With the recent departure of Simon and Alisha from the orange boiler-suited gang, some new blood is needed down at the community centre. Step forward Nathan McMullen, who plays Finn, one of a number of new faces joining the fourth series of the superhero drama, Misfits. While Finn has yet to fully master his power of telekinesis, 24-year-old Nathan is loving playing him.

Were you a fan of Misfits before you got the part?
I was a big fan, actually. I started watching it after the first two series had already been shown because all my mates were telling me about it. And then I got an audition to be in the third series.

But the production team decided they wanted to save you for the fourth series?
Yes, at the read through, someone who was meant to be in a different episode wasn’t there, so the director and producer asked me to read for it and afterwards came up to me and said they liked the way I’d read it and wanted me to come back for the next series. So I met everyone briefly last year.

Finn is a little bit awkward in social situations, isn’t he?
Meeting people isn’t his strong point. I think if he could just jump straight into the relationship where you already know someone and deal with them, then he’d be fine. But the initial moment of getting to know someone is usually very awkward and painful.

His power is telekinesis. Was he affected by the storm, or did he buy the power?
He was very much affected by the storm. But Finn’s power is something that he’s not quite honed. He tries too hard, but he doesn’t really know how to use it. He’s the kind of person who’ll spend an hour at night at home trying to master it, and failing miserably. And that’s also like him as a character — he tries too hard to please people at times, because he wants to get on with them and be part of a group.

You come into episode one with Jess (Karla Crome). What’s her power?
She has X-ray vision, and she’s quite cool and suave in the way she uses it, whereas Finn thinks he’s amazing at using his power, but it’s actually a bit of a hindrance.

Episode one is rather gruesome, isn’t it?
Yes, it’s quite hard-core. But it’s the kind of stuff that, as an actor, you love to get involved in. There are body parts being mutilated and torn off. It’s not anything I’d like to have done to myself! It’s very funny as well though. The best thing about this series is that it’s kind of gone back to when you found out about the storm and where that could lead. The danger and the darkness has been pulled back this year.

There’s also Greg, the new probation worker (played by Shaun Dooley), who has anger management issues. Don’t probation workers usually end up dead?
Yes — but will he? He’s someone that I really enjoyed working with. I think when you see the new probation worker, your automatic thought is, ‘He’s going to die!’ It is referenced. That’s what we think as well, but you’ll have to wait and see.

Is there any romance for Finn?
Erm, yeah (laughs). I wouldn’t say he gets himself involved in romantic situations, but there are certainly interactions with more than one female!

Apparently, we’re going to find out more about Rudy’s (Joseph Gilgun) love life through a strange power he gets. Is that right?
Yes. A lot of what you have seen with Rudy up to now is that he’s a bit of a Jack-the-lad. But towards the end, you see a softer side, a different side to him. And it’s nice to see how he deals with it, because it adds to his character. You also delve into his background and his family, which Misfits hasn’t really done before. There are a lot of firsts in this series.

So where does Finn’s story go in terms of the rest of the series?
He goes on a bit of a journey of self-discovery. To begin with, he’s someone who can be perceived as quite innocent and nervous. By the end, I think he’s got a strong hold of who he is, what he wants and how he might go about getting it.

Misfits characters have a habit of leaving. Are you planning on hanging around?
I’ve loved it and if there is a new series and I’m in it, then brilliant. But we’ll just have to wait and see.

E4, Sunday

Elaine Penn