00:00Let's get started.
00:30Hello again, how are you? It's nice and close, how are you?
00:49Oh my god, it's nice to see a friendly face.
00:51I know you as well.
00:52Oh, we're doing the European kiss.
00:53I don't know why I do that.
00:54So European of us.
00:55Oh my god.
00:56You look gorgeous, I love your suit.
00:57So are you.
00:58No, I'm not.
00:59It's like, I don't know what day it is about LFF.
01:00You know how it is.
01:01I don't know what day it is, period.
01:03Listen, you're amazing in this.
01:06What a gear shift from playing clothes.
01:08I mean...
01:09That's the last thing we spoke about, right?
01:10Oh, yes.
01:11Your character is literally a maniac.
01:14I mean, I know that as an actor you're not supposed to judge your character, but you must have been side-eyeing him a little bit.
01:20I mean, yeah, a little bit.
01:21When I first read the script, I obviously judged him, but then very quickly, in order to play him and empathise with him, you have to stop judging and start loving him.
01:30And so I had to, like, learn to love this maniac who kind of is like a wild animal in a cage.
01:37I actually weirdly found it easy to love him, even though he's problematic.
01:41Yeah.
01:42But he's charming, you know?
01:44He's a charming maniac.
01:46I know, I know.
01:47That's the problem, Drew.
01:48Yeah, yeah.
01:49In a way, is it kind of...
01:51I don't want to say fun, because that's not the right word, but in a way, is it, like, cool to tap into those dark parts?
01:57Do you know what I mean?
01:58Yeah, it is.
01:59It's kind of messed up to call it fun, but it is.
02:02You're so messed up.
02:03No, sorry.
02:04Sorry!
02:05No, no, I've been saying the same thing.
02:07It is fun, because...
02:09Not because of the content or what he does.
02:12But I grew up with people like that, who are off the walls.
02:17You know, he's probably extremely ADHD.
02:20He's probably got some undiagnosed things going on.
02:23And hasn't had the support or the system behind him to, like, manage it.
02:29And he's also...
02:30The story we built for Dee is that he comes from a lot of trauma and a really messed up family life.
02:35And so that's what he's covering up.
02:36So it is fun to get to be loose and wild and very different to things I've done before.
02:41But also to try and empathise with that kind of person who is damaged.
02:45Absolutely.
02:46And obviously there's a rise in toxic masculinity at the moment.
02:50I mean, what was it like exploring all that side of things within this and the present setting as well?
02:55Yeah, I mean, I feel like a lot of the roles I do in some way or another are in conversation with what it means to be masculine.
03:03And what masculinity actually looks like.
03:06And so I'm starting to...
03:09But then again, I think that's just like the nature of making art is that it's about people.
03:13And so it's inherently sociopolitical, no matter what it's about, you know?
03:17So, yeah, I'm glad to be making work that is hopefully entertaining and also shining a light on the pros and cons of how masculinity is upheld and performed.
03:30Your work is so important, but am I right in saying after this you went and did a rom-com for a bit of light, right?
03:36Genuinely, I needed to.
03:37I did Plain Clothes and then this and then a film called Watch Dogs, which is coming out next year,
03:42who is even more problematic in many ways.
03:44And so, yeah, after those three characters that were a lot of trauma and pain, I needed to do something fun.
03:49And also I want to keep people guessing and not know what to expect next, you know?
03:54Okay, thank you so much. It's so nice to see you again.
03:56So nice to see you.
03:57Lovely to see you. Thank you.
04:08It's great to see you. The suit game is incredible.
04:11It's amazing.
04:12Listen, congratulations. You're just doing amazing things in your career.
04:16I feel like you've just gone from the next thing to the next thing. You're rising up, up, up.
04:20Why did you want to do this? And how was the whole experience? Because it's an intense watch.
04:26It is an intense watch, but you know, honestly, I've never been so proud of a project.
04:33You know, we've built this from the ground up. It really feels like something that's like a thrilling ride,
04:37a bit crazy, but also built on a question of truth. You know, it's all about our rehabilitation system
04:43and how do we help people. Having that honesty and truth in a movie as well as a ride is everything I want to be doing.
04:50You're obviously shoulder to shoulder right now with your right hand man, Tom Blythe.
04:54It's so annoying.
04:55It's so annoying. He just won't leave you alone.
04:58I'm talking about you.
05:01He's right there.
05:03Sorry.
05:04But, you know, this is really heavy. You're dealing with subjects like toxic masculinity, you know, you're inside of this.
05:10How nice was it having each other to get through this?
05:12It was everything. And honestly, I know everyone says that they love their co-star, but I actually do love this man over here.
05:17You know, he's someone that is, I feel like we've been on parallel paths in our career.
05:21We're both black boys, working class boys, and they're finding our way.
05:24Not only do we care about the work from theatre, but also we care about each other.
05:29Like, where is our head? So our phone calls after doing intense work will be like, are you alright?
05:34Fancy a pint? It was stuff like that. He's my boy, man. I love him.
05:38And obviously we've got a rise of toxic masculinity at the moment. I mean, what was it like exploring those themes,
05:43particularly within the prison setting as well?
05:46I've learnt so much about myself from doing this movie.
05:49You know, there's so many things about what this film represents, toxic masculinity being one of them,
05:55but also just, yeah, like, how do we love one another?
05:58And where does it start? Because if I'm honest with you, I think there's a whole other element to this movie
06:03that starts before the film even starts, and how do they get their way in?
06:06It's all about love. Let's try and find it.
06:08On that note, all about love, when are we getting a rom-com? Because that's what he did next.
06:12Oh God, listen. It's coming. I promise you. I need it. I can't keep doing all these things.
06:17We need it as well. We need it. It's coming, I promise you.
06:21I'll hold you to that. Lovely to see you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Nice to see you.
06:42Well, hello again you. Nice to see you. This feels weird seeing you outside of a rival sitting, innit?
06:51I know. I feel like we're cheating on it a little bit, do you know what I mean? I feel a bit annoying.
06:54Well, that's quite rival sitting right, isn't it? It is. And I'm not in red, so I wasn't ready.
06:57I know, I know. You should be. That's the show. You look gorgeous, however.
07:01Well, so do you, as always. So tell me all about this then, filming in a prison. How different was the contrast?
07:07I know. To rivals, it was extremely different. It was extremely different.
07:11I mean, one way it was very different. It was very, you know, it's very low budget.
07:15There was very little time. We shot the whole thing in 18 days.
07:18So you're covering a massive amount of screen time every day.
07:22So you get like one or two takes every time, very minimal rehearsal.
07:26So you really have to throw yourself into it.
07:28Each scene is covered maybe from two different angles if you're lucky.
07:32So it's a much more immersive sort of situation.
07:35Completely different rivals, equally valid, just a really different experience.
07:39But great. It's so fun to do different sorts of projects.
07:41How was filming in the prison? Because I feel like having to get a bit claustrophobic down with all that.
07:46Yeah, I mean, it was kind of really useful in that way because you get, you know, I have not had that experience
07:51and you get a tiny taste of what that must be like to be inside all day
07:57and to what that would do to your brain and your emotions and your spirit. So it's useful, yeah.
08:03Look at the range. I mean, let's talk about the masculinity in this as well
08:06because obviously we've got a rise of toxic masculinity as well. How was it, you know, exploring all of those different elements?
08:12It's tough. Like the first thing we did was I turn up and have to be really in the other actors' faces and be, obviously we've like worked it out,
08:22but I'm slapping them and intimidating them and you don't know each other so you're sort of very quick into it.
08:28So it's interesting territory. I mean, it's funny that there's lots of stories about that at the moment because it's a really important topic.
08:35And the thing that I love about the film is that there is, it's an attempted connection between these two very, these men in this very difficult situation.
08:44And, you know, without spoiling anything, it doesn't ultimately end that brilliantly for their relationship.
08:50But they are trying to be intimate with each other and in really difficult circumstances.
08:54And I think we need to encourage young people to be vulnerable and intimate and to open up to each other.
09:00Well, Gearshift. I saw yous at the NTAs for Rivals. You know how much of a big fan I am.
09:06And I know you're not going to tell me anything, but I know yous are filming. How is it going? Tell me something.
09:11It's going really, really well, thank you. We were very devastated to lose Gillie.
09:15Obviously that's been a big blow to all of us, but we want to just keep going in her name and in her honour.
09:20It's great. So we're doing 12 episodes this time. We've got new characters, new locations.
09:26It's bigger, it's funnier, it's deeper, it's more complicated. I think everyone's going to flip their lid about it.
09:33Just finally, where's my invite to the set visit? I mean it.
09:39If my clothes weren't so tight, I would have it.
09:42It's so nice to see you again. Thank you so much. You take care, you're great in this.
09:48Thank you. Thank you.
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