The British cop drama Line of Duty, which was BBC2′s most popular drama in eight years, shows what happens when the city’s top detective, DCI Tony Gates (Lennie James), is scrutinized under investigation for being too “successful.”  Soon, his career and his life, along with the lives of those he loves, are put at risk, and he’s left wondering who he can trust and how he will survive.  The show also stars Martin Compston, Vicky McClure, Adrian Dunbar, Neil Morrissey and Gina McKee.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actor Lennie James, who always turns in memorable, intriguing and unexpected performances, talked about what attracted him to Line of Duty and his sometimes questionable character, why he’s drawn to characters that live in the grey area, how he tries not to have an external eye on the roles that he plays, and the advantages of running the series’ five episodes, uncut and unedited, on Hulu.  He also talked about the appeal of his role in the upcoming AMC drama series Low Winter Sun, based on a 2006 British mini-series of the same name, the possibility that he could still return to The Walking Dead, but that he has no real sense of if or when that might happen, the special place that Jericho still holds in his heart, and how he’d love to do some more comedy.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.