Rake in Progress: Nico Mirallegro

Nico Mirallegro has just enjoyed his biggest job to date — the Paramount Plus show Stags. We caught up with the Mancunian to discuss acting classes, writing as therapy, and why patience is key.

Rake in Progress: Nico Mirallegro

Nico Mirallegro’s assuredness is infectious. It’s not braggadocio but a quiet confidence in what he’s doing and knowing he’s on the right track. He talks of patience and waiting for the right gig, but also of channelling negative thoughts into positivity, which will benefit him and his career. He’s still a realist, though. “Everyone is shit-scared when they first get on set,” he says. “It’s like, ‘How is this going to work? Am I going to deliver and hit all the moments? How’s this conversation in the scene going to play out?’ So the nerves are still there, but I think I’ve tried to ground myself and have an element of conscious control within the performance, which then adds to helping create characters.” 

It’s a technique that has helped him in a variety of roles. He got his break in Hollyoaks in 2007, but has since branched out into comedy dramas like My Mad Fat Diary, in which he features alongside Jodie Comer. Other shows of his include the BBC dramas The Village and Rillington Place, and a part in the feature-length, Bafta-winning Murdered for Being Different

Mirallegro’s latest job is his biggest to date. He leads in the Paramount Plus thriller Stags, playing the groom-to-be, Stu, alongside Asim Chaudhry and Charlie Cooper. It’s a simple premise that snowballs quickly. Following a heavy stag-do in South America, Stu and his friends attempt to fly home before it all goes horribly wrong at the airport. They find themselves among murderers and gang leaders in a shanty prison, and you don’t quite know whether to laugh, gasp or wince at the unsuspecting gore and surprises that follow. 

Linen olive-green suit and a black brushed cotton shirt, Luca Faloni; Carrera Chronograph, Tag Heuer.

How did you start out, and where did your passion for acting come from?
My passion came from having the luxury of my mum and dad always moving around and being in different environments. It wasn’t till I was 16 that Claudia, my sister, was going to this local drama class at Manchester School of Acting. Being a year older, I was very intrigued and also slightly envious that she was getting this release through acting. So she let me join the class and I was like a shy little scallion in the corner of the room. And then one day a casting director came in, threw a script at me, and told me to read it with him. I read it. And he said, ‘You’ve got an audition Monday morning’. The ball started rolling from that day, really. 

What is Stags about? 
It’s a dark comedy-thriller. Basically, a group of friends, on returning from South America from the stag-do, they encounter a real, serious problem in the airport, and they’re kind of whisked away to this Shutter Island-esque prison. It’s funny, because the characters are automatically expecting this overwhelming, scary prison, and what’s there on arrival is this kind of weird world [that’s] a semi-open prison, and there are also really heavy- looking guys around, but there are also no prison walls. It’s like, ‘Is this a theme park? Is it a prison? Why is everyone eating and playing cards?’ Then the series takes a severe bit of pacing, and it’s kind of a survival of the fittest.  

Nico wears a rib shawl cream cardigan, Anderson & Sheppard; black brushed cotton shirt and jeans, Luca Faloni; Perry dark brown calf leather penny loafers, Manolo Blahnik; gold chain, Hannah Martin; Yacht-Master Oyster Perpetual, Rolex.
Nico wears a striped double-breasted wool suit, Brioni; Sea Island poplin shirt, silk tie and pocket- square, Budd Shirtmakers; Yacht-Master Oyster Perpetual, Rolex.

It’s full of surprising moments... 
When I first read Daniel [Cullen’s] script, it was apparent there was something different here because of these moments that were so truthful and weirdly relatable, and yet, all of a sudden, there’d be a comic moment and somebody gets blown up and shot. It makes you question, What is it? Is this a drama? Is it a comedy? Is it horror? There’s certainly shock value. I suppose it’s funny it has so many sides to it, because that’s what I feel [the best shows] are, in many ways: an accumulation of so many genres of things and problems and fun and chaos. 

What’s the biggest life lesson you’ve learned? 
Personally, patience is massive. I’ve always been somebody who likes to achieve things right away, whether it was like having trials for football teams back in the day, or jobs today. There’s this kind of bubble within society that you need to be doing or achieving at a certain level, and you relate yourself to your peers and your friends. So I think patience has allowed me to be like, O.K., what’s meant for me isn’t going to pass me by. With that, being patient and allowing things to come and go, and opening your heart to everything in the world. It allows this free-flowing thing, you know, things come, things go, you might get really close to an amazing kind of project, and it doesn’t work out, but that’s fine because something else is around the corner. I think that comes with 15 to 20 years of rejection. You have no other choice. 

Black wool double-breasted dinner suit and white cotton Marcella shirt, Huntsman; black silk bow-tie and cream silk pocket-square, Budd Shirtmakers; sunglasses, Brunello Cucinelli; Yacht- Master Oyster Perpetual Rolex.

What’s one thing somebody should do when they go to Manchester?
More than anything, just walk around the city. You’re going to encounter all these old, traditional buildings, and you’re going to see some Roman structures towards the Spinningfields side of Manchester, which is always a really cool place to hang out. Other than that, there’s some really cool restaurants. There’s one place called Higher Ground, which is a seasonal restaurant, really worth trying out. 

What are you most excited for this year? 
I’m super-excited for Stags, because it’s the first time I’ve had the opportunity to lead a show, and I’m super-proud of what I’ve seen in the edit. Now I’m finding a bit of routine, a bit of balance. Also, I’m writing at the moment, and just being curious. I’d love to make my own stuff in the future. I’m putting it out there and I’m writing, but I’m not putting pressure on myself, either. When I feel like doing it, I get at it, and it feels like therapy. 

Nico wears a double-breasted wool coat, cashmere sweater and wool pleated trousers, Brunello Cucinelli.

Grooming: Grace Hatcher