Hollyoaks Interview with Tyler Conti

A shadow of mystery has followed Abe since his arrival to the village in January, with him following his heart after catching feelings for Cleo.

However, his love interest is busy trying to pursue her ex-fiancé Joel. A big twist in the tail came when it was revealed Joel and Abe are brothers. In recent scenes, with Cleo pushing him away, Abe sleeps with her cousin, Theresa, and his manipulative side starts to reveal itself. Tyler Conti speaks out for the first time since his arrival.

What are Abe’s motivations with Cleo?

I think first of all he really loves her. He sees this amazing connection, his idea of what an amazing connection is. And because of his upbringing and because his parents weren’t necessarily the most stable parents, what he sees in Cleo is like the fairytale. He will manipulate, calculate, and just do whatever he can to get that dream fairytale because, to him, Cleo is the escape from what his parents taught him love was.

In an unexpected turn, Abe sleeps with Cleo’s cousin Theresa in upcoming episodes, was this in the heat of the moment or a calculated move?

Abe is calculated but he’s also a bit of a chancer and I think in the moment Theresa’s paying him a little bit of attention. It happens in The Loft and he sees that Cleo is not giving him what he, so he could possibly get something from her cousin. He thinks it’s quite a good opportunity to stir the pot a little bit and see what happens, because really, he’s not doing anything wrong because he’s not with Cleo anymore, it’s how he sees it. I think it’s calculated, but it’s also kind of like, let’s see what happens. Let’s go with it.

Theresa and Abe do look loved-up for a fleeting moment, do you think he was ever interest in getting to know her?

I don’t think he is interested in pursuing her personally. There are bits in there that would suggest that he is because he seems really lovey but I think he sees someone like Theresa as someone who he can manipulate and say the things that she wants to hear and be able to move her how he wants to and use her as a little bit of a pawn in the game that he plays.

Cleo opens up about her past traumas to Abe, will he try to use this to his advantage?

I think an opportunist is a great way to describe him. I don’t necessarily see him as a complete psychopath with no remorse or empathy towards people, but I think he often finds information about people like Cleo’s past and even though he feels sorry for this person, he once again manipulates that and uses that to get what he wants. I don’t even know if sometimes he’s necessarily aware of him doing it. I think because of his childhood and because of his upbringing and environment, how he was taught to get things is by using people and I think that’s what he does. He cares a lot for Cleo and he’s like, oh my god, that history is horrible. I can’t believe it. At the same time, he knows that he can use that because he always wants to get what he wants. He’s kind of power hungry, it’s like textbook narcissist stuff.

The McQueen clan, especially Mercedes, is hot on Abe’s tail this week after finding out what he’s done, do you think they have sussed him out, or do you think he can convince them he is a good guy?

I think Abe thinks that he has met people like Mercedes before, I think he is good with his words, can find his way out of anything. A typical gaslighter that, if he keeps on saying no, if he just keeps on lying, no one’s going to find him out. He thinks he can worm his way around Mercedes, and the McQueens. He has dealt with a lot of stuff in his life, so I think this isn’t really anything too drastic for him. He’s got other fish to fry at the moment.

What is it like to play this kind of character?

I love it. I think villains are fun to play. I feel like I always keep getting typecast for villain roles, I don’t know what that says about me! But it’s just really nice because you always try and find a humility around them and just really try to make them as human as possible. Their reasons have to be justified, otherwise you are just playing a cold-hearted character who doesn’t have any sort of empathy.

I don’t think that’s Abe at all. I think there’s reasons for why he’s doing what he’s doing. He’s doing the wrong things, but he’s had a bad upbringing in a bad environment and doesn’t understand the right way to do it. I feel like he’s an awful horrible toxic kind of guy, but it’s one of those things where the people he looks up to, his idols, are just the wrong people. Especially with all the other stuff that’s going on, not just necessarily in the relationship, he’s kind of up to his neck in it and is basically like, okay how do we get out of this one? It just snowballs rather than this cold-hearted character who abuses everyone.

Can you tease what’s to come for Abe?

I think you’ll get more of an understanding of where Abe has come from and what he’s dealt with that’s put him in this scenario or this kind of body that he is, the mind frame that he has and why he’s been doing what he’s doing. I think you’ll have more empathy toward him, but also I think it could go a bit darker then that as well and then maybe you’ll go against him…

Hollyoaks airs weeknights at 7pm on E4