'I was a bad kid' Craige Middleburg on how acting changed his life!

Your Cinema

Yourcinemafilms.com | Craige Middleburg has been bubbling for a minute and it’s looking his time coming…  After building his way up on projects such as The Batman, Eastenders and his latest role in feature Gassed Up, Craige shares his first project with Remi Moses and what prepared him for being on large-scale sets!  Are you ready for the truth?   Follow us on socials: Tiktok: @yourcinemafilms Instagram: @yourcinemafilms Twitter: @yourcinemafilms

Transcript

00:00 Now everyone's making it in film and TV, but we don't really know how. Here we uncover

00:07 the truth. Welcome to the Your Cinema Podcast.

00:13 Welcome to the Your Cinema Podcast today. It's the place where we explore the truth

00:18 about the film and TV industry and theatre, and we hear it directly from those who are

00:23 smashing it in their areas as well. Today we've got a really exciting talent. He's actually

00:31 done quite a lot of work. He's been in EastEnders, Batman, a lot of critically acclaimed films,

00:37 as well as starring in Gassed Up. It's a new feature film which is going to be out on the

00:45 9th of February. And if I'm honest, we're really excited to just see how his career goes.

00:52 I introduce to you Craig Middleburg. What's going up, bro? I mean, what's going on?

00:58 I respect. Thanks so much for having me on. I really appreciate you inviting me on to

01:04 your show and then giving me a chance to just showcase myself and talk a bit about Gassed

01:08 Up as well. So thanks a lot, man.

01:10 Oh, good, man. Happy to have you. Happy to have you. Now, like, and we were speaking

01:16 earlier, right? You're at like a really exciting and interesting part of your career from my

01:24 perspective anyway, right? Which is why it's really exciting to see where you go. But you've

01:29 also done quite a, you've been in like quite a few projects. But I wanted to know, when

01:37 did you start acting? Because it looks like the journey's been, you know, fairly long.

01:42 Yeah. So the way it actually all started for me, it was in, I believe it was 2017. And

01:50 there's a guy called Remy Moses. I don't know if you guys have heard of him. He's a very,

01:54 very sick upcoming director. Yeah, you can see some recognition there. So it's another

01:58 great story, man. Remy Moses randomly sporadically asked me, like, can I fill a spot in his short

02:05 film? And at the point I was just like, I had no interest in acting and stuff. But I

02:09 was just like, I knew some people around him and stuff. We like knew some mutual friends

02:12 and I was like, yeah, I'll get involved. Like, that's sick. I'll get involved. Went down

02:16 there, was naturally good at it. Everyone's like, right, like you've never acted before.

02:20 Like, you're pretty good, you know? And then just kind of took it a bit seriously on the

02:24 day and I was like, this is kind of sick. Long story short, he had a big premiere for

02:29 that film at Genesys Cinema. And then when I went there, another director actually approached

02:34 me and was like, oh, I watch your performance. I really like it. I've got this role in mind

02:38 that I think you'd smash and I'll pay you. And I was like, you'll pay me? Because I did

02:43 this for free with Remy. I'm just like, you know, it's just friends. He's like, yeah,

02:46 it's a small budget, but I can probably do about £300 a day. £300 a day, brother? And

02:52 I was like, yeah. So I was signed up for that immediately. I was like, yeah, I'm down with

02:56 that. So I did a short film called Hungry Dogs by the director Oshin Patterson. Absolute

03:03 bad boy. Gave him my first paid job. But yeah, Remy Moses is the guy who actually put me

03:07 in a film for the very first time.

03:09 - Wow. Is that the film? Is it Mandim?

03:13 - The film was called Where We Hide Secrets. I don't think he'd done too much with it,

03:19 to be honest. I think it just had its premiere and stuff. But it had a few cool people in

03:24 it. And I remember he just got his drone that time, I think. So he had some cool drone shots

03:28 and stuff. So he really wanted to experiment and play with his kit. Do you know what I

03:33 mean? It's just funny how it all works out because I decided to get involved with him

03:36 that day. Here I am now talking to you.

03:40 - Yeah, that's true. Wow. So you've stumbled into acting. Your next project is £300 a

03:51 day, which is amazing for someone just starting out. After that project, how were you feeling?

04:03 Was it like, "No, do you know what? I want to take it seriously"? Or what happened? What

04:06 was next?

04:07 - No, 100%, man. So we did that project and that was like three days. So that's like £900.

04:12 And for me, I was a broke kid, man. So I was like, "£900 for three days? Unless it's illegal,

04:17 I'm not really hearing that you're making money like that, unless you're a footballer

04:20 or something." So I was like, "Okay, cool. This is something I really want to do now."

04:24 Because I enjoyed it. It's not just that I got paid. It's that as I did the experience,

04:27 I was like, "This is so fun, man." And the looks you get when you're on the street filming

04:32 with good equipment and the people, when they look at you, they look at you like, "This

04:35 kid's doing something cool." I was so used to getting bad looks on the street. When people

04:40 walk past me, they'll cross the road, me and my friends. They'll give us dirty looks, they

04:44 don't trust us. All of a sudden, now I'm getting looks where it looks envious or even just

04:49 like admiration. Just like, "Oh, they're thinking, 'Is he famous?'" And I'm just like, "I like

04:54 this feeling. It's a better way to be viewed by people." And it's the first time I got

04:59 to feel like that, really. So I was just infected with it by then. It was like a disease. It's

05:04 not a disease because it's a good thing, but it just hit the root of my heart, man. And

05:09 I was like, "If I can make this a full-time thing, that would be my dream, man." And so

05:13 I steadily just started to... It's a big research process, man. I had to learn all about casting

05:18 and stuff because I'd really just dove into the deep end, really. But I basically started

05:24 then moving forward by going into music videos, which is what I always recommend new actors

05:28 to do is to look for music videos with good artists because they invest some good equipment

05:33 into their music video shoots. You're working with film standard equipment for a video.

05:39 And then look for roles where they have some sort of acting in it because a lot of the

05:43 time, there might be a romance thing. They might want a guy and a girl to have a romance

05:46 thing, which is great for your showreel. That's one of the things I did was to get some romance

05:51 scenes or just always be available and open to the idea of working with artists. I even

05:57 ended up working with Davido. I was in Davido's video. And I grew up... When I was growing

06:01 up listening to Davido, I was like, "I'm never going to meet this guy, but I love his music."

06:05 I'm there acting in a role with him now as an unsigned actor. I didn't have an agent

06:09 or anything. I just ended up there because people are hearing that I'm trying to be an

06:13 actor. So it's just all about putting yourself out there and just taking any small job you

06:19 can. Even that one was paid, but it wasn't paid a lot of money. But even so, I was like,

06:23 "I just want to act." Do you know what I mean?

06:27 - Wow. That's amazing. So what's the time span of this journey of discovering and understanding

06:36 how this thing works?

06:38 - I'm still learning, brother. Honestly, I'm still learning. I've been very blessed that

06:43 some of the projects that I'm into, like Gastuck, I worked with some people like Steven Odubola,

06:47 who's obviously had a lot more of experience than me in proper professional films. So he's

06:52 taught me so many things that I just had no idea about in terms of contracts and things

06:56 that you can do. The more I speak to more established actors, the more things I'm learning.

07:01 So I just feel like it's a constant learning process, honestly, brother. But I think I

07:06 am at the point where I'm able to impart some wisdom on other people now. So I've learned

07:10 quite a few things, but I'm still learning all the time, man. Every time I meet someone

07:15 who's done more, I feel like there's so much I can soak up from them.

07:17 - Nah, I hear you. I hear you. And do you know what? When I saw Gastuck, you smashed

07:24 it, man. I really, for me, you were Roach in it. I don't want to give away any spoilers,

07:36 but there's a bit where we see more of who Roach actually is.

07:44 - You see his background, yeah.

07:47 - Yeah, there we go. And I loved that scene. I love that scene. Some of the choices in,

07:55 no, there was a few scenes in it, but I loved it. I loved it. And it just explained everything.

08:01 - You start to understand, right? I mean, it doesn't excuse it. I feel like there's

08:07 so many people like Roach on the roads. Do you know what I mean? Like, and it's like

08:10 a lot of the time you think he's just a, just a fat guy, but then you realize like, you

08:15 know what? There's so many things going on behind closed doors, you know, that influence

08:19 a man's mind to make him move in certain ways. And it's just about showing that mental health

08:23 is not a joke, man. And like, that's why I liked the Bayezu because I struggled with

08:28 mental health growing up. So the character like was very relatable for me because I'm

08:32 just like, I can understand. Like sometimes like, it's not, it doesn't excuse what he

08:36 does in the film, but you can understand, you know, that's the main thing. It's not

08:39 like he's just a villain. He's actually a good guy, but he does villainous things, you

08:44 know? And do you know what? I love what you said because that I felt like I understood

08:52 Roach. Yeah. But I didn't think, I didn't think we would get to actually understand

09:00 him. I just wrote him off as like, Oh yeah, he's that one in a friendship group. But I

09:05 was like, yeah, I really fought. Cause it's like, there's, there's other characters as

09:12 well. Do you know what I mean? That also like we're, we're touching on and stuff. So I was

09:17 like, well, do you know what, for the storyline, do we need to go? And you went there and I

09:21 was so happy. Trust me. Like, yeah, that was, that's one of my favorite scenes in the film.

09:26 Like genuinely, genuinely.

09:27 - Amazing. Thank you. And the guy that, the guy that plays my dad, I think his name's

09:31 Timothy Chipping. I think if I'm right, I'm wrong. Sorry, bro. But I believe it's Timothy

09:36 Chipping. He's, he's amazing, man. He was so good. So good to work with him. So yeah.

09:41 Look out for that scene, guys. If you're watching and you're going to go watch Gas Start, it's

09:44 a really good scene.

09:45 - No, it really is like genuinely, genuinely. So like, all right. You're, you're, you're

09:52 making your way, right. And you know, you're getting involved in projects where you can,

09:58 summer music videos, et cetera. Like in terms of like mentally, how was that journey for

10:06 you? Like, did you ever feel discouraged along the way?

10:09 - Yeah, absolutely, man. There's like, it's not like, a lot of people that, cause I've

10:15 had some people on my social media that I've watched the whole thing, like from like when

10:18 I did music all the way into the start of my acting career. And from their perspective,

10:24 yeah. They're like, oh my God, bro. Like I've just seen you continuously keep doing more

10:28 and more better things. And it just like, but from my perspective, man, like there's

10:32 so many rejections. There's so many no's. There's so many times where I thought, oh

10:37 man, I need to get a normal job. You know, I need to get a nine to five because if you

10:41 have a nine to five, yeah. Unless it's a job that's really flexible, it's very difficult

10:45 to be a full-time actor, to always be available, to meet people, to always be available to

10:49 audition, to self-tape, to rehearse and do all these other things. So I was always faced

10:56 with a choice of do I get a full-time job or not? I've been very blessed that I'm able

11:00 to do some other things. So like I was working with Hackney Council, getting young people

11:04 into unemployment. So unemployed young people, helping them get into employment. I was doing

11:12 that for quite a while, part-time, and they were very flexible with my acting, which was

11:15 really helpful. And then I can also do studio engineering part-time as well, at my friend's

11:20 studio, which is also off and on. So it's not like I'm committed to being there all

11:25 the time. So if it wasn't for jobs like that, it would be so difficult for me to give the

11:30 time and dedication that I put towards acting. So I completely understand that it can be

11:34 so discouraging for people, when you're just trying to pay bills and just trying to live

11:38 your life. Sometimes you have to sacrifice things. There were times when I couldn't have

11:43 gone out to the party afterwards. I would attend the acting workshop, then I can't go

11:47 to the party afterwards because everyone's going to spend mad money and I don't want

11:50 to spend my last £100. So it's times like that, man. So those are the most discouraging

11:56 times I feel like, when you're just low on money and you feel like, "Oh, acting's not

12:00 paying me any money right now." You just kind of have to have the belief that it will come

12:03 through.

12:04 - Do you know what? That's such a good point, because that's the reality of becoming a working

12:12 actor, right? Before you become a working actor, I don't want to say full-time because

12:19 it's not a full-time thing, but where it's like, do you know what? Acting is what is

12:24 sustaining me, so to speak, physically. But given that, let's say that passion wasn't

12:33 there from when you were five, 12 and all of that stuff, right? When you're having those

12:38 challenges and the reality is kicking in, yeah? What's keeping you going?

12:46 - I think for me, I feel like everyone's got their own drive, innit? What drives you forward.

12:50 For me, it was always my mum. My mum's a disabled woman. And as a kid, when I was young, I was

12:55 a bad kid, innit? I was talking before about how I got a record deal when I was a teenager.

13:00 So before I even got that deal, I was just a horrible kid. That's what I was. I just

13:04 wasn't a nice kid. I was a horrible kid. I got kicked out of school. I was doing really

13:07 bad things, got arrested loads of times. And then watching my mum be in so much pain and

13:15 suffering whilst I'm getting arrested, getting police coming into the house. At a moment,

13:21 it just hit me and I was like, "I can't do this, man. If anything happens to me, there's

13:24 no one for my mum." Do you know what I mean? So I feel like a weight of guilt was on me

13:28 and that's what made me change my ways. And that's the driving force. So even if I wasn't

13:35 acting or doing music, I think that it would still drive me to be a good person and just

13:39 make money legally, whichever way I would go into. I feel like if I wasn't doing what

13:45 I'm doing now, I'd probably be behind the camera somewhere. I love writing. Maybe I'd

13:48 be a writer or a producer because I've met some great producers over the past few years

13:53 and I've watched what they do. And I'm like, "There's something I could do actually. I'd

13:57 find that really interesting." But maybe that's something in the future for me to look into.

14:00 - Man, I love that. Because do you know what? It's like, cool, your acting career is great,

14:08 but it's like we're also hearing a transformation story. In speaking with you, do you know what?

14:20 In speaking with you, I get you're from the ends, yeah? But I'm not thinking you're this

14:27 little runt. - That's what I was, innit? I put effort

14:31 into changing, man, and trying to present myself in a better way. And obviously I speak

14:35 a lot better than I used to speak. I was like, "What you saying, fam? Wagwan." I was like

14:39 that all the time. And now I'm a bit more eloquent, I'm a bit more well-read, I'm a

14:43 bit more intelligent than I was as a kid. I've gained a lot of life experience. And

14:48 it just made me a better person, I feel like. And I'm a lot more calm than I was as well.

14:52 So much more chill. I was hyper as a kid. - Do you know what? I hear that. And for me,

14:59 I guess it's not even the way you speak, it's the things that you're saying. Do you know

15:06 what I mean? Even when we were chatting before, just the perspective that you gave me on one

15:11 of the things that we were talking about, I was like, "That's so good." But I haven't

15:15 thought about that before. Do you know what I mean? And yeah, it's amazing to see how

15:21 your drive and pursuing acting has got you to this point. I wanted to... Something that

15:31 comes up a lot when we're speaking with actors is the rejection, right? And the impacts that

15:40 can have on someone's mental wellbeing. Now, given that you mentioned that was... That's

15:47 a scenario that you struggled in when you were younger. What is that like for you at,

15:54 I guess in recent years when you're still building your career as an actor?

16:02 - Yeah, man. It can be horrible, bro. I literally did a talk with kids recently about acting.

16:10 And I gave this analogy because they asked the same question, like, "How do you deal

16:12 with the rejection?" And I said, "How does it make you feel?" And I literally said this,

16:17 and they reacted well. So I'm going to say it again. Imagine when you're a young kid

16:21 or their age, which was about 15, 16, and you confess love to a girl or a guy for the

16:25 first time, and they turn around and they're like, "Ugh, ugh. No, are you not... Can you

16:31 believe this?" That feeling that you feel there, that is the feeling you get every time

16:36 you're rejected for a role that you really like or a role that you really think you're

16:39 right for. It's a burning sensation, brother. And I'm pretty sure every actor feels it very

16:43 similarly. Maybe some can deal with it a lot easier, or some people pretend that it doesn't

16:48 hurt them, but it does hurt. And especially if it's a role that you love. I get invested

16:52 in roles. So that'll be like, if they send me the script and I really love it, I'm reading

16:56 the whole script 20 times. I'm really getting invested, learning the other characters and

17:00 things. And then you don't get the role after spending five hours going through a script.

17:04 It's like, "Oh, I love that role though, man." So the rejection can be heart-wrenching, but

17:12 that's just a part of it, man. And if you can't handle the rejection, then it's not

17:15 industry for you because you're going to get so much more rejection than the yes. But you'll

17:20 get like 50 no's and that one yes is the one you've been waiting for. So yeah, rejection.

17:26 It's a big one.

17:28 - I love that. Thank you for the honesty and the analogy, man. No, that's a great way to

17:34 put it. And well acted out as well. Now, everyone knows that the majority of the time you've

17:44 got to do, or people tend to do smaller roles before doing big projects, right? That's just

17:54 working your way up. Some people come out drama school and they land a big role, et

17:58 cetera, which is amazing, but for a lot of people is building up. But I want to know

18:04 for you, because you've been in quite a few projects, right? What did it feel landing

18:11 like your role as Roach in Gasta? Because it's a significant role. Do you know what

18:16 I mean?

18:17 - Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, for me, it was like, I remember when I got the role, it wasn't

18:22 even officially given to me at this point. I think the director had told me sneakily

18:27 and been like, "You got it, well done, well done." But it hadn't officially come through.

18:33 Do you know what I mean? And before all of that, I couldn't even control myself. I went

18:35 to Twitter, I went, "I just got the biggest role of my life." Because I was so excited,

18:39 bro, to work with people like Stevie, to work with people like Taz, to work with people.

18:44 I was just so gassed up to work with the people that I was going to be working with, really.

18:48 And it just felt like for me, vindication as well, because it was a long audition process,

18:55 man. It wasn't like I auditioned and then got the role. I had to self-tape, then I had

19:00 to come into the room three times, then I had to do a chemistry two times. Then it was

19:06 between me and I was the last role to be cast as well. Everyone else had been cast and it

19:09 was just Roach. So everyone was just focused on Roach. And it was just so hard at the time,

19:15 because apparently there was another guy who I never met. But there was a guy that was

19:18 neck and neck with me. It could have been either one of us, really. But the director,

19:22 God bless him, George, he was like, "No, I really see Craig as Roach. That's the vision

19:27 I want to go with." And so I ended up with it. And they all say they made the right decision

19:32 now, they have no choice. But hopefully my role will speak for itself when people go

19:38 and see it. I've had great feedback from people, people that do watch, have watched the film

19:42 at the BFI Festival, for example, or the special screenings that we've done. I've got great

19:49 feedback as Roach. And I love that because I did put a lot of effort into him.

19:55 - I love that. I love that. So speaking of effort, right, and given how integral Roach

20:03 is to the film, like without him, you just don't have the conflict, right? How did you

20:09 approach your prep for it?

20:13 - So one of the cool things that happened is the production put me in touch with Stephen's

20:20 acting coach, who is called Gary Nurse. He's a very, very cool guy. I went to his house

20:27 quite a few times. I think I did like five sessions with him. Sometimes just me, sometimes

20:32 with Stephen, and sometimes with Stephen and the director. So I'd never done any form of

20:37 acting coach or schooling or tutoring, anything like that. So this is the first time experience

20:42 for me. But Gary was not what I expected, man. I expected, I don't know, when I've looked

20:49 online, I've seen people teaching drama. They're talking about theories and the styles of method

20:55 acting and all these different names that you can do and things. And he just was like,

21:00 "Forget all of that crap. That's not what I'm doing here, brother." He's like, "No, I just

21:05 want you to be yourself, but in the character." And he was just very much about authenticity

21:12 and just... I know it's hard for me to say it, but what he showed me was just that it

21:19 wasn't all about technical aspects and things like that. It's really just about getting

21:22 grounded in yourself and your character and just expressing how you naturally would be

21:26 as that character, if that makes sense, man. So yeah, I had some acting coaching sessions.

21:30 But then other than that, bro, like I said, I'm from the hood. I used to drive mopeds

21:34 when I was a teenager. I used to be a pizza delivery driver. So it just felt natural for

21:40 me, man. I've known mandom that actually did snatching grabs and stuff. So it's not like

21:46 it's hard for me to imagine. I was around people that lived that life. So yeah, stepping

21:52 into a role like that, it just felt kind of natural. I literally could have been that,

21:57 but I could have been Roach if my things went, if life didn't go as it went. I could have

22:01 been Roach. So it's quite an easy, natural role for me, to be honest.

22:05 I love that. I love that. I love that. I love that. No, thank you. Thank you for explaining

22:10 that. So like, given, given that, because it sounds like this is quite a pivotal role

22:16 for you. And I don't say that from the perspective of, oh, you know what, this is a big film.

22:23 When it comes out, it's going to change your career more so for the level it is and the

22:31 impact that your character has on the film. Right. Like in the lead up to land in this

22:40 role, what would you say was difficult about even getting an opportunity to be considered

22:48 for a role like this?

22:50 So, yeah, again, bro, I've got so many good stories for you, bro. Here's another good

22:56 story of how I got into the conversation of this role. So I met Stephen Odubola years

23:03 ago on a short film. Funny enough, as a short film, he didn't have lines in. Yeah, he was

23:08 just like an extra. Yeah. I had lines in this film, but just a few. But we really connected

23:13 on that day and we're just both like he hadn't done much acting. I hadn't done much acting.

23:18 We just connected together on that day and became friends. But then I never seen him

23:22 again. A year went past and then all of a sudden I see his face everywhere for Blue

23:26 Story and I said, OK, that's that guy. Oh, it's like I was with that guy. Cool. He's

23:33 gone. I think I'm not going to speak to Stephen again. He's going to become super famous and

23:36 do his thing and I'm going to play catch up. And I was cool with that, man. But like another

23:41 year or two passed now and it's actually my birthday. So it was my birthday on that day

23:46 when this happened and I get a DM in my Twitter and I don't even really use Twitter that much.

23:52 And I was like, I looked at my DM and it was Stephen. I see him there. I'm like, why is

23:57 he messaging me? He's messaging me. I opened it. He said, oh, I hope you're well, man.

24:00 I know it's been a long time. I'm doing this film called Gaster and I was chatting to the

24:06 producers and you just popped in my head. I think you'd be sick for this role. So I'd

24:10 love you to audition for it. But I'd already done a self tape because they did like an

24:14 open call out. So I'd already done a self tape for it because I heard about it. So I

24:17 was like, bro, I'd literally done a self tape yesterday. So, yeah, if you can tell them

24:21 my name so they can just watch my self tape, that would be amazing, bro. He's like, I got

24:25 you. I got you. And yeah, man. So he kind of, I think maybe they wouldn't have even

24:31 seen my self tape. You know, because you have so many submissions. If it wasn't for Stephen

24:34 like messaging me that day and then being like, have a good look at this guy's self

24:37 tape, maybe they wouldn't have even taken too much notice of my self tape, you know,

24:41 because they got such an overwhelming amount. But yeah, basically must have looked at it,

24:45 liked it and invited me in for an actual audition. So, yeah, it was it was a culmination of things.

24:50 But Stephen popped up on my birthday like an angel. I was just like, yo, like my birthday,

24:55 bro. I was feeling a bit down that day, too, man. I wasn't too happy. I was like, oh, it's

24:59 not the best birthday. And then he popped up that day, man, was like, yeah, I'm going

25:03 to put you to the producers your name, like to check your self tape out. And they did,

25:07 you know, and he didn't again, he didn't need to do that. That's why I got so much respect

25:11 for people that go out of their way to try and help others that it doesn't even affect

25:15 them really. Anyone could have got the role and he's still doing the film. Do you know

25:18 what I mean? But I remember this guy from years ago. He's obviously looked at Roach

25:22 and thought he suits it so much. Do you know what I mean? And so I try to be like that

25:27 now, man, if I'm ever in a position where I can help someone in that way because of

25:31 Devlin because of because of because of because of Stephen, people like that in my life. I

25:36 just aspire to be the same kind of person, man, because I know how grateful I am to them.

25:40 And if I could just give that gratefulness to someone else and let them be grateful to

25:44 me as well. And then it's like, it's the circle that we're trying to perpetuate, man.

25:48 I love that, man. That is wow. Yeah, that's very, very real and very nice as well. So

25:57 I like I know I know that like you're only getting started. Right. But at this point

26:04 in your career, like you've done you've done quite a few things. What would you say from

26:09 this point on is like your focus? Like what have you and your agent sat down and said,

26:14 look, all right, gas stop is right now. Right now I don't have an agent. What? Yeah, yeah,

26:22 no agent right now. In fact, I've not had an agent for like the part since like maybe

26:28 like six, seven months. I know that. And I've been booking so many jobs on my own without

26:33 an agent. And when you talk about rejection, we saw my rejection earlier. I've actually

26:37 like I had quite a few meetings with big agents and got rejected by a big agent. Like I was

26:42 recommended to a big agent. I won't name obviously, but I had a meeting. I said to them, I would

26:49 love to sign to you. You're my first choice. You know, they made me wait a good few weeks

26:54 and then just go back to me. Sorry, I don't actually think that I think you're going to

26:57 be great, but it's just not for me. And so, yeah, man, like even in my position where

27:01 I've got a big film coming out and I've got the credits and I'm a nice guy and you know,

27:05 all those things still sometimes there's there's people that just like it's just not working

27:09 for me. So you just got to persevere, man. Like the same way you like someone like you

27:13 is recognizing all this good stuff about me. There's other people that don't recognize

27:17 or don't see it. So it's just about finding new ways to show yourself in better lights

27:21 to those kind of people, I guess. You know, so, yeah, no agent at the moment, man. So

27:27 I will be taking me. I will be taking me. Yeah, because I was going to because like

27:34 it's interesting you say that right, because you don't sound it doesn't seem you don't

27:41 sound hungry for an agent. Right. I've been blessed. I've literally been signed up to

27:48 multiple projects without an agent, man. I mean, I signed up to a Bayesian TV series.

27:52 I'm going Barbados, bro, with no agent. How am I doing this, bro? Like, you know, I mean,

27:58 I told other actors that I what I told the producers of Gassed Up, they're like, what?

28:03 Let me introduce you to this agent. I'm like, no, I'll meet them. But like, I'm really not

28:06 I'd like because I really I don't like putting myself in those positions to be rejected.

28:12 Like with an actor like you have to in the roles, but with an agent, I feel like at a

28:16 certain point agents are going to approach me. They're going to be like, I see you booking

28:19 these jobs on your own. I want a slice of that pie, bro. I mean, I can help you get

28:23 the other jobs as well. A smart agent would think that that in it. So I'm pretty sure

28:28 that someone would approach me if I just keep booking these jobs, man. And that's what I've

28:32 been doing. Like I just done the interactive film Lawrence. I booked that on my own. I

28:35 just done an amazing short film called Help. I Think My Teacher Is Racist, where I play

28:39 a racist teacher. That's very different from Roach, you know. So Expanding My Horizons

28:45 did that on my own as well. Got that book, signed all the contracts myself. So I just

28:49 feel like if you're hungry enough, if you're driven enough, you don't even need an agent,

28:53 man. An agent is just someone that's constantly working to get you in the room. But if you're

28:58 doing that yourself, it's at the point where you need someone who can bring something more

29:02 for you. You know what I mean? I don't need another person to do what I'm already doing.

29:05 I need someone who can do things I can't do. You know what I mean?

29:09 - Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love that. Yeah, man. Very, very smart and interesting. Yeah. 'Cause

29:15 it's like, you're not saying you don't want one, but you're very understanding of what

29:20 they would need to do when... Yeah, that makes sense. I love that.

29:24 - I mean, I definitely, I'm very open to having an agent, but I'm just not like... There was

29:28 a point, like maybe a few months ago, maybe a good like five months ago, where I was so

29:33 hungry for an agent, man. I thought I couldn't progress without an agent. And so I was literally

29:37 like going to the producers of Gassed Up, like, "Can you get me meetings? Is there anyone

29:40 you know that would be interested?" And they did plug me to quite a few people, and I had

29:44 a few meetings. But I think most of all, when I'm looking for an agent, so if there's any

29:47 agent watching this and is like, "Maybe I could be his agent." The most important thing

29:51 for me is that if you just go through my work and you just genuinely think I'm going to

29:55 be a star, like if you just think, "I rate what you're doing. I think you're sick." That's

30:00 it. That's the main thing I want from my agent. Just someone who actually thinks, "I think

30:04 you're going to blow." That's it. If you feel like that and you have connections, hit me

30:08 up. That's it.

30:09 Wow. I love the honesty, man. That is, yeah, is very candid and very honest. I love it.

30:16 I love it. So my final question for you is, given, you know, like, yeah, given the journey

30:28 you've been on, the grind that you've been through, and even like representing, I will

30:34 say temporarily representing yourself at this point, right? What advice would you give to

30:40 an actor who's like looking for their first TV and film role, like on a serious scale?

30:47 Because you know what it's like when it's like, "Yeah, but I want the, I want the T,

30:52 I want that credit." Because it does take things. So yeah, what advice would you give

30:57 to someone in that position?

31:00 I would say, be patient. It'll come as long as you're putting in the work. So like going

31:05 back to where I said, you could do music videos. Short films is a great way to do it. Just

31:10 keep doing things like that. I know you might get tired of, "Oh, I'm always doing a short

31:15 film. I really want to do like the big Hollywood production." Because there isn't, like when

31:19 I was on Batman, the set there was completely different from a short film set. But if I

31:24 hadn't done all the short films, I might've been overwhelmed on that big set. I've been

31:28 like, "Oh, right." Like imposter syndrome even, because it's so massive and on such

31:32 a big scale that I think you kind of have to go through the wringer a bit and go through

31:36 the smaller jobs to kind of just build up your confidence. Just to let yourself know

31:40 that, "You know what? Whatever situation I end up in, as long as the camera's on me,

31:44 I'm ready to go." Do you know what I mean? So just be patient, work on the small jobs.

31:49 Even if it's at the beginning, at the very beginning, I did so much unpaid work, bro.

31:52 Do you know what I mean? I wasn't a rich person either. I would go into minus, like traveling

31:56 to somewhere. Maybe they'll give you food and drink and stuff, but you got to just get

32:00 yourself a showreel, a really good strong showreel. The strong showreel will help you

32:05 get that first TV credit. So I think doing short films, music videos, anything you can

32:12 do that's going to make your showreel look better, do that, man. And then get your showreel

32:17 out there. Literally even just online, make it go viral. Get all your friends to retweet

32:21 it, like it. And just hopefully people will just, other people, strangers will pick up

32:24 on it. And then just, yeah, just be involved. Get involved with other projects going on

32:29 and just support other UK filmmakers and people like Pierre and shows like this. Leave comments

32:35 and connect with people, man, because people see that and they see that you're involved

32:40 and about it. And that's why people come to me because they're like, "Oh, that Craig guy,

32:43 he was in this, he was in that, and he's always open to work." And so just keep going.

32:50 - I love that, man. I love that. I love that. Craig, it has been a pleasure, pleasure-

32:55 - My pleasure.

32:56 - ... coming up with you. I'm looking forward to the release of "Gastarpen" for everyone

33:02 else to see it. And yeah, I'm really loving the journey and I know you're going to go

33:07 on to do bigger things that are probably going to surpass even your expectations, because

33:14 I think you are a real star. I genuinely mean that, genuinely.

33:18 - Thank you, brother. Thank you. You have the criteria to be my agent. You see, there's

33:24 magic words at the end, brother. If you can switch roles and you become an agent, you

33:28 can keep my inbox up, brother. You can make some money.

33:32 - I love it. I love it.

33:34 - Thank you.

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