Goodfellas

Sean Bean, James Nelson-Joyce and Julie Graham discuss playing the 'Scouse Sopranos' and bonding in the Spanish sun

- JO BERRY

Sean Bean may be playing the ruthless head of an organised crime family in This City Is Ours, but the veteran actor admits he was “really upset” after he finished working on the gritty drama.

“It was one of the most enjoyable series I have been involved with, and I know people say that at the end of working on a particular project, but I can genuinely say I personally did not want it to end,” he says. “I walked away from the set really upset. I remember feeling this genuine sense of loss.”

Sheffield actor Sean, 65 — whose impressive career ranges from 007 movie GoldenEye to fantasy smash hit Game Of Thrones and a Bafta award-winning turn in TV drama Time — stars as Ronnie Phelan, who runs a Liverpudlian crime gang and is thinking of retiring. His second-in-command is Michael Kavanagh (played by Time co-star James Nelson- Joyce), but Ronnie's impulsive son Jamie (Jack McMullen, who was also in Time) believes he should take his dad's place. And his power grab sets in motion a series of gripping and often grisly events.

“I'm sure viewers find the villains more interesting than the good guys,” says Sean.

“They are certainly interesting to play, and I have played my fair share. I do like silences and pauses.