. But a slight variation on that. Do you remember a great day on set? A scene that you were nervous about that went really well, or... I remember one day from season three when we were on the trading floor, and there was a great chemistry between the cast. We had a lot of laughs. Nothing remarkable happened, we just had a fun day.
M: I remember we were upstairs in the green room, and Irfan [Shamji, who plays Anraj Chabra] had just watched Bridgerton. And you've never seen a bigger fan in your life. And three days later, he'd watched season two.
*Both laughing*
H: He was reenacting scenes with such enthusiasm. It was like a revelation! He discovered a whole different side of himself. That guy loves Regé-Jean Page.
M: I remember that and that was just like heaven.
H: That I can agree was very funny. Okay, a nice little segway here. One of my other favourite days, even though I wasn't joining in unfortunately, was seeing all of you Pierpoint guys in fancy dress. It was like a strange fever dream, because I was the only one not wearing a costume. I don't know if it's a spoiler, but you were a certain Spice Girl. Who would you dress up as in your own life?
M: Oh, great question. I've actually been planning my Halloween costume. I'm going as Drew Barrymore in the first Scream film, when she has a short bob, and she's got her telephone and she's making the popcorn. I think it's iconic.
H: You've got the whole performance prepared.
M: I've had this in my Notes app for a while.
H: I have a question here about banking, but it's really boring, so I'm just gonna skip that one. Is there an interesting piece of trivia about the show that you think people don't know that would be interested in? So, for example, I've always thought it was kind of cool that all the phones on the trading floor are actually functional. And you can video call each other on the phones. And don't get me wrong, the novelty of that kind of wore off after the first season, and we maxed out how much you could prank people with that. But is there a little nugget of trivia that you think is quite cool?
M: That's such a good one. And you can see it light up when someone's ringing. That's great, and everyone has their own name tag on it.
H: It's so ridiculous - hours of fun over a basic piece of electronics. It's just on a set that it feels exciting, because we're so used to things being fake.
M: That's a good one. Maybe the backdrop at Pierpoint, the wallpaper of London [is actually fake.] That's not as fun as yours! And I don't feel very fun saying it.
H: They do change the lighting on that to make it look like different times of day. I think that's cool. In the first season, I think they stopped doing it, but we all had our own business cards printed. And the camera never picked them up, but at each of our desks, we had our business cards with our character names printed on and our job titles.
M: I didn't have business cards, but I had a lanyard that said Sweetpea Golightly, Sales and Trading Graduate. I assumed that would be how she would get int the building.
H: You had some amazing scenes with Ken [Leung, who plays Eric Tao], who is a complete genius and maybe the best actor I know. How was that experience, and what did you learn from him or from anyone in the show? If there's anything you feel comfortable to talk about, I'd be really interested.
M: I feel the same as you. He was quite striking in how brilliant he is at his job, and also he has a level of fearlessness that I hadn't been around. I feel lucky to be in a scene with someone who's that committed, fearless and able to do anything to find the truth of the scene.
Also, he's a very generous actor, and he very much shares the space with the ensemble. Being around him, he was absolutely phenomenal. I learned lots of things. There's the technique side, and then there's the professionalism side. How to maintain an intensity without demonstrating that you're maintaining an intensity. How to let an audience in. How sometimes it's what you throw out as an actor, rather than adding loads of stuff in. It's a craft, fine-tuning what's necessary for a moment, and he's extremely skilled at that.
H: I always think he's kind of leading and listening at the same time. I've known him for years now, and he's amazing. Our good friend Sagar [Radia, who plays Rishi Ramdani] has spoken about you, and called you a 'hidden gem', which could also be said for Sweetpea in the sense she occupies a hidden, brilliant corner of the show.
We've had the benefit of being with these character for a long time, so naturally, you kind of merge with them a little bit and take on each other's traits, and the line becomes blurred. Do you feel close to her as a person? What's your relationship to the people that you play like?
M: It's interesting having seen the show now and seeing what she looks like within the context of the show. It's always slightly different to what you think it's going to be when you're filming. I felt more akin to her as the season progressed, and I felt it was more like myself.
I am protective of her, because I think you have to understand why someone does the things they do, and that comes from a place of empathy. She's undermined at the beginning, and that moment of her diving into her competence and her intelligence, when she's arguably one of the smartest people in the room... that was very insightful for who she is.
H: I remember in-between seasons, having my own little ideas that may or may not have come to fruition, about what you wanted for your character, or dynamics you'd like to see in the show, people you'd like to work with on a personal level. So both narratively and personally, what do you see for Sweetpea's future?
M I've been thinking about this a lot recently, actually, and I've been taking her on some mad routes in my head. I was lucky enough to work with Myha'la [Herrold, who plays Harper Stern] near the end of the season. I think she's brilliant, and I would love to see how their dynamic progresses. She's also just a brilliant actor and person.
I almost don't want to speak into existence what I think for her, because I think she's a very interesting person to see in relation to other people. So wherever she is, I'd be very interested to see how she handles herself.
Industry season 3 is now streaming on BBC iPlayer
