Iwan Rheon on new Viagra drama Men Up: ‘If men talked about their feelings things would be easier’

Iwan Rheon is talking about men. And the intense pressure many men have grown up with to act and behave a certain way. It is something he recognises.

“You’ve got to be tough. Don’t cry. Don’t show weakness. Be hard. If you’re brought up in a society like I was – in the 1990s, in a Welsh community – there were certain expectations,” he says. “It wasn’t easy to show emotions because you didn’t want to seem weak, or you didn’t want people to laugh at you.”

Despite most films and television still being centred on male lead characters, it’s surprisingly rare to see masculinity explored and examined with any depth. But Men Up, a new BBC film airing between Christmas and New Year does just that.

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It also charts a little-known true story about the development of the drug that would eventually be marketed as Viagra, the drug used to treat erectile dysfunction or impotence in men that was patented by Pfizer in 1996. Before the little blue pill became so widely known, it had to be tested. And the first clinical trials took place at Morriston Hospital in Swansea.

“Nobody I’ve spoken to knew had heard that these Pfizer trials happened in Swansea,” says Rheon. “When I first heard about it, I thought maybe a film about Viagra is going to be a lads-in-the-pub kind of film. But the characters are so well formed, every storyline has a resonance.” 

Iwan Rheon knows a thing or two about toxic versions of masculinity. His best-known role remains brutal torturer Ramsay Bolton in Game Of Thrones, though he’s shown his range as awkward Simon in E4’s classic superpowers show Misfits, Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars in The Dirt, luvvie actor Ben Theodore in Simon Amstell sitcom Grandma’s House, creepy Adam Clios in glossy drama Riviera and by winning an Olivier Award for rock musical Spring Awakening. And it’s something he was keen to explore further.

In the film, Rheon plays Meurig – a stalwart in the community, married to his childhood sweetheart Ffion, hospital porter, devoted father and a big part of the local rugby club. But his relationship is floundering – and he can’t talk to Ffion about why he’s been so distant.

“From the outside, everybody sees them as the perfect couple with these two lovely children,” he says. “They are a happy, working-class family. But Meurig is diagnosed with diabetes and that affects him, sexually. So he feels he’s letting Ffion down. He loves her so much but can’t rekindle the romance in the relationship – and by not being able to talk about it to her, she starts to think all sorts of things.

“They’re not communicating. People will be screaming at the telly for him to just talk to her. I think the main theme of the film is that if everyone just spoke a bit more and talked about their real feelings, so many things would be easier.”

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When he hears about the impotence drug trial being conducted at the hospital where he works, Meurig signs up – even before prospective drug trialists are told “there’ll be dirty videos to watch” – and so begins an awakening.

The drug trial begins to heal both his sexual and mental health. He meets a disparate group of men, each with their own complex relationships and story. And an unlikely community is built – starting with a trip to the pub after the men drop their first proto-Viagra pill.

“In some ways, the actual drug itself isn’t what actually helps these men,” says Rheon.

“Rather than a pill being able to just solve it for them, actually talking for the first time about their problem is even more important. Humour is often the easiest way in to talking about their feelings – especially for men – but every character, once they start to climb that mountain and discuss what it is that is affecting them, that’s when their healing starts.”

The tone of the film is well judged – shot through with humour, but not pulling any punches about the deep impact on these men and their mental health, relationships and confidence. And if viewers take the lessons of Men Up on board, so much the better.

“I think there is such a loneliness in their situations,” says Iwan Rheon. “And that is the danger you know? I think it’s one reason why possibly there’s so many male suicides – because of the loneliness if you feel you’re alone in the world with your problems because you’re not supposed to talk about your feelings. And it’s crazy.

“But that’s what society bred into us. It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s this idea of masculinity where we’re supposed to be tough.

“This is showing between Christmas and New Year, which can be an incredibly difficult time for a lot of people. The more isolated you feel or the more isolated you make yourself, the harder it is to take that first step. But I hope the film shines a light on the fact that if you can take the leap, if you can reach out and talk to somebody, it can make such a huge difference.”

Men Up airs on BBC One on 29 December at 9pm and is on iPlayer

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