Call The Midwife star Olly Rix reveals incredible body transformation in ripped workout pics

Olly Rix, the former Call the Midwife star, discusses the intense physical training he has been receiving for his new role in Casualty as ‘funny’ doctor Flynn Byron.

When we sit down to chat with Olly Rix ahead of his recent debut in the BBC’s iconic medical drama Casualty, there’s a very palpable air of physical and mental intensity about him. For the last nine months, the Call The Midwife star’s been living a semi-secretive existence, training with former military special operatives and getting to grips with the dramatic change of pace, all the while keeping the whole thing under wraps.

Now that viewers have finally met “charming but complicated” Clinical Lead Flynn Byron, it seems like Olly, 40, can finally relax. “For the last almost nine months I’ve just been on the hospital floor all day, every day, trying to get to grips with medical terms and medical procedures, pretending to be a doctor,” he exclusively tells OK!, sounding audibly relieved to be talking about the character after so long.

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“I kind of sat in witness protection and got on with the job because there has been such a long lead.” You don’t do this for yourself; you do it for an audience and a show, so I’m really excited to finally see it on screen because I’ve only recently been able to start talking about it, and it’s been almost off because I’ve been sitting on it for so long.

Olly’s last major role was as Call The Midwife’s well-to-do Matthew Aylward, who arrived in Poplar in series 10 and was quickly widowed and left a single dad. He went on to marry midwife Trixie Franklin, before eventually losing his substantial inheritance and claim to the family business, and departing for New York to start again. Matthew was very much a man of his time, and very different to Flynn, who is described by Casualty bosses as “a man with purpose, and a fierce resolve to make a difference”.

He just returned from a tour of duty with the military and immediately appears in the new 12-part box set of the show, Internal Affairs. Olly, who has a well-known background in theater and credits with roles in Agatha Raisin and Our Girl, may have been a part of this intensity in part due to his meticulous research.

He claims that the training he’s been receiving has contributed to his mental clarity and lean physique. With an exclusive company called Andarta Health And Performance, he has spent the past nine months focusing on improving his physical and mental endurance. He now has a mentally and physical aptitude that rivals those of his social media followers.

Additionally, he has received training from Dark Prism, a London-based organization that offers realistic tactical experiences like “Blackout,” Off-Grid raids, and solo missions. It is led by former Special Operatives. The chief instructor is a former combat frogman, a special military diver who was trained to conduct underwater operations and who “pushes participants beyond their limits.”

In essence, Olly’s gone full method-actor for the new role, and it shows. “I spent a lot of time with ex and current special forces operators, and I’ve done some weapons training and a lot of physical training, but most importantly, spent a lot of time asking them about their world and where they come from, and what’s it like to adapt to civilian life,” he says.

How do they divide their lives, exactly? They might have a wife and kids, and then “offend” around the world while doing what they do. I believe a very specific and fascinating person is required. Of course, they’re not all the same, but I did look for the similarities, and that was being extremely demanding and demanding with both myself and others, and also being very short and curt when I was expecting results and requesting action.

“I wanted to incorporate that into the role because it’s not a delicate world. I personally wouldn’t call that toxic, but it depends on how thick and powerful you are. He is deeply drawn to this notion of toxic masculinity, which was a big part of Flynn’s appeal, especially since he spent three years playing a somewhat more wholesome Matthew.

He claims that “I was first and foremost interested in a very fully developed three-dimensional complex human being,” which he believes Flynn is. Without going into detail about gender politics, I believe it’s interesting to see how a production plays into what it means to be a man.

There’s a certain aspect of what I believe is often unfairly called toxic masculinity around this guy because he comes from the military background he comes from but he’s also a husband and father. And I’m curious as to why it’s needed in other ways, even if it’s not. Whether you like it or not, whether you find it offensive or offended in some way, you need rough, tough Special Forces soldiers. That’s very intriguing, in my opinion. That is a subject that piques my interest the most.

“The really exciting thing is Casualty isn’t a drama about the military, it’s a drama about the medical profession. But to take somebody from such a niche and specific context and then put them in a context where a certain type of masculinity might very well be inappropriate or be affronting, it’s really interesting watching how or if he can adapt and change.”

According to the internal affairs synopsis, Flynn is faced with “the challenge of instilling change in a system weighed down by bureaucracy, all the while dealing with the trauma he has experienced and a deception that threatens to be his undoing,” which probably accounts for Olly’s approach to preparation. He describes the work as “fast and frenetic,” with storylines rife with crisis moments and fighting the tide, and it moves very quickly from his time on Call the Midwife.

“When the ER is being overrun, as I suppose is probably true in real-life NHS situations, you’re understaffed and you’re just struggling to fight the tide a bit. That’s often reflected in the actual filming days, in the way we film and the way we work.” Former Oxford University student Olly moved from his London home to Cardiff to be closer to the BBC’s Roath Lock Studios, where most of the show is filmed.

Even though he spends a lot of time on the set, he has still received many much-needed calls from friends and family, which, if anything, have given him a break from his training. Work is a privilege and is incredibly enjoyable, and it can be profoundly pivotal, moving, and revelatory, but it’s still just work. I am aware that friends and family are everything because life doesn’t hold you back at the end.

The other incredibly important being in Olly’s life is his adorable one-year-old cocker spaniel pup Nellie. While he isn’t happy to talk about his private life too much (and any romance chat is very politely swerved), he positively beams when we ask how she’s getting on. He tells us she came into his life at a “bit of a rough time” and, “as dogs tend to do, pulled me out of it”.

He says, “While I was doing all this training and all this preparation, it also meant that I also had this lovely four-month window” to take her for walks and baths. Being able to spend a lot of time with her, raise a young pup, and have time to reflect on both the job and the work at the same time was a lovely combination. You inquired about my relaxing habits. I can’t resist an hour of dog walking.

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Source: Mirror