Richie Moriarty On Taking Aim at ‘Ghosts’ BBC Counterpart and That Mathew Baynton Cameo [Interview]

On Ghosts Season 2 Episode 7, “Dumb Deaths,” Woodstone opens its doors to a documentary crew reenacting Pete’s fatal archery incident. Things escalate when they hire an overzealous actor to play Pete — enter BBC Ghosts co-creator/actor Mathew Baynton.

I spoke with Richie Moriarty, who plays Pinecone Troop leader Pete, about this momentous crossover and the latest opportunity to build on his character’s backstory.

“Oh man, it’s the best. Every script we get, especially when it is centered more on your character, it is so nice to learn more of the backstory and to fill in these gaps that we have been thinking about forever,” Moriarty explained.

“I mull over all kinds of things with these characters, and it’s really nice to be able to fill in these holes that we as actors have been curious about, and the audience is curious about. There’s such a dimension to all of the ghosts in the house, and any time we get to make them more three-dimensional and learn more about their histories, it’s very exciting.”

And learn more about Pete we do as his troop leader legacy is called into question by a vexing method actor. Despite Baynton’s “Actor Pete” playing to everything our Pete is not, Moriarty had nothing but kind things to say about the actor’s cameo.

“I mean, gosh, what a joy! We were all nervous to have him on. We respect the BBC version of this show so highly, and all the actors. Jim Howick, that plays Pat — I’m such a gigantic fan of him and Mathew,” Moriarty shared. 

“So we were all very nervous to have him on set because, in a way, the person who created the job that you have is here and willing to play a part in our show.”

“He was just collaborative in the best possible way and really encouraged improvising. He was like, ‘Are you comfortable improvising?’ and I was like, ‘Yes, that’s totally my background.’ I’m much more comfortable improvising than doing anything scripted. So we were very collaborative in that way.”

That significance of Baynton’s involvement was never lost on Moriarty, who recalls those memorable first days shooting with the actor.

“It was cool to witness him visit for the first time because he had an incredible moment of stepping onto this show that he created in England. And now, years later, here we are in Canada, shooting the adaptation that airs in the U.S.. And I think he had this really special moment of ‘Hey, look what you created, look how far this has come,'” Moriarty mentioned.

“And he’s so funny in the episode — my God, he’s so funny in it. So it was just incredibly cool to get to watch him making the choices he was making as Actor Pete.”

As Moriarty pointed out, each show interprets the Ghosts concept differently, and it was rewarding to explore the comedic tones of the BBC series.

“The sensibilities of the BBC show and the American show is different, as is any interpretation of a show brought to another country. But I think he [Baynton] had this really magical way of bringing the sensibilities of himself as an actor, but also bringing the sensibilities of his character from the BBC version to this adaptation.”

“It was so fun to have him here, and we really hit it off. I feel like we will be in touch for a long time. Mathew was just really joyful to work with.”

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Ghosts airs Thursdays at 8:30/7:30c on CBS.

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