Richard knows something about ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ง๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ. He famously endured the interrogation tactic known as waterboarding as Lucas North in Spooks. In s7e3, rainwater falling on Lucas' face triggers his flashback to being waterboarded in a Russian prison (top).
Rich's fear of water should have given him pause, but he justified his decision this way: "I wanted my reaction to be real on camera. I didn't want to have to 'act' it." He needn't have worried. "It was terrifying. It was panic inducing. It was like drowning," he said (middle).
Experiencing waterboarding firsthand allowed Rich to give a more authentic performance and feel empathy for those who have endured it in real life. "I realized that it really is a form of torture that shouldn't be used," Rich told the Daily Telegraph. "I only lasted five to 10 seconds, and the sound of my crying out to stop isn't me acting. The psychological damage of doing that to someone for even a minute would be indescribable."
Two years later, when a waterboarding scene appeared in Strike Back, Rich was able to remember his physical and mental reactions without subjecting himself to that torture again (bottom).
