The first time the show’s star Richard Dormer read the script, he said the structure dizzied him. “I kind of got used to it toward the end of the second episode. Then I was mystified and drawn in,” he told Den of Geek. “If you spell it differently, relic in the dictionary means something that is destroyed or ruined,” Dormer said. “Which is exactly what Gabriel is. He’s a relic of who he was. He’s a destroyed, a ruined man, basically. So, that’s another level to it.” Gabriel filled the voids in his life with booze, drugs, and sex. Part of what drives him post-acid attack is revenge, what Dormer called “narcissism and immense pride.” “The prosthetic really, really swamped the performance because it was absolute hell to wear,” he said. “I really had a hard time, but at least I got to take it off every night. And I feel for anyone who’s experienced anything similar.” Unfortunately life did mirror art. Around the same time they were shooting the show, stories surfaced of acid attacks in London. It was unnerving for Dormer. And to stay inside Gabriel’s mind for long periods of time became an emotionally taxing experience. Viewers can begin to piece together Gabriel’s true identity when Rellik airs Fridays at 10:00 p.m. on Cinemax.
