Are Democrats satisfied with the campaign that Troy Jackson is putting here? Is he breaking through with voters, you know, trying to make his position against Collins?

It's a difficult one for Democrats and Troy Jackson specifically.

You know, he's...

He's obviously not who they wanted initially.

Initially, what they will have is Graham Plattner, and that obviously did not go great for them.

Jackson is a bit of a mixed bag, no matter how you slice it.

He's not a particularly great campaigner.

But because you have both been on the ground in the campaign trail, I guess, what are some issues that you're seeing directly from the voters in those states, in those districts, that they want their elected representative to address ahead of November? Al, starting with you.

Mm-hmm

... for the, for this town hall.

So folks definitely notice it.

They definitely notice that the enthusiasm isn't quite what it is.

You know, I, there might be a little bit of a gap there as far as, uh, you know, who's, uh, ab- about whether he's enough wind in its, wind in his sails, you know? I, there was one woman who asked a question, it was the last question of the event, um, and basically said, "Why should we trust you? You talk about this movement that you're riding the wave of, but you didn't build this movement.

This was somebody else's-

Yeah

... have tightened a little bit.

Uh, what's, what's the, what's the rundown on this deal that they announced?

Yeah, I mean, the thing that Cornyn and Tillis had demanded was they wanted an in writing, uh, ple- or, or vow from the Justice Department that they will not move forward with the weaponization fund, uh, the anti-weaponization fund, which is a one point eight billion dollar, uh, kitty that would help compensate, uh, some of the president's allies and some of those who rioted on January 6th at the Capitol.

Tillis has talked, for example, about having, wanting to stick a fork in that turkey for a long time.

Uh, I, you know, that, that was one of the things they got, and then the other thing was limiting the scope of this audit, uh, or future audit or audits against President Trump, this immunity deal that he struck with, with the IRS.

Uh, and, you know, it, they, they were able to limit it to, to past, uh, ta- to past tax dealings, uh, past audits.

Uh, you know, so th- they got part of that too.

You know, they're getting some heat from others on the left and others, you know, who are, you know, in various circles who were not pleased about this, saying they didn't get enough.

Uh, is the Senate okay with that, with this, uh, anti-weaponization fund pay- providing payouts to Trump allies, to January 6th rioters, anything like that?

What did you make of this as an ending for Leonard Finch?

Well, I do, I mean, I honestly thought it was the best ending.

The, I, I don't think of a, I, I can't think of a better ending at all.

I think people will be really, really happy 'cause I think he c- he can be happy now because finally, even though he's got Daniel, but Daniel's strong in his own right, and he can manage by himself, but that Leonard can take all that goodness, all that humor and wisdom and idiosyncrasies that he has and g- give it to [laughs] Raymond, I think is just, it's goo- I think it's gorgeous.

I was so happy when I read that, when they told me that that was what they would, would, we were doing it.

And then when I saw those episodes, I just thought, "You know what? That is the best ending ever." Like, completely just landed the plane.

Gorgeous.

Looking at this holistically, how has Grantchester changed your life?

Uh, was there a particular turning point for Leonard, whether it is, as you say, having to give up his collar, his suicide attempt, breaking off his engagement to Hilary, or his love and care for Sylvia during her cancer treatment? Was there a particular turning point that ultimately changed your perspective as an actor on the character you're playing?

When Mrs.

C, like, when she became aware of Daniel and kind of lured him in, and him and Daniel solidified that relationship, when he accepted and didn't care and was like, "This is what I'm doing." And I think when he, you know, he admitted to the police that he was guilty, then I think, you know, those sorts of things, like his courage and his moving forward are big things.

I loved all that stuff.

You know, when, when a, when a character or, you know, you or me or anyone takes ownership of, one, their mistakes, two, their ambitions, the things or true purpose or, you know, sexual feelings, whatever it is, like it takes courage to, to be yourself.

And I think when he started doing that, then that became really interesting, and it, it kind of became a lot more...

It was less comedic, all the stuff.

What did those car rides mean to you?