When the movie ended, it said ‘Directed by Steven Spielberg’
And I remember looking at that name and going, ‘That guy is a magician.’
What is your first or favourite memory of going to the cinema, growing up?
Well, the first film I saw in the cinema was Jurassic Park,
I was eight years old and I went in with my mum, and I went in with a Tigger toy,
- You know Tigger from Winnie the Pooh? - Mmhmm.
Right, and I went in with one of those.
And it still is the most, kind of,
important cinematic experience I’ve ever had,
because I genuinely believed that there was, like, dinosaurs in this theme park.
I didn’t know how that would be possible
other than there being real dinosaurs in a theme park.
That film also says a lot about divorce, I come from a divorced family.
I didn’t pick up on that stuff as a kid, but now, looking back over the film,
I know that a central theme of that movie isn’t about dinosaurs, it’s about divorce,
so I really picked up on all of that stuff, subconsciously.
When the movie ended, it said ‘Directed by Steven Spielberg’
And I remember looking at that name and going, ‘That guy is a magician.’
There’s something about him that he’s, kind of, not from this planet,
or he’s just this extraordinary man who has achieved these
impossible feats of magic.
And then I left the theatre and I literally threw the Tigger in the trash,
and I was like, ‘Right I want dinosaurs.’
What opportunities were available to you, growing up in the North East?
- Opportunities meaning? - In the film industry.
In the film industry, yeah.
So hard to say.
I mean, I was so young, when I started acting and when I made my first film,
I was thirteen when I made my first film, and I was a dancer before then.
You know, so I started dancing when I was six years old,
and that really was important to me in my career,
because the first film I did was this film called Billy Elliot,
and it was about this kid who wanted to dance from the North East of England,
it was essentially my life.
But, if I hadn’t have had six or seven years of dance training,
and I danced competitively,
if I hadn’t had that experience, I wouldn’t be prepared to make that film,
I wouldn’t be right for that movie.
So, just that element of training and discipline and all that stuff was crucial,
I didn’t know it, then.
But in terms of opportunities in the film industry,
there is no film industry, at least from my experience,
up in that part of the world.
There wasn’t an outlet for movies other than the cinema.
- You’ve starred in a lot of films, now. - Right.
What was your biggest learning curve, and what did you learn from that experience?
Gosh, I’m really, kind of, still learning.
I don't think the, kind of, process of learning ever really stops, you know.
My thing now is that I’ve, kind of, moved into the other side of stuff,
so I’m now more interested in the writing process.
I produced my first film this year with my best friend
who is a filmmaker, he’s called Max Minghella.
So, now I’m going into a totally different aspect of movies,
which is getting them made myself and having a little bit more control.
As an actor, you don’t have a great amount of control
of how it looks, what the content is.
You know, you can control a small amount of it, but not very much.
So, having an opportunity to be more in control,
and make the kind of movies that I would like to see, is really exciting.
Yeah, there are no barriers to filmmaking anymore,
literally anyone can pick up their phone and make a movie.
True, Tangerine.
Go see Tangerine, all shot on an iPhone.
If you could pull together a dream team,
what essential skills would you be looking for?
A voice, it’s all about the voice.
So, it doesn’t matter what position on the film you are,
if you wanna be a production designer, cool,
if you wanna be the writer of a film, great, an actor, whatever.
It’s about, do you have a unique voice?
And do you have a story to tell that is about an individual experience
that is unique to you and original to you, that you think is worth expressing?
So, it’s about taking your own personal experiences
and finding way of telling it that’s unique, that’s original,
you know, people can relate to.
Yeah, and it not only brings people together,
but gives you an outlet to express yourself in.
Absolutely, and that can be anything, you know.
It can be any version of that.
This film Moonlight, I don't know if you saw that film, it was an incredible movie,
a very personal film about a very specific community,
about a very specific relationship that this young boy has, growing up.
It’s a tiny movie, but it related globally, I think,
‘til that film was almost a phenomenon,
because you don’t get insights into those kinds of communities very often.
I think that’s why this, Into Film, is so important,
to get more of those kinds of stories to the screen,
and have young people telling those stories.
Yeah, it’s crucial.
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