Award winning Scottish actress MOLLY VEVERS can currently be seen as regular ‘Heather Shaw' in the new hit Amazon Prime series THE RIG, also starring Iain Glen (Game of Thrones), Emily Hampshire (Schitts Creek), Martin Compston (Line of Duty) and Mark Bonnar (Quiz). Written by David Macpherson, this six-part supernatural thriller series shot in Scotland follows an oil rig crew when a sudden mysterious fog rolls in and cuts off their communication from the outside world. You can watch the series on Prime here. 

Thanks so much for talking to Revamp, where did the passion of wanting to become an actress start? 

I’m from quite a creative family - my mum was a singer gigging with various bands, including an ABBA tribute band. I used to watch her perform when I was really young and love it. Also both my parents used to be involved in local amateur dramatics, so I think watching them and being part of that world sparked an interest for me, although I think it wasn’t until I was a bit older that I felt brave enough to try it myself. I felt quite shy, especially as a younger kid, but realised when I was doing school shows or pantomimes I suddenly didn’t feel shy and was in my element. 

Was being an actress always the dream or did you have any more aspirations?

I think growing up around my mum gigging with bands I used to think I could maybe be a singer or dancer but I think I was just generally getting an interest in performing, I just wasn’t quite sure how to channel it. Then when I got to high school, I started to take acting a bit more seriously and signed myself up for loads of courses and classes - I think even from that age, I was looking at it as a potential career. I wasn’t 100% sure how to achieve it, but I do remember feeling quite determined. Both my parents were really encouraging - I always remember my Dad saying “if you can get a job in something that you also love and is a genuine interest, then you’re winning” - or something along those wise lines. 

Congratulations, your new role will be in the six-part series ‘The Rig’, what attracted you to this role?

Thanks! When it was announced that this new epic series was being made in Scotland, I asked my agents about it but didn’t think I’d ever get it. When I read the script, I thought it was a proper page-turner - it really leaves you wanting to know what’s going to happen next. The supernatural elements to the story I thought were exciting - at that point we only had the first couple of episodes so I had absolutely no idea where the story would go! I also really liked Heather as a character - she is funny, warm and hopeful but also can hold her own and stand up for herself in this very male-dominated environment. 

You are in there with a lot of versatile actors and actresses, such as actors from Game of Thrones, Line of Duty, and others, how did you all work together to create the scenes?

I was pretty blown away when I first saw the cast list! So many brilliant actors that I’d seen in very high profile TV and films, so I was definitely a little intimidated. I had mainly worked in theatre up until that point, and so the world of screen acting was a bit unknown and slightly daunting. Everyone was great to work with though, and totally put me at ease. I think The Rig is a real ensemble piece - sometimes people use that term, but really it focuses on one main character, but with The Rig the story follows all these different storylines of the crew onboard, so it feels like you really get to know all the characters.

Can you tell us a bit about a normal day on set when filming for ‘The Rig’?

Well firstly, there was a good while when we started filming where the main task was finding your way around - the studio is this huge cavernous space with 3 or 4 separate massive hangar spaces, all with different parts of the rig built in them. Abe, who plays Easter in the show, got an electric scooter halfway through filming and I have to say that was a genius move. Depending on what scene we were working on, we were often running around the set in our Survival Suits - bright yellow rubber suits that rig workers use in an emergency evacuation. The costume department timed us all at how quickly we could get the suit on - in the real world you are supposed to be able to do it in 2minutes - I was rubbish at it, I think Emun Elliott was the fastest!

What can you tell us about the series so far, and what do you look forward to, for its release date?

The Rig is a tense, supernatural, survival thriller set on an oil rig out in the North Sea. When we first meet the crew onboard, they’re getting ready for their usual changeover and waiting for the helicopters home. But very quickly things start to get a bit… strange. All the communication goes down, a mysterious fog rolls in and engulfs the whole rig and a horrible accident occurs. The story becomes about how the crew are going to survive, working out what these mysterious and terrifying events mean, and how we’re ever going to get home. I hope audiences will find it addictive - it’s one of those shows that I think could be easy to binge, because the writer David Macpherson has written brilliant endings to each episode that mean you have to see what happens next. It’s also a great time of year to hunker down, get cosy and watch a gripping new series! It’s what January is made for, surely.

Are there any other projects lined up for 2023? 

I filmed a couple of things recently that are due for release this year - a docudrama for Sky History called 'War Gamers', and also the upcoming ITV drama ’The Long Shadow’ directed by Lewis Arnold and written by George Kay, which is about the lives of the victims of Peter Sutcliffe and the police investigation to catch him. I think it will be a really powerful drama and I was proud to be part of it.