Meet Ollie McNulty: The Time Series 3 Star Who Dropped Out Of His Engineering Course To Pursue Acting

Haven’t heard of Ollie McNulty? No wonder. Unless you too study mechanical engineering at uni – which he did up until recently – you likely wouldn’t have. For this, his starring role in BBC’s Time series 3, is set to be his big break. The kind of story that every young actor dreams of, Ollie landed his role in the critically acclaimed drama through an open casting call on Instagram. He got the call, and the rest is history.

For those who are yet to tune into the first two seasons of Time, the BBC series is an anthology crime drama created and co-written by Jimmy McGovern, alongside Helen Black. Each series presents a new scenario, following the lives of inmates and staff in His Majesty’s Prison Service – the first, starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, follows a new inmate consumed by guilt. The second features Jodie Whittaker, Tamara Lawrance, Bella Ramsey as we step inside a woman’s prison. And this third explores the world of Young Offender Institutions (YOIs).

Starring alongside David Tennant and Siobhan Finneran, Ollie will play Peter, a young offender adapting to prison life. We caught up with the rising star to find out more about his new role, how he got into acting, and what it felt like to receive that life-changing call.

Q&A: Ollie McNulty On Time Series 3

Hi Ollie, how’s life at the moment? 

All good thanks. It’s been a weird period since Time finished filming, coming off of such a high and adjusting back to normal life working at a coffee shop was strange. I can’t believe how close we are to the release date now so it’s all an exciting rollercoaster again! 

You’re set to star in the third series of Time. What can you tell us about this upcoming season and the part you play? 

This season is set in a Young Offenders Institution. The wing has a similar layout to the adult male prison in season 1. But the research shows that YOIs are much more violent and more volatile than adult prisons, and this show definitely reflects that. 

I play Peter, a lad who has grown up in poverty and neglect until he gets taken in by his Aunty Shee to live with his cousin, Toby. Moving to a new area automatically made made him an outsider but luckily he always had his cousin to look after him, even if the other boys in the group weren’t happy about that. He has grown up in a world where loyalty to his family and close friends is more important than anything. 

In the months leading up to his arrest, he has tried to be there for his girlfriend and son, but that proves tricky when her dad hates you, so he continues to hang around with the wrong crowd. 

You landed the roll through an open casting call on Instagram. What was it like to sign onto such a high-profile series – and do you remember how it felt when you got the call? 

I was over the moon knowing that all of the hard work paid off, as the audition process spanned over a good few months. I went for a run straight after the call because I felt like I had so much excited energy to burn off. 

Before that, I’d even got to the point where I accepted that it wasn’t going my way after not hearing anything for over a month but then had a last minute audition, and knew I had to pour everything into it. I found out I got the part the next day and the read-through was a few days later. It all moved so fast from there, so I didn’t really have time to think about how much my life was about to change. 

What drew you towards the role? Had you watched the previous two seasons of the show? 

I was a massive fan of the show before I even knew there would be a season 3. There is so much talent involved, it would’ve been an honour to be a part of the show no matter what character. I really felt for Peter; he’s trapped in such a horrible situation. Knowing that this is the sort of thing that can happen in real life drew me towards him. It felt important to help tell his story. 

You decided to drop out of university to pursue acting – was that a tough call to make?

I always believed in myself, but it was hard to tell people that I was dropping out because there was no proof that I was gonna get anywhere at that point. It came with a lot of difficult decisions, but that stress just reminded me that I had no choice but to make it work at this point. I’d already taken the plunge. 

Before this role you were studying mechanical engineering at university. What acting experience had you had prior to this? Were you actively trying to make it in the acting world? 

When I moved out for university at 18 I got the urge to try something new. At the freshers’ fair, after speaking to a few stalls, I thought that the drama society looked interesting and the people running it were nice, so why not?

My first role was playing a masseur with half an hour of stage time and about three lines, I was terrified but managed to actually enjoy it while up there. I thought, if I can get through the awkwardness of this, then I can play any role! The play that made me fall in love with acting was a four-hander, Holes by Tom Basden. It was both hilarious and terrifying at the same time and with it being such a small cast and crew, we got super close and everyone put their all into it. From there I knew I had to do this full time. So I dropped out hoping to go to drama school, never imagining that an opportunity like this would come along before even starting. 

And what was it like shifting so suddenly from student life to life on set? 

Honestly, my university life was putting all of my time and effort into acting, and then pulling a few all nighters when I had an assignment due. So this was just the same but without the all nighters! 

You star alongside some pretty big names in this series, including David Tennant and Siobhan Finneran. What was it like working with and learning from these stars? 

There was a balcony overlooking the set of the wing, so I’d just secretly watch David, Siobhan and Dan’s scenes when I wasn’t filming. I knew how privileged I was to be in this position and made sure to soak as much up as possible. When filming I felt so supported in our scenes, like I had the freedom to try anything because whatever I do, I know that they’re gonna come back with something that works. They’re very efficient as well so I’m lucky to have picked that up from them early in my career. 

What was the dynamic like on set?

Considering how dark the show can be, surprisingly, we could still have a laugh behind the scenes and everyone was so friendly. But when it was time to focus everyone was on the same wavelength. And our brilliant director, Paul Whittington, had ways of getting different things out of us that wouldn’t be possible if we were to do it alone without any notes. 

Any standout moments from filming? 

Every single fight scene. They were crazy. ‘ACTION’ – we’d scrap for a minute, screaming, punching, kicking, biting, sweating, falling, etc. ‘CUT’ – we’d recover, drink some water until we hear ‘ACTION’, and we’d run it all again for another angle. We’d go back to the hotel together all battered and bruised like ‘No way this is actually our job?’. Beating each other up definitely bonds you like nothing else. We had to all love each other to act like we’re trying to kill each other. 

What’s next in the cards? Any other exciting projects in the works? 

Not right now; it’s a lot of self tapes. And I’m still doing part-time acting classes. Even though I’ve decided not to go to drama school, having a safe space to try new things and figure out what works for me is important. 

What genre would you love to try out? 

Everything! I love The Hunger Games, Maze Runner and any kind of apocalyptic show/film. So something dystopian with a lot of action would be cool.

At the same time I’d love to try out a comedy. That’s where I started on stage, so it would be nice to go back to that. And, let’s be honest, Time is about as far from a comedy as you can get, so it would be interesting to see how different the vibe is on set of such a polar opposite show. 

Anyone you’d dream of working with – actor, writer, or director? 

I read the script for The Wolf of Wall Street and was intrigued by how much of it was improvised. I’d love to have full freedom to play around with a script like that. So right now it’s gotta be DiCaprio and Scorsese. 

Do you live in town or country – and which do you prefer? 

Town excites me the most at this stage in life. But I love a good walk in nature every now and then. 

How do you find balance between personal and work life?

Losing myself in other hobbies. I’ve got into calisthenics this past year which allows me to switch off from industry noise. It’s hard to think about anything else when every muscle in your body is tensed up. 

And having people in my life who couldn’t care less about my job is healthy too!

How can we all live a little bit better? 

Start your day with something that’s important to you. Then, even if you have the worst day ever, at least you’ve done something. 

Anything fun coming up – professionally or personally? 

Paul (who plays Toby) has a boxing fight coming up which we’re all gonna go and show some support for. I’ve seen first-hand his dedication to the sport so I can’t wait to see him in action. 

What Ollie McNulty Is Loving Right Now

I’m currently watching… 

The Last Dance (I know I’m six years late to the party). 

What I’m reading… 

Good Will Hunting script. 

The last thing I watched (and loved) was… 

One Night Only. Maybe I watch too much serious stuff but a cheesy rom-com felt like a lovely break. I also love dystopian stories so it was a great blend. 

What I’m most looking forward to seeing… 

Good Will Hunting after finishing reading the script. And The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping. 

Favourite film of all time… 

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. 

Favourite song of all time… 

Everybody Wants to Rule the World. It’s a banger and what we did the bows to in our uni play. 

Band/singer I always have on repeat…

The Book of Mormon Original Broadway Cast. I still haven’t watched the show but I sang ‘I Believe’ in my drama school auditions, and have been listening to the playlist ever since. 

My ultimate cultural recommendation… 

Not sure about ultimate (too much pressure), but the other week I booked a hostel on Matthew Street in Liverpool and found myself in The Cavern Club on the International Beatleweek. I don’t know loads of Beatles songs but really enjoyed it and I’d definitely recommend it to any live music fans. 

Cultural guilty pleasure… 

I’m not guilty about it any more, but I was a massive Rubik’s Cube geek when I was younger. I had all the different shaped puzzles and used to post YouTube tutorials but with a voice changer to disguise myself so that nobody at school found out!