BBC‘s “Men Up,” is funny on the surface, but it also deals with serious issues like toxic manhood, male friendships, and the social stigma that comes with being impotent. Directed by Russell T. Davies “Men Up” is about the first clinical trials of Viagra, which took place at Morriston Hospital in Swansea in 1994. This is a little-known real story. We meet five Welsh men in the movie: Meurig, Colin, Peetham, Tommy, and Eddie. Each of their lives is reaching a breaking point, and their impotence is causing them a lot of mental pain. Along with the groundbreaking drug trial, the characters go on a medical trip that shows how complicated their personal lives are.
One of the main characters in “Men Up” is Meurig Jenkins, who is played by the very good Iwan Rheon. Being impotent is hard for Meurig, who is a respected member of the community. It also makes his relationship with Ffion, the woman he fell in love with as a child, more difficult. But is Meurig Jenkins based on a real person who took part in the Viagra tests in 1994 in Swansea? tvacute delves into the details.
Is Meurig Jenkins, played by Iwan Rheon, based on a real person in Men Up?
No, Meurig Jenkins, portrayed by Iwan Rheon in the BBC film “Men Up,” is a fictional character. The movie is based on the real-life events of the first clinical trials for the drug that would become Viagra, but the characters and their stories were carefully made up by the creative team, which is led by writer and executive director Matthew Barry.
The ideas for Meurig and the other characters in the movie came from made-up stories about working-class Welshmen who might have been involved in the secret drug study in Swansea in 1994. The real names of the people who took part in the historical trial have not been made public. This lets the creative team make characters that are relatable and real without violating the privacy and security of the people who took part.
Iwan Rheon, who has played many parts on TV and in movies, including the notorious Ramsay Bolton in “Game of Thrones,” talks about how he prepared to play Meurig in “Men Up.” Rheon was immediately drawn to the plot and praised its heart, strong characters, and the warmth that was built into each story. The star says Meurig is helpless, has diabetes can’t get an erection, and is at a real breaking point in his life. He is also at a point in his life where his relationships are breaking down.
Rheon says that the movie’s main focus was on exploring what it meant to be a man in the 1990s and how hard it was for men to show how they felt. The actor thinks that a common problem that leads to loneliness and, sadly, a high rate of suicide among men is a lack of communication. Rheon wants to show through Meurig’s story how important it is to get past the social barriers that make guys afraid to talk about their feelings.
Meurig Jenkins is a composite character who goes through the problems, feelings, and growth that the filmmakers wanted a person to go through in the groundbreaking Viagra trials. Choosing to use fictional characters gives the story more freedom, letting it explore bigger ideas like masculinity, relationships, and the social stigma surrounding impotence while still respecting the privacy of the real people who helped with medical history during those trials.
