Latest / Half the Picture / #11 - YASMIN PAIGE

Transcript

#11 - YASMIN PAIGE · Half the Picture

0:00
When submarine finished, I was very sad.
0:02
It was almost like a grief, like feeling bereft,
0:04
because I was, you know, really young.
0:08
I just loved being there.
0:09
It was such a great experience.
0:10
And, you know, again, like being a child actor,
0:14
I didn't have a big friendship kind of group.
0:16
And I think it was a really all-encompassing experience for me.
0:21
And I was very attached to everyone.
0:23
And in a way that you do when you're young,
0:25
you kind of linchpin to people and you look up to people.
0:29
So, and I, because it was so intense,
0:31
I knew I was going to miss it deeply, and I did, for a long time.
0:34
Yeah.
0:43
Hey, everyone.
0:44
I'm Billy, and welcome back to Half the Picture.
0:46
And very pleased to say that our guest this episode is Yasmin Page,
0:50
the actress he starred in Richard A.O.R.D. Submarine,
0:52
which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year.
0:54
I was super excited to get Yasmin on the pod to talk about submarine
0:57
because it's one of my favorite coming-of-age films,
1:00
maybe even one of my favorite British films of recent times,
1:02
Richard A.O.R.D. and Craig Roberts and her.
1:04
You know, there's some kind of magic chemistry between them all in that film,
1:08
as well as the Alex Turner soundtrack,
1:10
which, you know, is obviously one of the key things about that film that people love.
1:13
And also, experience working with Sally Hawkins,
1:15
and Paddy Conzendine, and the rest of the great cast,
1:18
and her experience as a child actress,
1:20
you know, growing up, working on things like Sarah Jane Adventures,
1:22
and what that was like.
1:24
And also, her experience working in the industry today,
1:27
what it's been like post-COVID, and, you know,
1:29
what state the industry is in now, and how it's affecting actors.
1:32
So, without further ado, let's roll on my conversation with Yasmin Page.
1:36
Enjoy.
1:37
Hey, Yasmin, welcome to the show.
1:38
Hi, thanks for having me.
1:40
Our pleasure. Our pleasure.
1:41
So, we've got you on today to talk about submarine,
1:44
which 15 years ago came out, which is pretty mental, I'm guessing.
1:48
Yeah, I'm laughing because it is mental.
1:50
It makes me feel very old.
1:52
Yeah, I mean, it's pretty crazy for us as fans, you know,
1:54
having, I guess, grown up watching that film,
1:56
it can only be a million times harder for you, you know, you've done it.
1:58
Yeah, I was very young when I did it.
2:00
I think I was 16, 17, I think.
2:06
Because I remember, because Craig is, like, two years older than me, I think.
2:10
So, remember, he was, like, 18, 19.
2:12
So, I feel like, yeah, I was, like, 16, 17.
2:14
Mm-hmm.
2:15
And now that it has been, we've had this period of time
2:18
where the film has just kind of been absorbed by so many people.
2:22
I think so many people have come to it and watched it,
2:23
and fallen in love with it.
2:24
And it's, I feel like it's a film that has a place in a lot of people's hearts.
2:29
And I guess for you, like, what is your relationship now to it 15 years on?
2:33
I mean, I'm very proud of it.
2:34
It's, it's, yeah, people do still say to me, like, oh, that was a big part of my childhood.
2:40
They always, if I'm ever approached by anyone,
2:44
they always mention submarine.
2:45
It's like the one thing that they mention.
2:48
And they always say it's a big part of their childhood or a big part of their experience.
2:51
I think it meant a lot to a lot of people in that kind of, you know,
2:54
adolescence, that cost of growing up, which is really lovely
2:58
and really amazing to be a part of.
3:00
And for me, personally, I obviously have a very personal affection
3:05
to the film, to the people that we did it with, to the experience.
3:10
I was a child actor, so I acted before that experience quite a bit.
3:16
But it really stands out to me as for an amazing experience that I had.
3:22
So what was it like working with Craig, I guess, is the first question.
3:25
Because, you know, Craig, you and him are on screen.
3:28
You share the screens for so much of that film.
3:30
And there's something kind of iconic about the two of you in that film.
3:33
I mean, I had an amazing time filming with Craig.
3:38
I think we clicked straight away.
3:40
We, I remember we did, like, a screen test together in Wales.
3:45
But we didn't know if we had, you know, we'd got the job.
3:49
It was like a screen test that we did.
3:51
It was the scene of the train tracks, wasn't it?
3:53
Yes, it was. Yeah, yeah.
3:55
I remember when my mom was there, my mom shaperoned me there.
4:00
And, yeah, and Craig and I were like, this is really cool.
4:03
But it's the we did it just like what's going on.
4:06
But yeah, we just gotten really, really well from the beginning.
4:09
We had a great time.
4:11
And I think the chemistry that you, that is in the film is because we,
4:17
we've got on like friends.
4:19
It was amazing.
4:20
And we got very, we just had a wonderful time with Richard.
4:24
We would do like, we would film on a Saturday,
4:28
just like us, Richard and D.O.P.
4:30
and we would just go off on our own and do things on the weekend without like a massive,
4:34
you know, it wasn't, we didn't have a massive crew anyway.
4:36
It was very intimate experience.
4:38
But we would just do that and go off and like do things and go to these gorgeous locations
4:43
and like run around.
4:44
And for me, yeah, it was just a very wonderful experience.
4:50
I felt very safe in like to kind of, yeah, to make choices and to kind of explore.
5:00
And I was young, looking back at it now as young when I was filming,
5:03
even though I'd been acting for a long time.
5:05
And Richard just created a really wonderful environment for two young actors
5:09
who felt very safe and comfortable with him and he really guided us,
5:13
also just let us be free and trusted us.
5:15
And kind of, we kind of grew up, I guess, in that way.
5:19
I feel like it was probably my first sort of adult adolescence experience as an actor.
5:24
Because I've been a child actor for most of my life up until that point.
5:29
And when you're a child actor, you don't always get a lot of trust.
5:34
That he really gave us that.
5:35
And I think that's also part of what makes the film really good as well.
5:40
Yeah.
5:40
Apart from Richard's vision and how wonderful everyone is.
5:43
And you know, for sure.
5:45
I mean, with Richard, I was hoping to ask about that actually specifically
5:48
because from what you described, you sound like you knew exactly what you wanted.
5:52
He sounded very confident.
5:53
But then it was his first film.
5:54
I mean, I guess it was sort of from all of you, it was kind of a sort of a new beginning.
5:57
I mean, yeah, I forget that.
6:00
Yeah, I forget that.
6:02
I remember when I first met Richard.
6:04
And how'd you know about like his?
6:05
How'd you followed his career for them?
6:07
I see crowds.
6:08
So I knew from the IT crowd.
6:10
But up into that point, no, until I met him at my recall.
6:15
And I remember I did.
6:17
He asked me to improvise.
6:19
And I was like, no, I don't, I'm not, yeah, I don't know what I said.
6:23
But I was like, no, I don't, you know, I'm not comfortable.
6:25
I don't, I don't, I don't even rise.
6:26
I'm not getting rising.
6:26
And he's like, well, you know, you don't have to say anything.
6:30
If you don't want to, I'll just, you know,
6:32
I'll just give you something.
6:33
And if you want to say something, then great.
6:35
And if you don't, then you don't have to say anything.
6:37
And I was like, and he just literally talked for like 10 minutes,
6:40
a little monologue, like a monologue.
6:42
I didn't say one word.
6:44
But yeah, so I don't know.
6:46
Yeah, we, we really, really, you know,
6:50
looked up to Richard, Richard was, he knew what he wanted.
6:52
He was, yeah, he just, he was really brilliant.
6:56
So we just really admired him and trusted him.
7:00
He really, he's so lovely and garnered so much trust.
7:05
And yeah, he just made it feel that we were doing it together.
7:09
And I think that was what was really nice.
7:11
There wasn't like that, you know, yeah, he,
7:13
it wasn't like a hierarchy.
7:14
Yeah, it didn't feel like that.
7:17
Obviously he was our director.
7:18
We wanted to do well for him because,
7:22
I think everyone wanted to do well for him
7:23
because he gone as that kind of, yeah, respect, but also care.
7:28
Because he's very caring.
7:29
He was very caring about everyone.
7:30
So I think that, that, that is why.
7:33
So, and we just, he was just brilliant.
7:36
I mean, the script was brilliant.
7:37
It was, we were all, we were all excited.
7:39
So I think we just were like, yeah, this is really cool.
7:42
But I remember, when you're filming something,
7:46
you don't always imagine how it will be at the end.
7:49
It's just something pieces.
7:51
Yeah, it was pieces.
7:52
I never, I think when I was filming it,
7:54
kind of forgotten that it was going to be,
7:56
you're so into the experience in the moment
7:57
that you kind of forget that there's going to be an end result.
8:00
And then, like, you know, and I remember watching it
8:02
for the first time we watched it,
8:04
the Toronto International Film Festival.
8:06
The premier, right?
8:07
Yeah, and we carried it on the plane,
8:10
like the real film on the plane.
8:12
So I had a with us.
8:13
And I remember watching for the first time,
8:14
I was like, I was shocked.
8:16
I mean, I thought it was fantastic.
8:18
Not that I ever doubted Richard or doubted Eric
8:21
or any of the crew or anything that would,
8:23
that wouldn't be amazing.
8:24
But I just forgot that it was going to come together
8:27
as this beautiful thing.
8:30
And I was really shocked.
8:31
Happily shocked.
8:33
I was like, wow, this is so cool.
8:35
Yeah, I've seen footage of that of the premiere.
8:36
And it's, you know, it's because it's you guys
8:38
in Sally Hawkins, Ben Stiller,
8:40
pops up and he's producing the film.
8:42
I mean, that's an interesting fact that, you know,
8:43
Ben Stiller's name is on the movie.
8:45
Yeah.
8:46
I mean, was he, because he's actually in the movie, isn't he?
8:48
He has a cameo.
8:48
I mean, was he around?
8:50
I don't remember meeting Ben in Wales,
8:53
but maybe we did.
8:56
But I feel like when we were at Toronto,
9:00
is when I, he was definitely there,
9:02
but I'm sorry, I don't remember if I met him in Wales
9:05
when we were filming it.
9:06
It's days gone by.
9:07
Yeah.
9:08
It's my surprise to me that you hands,
9:09
so you guys, you and Craig, you hadn't seen the film
9:11
before you were sitting with a few thousand people
9:14
in Toronto watching it.
9:15
I mean, how come they hadn't showed you like a rough cut
9:17
or anything?
9:18
Were you guys just busy off on other projects?
9:20
I'm not sure if we ever saw any rushes.
9:23
I don't think...
9:26
So, no, I don't remember seeing many rushes
9:30
or if we did, it was something that was very small.
9:33
Because I think the, you know, the montage
9:36
where we're on the bicycle,
9:41
and it's the, you know, I can't remember which song.
9:44
Hiding tonight, isn't it?
9:45
Yeah, it's fun.
9:46
And the fireworks are kind of attached to the bike.
9:48
I think we're, I think I remember,
9:51
or we filmed a, like sort of a video to that.
9:53
And I remember seeing that we filmed on a super eight camera,
9:56
where it should have filmed on a super eight camera.
9:58
And I remember seeing that beforehand,
10:00
but I don't remember seeing that many rushes.
10:03
But the cool thing, one of my really strong memories is
10:06
when we would finish like a real film,
10:09
because I'd never filmed anything on film at that time,
10:11
and they would take it and they'll put it in like the dark tent,
10:13
and I would watch them and they'd like have their hands
10:15
and everything, and they'd be like, cool, that's, you know, really cool.
10:18
And I remember that really strongly,
10:19
because I'd never filmed anything on film before,
10:21
it was all digital, so.
10:22
Sure.
10:23
Yeah.
10:24
I mean, because when you mention those sequences where,
10:26
so when you and Craig are going off,
10:29
and you're doing all this little bits like,
10:30
you know, running on the beach and riding the bike,
10:32
and it's so is it literally just you guys
10:34
and Richard, with a super eight camera,
10:36
and he's going off and doing it completely, like, no, over crew,
10:39
he's running off into the hills and doing it.
10:40
Yeah, no, it was just us.
10:42
And there was a couple of, and so like we would do,
10:46
I think it was called like Sunday Club, Saturday Club.
10:48
So Richard would like pick us up with Eric,
10:50
and we'd just be in like a car,
10:52
be me, Craig, Eric, and Richard.
10:54
And then we would have like the red jacket, you know, our costume,
10:56
just put it on.
10:57
Yeah, the big different kind of.
10:58
It would have like makeup on or anything like that,
10:59
and just put the coat and the outfit on, and then costume.
11:03
And then we would just go to these locations
11:05
and like run around and just play,
11:08
and that was all like, all of us in the film.
11:11
I remember one time we were running on the beach.
11:14
It was just Richard and I,
11:16
because a lot of that stuff, where it's like, I guess,
11:18
all of us POV of me, or of Jordana,
11:21
that was just Richard and I.
11:22
So we would go off and just do stuff.
11:24
So I'm looking, as if I'm looking at all of us,
11:26
I was just looking at Richard.
11:29
And we would go off and I remember one time I was running
11:32
on the beach, like just having time left.
11:34
And I fell and I injured, I basically twisted my knee
11:39
and Richard had to find me and carry me like,
11:40
up these rocks, because I couldn't get back up.
11:44
So I remember that.
11:46
But yeah, I think sometimes we probably got in a pit.
11:49
Not a bit of trouble, but I think the first A.D.
11:50
was like, wow, they're just running off round, you know,
11:53
because obviously, probably weren't supposed to be running off
11:55
doing, you know, didn't have everyone there,
11:58
but we had a great time.
11:59
Yeah, and I think that's in the film.
12:01
That sense of sort of adolescence of mischief
12:04
and kind of like roaming and kind of, you know, freedom.
12:07
It's in the movie, which I think people really respond to.
12:10
And that was all just me, me and Craig roaming around
12:14
doing that wasn't really, yeah, we were just,
12:18
we just let us loose, especially me and I'll just run off
12:21
and just, I've always been a bit tom, like, I guess,
12:24
I don't want to say Tom Bush, but I love nature,
12:28
I love running, I love doing it, and growing up in London,
12:30
I didn't always have that opportunity
12:31
and I think growing up as a child actor had to vary
12:35
in some way quite serious, I would say, like, you know,
12:39
serious upbringing, you know, and so I think that experience
12:43
really, I just let loose.
12:45
It was like one of the first times in my life, I was like,
12:47
yeah, I get to run around and just, yeah, I got that experience
12:51
and I just used it, that's all real, just, yeah, messing around.
12:56
Yeah, it feels real.
12:57
And you say that all, that's a lot of that stuff,
12:58
because it'll all be ended up in the music video
13:00
for Paragraph Awards, super, and you guys knew
13:03
when you were shooting it like this will go into,
13:05
because Alex turned it obviously to the soundtrack,
13:06
and I think that's another big sort of reason
13:08
why people love the film is those songs.
13:10
The music is, yeah, the songs that Alex wrote was phenomenal
13:14
and I listened to the soundtrack as well, I love the soundtrack.
13:18
I know that Alex wrote those songs,
13:21
so Richard would show Alex rushes
13:24
and it's not like he pre-wrote the songs beforehand,
13:27
he would look at the rushes and look at them
13:28
and then he would cut, like, write the song.
13:31
So I remember him telling us that,
13:34
well, Richard telling us that, that that's how it was done.
13:38
So...
13:38
So when you guys were sort of watching rushes back,
13:41
like I guess after a day's work, would Alex be there,
13:43
sort of, would you watch making notes?
13:44
He wouldn't be with us, but Richard and him would do that separately,
13:47
so he would show Alex the rushes
13:49
and then he came up with the songs from the rushes,
13:53
so which is pretty amazing.
13:54
Yeah, so did you and Craig get to meet Alex?
13:57
We did, but we met him at one of the showings,
14:02
I think, one of the premiums, yeah.
14:05
Yeah.
14:06
But all that stuff, so all the stuff you guys running around,
14:08
you knew that was gonna end up in a,
14:09
you were gonna put together a film
14:11
and put that to one of the songs.
14:13
No, that was all Richard.
14:14
I think Richard collated a lot of that
14:16
and then decided where it would go.
14:19
We did have a lot of super-ate footage
14:21
of us just being kids running around.
14:24
It's like saying if I had Craig's leg hair.
14:26
Yeah, and just like, and Richard would, of course,
14:29
also say like, what about this, what about that sometimes,
14:32
but then he'd just also just let us do whatever.
14:34
He was never very super prescriptive.
14:39
There were certain things which were prescriptive
14:41
and was Richard's vision that he, like,
14:43
I remember for the railway bridge scene,
14:45
he would show us, and he did this a few times
14:48
as he would show us clips from other films
14:51
or things that he would show us clips of something
14:53
which was an inspiration for,
14:56
and he would just say, just this kind of tone,
14:58
so it was a lot of tonal things,
15:00
because obviously the tone of the film is very specific.
15:04
And so he, a lot of the preparation for that
15:07
was tonal inspiration, I would say, more than anything.
15:11
Like a mood board.
15:12
Yeah, like a mood board, yeah, but it would be a clip.
15:16
Sometimes before we would film stuff,
15:17
we would get a visual clip,
15:19
and that's the kind of tone we were going for.
15:22
That, you know, and so, and that was really helpful.
15:25
I'd never worked like that before,
15:28
and I found that really, really helpful.
15:30
I'm more of a visual learner as well,
15:32
so I think showing me something,
15:35
me being able to understand the tone is,
15:37
then I could take that.
15:41
I remember with the letter reading as well,
15:43
when Jordana reads the letter,
15:44
that was another tonal thing as well, so.
15:46
And is that, are those clips like,
15:48
so for like camera reference,
15:49
like this is what we're going to do with the camera,
15:50
is it more like emotional?
15:52
Like, you know, this is how it's going to feel.
15:53
Both, I think.
15:54
I think they were like,
15:57
sort of inspiration for visual,
15:59
but also emotional, so both, I think, yeah.
16:04
So the character you played, Jordana,
16:05
who, as I say, like you and Craig,
16:07
together on screen in character,
16:09
there's something so striking about the image of you two,
16:12
like, you know, you have the red, double coat,
16:14
Craig with the coat he's got,
16:15
which is kind of with that collar,
16:16
it sort of like, sort of Jean-Pierre Melville,
16:18
just kind of thing going on, it's sort of this collar,
16:21
and I mean, you guys are on screen together,
16:23
it's kind of magic.
16:24
I mean, you mentioned the red, double coat earlier,
16:26
did you guys have much input on what your characters
16:29
would be wearing, or was that all left to, you know,
16:32
the costume designer?
16:34
I think, you know, Richard's vision was very strong.
16:38
I don't think I'll be wrong in saying that,
16:41
and the costume designer, they obviously work together.
16:43
Like, for example, I mean, you can't turn now,
16:45
but my hair is very different to,
16:49
Jordan has hair, and Richard had that vision of the bob.
16:52
So I remember, he came with me,
16:54
and we went to the hairdressers,
16:55
and because my hair's naturally quite curly,
16:58
I'm obviously strange now,
16:59
but my hair's actually quite curly,
17:01
and I have really long brown, dark brown curly hair,
17:05
we just chopped it off,
17:06
and chemically straightened it,
17:08
so I had like a relaxer,
17:11
and, you know, and that was all Richard,
17:13
just when he came with me to the hairdress,
17:15
and just cut my hair off.
17:16
This is what it's gonna be, boom.
17:17
Yeah, so his vision was so unique and very strong,
17:23
and yeah, he was, you're right,
17:24
when he said at the beginning,
17:25
he knew exactly what he wanted,
17:27
and with the costume, I believe,
17:29
with the coats, that was Richard's vision,
17:33
and the colour contrast and all that stuff,
17:36
and all the colours, and he had a very strong,
17:39
I think, vision for the tones and the colours,
17:42
and him and Eric also, I think, I think,
17:44
I believe, would have worked on that,
17:46
but I do remember that Richard would,
17:48
and this is like, the amazing thing about filming it,
17:52
was like, when we were filming in the school, for example,
17:55
Richard would take us to the locations beforehand,
17:58
and he'd be like, where do you, where do you want to sit,
18:01
or what do you, he would let us lead a lot of things
18:04
that felt natural, rather than prescribing us,
18:06
like, this is where you go, this is where you stand,
18:08
which, as a child actor, is often,
18:10
what happens, you know, you shove and set,
18:12
and it's like, this is where you stand,
18:13
and then that this line you do, you know,
18:15
I don't know if it's changed now,
18:16
but a lot of the stuff I did was quite prescribed,
18:20
and there is a creative outlet, of course,
18:22
but, like I said, there's much less sort of, like,
18:24
freedom for children, I think,
18:26
when I was a child actor, sort of, like, doing that,
18:30
at least much more prescribing, obviously,
18:31
there's a time, a much more time constraints as well,
18:33
so I understand that.
18:34
But with the film, we did a lot of rehearsal,
18:38
we rehearsed, like, I think, pretty much everything,
18:40
and we're very fortunate to have that time,
18:42
and in that time, Richard allowed us to explore the sets,
18:47
and we got to choose a lot of things,
18:49
like, where we would go, what we would do,
18:51
so, for the date, where Oliver comes over
18:54
to, Jordania's house.
18:56
Yeah.
18:57
Is that the Christmas date,
18:58
or is that the one where you go to his house?
19:00
There's a couple, isn't there?
19:02
There's my, where?
19:02
No, I'm sorry, I go to his house, apologies.
19:04
I go to his house, and I walk up the thing,
19:06
and then, like, it was the dawn,
19:07
I'm like, thanks for living up a fucking hill,
19:09
and I remember, I remember,
19:12
when we were rehearsing the scene,
19:14
I was like, bloody hell, I'm like,
19:16
like, up this fucking hill, and Richard was like,
19:18
yeah, say that.
19:19
So there's, like, certain things that would,
19:21
there was, there was a lot of improv as well,
19:23
and a lot of things that did end up in the film,
19:25
so, like, you know, I don't think I said,
19:27
oh, he is up a fucking hill,
19:28
but I was like, well, he lives up a,
19:29
what the hell is his hill?
19:30
And Richard was like, yeah, say that,
19:32
I think it's not a fucking hill.
19:33
So, I'm, oh, sorry, I'm gonna have to swear.
19:34
No, good for it.
19:36
But yeah, so, like, that came from that moment,
19:38
so when he obsessed on, like,
19:38
thanks for living up a fucking hill.
19:40
So, that came from that moment,
19:43
and that lion that she wears,
19:47
so, you know, when she sat on the table,
19:48
and I've got, like, the, not lion, the tiger,
19:50
I remember, Richard took me into, like, a clothing,
19:54
like, the place where all the costume was,
19:57
and he was like, pick what she would wear on this date,
20:00
and I would, like, look for other things,
20:02
and then I saw the tiger, and I was like, this one.
20:04
So, there was a lot of collaboration like that.
20:07
That's amazing, because it's interesting
20:09
hearing that was in-profit,
20:10
because it feels completely in character.
20:12
It feels completely natural
20:14
with the rest of the movie and the rest of your performance.
20:17
And I wanted to ask about that, actually,
20:19
because I know it's obviously, as you say,
20:20
you're from London originally,
20:21
but you're playing this, sort of, this Welsh Swansea girl,
20:24
and, like, you know, you're doing an incredible,
20:25
well, it's someone who's half Welsh,
20:27
doing an incredible Welsh accent, by the way, I must say.
20:29
Thank you.
20:30
And I think I've heard Richard say that,
20:32
like, didn't you just sort of stay in that accent,
20:34
like, methods down a day or a day,
20:35
just stay in that accent for the whole shoot?
20:37
That was it.
20:39
I did.
20:40
I learnt the accent from watching Gavin and Stacey.
20:43
I watched Gavin and Stacey over and over and over and over
20:48
and over again, and practiced the accent a lot.
20:51
I guess I was a bit worried about, you know, doing,
20:55
I wanted to do it well, but...
20:57
So, yeah, I did practice it a lot.
20:59
I watched Gavin.
21:01
I mean, that was me and my mum.
21:02
My mum and I would just watch Gavin and Stacey,
21:04
and I would just talk to her in the accent,
21:06
and my mum just thought it was hilarious.
21:08
So, I would even watch it after work, like after filming,
21:11
just to keep reminding myself and keep practicing it.
21:14
But I did actually stay in the accent the whole time
21:18
because it was just easier for me than dipping in and out.
21:23
And I found that the more I stayed in it,
21:25
the easier it became, and I was able to add a lot more.
21:29
I think I would have found it harder to add a little bit
21:31
to, if I didn't stay in the accent.
21:34
So, I think, and also Richard, you know,
21:36
when we spoke about it, you know, it was like,
21:39
he was like, it would be fine.
21:40
You know, I'm like, what other, I don't know,
21:42
if other people would find it,
21:42
it would be fine if you, you know,
21:44
I think he encouraged me to do
21:45
or make me feel comfortable
21:46
and what would make it feel okay for me.
21:49
And I think just staying in the accent probably is,
21:51
I'm laughing now, I don't know.
21:53
But it just, it made the more I stayed in it,
21:56
the more I didn't have to think about it at all.
21:59
Because it just, after six, four weeks,
22:03
I didn't think about it anymore.
22:05
So, it just became a, like, muscle memory,
22:07
and then I was able to add lib,
22:08
and then I was able to improv more in the accent.
22:12
And is that something that you sort of took with you
22:14
after subring?
22:15
Because looking at some of your other work, like glue,
22:17
where you're playing this police officer
22:18
who's sort of part Romani,
22:20
and you're sort of, you're speaking in Romani
22:22
to some of the other characters,
22:23
and like, was it, was it that something that you took
22:26
beyond that?
22:26
No, I don't think I've done that before.
22:28
Like, I've not, and after that, I've not done that,
22:31
I've not, like, stayed in that before.
22:33
I think it was just so specific for this project
22:36
because it kind of helped that we were, like, away from home.
22:40
We moved to Wales for that period of time.
22:42
We were in kind of a very all-encompassing environment.
22:47
So, it was a lot easier to do it in that sense, I think.
22:51
There's an, that's interesting thing about, sort of,
22:53
Swansea is kind of a character in the film,
22:55
as much as you guys, you know, it's very much,
22:57
you can, you get a sort of sense of the landscape.
22:59
And I was thinking, as I was watching it back,
23:01
I was thinking about all these great, sort of, scenes
23:04
that are in there, like, because you mentioned the date scene.
23:06
There's also the Christmas dinner scene,
23:09
which is, which is hilarious,
23:10
but also completely heart-breaking at the same time,
23:12
where, you know, grade goes round to, to Jordana's house,
23:16
to your house, and then your mother might be dying
23:18
of a brain tumor, and, you know, then your dad
23:20
has this kind of breakdown.
23:21
It's all, it's all in one take.
23:23
I mean, do you remember much about that scene?
23:24
We did a lot of, yeah, we, I remember that scene,
23:28
I remember that bit at the door at the end,
23:33
it was, I think, that was improvised, which was fantastic.
23:38
That was actually a really funny scene to film,
23:40
but also very, yeah, very difficult.
23:42
I think...
23:43
Quite technical, I feel.
23:44
Yeah, we did a lot of, we did a lot of one takes,
23:48
and we did a lot of rolling, like, rolling takes.
23:52
So we would, like, do the scene,
23:55
which I wouldn't say anything.
23:57
We just go back into it, and go back into it,
23:59
and go back into it, or we would then improvise,
24:03
and we did that a lot, and that was really,
24:06
that was something I'd never done before as an actor,
24:09
and it was a great way to free you up,
24:16
and also to let you settle,
24:19
because I think more things, how can I say,
24:24
it became more intuitive, because you settled, I think.
24:30
It's a good flow, more natural.
24:31
Yeah, so those...
24:32
Yeah, and I think it's probably quite expensive
24:35
doing rolling takes on film, but we did that a lot,
24:39
and a lot of things were one shots as well,
24:41
but it never felt pressure, like,
24:43
oh, you've just got, this is a one shot,
24:44
and you've just got one chance to do it,
24:47
because, yeah, it probably was quite expensive.
24:49
I don't know where the Richard was,
24:50
like, being tapped on the shoulder
24:52
by the producers, but yeah, we did do a lot of that,
24:56
and we filmed...
24:58
We did quite a few takes of things.
25:00
Yeah, it's interesting, because the film
25:03
has so many different kinds of tones to it.
25:05
You've got, like, so it's Swansea, as we say,
25:07
it's very Welsh, but also it's...
25:09
You've got Alex Turner's voice in there,
25:11
and also because it's a warp films production,
25:13
you know, they're based in Sheffield,
25:14
I mean, where I'm from, incidentally,
25:15
so, and it's a period film,
25:18
it's set in the 1980s, I want to say,
25:20
but also it's very 2010.
25:21
Yeah, I feel like it was sort of,
25:23
the aim was for it to be timeless in a way,
25:27
but I think it does have, to me,
25:29
it does have that soul that is very...
25:34
It's not a Southern soul.
25:37
Do you know what I mean?
25:38
I know exactly what I mean.
25:40
And I think that's what there's something like,
25:42
as much as it's like for me, dream-like in a way,
25:46
and sort of in terms of, like, the aesthetic
25:51
and...
25:52
But it's not, we wouldn't say it's like a gritty British film,
25:56
but it is also very British.
25:58
And I think, like, it has that kind of earthiness to it,
26:01
as much as it has that kind of ethereal quality,
26:05
just because of, like, the tone.
26:07
And I felt, I feel like a lot of American coming of age films
26:14
have that kind of tone.
26:16
I think I hadn't seen anything,
26:18
or in my time, you know, my age before submarine,
26:22
that had that kind of quality, I guess.
26:27
That is very British, but also,
26:29
there's something kind of, yeah, dream-like, I guess.
26:32
Yeah.
26:33
And I think the thing of British coming of age movies,
26:36
what you're saying about them is that,
26:37
I think there aren't too many that feel genuinely authentic,
26:40
to what it's like being a teenager in Britain.
26:42
Yeah.
26:43
I think this is one of the few.
26:44
Yeah, and of course, this is a very specific,
26:46
you know, very specific adolescence,
26:49
and not every British adolescence is like that.
26:52
And there is also something, not aspirational,
26:56
but there's something, how can I say,
26:59
there's a romanticized quality,
27:00
which is what Oliver wants.
27:01
I mean, Oliver wants this romanticized.
27:04
This is his vision of his life, isn't it?
27:06
It's basically when the film starts
27:08
and he looks directly at the camera.
27:10
I mean, this is basically what he wants the world
27:13
to see of his life.
27:14
So that's what I mean when I say it's some,
27:16
it's kind of dreamlike in a way,
27:17
because it's a very romanticized version of ourselves,
27:21
but also something very, there is also something very real.
27:24
Yeah, well, Richard was saying,
27:26
said something interesting about that,
27:27
which is that, so for Craig, obviously,
27:29
as Oliver, the movie is, as you say,
27:31
it's from his POV exclusively.
27:33
And so it has got this sort of strange
27:36
a fear of your quality where you're,
27:37
and he's kind of viewing his whole life as a movie.
27:39
Yeah.
27:40
And he was saying that, like, so you,
27:41
and also, the Avaratosite Sally and Paddy Conston Dine,
27:44
and, you know, Noah, all kind of almost had a harder job
27:48
because you have to sort of remain objective in that.
27:50
You can't play to that.
27:51
It's almost like you have to be your,
27:53
objectively, Jordana,
27:55
even though you're living in kind of Oliver's movie.
27:57
Yeah, you couldn't be aware of that.
28:01
You have to just play,
28:02
I'll have to say play.
28:03
Yeah, you had to just be,
28:07
Jordana and what Jordana wants
28:08
and what Jordana is trying to do in that moment.
28:11
And of course, Oliver's,
28:14
yeah, she has no idea of what Oliver's vision of her is.
28:19
That's all completely him.
28:23
So I don't think I thought about that
28:27
when we were filming it.
28:28
Yeah, I think for Jordana,
28:30
she's obviously going through like a really difficult time.
28:33
You know, her mom is really sick.
28:34
And, you know, she's not, well, I guess, yeah,
28:38
I mean, how much can we trust Oliver?
28:40
But she's not, you know,
28:42
she's a bit, you know,
28:45
I don't think she gives much of a shit.
28:48
But she's also, obviously,
28:50
I got like a vulnerability and she's young
28:52
and I think she does care for Oliver and for Oliver.
28:55
And I don't think he's very nice to her.
28:59
And yeah, and I think,
29:03
I think she's looking,
29:05
I don't think she thought that she was probably looking
29:07
for friendship, but she obviously was.
29:10
I think it's quite difficult to make,
29:12
make friends and make really strong connections
29:15
and especially when you're young,
29:16
when everything is quite,
29:18
it's either like really intense or like very transactional
29:22
because you're still all trying to figure out
29:24
like where you all lay or where, you know, who you all are.
29:27
So sometimes you think you connect with people,
29:29
but then you realize you don't
29:30
and that's very disappointing and upsetting.
29:32
It's a big part of growing up.
29:35
So that's what I love so much about the film is
29:37
because actually they do have,
29:39
you could have all at the end
29:41
could have been like, was any of their connection real?
29:44
But it was, I believe so.
29:47
Oh, me too.
29:47
And I think like that's some of my favorite moments in the film.
29:50
I mean, I guess if you think of the iconic moments
29:52
from the film, you think of those scenes we've talked about,
29:54
you think of the montages and sort of the flourishes
29:57
and the train tracks scene,
29:59
the first case with the Polaroid camera and all that.
30:01
But then I think some of my favorite moments
30:03
are the really quiet moments between you and Craig,
30:05
like when you're walking across the like the football field
30:08
after school and it's sort of this dusk
30:11
and like you're holding hands or you share a hug
30:13
and there is a tenderness there,
30:15
which is palpable, I think.
30:16
Yeah, which I think she probably wouldn't,
30:20
would be the least want to kind of succumb to.
30:25
She's a little bit sadistic.
30:28
Also just, you know, I think that's hash protects itself.
30:31
Yeah, I think there are, there are really lovely moments
30:34
and I think they do fall in love in that sense.
30:38
But I think what's nice about Oliver's trajectory
30:42
is in all his grandiose ideas of him's.
30:45
I think he does grow up a little bit in the film.
30:50
He matures and actually hopefully becomes less selfish
30:54
a little bit, I think he did become less selfish.
30:56
I think so.
30:57
I mean, when you think of that ending then
30:58
so you guys sort of standing in the sea,
31:00
which is such a sort of lovely, quiet ending.
31:04
What's your takeaway for them going forward?
31:06
Yeah, I think I asked Richard,
31:10
if I remember correctly, I think I did ask him like,
31:12
what would you think happens between them?
31:14
And he's like, I think they stayed, you know,
31:16
they stayed together.
31:18
I don't know if they would, you know,
31:19
but I think they probably did reconnect.
31:22
I think in that moment you see the real care
31:26
and I think she just succumbs a little bit
31:30
but I remember filming that
31:34
and because of the, we felt wanted to film it
31:36
like the magic hour, light.
31:39
And we were like up really early and it was freezing.
31:43
Like it was so cold and my, had like,
31:46
in those Wellington's I had like a plastic bag
31:49
because they had like little holes like that.
31:51
So that was sort of getting worse.
31:52
We had like plastic bag in my boots.
31:57
And yeah, I remember filming that
31:59
and I think I remember Richard wrote that on,
32:02
I still have it, I still have it.
32:03
He wrote it on an A4 piece of paper
32:06
because he'd rewrote the scene a few times
32:08
or and then I remember the morning that we filmed it.
32:13
He handed it to us on a piece of paper.
32:15
It was like written on an A4 piece of paper
32:17
just in pen.
32:18
He just wrote J, O, line nine, yeah.
32:21
And I still have it.
32:23
I'll need to, it's in my house somewhere.
32:26
Did you keep any sort of mementos from the film on the set?
32:30
So I kept that, as do I have.
32:33
I have some of like the cool sheets.
32:36
Did you get to keep the duffel coat?
32:38
No, no, didn't get to keep the duffel coat.
32:41
I don't even kept any of the costume.
32:42
Maybe, maybe Craig kept some of it.
32:44
I don't know.
32:46
That'd be interesting to know if he kept some stuff.
32:48
I don't remember that.
32:49
But yeah, and then also what was really nice is
32:52
that we got like a booklet with like all of the
32:57
clippings of everything that was like said about the film.
32:59
And I remember the PR company gave us that and so I've got that
33:04
and I've got the original script.
33:07
So yeah, a few things that obviously kept.
33:10
Do you like to sort of keep things
33:11
from sort of the shoots that you've done?
33:14
You know, I haven't kept.
33:15
There's a few things like from Pranface.
33:17
We've got given, I've got a photograph of all of us
33:20
that they took at one of the films,
33:23
scenes that we filmed in a church,
33:24
I think was a wedding.
33:27
I've got that.
33:28
And so a few things from, but not every,
33:32
I've been very fortunate to do lots of different stuff
33:37
in my lifetime and career as an actor.
33:40
And I've enjoyed all of it.
33:42
But some jobs are more, you're more emotionally attached
33:46
to or more, yeah, have a more personal experience.
33:49
It's interesting that you mentioned Pranface
33:50
because when I was watching Back Pranface,
33:53
I was thinking about how, I guess you could say,
33:55
is it fair to say you think that there are similar crossovers
33:57
between like Beth and Jordana.
34:00
There's a kind of sort of slightly cynical edge.
34:02
Yeah, yeah, probably yeah.
34:04
Yeah, there's a wit, there's quite a biting kind of wit.
34:06
Do you think of, were you thinking about channeling any of that
34:09
or using some of those tools when you were sort of doing Pranface?
34:12
Not consciously, maybe I'm just really like cynical
34:16
and sarcastic.
34:19
No, not consciously, but I had a great time filming Pranface.
34:23
I think I turned 21 or I turned 18.
34:30
I had a big birthday.
34:32
I don't remember when it was, but I had a big birthday
34:34
and I remember all the other cast world of the me
34:39
and I remember they took me out and they were like,
34:41
we're gonna give you an adult drink
34:43
and it was like a white Russian or something.
34:45
You know, I think that the half of it
34:46
was in the Big Lebowski.
34:47
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
34:48
And they're all laughing because I was like,
34:50
and I remember running round, so Dylan and his girlfriend,
34:56
Tasha, I remember in their apartment in Edinburgh
34:59
running round in circles, I was obviously very drunk.
35:01
Like a cool running round in their living room,
35:06
like a nutter to like music.
35:08
So yeah, but I had a great time filming Pranface.
35:11
That was again like another really great experience
35:13
that I've had.
35:14
But yeah, there are, I guess those similarities
35:16
and Beth was really fun to play.
35:18
Again, like very vulnerable, but also very sensible.
35:22
Sure.
35:23
Well, I guess you feel that kind of,
35:25
there is such great chemistry between you
35:27
and like the other actors on that show that ensemble.
35:29
I mean, do you keep in touch with the sort of,
35:31
the guys from the old days?
35:32
So to be honest, well, no, I'm not in touch with them now.
35:36
I mean, obviously for a little while after, sure.
35:38
But obviously everything, that's the thing about filming, I think.
35:42
I think I saw an interview with Emma Watson recently
35:45
where she spoke about, you know, being on sets
35:48
and making friendships.
35:50
And it's not, it can be quite a difficult place, I think,
35:54
to make, you of course, do make real friendships
35:57
when you're there, but it's such an intense experience.
35:58
It's almost like going away on a recilent,
36:00
like on a retreat for like, you know, two months
36:04
and you get really close to people.
36:05
But then once you're out of that experience
36:07
and you sort of go back to your normal responsibilities,
36:11
life and everything like that, it can't,
36:13
it's not always easy to keep those connections.
36:15
And it's not just, it doesn't mean
36:16
that what you experienced together wasn't real,
36:18
wasn't true, wasn't great.
36:21
And I think, I also think found it that difficult
36:24
as a child actor, I wasn't in school much.
36:28
So I found that hard.
36:30
I always wanted, you know, more friendships.
36:34
Well, I was very fortunate that I have a really wonderful friend
36:37
that I've had since I was 12.
36:38
And she was always, I would go leave to film stuff and leave her.
36:43
And she would always be faithful me there for me when I returned.
36:47
But yeah, and she's, and I'm still friends with her today,
36:50
you know, like we're very, very crushed.
36:51
She's assisted to me really.
36:54
But that was difficult as a child actor going away
36:58
and not finding very hard to make friends in school.
37:00
And then I would make friends a lot of the time
37:02
with the other actors who were older than me.
37:05
And I'd be very close with them.
37:07
But of course, there was often quite a big age gap.
37:10
So you're not, you know, it was hard to maintain those friendships.
37:13
Think in some of my other older,
37:16
when I've been in productions as I've gotten older,
37:18
it's been easier to maintain friendships as an adult
37:21
and to meet up and have coffee and things like that.
37:23
But when I was younger, it was harder to maintain those friendships outside of it, I think.
37:27
Did it feel a bit like sort of, as a child actress,
37:29
did it feel like sort of running away
37:31
to join the circus every time you went and worked on these projects?
37:34
Like it was the kind of sort of chaotic,
37:36
because as you say, like being on a set
37:38
and as someone who's been on set,
37:40
it is like a really sort of pumped up
37:42
quite sort of very specific environment.
37:45
As you say, it's kind of in a bubble
37:47
and it's sort of those 30 days
37:48
that you're shooting all those three months or however long
37:50
and it's like, you forged those really intense friendships.
37:52
It feels like it gives you attachment issues in the way it gets.
37:54
You do, I don't know.
37:57
You do get very attached to the experience
38:00
and to being there.
38:01
Like when submarine finished, I was very sad.
38:04
It was almost like a grief like feeling bereft
38:06
because I was really young.
38:10
I just loved being there.
38:11
It was such a great experience.
38:13
And again, like being a child actress,
38:16
I didn't have a big friendship kind of group.
38:18
And I think it was a really all-encompassing experience for me.
38:23
And I was very attached to everyone
38:25
and in a way that you do when you're young,
38:27
you kind of linchpin to people
38:29
and you look up to people.
38:31
And because it was so intense,
38:33
I knew I was going to miss it deeply
38:34
and I did for a long time.
38:37
So it is a bit like,
38:39
I wouldn't say, yeah, maybe running away to the circus,
38:41
but it takes you out of real life.
38:46
It's not real life at all.
38:48
And that can be very alluring and, you know,
38:52
it's a very unique experience.
38:55
I think the older I've gotten,
38:56
the more I've been able to maintain a sense of reality
39:00
in a weird way when I've been filming or working on stuff.
39:03
I think before that just became my whole reality.
39:07
And it was very all-encompassing, very intense.
39:10
That's why you leave it, you feel bereft.
39:12
But the older I've gotten matured,
39:15
and I've been able to maintain a sense of,
39:17
okay, this is fantastic.
39:18
I'm really enjoying it.
39:19
And it's a great job.
39:21
And I'm having great times, lovely people.
39:22
But it's okay if it doesn't lead, extend out,
39:27
I'll be fine.
39:29
I guess it's the balance of it being,
39:30
it's obviously very personal
39:32
and obviously being an actor is very,
39:33
I guess it has to be,
39:34
because it's an emotional craft that you're doing.
39:37
You're putting yourself on screen,
39:38
but also it's being professional.
39:39
It's like, okay, I've got, I'm here for how many days,
39:42
and I'm working with these guys for, you know,
39:43
this much time, and then like, I do my job,
39:46
and then go home.
39:47
Yeah, and I think that's why when you're young as an actor,
39:50
that might be, it's that can be quite difficult to remember.
39:54
That it's a, of course, I think I was always professional,
39:58
but again, like you do have to be open and vulnerable,
40:01
and it is an emotional experience.
40:03
That's why I think it's harder when you're younger
40:05
to remember that it is also a job in a way,
40:09
as much as an experience, you know?
40:11
Yeah.
40:12
Because you're all heart, you're all, yeah, it means so much.
40:19
And I think when obviously you're older,
40:20
and you've got a family, and you've got, you know,
40:21
there's other things around that,
40:23
your world is so much bigger.
40:25
Because when you're a child actor, I think it's,
40:27
that is your world at that time.
40:29
For sure.
40:30
And I make you think about, yeah, as you say,
40:31
Emma Watson and those guys and people who were,
40:33
you know, she was making those movies,
40:35
so young for like so many years,
40:38
and then imagine, you know, when that comes to an end,
40:40
like, you know, I don't know where it's,
40:42
I guess it's almost like, where do you go?
40:44
The immediate aftermath of that is,
40:45
where do I go from here?
40:46
Yeah, I can imagine a lot of, I imagine she would have,
40:50
they would have struggled with that, I imagine.
40:52
And of course, more or less for different people,
40:54
because everyone's different,
40:55
everyone has different backgrounds up bringing,
40:57
and things like that.
40:59
But it is definitely, I would say,
41:02
you would ask most actors what it's like
41:05
after leaving a really intense and great job,
41:07
they feel bereft.
41:09
For sure.
41:10
But I guess what's nice is that you,
41:11
and I, because you and Richard have kind of stuck together
41:13
and worked together a couple more times,
41:16
absolutely.
41:16
You did the double with him.
41:17
I think Craig, as well, came up with the doubles.
41:19
Great, yeah, he's an inspector in the double, yeah.
41:21
Yeah.
41:22
And then you were in souvenir as well,
41:24
souvenir apart too.
41:25
That was all Richard, Richard, yeah,
41:28
wanted me to be in that, which was so lovely.
41:31
Yeah, I, that's been fantastic.
41:34
Did he call you up and say,
41:35
I want you in here with me?
41:37
Yeah, I think he was asked,
41:40
there was like a character where he was going to have
41:42
like an assistant or something,
41:43
and then he was like, oh, can he ask me, you know.
41:46
Which is really great.
41:48
I've always had a fantastic time with Richard.
41:50
I always said to Richard, you know,
41:51
if you ever have a part,
41:53
if you want me to come and clean the bins,
41:55
I'll come and clean the bins.
41:55
You know, I've always loved working with Richard.
41:58
And I'm delighted anytime he's asked me
42:02
to come and do something, I don't care.
42:05
If it's standing in the background or not, you know.
42:08
But I think it's a thing of like who you have
42:10
really good chemistry with and who you get on with
42:12
and who you feel comfortable with.
42:15
And if you have the option to obviously be around
42:18
creating, I think Richard creates his sets
42:21
as a place where he's going to feel very comfortable
42:25
and contrast and feels like safe.
42:29
And he creates that for everyone else.
42:31
I think he would create, I could say for him
42:36
whenever he does any other projects,
42:38
I'm sure he would curate an environment
42:40
with people that he really enjoys
42:42
and thinks are great and contrast and I imagine that's the.
42:47
Yeah, I mean, it's a shame that I guess
42:48
that he's only there made two movies.
42:50
I mean, I'm sure there's more to come from Richard.
42:52
I'm keeping it.
42:53
I mean, do you know of any of these thoughts?
42:54
I don't, but I'm 100% sure and I can't wait to watch it.
42:59
So yeah, because I feel like I think I saw a clip
43:01
of him recently saying that he might be working
43:04
with Wes Anderson on something, like writing something.
43:05
Oh, maybe.
43:06
I don't know.
43:07
That'll be really cool.
43:08
Yeah, because I think Wes is kind of in the back
43:10
of summer in a little bit in terms of like Rushmore maybe.
43:13
I think Craig was saying that at one point,
43:15
that Rushmore was one of the films,
43:16
he was talking about visual references.
43:18
Yeah, that's true.
43:19
Yeah, Rushmore was one of the films
43:21
and I honestly can't say I know much about that,
43:25
but I'm pretty sure Richard has met Wes Anderson
43:28
and I think they've, yeah, I'm pretty sure,
43:30
but I don't quote me on that.
43:32
Well, he pops up, I think, in a couple of the role dial
43:35
Netflix shorts that he did.
43:36
Yes, yes, that's true.
43:37
And I feel like there's so much simpatico
43:40
between Richard A. Wadi and Wes,
43:42
and the sit-in terms of their energies
43:43
and their kind of vibes.
43:45
I imagine they'll work really well together and, yeah.
43:48
Yeah, as a fan of Richard's
43:50
and knowing his kind of sense of humor,
43:51
I'm guessing like when you guys were working
43:53
on the souvenir and he's got you in,
43:55
he must have been kind of enjoying that
43:57
as he elaps on set.
43:59
Yes, yeah, he is.
44:00
And yeah, he's just, he's very funny.
44:03
It's always been a great experience being around him.
44:07
It's always a delight, it's always really fun.
44:11
And like I say, very comfortable.
44:13
Yeah, were there any like hard days on submarine
44:16
where you're other than walking up the big fucking hill?
44:17
Like were there any like, particularly like challenging days
44:20
where you were like, because you were talking about how
44:22
you have to be vulnerable as an actor.
44:24
And it is all about vulnerability and being open,
44:27
I guess, to impulses.
44:28
Like were there sort of challenging days
44:30
as much as there were like lovely fun days?
44:33
Yeah, there was.
44:34
There was, I was very young when I filmed it.
44:37
And even though I'd had a love experience,
44:38
I think I sometimes became aware
44:41
that there was sort of a lot of responsibility in a way.
44:47
And I really wanted to do a good job.
44:49
So I know that there was times that I was struggled,
44:53
I guess, with, I think I would get nervous sometimes.
44:58
But Richard was always very, very supportive.
45:00
And in terms of like, and some of the scenes obviously,
45:02
yeah, they were emotionally were difficult.
45:04
But I always felt very supported during those times.
45:08
But yeah, it is also tough if you think about,
45:10
like I remember, this is just popping into my head,
45:13
but because we felt, it was an intense experience
45:16
and we filmed five, six days a week.
45:19
And obviously the hours are long and we were young.
45:23
And it was intense.
45:25
And I remember Craig had to do this thing on that bicycle.
45:29
Where he was like, had a cyclone of bicycle.
45:32
And I think he wanted it or whatever, you know.
45:34
Because, yeah, you get tired.
45:36
Everyone gets tired.
45:38
The crew as well, like everyone gets tired as well.
45:40
It's not just a great experience.
45:41
And everyone really wants to be there.
45:42
And everyone really wants to do a good job.
45:44
It's tiring.
45:45
It can be emotional.
45:46
It can be stressful.
45:47
There's obviously time constraints
45:50
and money is involved and all that stuff.
45:52
So yeah, I think there was days of course,
45:55
whereas, but I think we were protected a lot from that,
45:58
which again, Richard was a great director in the sense
46:02
that he did protect us a lot from that pressure,
46:04
which undoubtedly is there on every film set, you know.
46:09
Yeah. And if you felt that on other things
46:10
that you've done, say on Mike,
46:12
because like I say, you know, you'd be working for so long
46:14
in like, you're since you were a kid as an actor
46:16
and like, on Sarah Jenner Ventures
46:18
and obviously on blue with like Jack Forney
46:20
such a brilliant writer, I mean,
46:22
do you feel that sort of same kind of care
46:24
in other sort of work that you did?
46:27
So every job's different.
46:29
And I think sometimes you can have,
46:31
sometimes having that care and time is a luxury
46:33
because some things you have to film very fast
46:38
because of the financial and time constraints.
46:41
So there is other jobs definitely
46:42
where there's been a lot more pressure.
46:45
You feel that pressure and every actor
46:48
would have experienced that is, you know, it's now
46:51
and you have to, you know, we've got,
46:52
you know, we've got to be off this.
46:53
We've got to be so, that is part of it as well.
46:55
Yeah.
46:57
So yeah, but that's why I think
46:59
submarine is a unique experience.
47:01
And I remember when we're filming the double,
47:03
I remember Jesse Eisenberg saying that filming it
47:08
was an experience very different.
47:11
Like, you know, he's done a lot of big franchise stuff.
47:13
And it's very different because not every set
47:18
is kind of has that kind of care
47:20
and that kind of, that emotional,
47:24
there's like an emotional kind of personal connection.
47:27
It's still fantastic to do, but it's different.
47:30
So yeah, I think Richard really creates that environment.
47:35
Yeah, there would have been pressure,
47:37
but I think he protects us from that
47:38
and other jobs growing up,
47:40
I've definitely felt that pressure.
47:42
Yeah, I think, I mean, when I've done,
47:45
I think for me, the most pressure or stress
47:47
I felt was on stage stuff like,
47:48
I've got had such bad stage fright.
47:52
I remember, I mean, I think this happens to every actor,
47:55
I should probably be pretty sure it happens.
47:58
My brother says it does,
47:59
but I remember telling my brother about one night
48:01
when I was about to go on stage
48:04
and I didn't feel nervous at all,
48:07
but I was standing in the wings
48:08
and then the lights went down,
48:10
which means they were going to come up immediately.
48:12
I'm going to walk on.
48:12
I couldn't remember anything.
48:14
I was like, and it happened to me a lot
48:18
when I've done stage stuff.
48:20
But for some reason it comes out,
48:22
but that panic, that sheer panic of like,
48:25
what's my thought, do I say?
48:26
What's my first word?
48:28
Nothing all gone blank.
48:29
So I think the audience love it when things get messed up,
48:32
especially in like live theatre.
48:33
They love it.
48:34
They just, because they know and like,
48:36
there's been a couple of times on stage
48:37
where I've gotten what I'm doing,
48:39
like other acts of work and we just look at each other
48:41
and we just laugh and the audience love it.
48:44
So I think it becomes part of it,
48:45
so you kind of like succumb to it.
48:48
But yeah, I can honestly say,
48:50
even though I've done stage stuff,
48:51
I've done film and television.
48:54
I still carry nerves,
48:56
so I don't know if anyone doesn't get nervous.
48:58
Maybe they do.
49:00
Maybe they don't, sorry,
49:00
maybe there's some people that don't get nervous,
49:02
but I've always gotten nervous.
49:03
Yeah, I feel like people who just never, ever get nervous
49:06
are very particular.
49:07
Like, would you actually want to?
49:08
It's like, I was like,
49:09
I'm saying psychosis going on there.
49:11
Would you actually want to be in the same room
49:12
as that person, you know?
49:13
No, yeah.
49:16
I mean, I guess being, I guess if it's on stage,
49:19
you have the advantage of, like, people,
49:20
if you're sort of glancing at your co-stars,
49:22
like a little eye contact,
49:23
like, it was going to, people can't see it
49:25
because it's sore, obviously, they're way in the back.
49:27
So they're like, yeah, and a lot of time,
49:29
you're your other actors save you.
49:32
So like, they'll say something that reminds you of your line
49:36
or like, yeah, you kind of have to help each other.
49:38
As in, they'll like sort of improvise a little bit.
49:40
Yeah, or like, save your question,
49:43
I don't know, say you went to come on and say,
49:46
where's my car keys?
49:47
You've forgotten to say, where's my car keys?
49:49
And they'll go, were you looking for your car?
49:51
You're looking for your car keys.
49:53
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
49:56
And there you go.
49:57
I don't know, something like that.
49:58
I guess that's the advantage of a film, then,
50:01
against that, because, like, because, you know,
50:03
you've got that space, you've created that space.
50:05
You spend hours setting up the cameras
50:07
and getting hurry up and waiting.
50:08
That's what I hear it's like.
50:09
Still forget your lines.
50:10
Yeah.
50:12
But obviously you have someone there,
50:13
scripts supervisor, and, you know,
50:15
and you practice and, of course,
50:16
you do get the opportunity to do it again.
50:18
But sometimes, if you're finding it difficult to remember this,
50:21
again, there's still that time pressure
50:22
where it's like, just, say, just remember, come on now.
50:25
Yeah.
50:26
Yeah.
50:27
I was curious to ask, because we were taught
50:29
to a little bit about it before we rolled,
50:30
but about just the state of the industry now as an actor,
50:33
because what we've COVID and the strikes
50:36
and everything that's been going on in the last few years,
50:39
I mean, the sort of, the actors that I've taught to,
50:41
which is kind of sporadically shatter to about this day,
50:43
it sounds like it's quite brutal at the moment for everyone.
50:48
Everyone's kind of been hit pretty hard
50:50
by all these things that have been going on.
50:51
I mean, is that how you found it?
50:53
Yeah, I think definitely after COVID,
50:55
it was difficult for a number of reasons.
50:59
And yeah, of course, the COVID was, you know,
51:01
like I remember I was in a play just before COVID hit,
51:04
and we were closed down because of COVID
51:06
and I remember the producer coming on stage,
51:08
we thought we were going to perform.
51:10
And then she came on stage and said,
51:12
we're not going to perform tonight and we're not,
51:14
we're, you know, we don't know when we were performed.
51:17
And that was really lovely because we all,
51:18
even throughout COVID, we would,
51:20
it was a massive cast of like 40 people
51:23
and we would zoom, like, you know,
51:25
everyone, direction, everyone we would zoom
51:27
and that was really lovely.
51:29
But yeah, I think COVID was, I think some ways
51:32
we're probably still recovering from COVID.
51:34
I mean, it affected a lot of people
51:37
and for actors as well, I mean, your income just goes
51:41
and it's very, very difficult.
51:44
And I know there was some relief schemes and things like that,
51:47
but I guess it's not like other jobs
51:49
where you're on fur, you know,
51:51
and of course some jobs were on furlough
51:53
and that's a very fortunate position,
51:54
but even of course if you're working in any sort of job
51:57
where you don't have that luxury, it's not just actors.
52:01
So yeah, I think the industry
52:02
is probably still recovering from it,
52:04
but it's still great to see great things coming out
52:06
and, you know, I think it's always bounce back.
52:13
But yeah, it was, that was a difficult time
52:15
and a very worrying time for sure.
52:17
Yeah, I found that.
52:19
I mean, I was one of the lucky ones
52:20
who was put on furlough for like 18 months.
52:22
Oh, great.
52:23
Yeah, I mean, I worked at a cinema,
52:24
and it sort of, it's sort of indie cinema
52:26
called the showroom up in Sheffield, which is cool.
52:28
And they put you guys, well, that's really good of them.
52:29
Yeah, no, it was crazy because, you know, cineworld,
52:32
I don't know if you remember at the time,
52:33
there was, it was kind of hit headlines
52:35
that cineworld basically just acts
52:36
all their employees more or less immediately, you know,
52:39
and then, yeah, and then there was a huge amount of pushback
52:42
in the press and then five days later,
52:43
they were like, right, okay, you can all come back there.
52:45
They were immediately like, oh crap, you know,
52:46
what do we do?
52:47
We've just fired everyone that's bringing back.
52:48
What you just said there about how, you know,
52:50
I feel like we're still recovering from it.
52:51
I feel like we are in a lot of ways.
52:53
I mean, even as people, I feel like we, as a culture,
52:56
I don't think we've quite sort of reckoned
52:59
with what happened the entire world froze for two years.
53:03
In our lifetime,
53:04
I don't know if that will ever happen again,
53:06
hopefully not, but could do.
53:09
But yeah, very, very strange time.
53:10
But I think actually a lot of creativity
53:13
actually came out at that time
53:14
because I think a lot of people were at home.
53:16
And then you kind of, yeah, of course, you know,
53:19
we've got screens and everything like that.
53:21
But I think a lot of people, you look, even just,
53:24
a lot of people have grown from that time.
53:26
I mean, especially like influencers, for example,
53:28
because they were just at home,
53:28
so not influencing as just like skyrocketed
53:31
because in the last five years,
53:32
people have built their brands.
53:34
I was thinking about that the other day
53:35
that COVID enabled a lot of people to build themselves,
53:39
actually, because it was almost a time
53:40
where the world was frozen in a way.
53:41
And you could focus just on yourself.
53:44
And people took chances, I think, more
53:46
because what you have to lose.
53:48
Totally.
53:49
Yeah, for me, for me, that was where I discovered
53:51
sort of more about filmmaking and about.
53:54
Because that was sort of what prompted me to move to London,
53:57
because I say originally from the North, moved to London,
54:00
to study film and editing.
54:01
And yeah, it was just like the entire world sort of frozen.
54:05
Everyone kind of got a chance to take a sort of look
54:07
at themselves a bit, I guess.
54:08
And go, what am I doing with my life?
54:09
Yeah.
54:10
That was how I found it, anyway.
54:12
How do you find living in London, like from being from the North?
54:15
It's very different.
54:16
It's a very different kind of energy.
54:18
I mean, when I first moved, and I would go back to Sheffield,
54:21
I would always just, people would ask that,
54:22
that question, I would kind of joke
54:24
that Sheffield is where the money isn't.
54:26
London is where the money is.
54:28
And things move so much faster in London.
54:31
I mean, not just people, and obviously the place
54:34
is constantly bustling, it never sleeps.
54:36
But just like the amount of development and redevelopment
54:39
that is just going on of new things are constantly being created
54:42
and then forgotten about.
54:44
And it's very cosmopolitan.
54:45
And Sheffield, I love Sheffield, it's a beautiful city.
54:47
But it moves at a slower pace.
54:50
And I feel like most cities, if not all of them,
54:51
outside of London, move at a slower pace.
54:54
Yeah.
54:55
So that was getting used to that.
54:56
I think that's the thing everyone has to get used to
54:58
when they move to London, is the pace of it.
55:01
Yeah, I feel like London is your right.
55:03
When you say, you know, who can you say that?
55:05
Does it make me feel, think about,
55:09
there is that inequality, isn't there, where, you know,
55:11
London has a lot of opportunity, definitely think.
55:15
Even though, like, for example, you know,
55:17
now we have, especially with the industry, you know,
55:19
a lot of things have been filmed in Manchester,
55:21
and a lot of, you know, the BBC and a lot of,
55:23
we've kind of got a lot of initiatives
55:25
that have spread across the UK, which is fantastic,
55:28
because that need, you know, not everything can be
55:31
London centric to create more opportunities
55:34
for more creatives, for more people throughout the country,
55:37
not everyone, you know, should have to move to London
55:40
to have, you know, to find great work
55:44
and to have, you know, great creative experiences.
55:47
But yeah, London is, I've grown up here,
55:50
and it's very different.
55:54
I really like Birmingham.
55:56
My friend lives in Birmingham, I visit her often.
55:58
I really like it, because I feel like it's a mix of, like,
56:00
city, but also that kind of quietness as well.
56:05
And people have time, time for you,
56:06
because originally my, so I was born in London,
56:09
grown up here, but my mum is not, like, from Manchester,
56:13
so my mum is Northern.
56:15
And yeah, I think just my mum grew up, you know,
56:18
very community-based, like the front door was left open.
56:22
You know, people would come in and be like,
56:23
only me, you know, whatever.
56:25
And it's like, you know, I think when we moved to London,
56:27
that was quite a very difficult transition for her,
56:29
even though my mum can make friends, you know,
56:32
she can make friends wherever she goes.
56:33
She's very, yeah, she always built a community,
56:37
but that is very different.
56:40
And I feel like, yeah, that's the only thing
56:43
I find challenging about London.
56:44
Like, I was walking a three-liver-pool street station,
56:46
and I was saying it's like, it's like Mario Kart,
56:48
you've got to, like, he just, you've also got a dodge,
56:52
no one's walking in a straight line.
56:53
No one's acknowledging anyone,
56:56
so you've got no one looks at you to like,
56:57
is he looking at me? Do I move?
56:59
Do I not, you know, just bumping into everyone?
57:01
And everyone's looking at their phones as well.
57:02
Everyone's looking at their phones, everyone's in their own world.
57:05
So that's like something I like about going outside London,
57:10
is it's a little, people have a little bit more time for you.
57:12
Mm-hmm.
57:13
People have more bandwidth, I think, emotionally, just generally.
57:17
That's a good way of describing it, yeah.
57:18
I feel like, when I go to, even I went to Manchester,
57:23
I was in a cafe, and I was just on my computer,
57:25
and I was chatting to the, just, yeah, people are more chatty.
57:28
And it was so funny, because one of my other colleagues was like,
57:31
also, I think, grew up in Sheffan.
57:33
I was like, yeah, no, I've left.
57:35
He's like, I don't want to be talked to.
57:36
That's why London don't talk to me.
57:39
Yeah, I'm fed up with people being like,
57:40
hi, I love you, all right.
57:42
But, yeah, I just, I like that.
57:45
Maybe one day I'll leave London, won't you?
57:47
Well, I mean, my girlfriend can't wait for us to leave London.
57:51
I mean, every other day, I feel like something's just like,
57:53
so, you know, when are we going up north?
57:55
When are we going to do it?
57:56
And it's like, he's London got your heart, are you just...
57:59
I don't, maybe.
58:00
I feel like, but it is what you're saying,
58:02
it is like this is where, kind of, the action is,
58:04
this is when it comes to, like, film and television.
58:06
I mean, we do have outposts of it up in, like, BBC North,
58:09
and warp films, I mean, linking back to submarine,
58:11
like, warp films is based in Sheffield.
58:13
They produce submarine.
58:14
I mean, it's, yeah, there are outlets out there,
58:18
but Shets London is still, can't get around the fact
58:21
that it's still where most of it is.
58:22
Really?
58:23
Yeah, linking back to submarine, like,
58:25
because I know Mark Herbert, who is an amazing producer
58:27
from Warp, who's since gone on to do, like,
58:29
adolescence and all that stuff, which is amazing.
58:32
I mean, that description he just gave of, like,
58:34
I guess, that northern energy,
58:35
that sort of increased bandwidth.
58:36
Was that on the set as well?
58:38
You felt that on the set?
58:39
Yeah, definitely.
58:40
I mean, one way I would describe it, actually,
58:43
if I can think of, it was very calm.
58:45
It was a very calm environment.
58:46
Not every set is like that.
58:49
And I think, probably when you're on bigger,
58:53
even bigger like franchise stuff,
58:55
it's probably not like that at all.
58:57
But it felt very much like a collaborative thing,
59:00
not just you and the other actors, but with the crew.
59:03
And, like I said, I would watch them, the camera assistant,
59:08
you know, like, I'd be like,
59:10
and I watch what you're doing, what I tell me what you're doing.
59:12
And, like, they would tell me, like, how they're what they're doing
59:14
when they put the hands and thing and how they have to, like,
59:16
so yeah, like, it was just, like, I would ask Eric,
59:20
like, you know, can I, like, can I hold the camera?
59:22
Can I do this? Can I do that?
59:23
You know, there was time.
59:24
There was time for us, which we didn't, you know, not,
59:28
sometimes it's a luxury to have time, for sure.
59:31
But there was time to explore, and it was very fun and calm environment.
59:37
Like I said, I can't imagine Richard creating a set
59:40
that wouldn't have that, that experience.
59:44
Cool. Thank you very much.
59:46
Ah, pleasure. Thank you. Thank you.
59:48
Cheers.
59:58
Hey, everyone.
1:00:00
Thanks so much for listening to my chat with Yasmin Page.
1:00:02
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1:00:04
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