He assumes a “non-official cover” at a Midwestern industrial piping firm to help him carry out his mission but it doesn’t go to plan.
Suffering from Post Traumatic Street Disorder (PTSD), John struggles to keep his personal and work life separate but he often becomes confused and he soon spirals out of control.
Speaking about preparing for the role, Michael Dorman explained that viewers will learn more about John and why he is suffering from PTSD.
“You see him kill someone and you also find out that he was tortured for 30 odd days,” he told Express.co.uk. “And it was white torture, which is supposed to completely erase your sense of self.
“In terms of the character and my approach as an actor, I looked at the effects of things like insomnia and not eating and used that as something to drive him and his will to never give up.”
He added that as the series progresses viewers will see the condition worsen and could leave his high-risk mission in jeopardy.
“It’s kind of like the unravelling of the thread, like if you pull at a loose thread, how much damage does that do?” the actor commented.
“We’re dealing with a guy that has an undiagnosed mental illness of sorts and he’s forced to pretend to be someone that he’s not and it becomes a very complicated situation.”
He continued: “You watch him unravel and you watch him confront by all of these obstacles that stop him from getting this element, this bag from A to B, which sounds really simple but it becomes really complex.”
Other than dealing with John’s PTSD, Michael said that the biggest challenge for him was learning how to do a good American accent.
“In my past experiences, it’s been other people trying to put on accents, you know in Australia,” he noted. “But this time, I was in the minority and one of the only people putting on an American accent so that was a challenge in itself.”
Patriot is available to stream on Amazon Prime now.
Daily Express :: TV and Radio Feed
