Great to be back very near the original site of my old drama school, Mountview, yesterday, for a short film shoot. Parking in Cecile Park, Crouch End, all the memories came flooding back of a fab three years and the final year productions at the Judi Dench Studio on that very road. It looks as if this original theatre site has been sold now and, in fact, the whole academy is moving to Peckham – crossing the Rubicon!
I remember in one of those “how would you be cast” sessions towards the end of our time at drama school I had the “doctor/businessman/father/therapist/professional/manager” types, feedback for my likely casting going forward. Seemed likely. Since then I have played drug dealers, addicts, criminals, creepy dodgy blokes, sexual predators, serial killers, crazed soldiers, dead pianists, adulterous husbands and voiced a crocodile…amongst others. OK there have been some straight middle class professional roles as well but I have had my fair share of the dark side…must be the deep-set eyes.
Anyway this was another walk on the wrong side as the wonderful guys at the LFS cast me as Shaun Hofstein, a sexually predatory media mogul whose dark past catches up with him as his female victims come forward. Somewhat topical. I am not sure how the real life events will pan out but this Crouch End one did not end well for me. Not for the first time in my screen career, I ended up assassinated in a pool of fake blood.
Oh well, just up the road, years ago, I had played the sexually brash Peter from A Taste of Honey and the dodgy Voysey in Granville-Barker’s play…so plus ca change really.
Two Bullets – ( Zhi-Yi Wang, @ouchigi)
Two Bullets – ( Zhi-Yi Wang, @ouchigi)
Kit Smith 