Evans said coming from a “very working-class background” helped him understand his character’s choices.
“Even though it probably wouldn’t have been my choice of journey, I understood him.
“I got the fact that, through a strange route, this man got what he wanted and succeeded. He came from nothing, but was very clever, almost chameleon-like, in how he could adapt and observe and blend in, and I just thought it was very interesting,” he said.
Evans said Gilmour is treated like “an outsider by almost everybody” in the drama which starts on Sunday on ITV.
“This kid gets an opportunity to go to an Eton-style school. But he sticks out like a sore thumb and is treated as an outsider by almost everybody.
“I have always felt like an outsider myself,” Evans said, recalling when he first began working in the film industry.
“When I first became a film actor, I didn’t feel like I belonged.
“I didn’t feel accepted in the way I saw other people of my age and peer group being accepted. So Martin resonated a lot with me.”
“I also admired him,” Evans added, because despite the obstacles he faced, as “it didn’t stop him from keeping going”.
“He was a fighter. He was able to manoeuvre himself into the right places, so the opportunities arose. It’s a very relatable story.”