Back Row and Chill with Jahannah James and Noel Clarke - Stay Home Special Series - Episode 2 - Big Show, Viola Davis, Joe Bannister Kristen Hanby, Kevin Macdonald, Clifford Samuel, Oliver Assayas, Alex Hobern, Leo Suter and Jordan Waller

Episode Date: May 3, 2020

In this episode of Back Row and Chill Stay Home Special, Noel and Jahannah spoke to Big Show, Viola Davis, Joe Bannister Kristen Hanby, Kevin Macdonald, Clifford Samuel, Oliver Assayas, Alex Hobern, Leo Suter and Jordan Waller.

Back row and chill with Johanna James and Noel Clark on the Foobar Radio. Johan James, Noel Clark for Fulbar Radio, we're with The Big Show. By the way, did you know I'm number two in the box office right now? You love tooting that horn, gosh. Give me a high five. If I was number two in the box office, I'd chew my horn too. I want to know what your next movie project is. I'm represented by APA on LA, Jeff Wichess.

Me too. Fantastic. Another one. So Jeff's, my agent, we've done some stuff. I've done a couple of readings from Marvel. I don't know if I look anything like the characters, but Getting into that Marvel family, you've got to get introduced to them. They got, you know, and you know the more read you do for more cast and directors are more they get to know you, the more they get to learn.

It's hard because right away you're typecasted. They look at you and, oh, you're a big, intimidating guy. Well, yeah, but also I can throw down. I can act. You've got to find the right opportunity. I have a TV series that may be come up this fall that I'm really excited about. There'll be a good opportunity for me. And we're just considering some other projects and seeing what's going on.

It's a lot of your talent. It's a lot of who you know and how you meet them and how do you get to. to know them because they're going to take a risk on you because you've got to figure it's a business venture. They're taking a risk on you to pull this character off and enhance this script or enhance this character. There's so many great actors out there that are applying for the same job. It's a toss-up. Is it something that a lot of the WW superstars are glad about now where you have not only WW Studios with Michael Luisi, but you have the fact that a lot of the stars like The Rock and Stone Gold earlier and John and yourself and crossing over into movies?

I think who's really transcending that for us has been rock. Because I remember 20 years ago, nobody would talk to you in Hollywood. You know, they just wouldn't do it because you were a wrestler that didn't want going to do with it. And rightly so. Yeah. There was only very few, wasn't it? There was very few, but they weren't getting involved in any really big projects.

You know what I mean? Most of the projects the guys did back then, they had friends and producers that produced a movie for them to do. The difference is now is rock has really gone out there and paved the way for us and showing our work ethic, our willingness to work with other people, our commitment, which is ingrained by us. I don't think people understand unless you've been around WW and been backstage and seeing the work level that our talent's capable of.

We have done that. You know what I mean? And you look at guys like Ms. Okay, now Ms. is a smart ass on TV, but Ms. is one of the hardest working guys you'll ever meet. Very dedicated, very friendly, never complains about anything. You strap a dump truck to his back and tell him to walk at three blocks. They'd be like, okay, and he'll go do it.

That's the kind of work attitude that you know in Hollywood is very important. You need to get along with your co-stars, your fellow actors, your director, be respectful, show up one time and work hard, know your life. Yeah. Our guys are going to do that. You see the success that Rocks had. They see the success that Batista's had in Guardians of the Galaxy. Yeah, amazing.

Batista knocked it out of the park. Amazing. And, you know, Dave was one of those guys that made a difficult transition where he was really popular at the time. He was one of the top heels we have, but he felt in his gut, I need to make this transition now. And Dave did it. So, yeah, he started with a couple of small films, and then, you know, he did well and those and he had a home run with guardians. Yeah. So when those kind of guys are proven entities that deliver, you're going to look in the same pawn maybe for another potential.

So it makes it easier to take a risk. That's the border I'm in now. Yeah, I've been the big show for 20-something years. That's cool. But now I need to go in, sit down, meet with these people, let them know that I'm a human being, that, you know, I've got experiences. I can give you A to Z,

then find the right part they're willing to take a risk cost because it's a risk in an investment. I don't know if you noticed this, but I'm black. Okay. Someone talked to me about this because I wasn't aware of this. Yeah, right, I know, right? Anyway. You're all right.

Yeah, something even more shocking. She's a woman. Really? Yeah. Actually, I got to be honest, I knew that right away. My quick being, how do you guys, and WW is great at it, but how do you guys and what sort of advice do you give to people that have differences? Oh, diversity?

I think anybody that's different that brings a uniqueness. We're all unique in our way, whether we're black, white, short, tall, fat skinny. I guess I'm saying how do we teach children to embrace that, do you think? We all are different. And you have to embrace your differences, embrace your gifts. If anyone puts a limb on you and says you can't do something, You're the one that's making a mistake by listening to them. If you want to be a W.W.E. Superstar, there's opportunities here for you to be a superstar.

If you want to be part of this program, there's opportunities for everyone. It doesn't matter of ethnicity. We are actively recruiting all over the world from China, Japan, South Africa, Australia, Europe. We want diversity because we're a worldwide product. Diversity makes things better. If you have all carbon copy the same thing, it becomes very stale. Is life stale? Life's not stale.

Diversity is what all the little chemicals and the neurons, everything bouncing off each other. That's what makes things happen because everything's unique and diverse and that's what makes the magic happen. And you know, the more diversity you have, the more energy you have flowing, the better the project is. I think it's good for people, because you guys have your don't be a bully, be a start campaign.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think it's good for listeners and people to hear you say that because obviously we know everyone is different, but I think sometimes young people have a hard time. Well, another thing, too, is part of the B-A-Star program, they have, you know, guidelines and building their chapters. But one thing when I talk to the kids about how important it is for them, hey, if somebody's being bullied, step up and how contact a respected adult, a teacher. The other thing is, too, is a lot of things we overlook in those bully situations is, yes, the kid being bullied is a victim. But also the child doing the bullying is really crying for help.

How many times we know those situations is that a bully is really crying for help or something going on somewhere, whatever it is. is this kid is emotionally acting out because something is troubling that child, because that's not natural human behavior. If anything, we're about pulling together and fighting for the underdog and rising above. We've fought disease and famine and thousands of years of evolution to get to where we are. So if something's against the norm and there's this bully, then what's going on this kid's life? What's happening in this kid's life? So by telling, you're not getting the bully in trouble. In all actuality situation, you're helping the bully find out what's wrong.

And if you get it early enough, maybe you can correct this young man's path or young woman's path, and they go on to a better professional existence. I wanted to ask a little bit about behind the scenes, because we've come back stage. I am not walking around in my underwear. It's not happening. Damn it. Damn it. No, look.

Perfect. We often come back after a show. We watch a show. With Mr. The amazing Mr. Sean Selman. With Mr. Sean Selman. And then we luckily get to come back and meet you guys.

But we were, like, it feels just like a film set back here. You've got roadies and everyone's half in costume and, like, the familyness that I can sense. Yeah, it's that way. Are there any kind of like back behind the scenes, stories or anything? People ask me all the time. It says, oh, do you really like so-and-so? Do you really hate so-and-so? It's like any other job.

Do you like everybody you work with? No. But you're professional and you do your job. Yeah, there are going to be heated rivals here and there because we're all competitive. That's going to happen naturally. We're competitive individuals. But when you spend the amount of time that we spend together four or five days a week, 290 days a year all over the world, you've got a family.

You've got to know when so-and-so's, mad at her boyfriend. She's not having a good day. So I find with a brother or sister. Yeah, you know, I mean, you know, it's weird because you can tell when people are having troubles and maybe they need a hug or maybe they need to talk or maybe they need to be left alone. So, and most all of us are really good. I'm sure you guys are the same way being actors. Your therapy is your work. So when you get into your work, you might be upset, angry, pissed off, sad, depressed, but once you get into your performance,

afterwards, you're like, okay, I'm good. And I think that's what All of us we function well at. We're able to take our frustrations or stresses, and we get to release that energy and a positive way out there in our performance. Now, I'm not talking about yelling or screaming, but just even the fact that performing in front of the fans and giving them that match or that segment, that's the awesome feeling. You can't trade for anything.

People talk about skydiving. I've never skydived. I'm not insane. I'm not falling out of a perfectly good airplane for nothing. It's not happening. Tom Cruise, hanging on the side of an airplane. Good for him. I don't have the balls to do it.

Not happening. I'm with you, man. How many black people you see you get killed by sharks? No. We don't do that shit. How many black people are on Everest? None. Because we ain't climbing mountains in the cold.

Okay. Wait. No, no, hello. Cool. Just stab a shark in the eye. Yeah. He lived. Back row and chill with no park and Canada James on the toolbar radio.

A huge welcome to Joe Bannister. Welcome. Hello. Thank you very much. I'm at the hype mat. That's great. Yeah. That's a real welcome, is it?

Yeah. I know. He's just stopping me. I do what I can. I do what I can. I'm not going to bring any more sweets to the studio. Oh, you know what it is. It's a sugar high.

It's going to have a crash in a bit. Somebody will be like, welcome. By the end of the show. But welcome. So we are here to have a chit-chat about Howard's End, which is a period drama on BBC. Correct. Which is on my absolute actors hit list to be in a period, BBC period drama.

Yeah, yeah. So what was that experience like? It was brilliant. I mean, just, yeah, short answer, brilliant. It's funny the period drama thing, because there is a real temptation when you're in like a stiff collar and tweed. to not really play a real person anymore and just be like,

what, I'm going to be a period drama, hello. So our director Hetty was brilliant at going, please remember that you are a human as well. You're not just a suit and a hat and nice clothes. So yeah, so we do, often you do one take and you go, okay, you were being period again, try and be a real person

and you try and loosen it up. And I think that comes through that it is quite loose and people talk over each other and it's kind of messy rather than being too like, oh, prim and proper. Yeah, everything is, yeah, exactly. Because I think definitely with shows like downtown abbey in things, there's been a definite revival of the corset.

Yes, yeah, yes. And this is gorgeous to look at as well. Like I did a degree in costume way back when. So I super appreciate anything that's like tailored or like, yeah, so I was just loving what it looked like. And it reminded me of that like Beatrix Potter kind of because it's set around that time. Around that time, yeah, 1905. Turn of the century. Exactly.

And what are you saying about, yeah, being like real people. because obviously it's the storyline. I mean, do you want to just like, you're probably going to fill in the story. Sorry, it's a difficult one to sum up because it's not like, ah, there's like a bomb in a place and you've got to solve it. So it's basically about two sisters, the Slegal sisters, who are kind of like liberal, arty, middle class types. And it's about them going through their lives,

trying to find meaning and love and working out what they're doing. And then there's an upper class family, the Wilcoxes, that I'm part of that are like stiff up a lip, patriarchy, shut up, we know what we're doing. Go on, this is all bosh. Yeah. Oh yeah, that's the best word in it. They're having like a political argument in the show.

And Matthew McFandman's character keeps going, bosh! When you disagree with something, you just got to go, oh, boss. Can we bring that back a slang? Yeah, totally. Wow. I was thinking I was like, I want to... Bring it back, man. Can you imagine?

I'm going to use that in the review show, like, later on. When we're reviewing something, what do you think of that? Bosh. Proper boss. Yeah, it's great. So that sums up their family is the Bosch family, basically. And then there's the Bast family who are the kind of lower middle class, working class family. And so these two girls spend their lives trying to kind of only connect is the kind of message of the whole thing that we need to try and understand people who aren't like us.

Even if they might seem horrible like the upper class twits that we are. But you need to try and like and reach out and be like, well, what is it about this person? Don't just judge them by their gender or their class. Okay. And try and understand them. I mean, there's a lot more to it, but that's kind of the message. That's an interesting story to set in that time period as well. I think we've seen that before, so that's pretty cool.

Yeah, and because there's loads going on then, like there's about to be a war. They don't know that, obviously. Yeah, yes. It's all shifted. Yeah, yeah. And everything's uncertain. I mean, things are pretty uncertain now.

Hopefully not a war coming up. Let's not get too tough. Let's hope that's not coming. Yeah, but it's so it kind of like relates to now, I think. Like, there's similar kind of like... Holding a mirror up to society. Yeah, exactly. With lovely tweed and courses.

Yes, with beautiful questions. And how long did they take to film, though? What was that? It's about two and a half months in total, two and a half to three months. Where were you guys following? All over. That's one of the best things that appearing in drama is you're like, so each house is in different parts of the countryside.

You go to see all these amazing grand houses, and like I get to drive a car from 1905, which is terrifying because they are nothing like cars now. Was it an actual car? It's a real car. They're still running. From then, it's like, so I'm terrified because it's worth more than I am because it's from, there are many of them. Well, they made them to last back then.

So, like, if you press the car, they'd be like, is the car okay? Exactly. Is the car okay? Yeah, it's like that. But the gears are like in a different place. The pedals are backwards. So the accelerator and the brake are the other way around.

Oh, shit. Who the hell changed that? Why? Can you imagine the year that that changed over. I'm not going to go sorry. Yeah, the great car crash year. Yeah. I find it weird when I drive to France

and you literally get on the Euro tunnel and then you drive off and then suddenly everything's on the other side. Yeah, it's backwards. And you've got to like backwards it. Yeah. But always remember driving the right head fronts. I mean, I have to admit, very occasionally, I will just set off and for a second, I'll be like, just watch other people, what, what? Which is the right side again? So you worked with Haley Atwell, who's one of the sisters, and Matthew McFadden.

I personally think that he suits that time period. He just, yeah, he's from there, isn't he? I don't know what it is. It's amazing deep. It's the Marks and Spencer's voice. You know, in all those adverts, like, this is not just food. Yeah. Does he actually do Marks and Spences?

He did. Yeah, he did. Oh, wow. That was him. If not, he definitely should. Yeah, yeah. It's so silky. Yeah, it just makes you hungry listening to him. Yeah, yeah. But was there any, like, on-set period banter?

Yeah, there was. Well, I mean, Haley's loves games, like, heads-up. You know the heads-up. Oh, yes. So we spent most of our time. There's a scene in the second, there's a funeral, and we spend the whole day in our funeral gear in-between takes playing heads-up. I think there's a video of it on her Instagram.

It's like, not at all method. It's the opposite of method acting. Yeah, yeah. But we go on, action really sad. Cut. Okay, so it's like a 20-first switch to-free technology. Yeah, exactly. So then he does that.

And she did prank Matthew, because they had a drunning joke about how he becomes more and more babyish throughout as he loses power and stuff. So on the last day, she left a big nappy and a giant, like pacifier. Yeah. And a little baby's bottle in his trailer. That's brilliant.

Because it helps, because you're there for so long. Yeah. And you're standing around so much. Yeah, you've got to stay safe. Without that, you just go mad. Yeah. Yeah, what do you do on set? I play games as well, but my phone's never, like, on my person.

They always take it off me. We play, like, the movie game and that kind of stuff. Like, you go around in a circle saying actors and movies. You know the one? Yeah, De Niro. Yeah, that's the one. I know that game. I don't know if they get...

Well, clearly, I'm not on enough sex. Fine, rub it in, go. What's the De Niro game? De Niro game. Do you want to explain it? Yeah, it's a different version. If I started, I'd say a film. And then you'd have to name someone in that film.

And then I'd have to name a few. film that that act has been in. We can do a quick round. We can do a quick round. You start. Okay. A big one. Yeah.

Love actually. Oh, damn it. It's a quick and easy, man. No, go, go. Kiraniteley. Kyrinightly. I can't think of any Kyridightly films. She's really so many films.

Pirates of the Caribbean. Nice. Chodi Depp. Oh, will he... No, wait. Willi Wonka? Yeah? I don't know anybody else in that film.

I don't know anybody else in that film. I don't know anybody else. So they don't even... I get a letter. I get a D. And then we go around. And then if somebody said like a De Niro, then you reset all your... You play it like that?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You reset all your lives, basically. That's a really fun game. It passes the time so quickly. Yeah. People are getting worth it, like, keeping their own attention span and playing games and stuff. Yeah, she's straight on your phone. Yeah.

Yeah. Like, when we were filming and you had no signal, suddenly it was like, oh, hi, nice to meet you. Who are you? Yeah. I had my phone recently taken away from me for a challenge for 24 hours. They challenged me because I work in social media a lot, And then like, can you view that your phone for 24 hours?

And it was really hard. And I was so upset with myself at how much I wanted to. Yeah, I felt like super left out. I wouldn't wish that on my worst today. But did you find by the end, did you find, like, in a piece? Well, what I did realize is that when you're on your own without your phone, it's super lonely. When you are with other people or friends without your phone, it is so much better. So you should definitely all chuck your phones away when you meet up.

When you meet up. When you go for drinks, do that the table phone thing, where like the first person to pick up the phone has to pay for all the drinks for the whole night. Oh yeah, that's good. That's a pretty good one. I never do it, but it should be done. Yeah, that sounds great. Back row and chill with Noel Park and Johanna James on Football Radio. A huge welcome to Kevin McDonald's.

Hi, I'm in. Two-Fringer Clap. So you are the director of Touching the Voice. This is a movie that I made 15 years ago. It was a big commercial hit at the time. It was the first documentary that had made a lot of money at the box office for a long time held the box office record, and it won the Baffir of the Best British Film of the Year.

and it was a big deal. But one of the things that was nice about it was that had this fantastic score, a big orchestral score, done by a composer called Alex Heffes, and the score for a while got used everywhere in commercials and on BBC Nature documentaries and gone as well.

Anyway, so the score was fantastic, and Alex has now organised like a 15th anniversary screening of this film with a live orchestra. Whoever came up with that idea of being able to watch something with the live music from it, what an experience.

What a treat. It's an unusual film because it's part drama, part documentary. It's an amazing story. It's actually inspired by or based on a book, which was written by this man, Joe Simpson, who this amazing adventure happened to, which the film is about, he and his friend, they were like 20 and 22, and they wanted to be the first to climb a mountain in the Andes called Sula Grande. And they set off with this crazy plan, we're going to climb this mountain that's defeated everybody else has ever tried to climb it. They battled their way up through storms and terrible ice flows and whatever else you get on mountain sides. It's about 21,000 feet. It's super high. very high altitude and they got to the top and they were the first people ever to get there took them three days to get up I think turn around to come down and Joe fell and broke his leg and his mate Simon who was with him had to decide you know am I going to try and get him down I mean it's such an incredibly precipitous difficult mountain I'm 20 years old what do I do to leave my

friend here to take him down so he tries taking him down luring him down on a rope storm comes in it's terrible weather and he lures him over a cliff and he can't pull him back up and The rope's not long enough to let him down to where the bottom of the cliff is. And he holds on, he holds on, and eventually takes out a knife, and he cuts the rope on his friend and sends his friend to his death. But of course, he's not dead. He falls to the bottom of the mountain, miraculously hits some soft snow, goes through into a crevasse that's like 100 feet deep,

and he's sitting at the bottom of this ice cave there, abandoned by his friend. His friend thinks he's dead. And it's the story about that and about how that guy survives. Oh, my goodness me. I literally had realized I had my mouth open that whole time. That scene where you filmed it, where he's crashing through. At the time, I was very young.

And for me, it was very iconic. And it was actually one of the scenes that I was, it engrossed me a lot and actually sort of developed my interest in film a lot, especially the documentary side of things. But I'd never seen it being switched between sort of the drama and documentary. The realism of it and the themes with, like, trust and friendship. And you really filled those gaps massively with everything that you need to make it. Well, obviously, you won the BAFTA for it.

Thank you very much. No, at the time, it was a big risk, actually. It seemed like a big risk because often that thing where you get dramatizations, you get interviewees and then you get drug, and then you get dropped. It never really works. And so I was very nervous about it, but I think we pulled it off. I mean, certainly from the perspective of 15 years ago, it seemed like we pulled it off.

The story is fantastic, and it is one of those stories that grips you by the neck and doesn't let you go until you get to the end. If you don't know the story, you're going to be... I mean, that is a predicament. If you're talking about being in a pickle, that is a pickle. That is the definition. And I'd be having strong words, if that was my mate. Right.

Let's just address the whole knife over a cliff rope thing, shall we? Back row and chill with Noel Clark and Joanna James on Fulcourn Radio. Wow, we had to have the quickest turnaround ever to get a guest on the show. Trust me, the guy is just coming. His heels are burning. There's still smoke coming off the back of his trainers. He skidded through. He crashed and bowled into the...

the green room and he's here on free bar right now well done chris and hamby you're live on the radio well done for making it inmate you're sweating yeah yeah yeah yeah i often have that effect on people's yeah background chills it's a film and entertainment show we cover everything entertainment wise so whatever is entertaining people so people who don't know who you are christen hambi is a facebook youtube social media entertainer entertainer you entertain people and you've just come off the plane right that's why you're running a bit later that's why you're late you're Where was you? Jersey. Jersey where?

Jersey. It's closed to France. It's a small little island. So I thought you were using that New Jersey, Jersey, New York. So you was round the corner, you could have run. I know. New Jersey's the fake jersey. Next time, walk.

Yeah? I just found a corner. I thought you was like proper farming. All right? All right. We'll have words after. We're going to have words. How did you start?

Was it an accident or was it like a pre-planned? No, I've always been known for being an idiot, like just being the idiot of the group in that and I thought you know what I'm gonna fuck my mom one day not like yeah I could have word that bit bad Yeah I can't I get a motherfucker I could have a bit better you know I was gonna say it's cool I got you So basically I don't know if it's now praying where people just fill a bottle of water up to you mom's looking just fucking soak her face That's how it's starting and I threw water on your mum

Literally I cover my mum in water basically Literally Get a water And then I put on my little personal Facebook page and it kind of went a bit Okay nice while up I'm onto something here. People were more, and then I ended up starting throwing dealers at my nan.

Oh, my God. Your family loves you. Yeah, I started throwing my sister in bushes. Yeah, that's the time of it. You throw shit out of people. He's a black sheep of the family. Can I just say, like, you terrorize your family yet? Do your family actually like you in real life?

My nan does. But I found out the other day my sister said to me, my family had a meet up the other day, and they were just bitching about me. My whole family, I'm telling the truth. They're doing an intervention. Well, they were just saying they're worried for me. They just hate me.

But my nan apparently was the only one that stuck up for me. So I only like my nan now. Do you know what? Yeah, bro. I'll adopt you, in it? Yeah. Like, I've always thought, like, when I get older, yeah, like, I want to adopt a little white boy, in it, yeah?

So you can be my son, bro. You can sleep underneath my trailer cupboard. I think what your family needs to realize is that actually, if you get with the times and what is entertaining for the majority of the youth nowadays, and it is a huge prank, sort of, like, way. is going on right now. It's one of the most entertaining, one of the most you'd things on the internet is to prank.

I mean, I was up for a prank quite younger, but now they go extremely. Yeah, but what worries me is how far is too far, because sometimes I think death. Death is literally, you know, they don't die, it's all cool. Do you know what? Death is literally where it kind of goes over the life. But you know what?

Do you think, like, but look how this has had an effect on your family, do you not think that you could maybe do something for them because essentially they have helped you get popular? Oh, for sure, for sure, yeah. So you owe them something. Do you not feel your own and something? Have you could not take them on an outing?

Take them to the out of the deal with your mum. Maybe go to take us a park and they catch. They don't trust going out of the house of me, so it's kind of a hard situation. Well, you need to do something where maybe you're not even at the event or whatever. You do something. But you need to think about this and repair your family relationship. If not, I will adopt you. Look, I've got the papers right here.

I'll sign them right now. I'll sign them right now. But all I said, you pregnant me, I'm a brink to you with a belt. You're all going to get whipped for dildos and all sorts of it. You get, we'll right back with the belt. Okay, we'll talk about the adoption papers later. It sounds like a kinky family. Yeah, I was saying.

Just saying it. So how long have you been online? Is it something that happened just like kind of overnight? Or have you been building it? January the 6th last year. So a year? A year. Shut up.

January the 6th last year. January the 6th last year. I'm just sorry. This Dildo thing is playing my man. You can't beat your family member with a Dildo, bro. Do you not feel just like it's a bit bad? No, no. I think it's funny, man, though.

What is it called Dildo? Was it yet? Was it? I ordered it for my first ever video, okay? I'm going to tell you, it's okay. Hey, it's been used, yeah? Not on me. Not on me, I'm...

Hey, you tried to use joke. Yes. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, no. I bought it. I bought it for my first of a video. And it wasn't even a prank video.

It was some little, like... Porno. Yeah, yeah. It was some little 20-second joke video. That went on that lab bible and stuff. It went pretty big, and that's when I kind of thought, you know, I'm going to keep using this.

They got used in more ways than one. It's a multi-tool-old. Now, the girls want to meet you, can you bring the Dildo? The Dildo. You need to get Dildo T-shirts, man. You could start a line. You know what? Yeah, that singer, Honey, or whatever, her name is, Raleigh, whatever.

No, no, no, no. She's on Housewives of Atlanta. She was a singer-songwriter, but she also has her own sex company. This is how she then made her money. Because not from songwriting, but from selling sex toys and stuff like that. So there's money in sex toys. You know, when you adopt me, you know? If people want to see all these weird dildo videos, where should they go?

My Facebook page is Kristen Hamby. Maybe spell your first name. Because I did call you Christian for a while, so Kristen. K-R-I-S-T-E-N-H-A-N-B-Y. How many views have you got on there? What do you say? I've got quite a few. You got a couple hundred million I'd see on my face.

100 million? I would say... Wow. Are you going to come back? I'm going to invite you back. Can you bring a dildo? Back row and chill with Noel Clark and Johanna James. on Super Radio.

A huge. Welcome to Leo Souter and Jordan Waller. Hello. Welcome to the program. You gentlemen are from the ITV show, Victoria, which my mum is going to wee her pants a little bit, because she loves this show. She watched it with my brother.

My 20-year-old brother. All the generation. Also loves it. So, Katie's, exactly. If anyone's a bit like, um, Victoria, maybe it's a lady program. No. A lady program.

My brother loves it. How did you guys? Get a lot. I play an extra in the first series and then I got sort of big dark. Oh, you got back up. Oh, see, it does happen. It does happen. No, I wasn't, sorry, I was actually an extra.

I was playing self-deprecating. Oh, okay. All those warding artists out there. Yeah. There is, there, but it doesn't happen. Never. I'm new to the shows. I auditioned and then I got the part.

And what was the audition process like? Quite interesting. I was in LA at the time, so I sent a tape in early morning, sort of six in the morning, because of time differences. And then four hours later I got a call saying come back. There's a read-through on Tuesday and you'll be filming on Thursday. So I got on the playing home. They often cast things like really last minute.

I've seen that with terribly annoying. I've seen production starts in three days and there's just... It's nuts. And it gives you such little time to prepare or know what you're getting yourself in for. Well done for diving in there. And how was your audition process? I auditioned last year. Obviously I spent most of the audition on my knees.

What? Which is how I get all this. of my roles and I uh and yeah no and I just came on a audition with a cast and director called Susie Paris who is a lovely lovely lovely woman and I hope she gives me more roles in the future me too see how yeah yeah yeah yeah Susie hi this peru I had one read-through and then was offered the part afterwards pretty good oh my god that's like swift and snap it swift and snappy swift and snappy and how is it because obviously Victoria's set in the Victorian times so how easy is it to sort of transition into do you find yourself doing kind of

standing in like modern ways or wanting to do a dab or something. I've avoided that temptation so far. The sets really help. They're amazing. The costumes are incredible. The team around the show really do a great job in making you feel like you're in 1840s. That's amazing. That is my dream. I've wanted to do period drama. So much. I know. I remember you saying that. Give me a corset and a sword and I'm away.

Yes. You wouldn't actually want to have a corset. They really dig into your breasts. They're really tough to wear. We both worn one on set just to feel. kinship with the women. It's really tough. It really sort of makes you stand up right, which is part of the reason that it used to get into character. I have fainted in one before.

Have you? I was a model for a friend who was making one for her degree, and she was trying to get my waist right down. I literally did Akira Knightley. I went, I can't breathe. And I fell back. Oh, my God. Smat my head on a something.

And I nearly died, but I'm here in the end of the day. Oh, thank God. That's the main thing. And it didn't scare me. You really got such a little waste. I mean, it's mad. That was a pleasure. But they were trying to get me right.

write it down to I don't know whatever 21 or something like or whatever it's ridiculous and they had to wear them when they were like pregnant as well no way how on earth did they do it the babies would have come out smush yeah exactly what kinds of weird shapes yeah yeah and Victoria is pregnant for much of our series wearing a corset as she would have done how is it working with Jenna Coleman because she's a little bit of a superstar she is a little bit now she's lovely she's very down to earth is she's very very good she's tiny she's tiny she's a pocket actress But she's absolutely amazing. It's amazing. When she talks to you, it's just like, oh my God. You're eyes clenches and you start, like, sweating.

Because, oh, my God, she's got so much authority in such a little body. I love that they're bringing the story of Queen Victoria because you kind of, you learn about Queen Victoria when you're in school. But I always pictured her as the old Queen Victoria, like the old sad, fat Queen Victoria. We're early days, then. Yeah. They're early 20s and that's figuring out. Jenna will seem to come to you, she'll.

Imagine the prosthetics. Back row and chill with Noel Clark and Joanna James on Fubar Radio News. I'm joined today by director Olivia Assayas, and we're going to be talking about his new movie Personal Shopper, which stars Christian Stewart. So if you could just tell us a little bit about the movie, how it came about. When you write films, like when you write a novel,

you know, you start small, you start from a character. an image, whatever, you know, and it kind of grows into a fully bloomed story. So I think here it was pretty much the character of Maureen. I had both the character, meaning a young girl in Paris, foreigner. She has no friends there. She has no roots there. She's there because that's where her brother used to live,

and her brother just died. And just to make a living, she has to do a very stupid job, which involves just, you know, carrying bags from point A to point B, really, you know. So the premise of the story for anyone who hasn't is a young girl in Paris and her brother dies. She's also a medium, isn't she? So she can, well, she's trying to contact the other side. Yeah, she's a medium, but she's not too sure about that. She has her doubts.

It's like it's mostly her brother who was into that. Because, you know, they made this oath, like they all have some heart problems. They both have hard parts. So they knew they were not going to live too long. Yeah. So they made a promise that the first one goes would try to get. get in touch with the other, but he was really the one who believed in that stuff. And she's left and she has made the doubt.

She's not so sure she will get a sign. And so is it a French film? It's the best of both world or the worst of both worlds in a sense that, you know, I suppose that for the French we are foreign film because we are an English-speaking film. So in that sense, we don't get any subsidies or help in France. For the rest of the world, we're basically an indie French film. So we don't get that much financing. of a hybrid. Because I heard about Kristen was doing sort of a French film. I thought,

oh, is she going to speak French? Is it going to be half and half? I love it when we sort of pair with France and do half and half films. Just about the casting as well, because you've got some fantastic actors in there. Was Kristen always in mind? Yeah, Kristen was, I suppose, part of the inspiration for the film. I mean, I had just worked with her. And if I was telling the story of a young American girl, my point of reference would be her to be her, you know. So it's written for her. And I think, you know, it's a movie. where she's really pretty much center stage. I think that her artistic input is vital

in this film. I think there's a lot of whatever this film is that it owes to Christine. The storytelling of this film, it was probably the most unusual film I've seen this year in terms of, I couldn't see where it was going to go and it felt like almost sort of two or three different styles of

film all wrapped up together. The sort of supernatural side, I was like, is it a horror thriller? Then it turned into more of a drama with Christian, the mystery guy on the phone. So it kept sort of shifting. It's both part of the fun when you're writing and it's hopefully also part of the fun

when you're watching the film. I think that this ultimately could be, is a character study. It's a coming of age story and it can be told in a million ways. Yeah. We know we follow someone going through some kind of major crisis in her life.

I think there are ways to share that with an audience and try to make the film fun. Yeah. You know, in the sense that, you know, twists and turns in weird ways but the idea is to keep you constantly surprised i think that's what storytelling is about and i'm getting also bored with both as a writer and as a viewer with movies that kind of follow you know like by the dots yeah the same you know so you're safe you know where you know it's it's getting a pretty dull cinematic experience you film in location on paris and also in london

because i saw that you got the urestar and that's a journey that i've made many, many times. Logistically, how was it easy to film on the star? No, no, no, it was not. When I wrote the scene, I say, oh, this is really simple, but then it turned into a nightmare, really.

I mean, it was unbelievably complicated because basically you're not allowed to shoot on the Eurostar. So we ended up locating an all-Eurostar carriage that was parked. I'm not sure where in France. We ended up, of course, not being, we were not able to shoot on a moving train. We were shooting on a train in a parking and in a garage.

So that was not easy. That was very difficult, actually. Then we had to go through special effect, to insert whatever is going on on the other side of windows. Then we were not allowed to shoot in the French Eurostar zone. Yeah, yeah. In the Gardinor. They allowed us to shoot in London. So we could not shoot the French lounge and we ended up shooting both lounges because, you know, she traveled.

Yeah, sure. And so she stops in the Paris lounge and on the way back, she's in the London Lounge, but ultimately it's the two different levels of the London Lounge. The same lounge. Some stuff, we absolutely had no access to meaning, like when she boards the train in Paris, we were not allowed access, but we were allowed access in London. Both on the British and French side, we were not allowed to film the passport control. So we had to recreate that in the Czech Republic.

So I don't know. This whole thing that looks very... very simple and fluid was just a hell to make. Wow, that's amazing, because I remember just seeing, I'm like, oh, they're filming on the Eurostar. I had no idea that you could film on the Eurostar. You actually called you were right. Well, well done.

You pieced it together really, really, really well. How did you start out for any young filmmakers out there who want to know how to get involved? Well, I didn't go through film school. For some reason, I hated school. And when I started making firms, it's kind of interesting because when I started making firm, which is maybe a long time ago,

but ultimately not that long. Filmmaking was not for brilliant students. It was more artistic, more confused and messy ones, you know? And now it's become the opposite. Now it's like the best students want to become filmmakers or something like that. I don't know how it is in England, but that's the way it is in France. I studied literature. I studied painting because I was more of a drop smear painter.

Yeah, yeah. I approached filmmaking by working as a trainee, you know, on production, on various productions. I did whatever stupid job I could get, you know, so I can relate to Kristen being a personal shopper in my film. Because, you know, when you're very young and you want to get into whatever attracts you, you do silly jobs.

I work a lot in England as a trainee in the editing rooms for Superman, which was an interesting job. A weird, interesting job. I work also as a third assistant, you know, on a couple of English-American movies shot in Europe. I was an assistant editor. But then I basically started making my own short film. And, which is also specific, as opposed to French culture,

I wrote about filmmaking. In the magazine, Caya de Cinema, which was the Nouvelle Vague, historical magazine. And I think that I learned a lot there. I mean, that was my film school. Back row and chill with Noel Clark and Johanna James on Fibar Radio. Oh my gosh, no, leave that chair. Now, you know what?

We're going to fall up. When are you going to fall up? Would you like to swap chairs with me? Alex, how are you doing? How's it going? Thanks, Hobbin. Welcome to your second. It's actually Hobbin.

Dude, I have this problem every day of my life. Seriously, we are going to fall out. Me and you or you in the chair. Me and this chair and these guys because I know they do it on purpose. You guys. Swip it with mine. I'll have a broken one. Yes.

There's a chair here as well if you need. Yes. Thank you, sir. From now on, what we're going to do every week when I come in, every week when I come in, what we're going to do is I'm going to swap chairs with Janah that you lot are not going to mum me up every week. Baptism of fire here.

Alex Hoban. Yes, that's it. But this is a good day. Ever since I've been a kid growing up, it's either been spelled H-O-L-B-R-N like Holben. On the Central Line. What a joke, by the way. What a fucking joke, mate.

Or H-O-B-U-R-N, back of all my football shirts. No one sees it by the fans. Well, however you spell your name, your name is pretty famo on the internet right now, because you've started up exactly like myself. You started to make comedy content online, and it kind of just took off. That's it.

Yeah, I mean, took inspiration from people like yourself, being in the game for a long time now. I just thought, I'd create some relationship situations. Well, it started out as myself and then I realized I need someone to bounce off. My girlfriend Millie involved shout out to Millie, by the way. Millie is beautiful. She's like the fittest thing. Thank you very much. Yeah, just a bit, actually.

Every comment on every video. Oh, me. It's there. Top comments as well. She's gorgeous. Millie JL on Instagram. Millie J-Hel on Instagram. That's the one.

That's the one. I know, right? Bro! Give you some old man advice, boy. Get your claws in and don't let go. I'll do my best, mate. Get your claws in and don't let go, man. You just, when she walks, get dragged behind like a motherfucker,

but keep holding strong. I don't know what happens already, but yeah. Use that goalkeeping shit that you got and just grip that. That's it. But yeah, so just started that out and then did a video on jerk chicken. Oh, yeah. When your white friend tries jerk chicken for the first time. And that was where it really started.

That's where it kind of blew up. And from there, it's just a lot of momentum and trying to carry it. It's great premiere, by the way. Alex is the brotherhood premier. Yeah. I was. I was.

It was, mate, spot on. Your speech at the beginning was great. I don't even remember what I said, but thank you. Neither do I, but it was great. And the after party as well. I was in the toilet. Somebody comes and stands next to me, absolutely, I can tell a very tall guy. You know, you're in the urinal and you don't want to do that turn because then you're

that guy, right? Yeah. Well, lucky I didn't. And with him, if you had turned, you would have been that guy because he, I know what you're talking about. And he's about eight foot. and you would have been right at penis level that's it stormsy oh it was there was there and i was just like freaking out of course you don't want to see that that's it i was like i don't want to be put in shame for the

rest of my life stormby was there and then i thought about battling him battle bars in the toilet again yeah but i thought he could do whatever to me there there's no one watching that's the probably we'll just finish you with exactly in the lineup to the film we all got all the cast members came out and i was next to stormy and yeah he is tall i was in big heels he was even taller he blessed him he was standing on like a long train on my gown and we're like trying to then i was trying to get his attention for ages but he was i think he was a bit just like sort of he's a ledge he's alleged big storms and i was just like is that mr stormy you're right yeah same same with me as prop is just like dear and headlight back to the online content because yeah what inspired you to

start doing it apart from myself obviously mixture of things basically is shall i just leave so you can suck it up i've worked in content for a while now worked for a few facebook pages where for Unilad at the moment and I've seen people evolve and develop content and I thought I'd like to have a go at that and I'm quite passionate about making videos anyway I used to do it sort of for extreme sports came in and I've started seeing people do comedy content and then Millie gave me the inspiration she's like get a camera do it yeah claws coming on can ask quickly before you carry on you say oh I quite like to have a go of that was it like that seems like or was it like I can do better videos than this bit of both I saw some of the videos and I thought I can one up then that was my approach

at first and then it just developed in into like a real passion. Yeah. And then it just kept coming. And the ideas keep coming. I basically take whatever winds me up about day to day life and put it into a video or something relatable. So what advice with you guys?

Because remember this show was all about the listeners. And what advice would you guys give to, you know, we talk about acting and stuff a lot of the time? What advice would you guys give to young people that are out there on the, you know, wanting to make their own content and do YouTubey, sketchy stuff like you guys do? Yeah. First thing is, I would say, get a camera and you don't have to spend a lot.

Alex was on the introduce me. to the camera that I bought and it was just a couple of hundred quids yeah 250 pounds or 300 pounds for the basic camera even on your phone there's people that are killing it and then and then edit an eye movie or whatever exactly yeah you can do the whole thing on your phone but the first thing you've got to do is do it that was the biggest step for me to make a pain you feel like an absolute idiot you make a Facebook page about yourself yeah which is like oh what is this and then slowly people start and encouraging people to like it first is just your friends and it's friends of friends and then it's just randomest I learned to edit um I kind of self-taught my

using YouTube tutorials do that like basic like I said I move I started off on I movie and then eventually went up to premiere and then kind of just got to do something that you were really great at which was just introducing yourself so reach out because everyone's very different like we have like for example we have a Facebook page but you don't go to people hey come on to my page you just have to chill it's there and you just let people find it where your thing is you need the people to come you have to self promote yourself I'm not sure what it was like sort of a few years ago but for me the way I see it now is that if

you want to be an actor or you're an aspiring actor you've basically got a show reel from your Facebook page if you create content on there so make videos get creating and then you can go in somewhere and go to someone like yourself and be like this is what I've done this is how I act and it's there already and if it's a passion of yours you're going to get people liking it you're going to get people's feedback on it as well from that social platform so use that to push your acting side as well one thing that I was going to say because a lot of people they assume like YouTubers that you're just making like loads and loads of money off our videos actually there isn't money a lot of time to be made so it has to be a passion project and it will take up all your time amazing how much time goes into

50 second video do you immediately spend your weekends making videos and stuff as well or do you get time to chill out so it's actually gone one step further than that we've now started making vlogs so then you've got to push yourself to go out and do something to make it interesting for the audience as well and i've seen we've both been making vlogs johanna's on it as well yeah youtube and facebook are two very different beasts so what's the vlogs for youtube yeah Yeah, longer content, people buy into your personality much more. I see, like, there's a girl that used to work for someone, I know. There's Tanya Burr.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. She can do anything. She can go up and go, oh, I'm going to sneeze and there's like 10 million views. She has a book about it. Like, it's amazing. Yeah, yeah. Once people buy into your personality, like, literally there are some guys who just go to the supermarket and go, what should I get in? Go around.

Oh, I'm in the supermarket. What should I buy? Yeah, yeah. And then they're calling, hello, ha, ha, ha. I'm like, that's not funny, is it? Yeah. And they both have their difficulties as well, like, on face. We call it stopping the scroll.

So as you're scrolling through the content, because it's a feed where there is on YouTube, you're going to actually look at someone in particular. Yeah, you've got to type them. Yeah, type them in. So two separate disciplines for you guys. Yeah, the content has to be a lot different as well. You've got three seconds to get someone's attention on Facebook.

No longer than a minute 30. So ideally under a minute, but the whole story of your joke, which is just like, oh my God. You cut out a lot. Well, you taught me that as well. It's to cut out so much time. There's so much, so many shots where you're just, you don't realize it.

but there's actually a lot of spare time, even if it's just a split second, because at the end, it all adds up, and you can cut. It's kind of like a mini version of what you do in the edit when you're editing a whole movie. How much did you edit out of Brotherhood? An hour.

An hour? Yeah, when we, the rough assembly of the film was two hours, 40 minutes. Whoa. And so do you have a director's cut? No, the director's cut is what you saw. Okay. Because I did the, you know, I was there every day and we did the cut. But the rough assembly, when you put it together,

it was two hours 40, and the film ended up being one hour 40. I mean, there's whole segments that are out of that film that the audience will never know about. Yeah, the storylines, sub-storylines that kind of got cut. It's crazy to think that you've had to watch that many times. Yeah, you watch it like from day one. You watch it like 80 times, and you get to the end, start again.

Get to the end, start again. Each time you're cutting minutes and minutes and minutes. And by the end, by the last day, you're cutting seconds, seconds. But actually, on the last day, we did cut five minutes. One of the bosses of Lionsgate was like, I think you should take that segment out and just move something there. And I was like, we had a look at it back in the edit. and we're like yeah let's do it and we just chopped five minutes out on the last thing

because we had a chat actually when we were shooting our video together about that song at the beginning of brotherhood i can't remember what it's called out which one the no the slow one yeah regularly yeah i was like i love that song it's so good what is it and jan i was like don't even ask me about that song we listened to it 50 times yeah on set yeah and then you must have heard it so many more times it's very catchy find myself later on me like I can still play it. I'm not bored of you. Oh, really? Yeah, I like it. It's a good choice.

I listen to it quite a lot. I tend to roll back to the Brotherhood soundtrack. It's a really good soundtrack. Yeah. Oh, we've got a quick email in, Hey, Noel. Would you ever consider making a film in the US with an all-American cast? I'd like you to work with Michael Shannon from Martha. Martha, you sexy beast.

I would love to do an American film. And I've got plans, girl, and you know when I have plans, you know, I don't really talk about them, but I get them done. But there are plans of foot and things are happening. And Michael Shannon, yeah, he is an absolutely brilliant actor, so 100% I'd love to do that. And how's your American accent? Great. Did you hear it?

Is that how good that was? Great. Great. Great. Great. Great. Can you be an American accent? No, not really.

Not American. Can you do an American accent? I can, yeah. Is yours great? Bring up your audition tape for that. Oh, yes. Oh, I do audition in a, that you don't have that.

You do. It just carries it around all the time. Just to show off the pins of people. Did you have to put an American accent on? She did. Oh, how was it? It was okay, apparently. Out of 10.

well I mean well I mean actually you know what one of the first things I ever did when I ever met you on a film set Noel is you said what accents can you do and I was like I don't know and then I remember I came up to you

and I spoke in a southern accent what did I go and that's pretty good it's in a South England accent no no southern southern England yeah the south of England yeah the south of England well hey there

Brixton shout to Brickston where I'm from I don't know what I said but I did something of the sort of like the sudden veil kind of thing and you were like oh that's alright then good do it again was that there okay give me sentence to say and i'm joking that was good that was good say i'm going to the diner to get some brisket good one okay in your texas bell accent texas bell well i'm gonna go to the diner to get some brisket that's good that's really good it was more alabama than texas okay okay all right i'll go welcome my texas back row and chill with no clock and jana james on cumba radio

Bia Davis, let's hear it. Biaenna Davis, here we go. The movie's obviously based on a play, which I didn't realize before I went in, but I worked up pretty soon. Oh, okay, this is interesting. It's all based around the one house and that. In making that, did you film it like a play? Did you do it in linear order?

Or what was the process in? We did it sequentially, so that was really important. Otherwise, it would have been just too much. The first scene is 33 pages. There were 11-page monologues, four-page monologues. There was a lot of times that one set. I shouldn't call it a set. It was a natural house on the Hill District.

It helped us a lot because, see, the thing about August Wilson is all of his plays take place in tight confines of a backyard. Because it's metaphorical towards us being roped in by a culture, roped in by circumstances, and wanting to bust out and be a big man and make our lives worth something. So it would not have worked if we had different. sets like shooting in, I don't know, just some big department store somewhere or out on the street. The backyard became another character. I want to just really home in on your performance because I was in tears in this screening to the point where you're trying to keep it in, but I couldn't. What was your process just from an actor's point of view?

How did you get to that intensity? Besides breathing and all of that, it's all the boring acting stuff. that no one wants to really hear about in terms of doing bios and creating Rose. When you're first introduced to Rose, and she's coming out and she's crocheting. And what you see is a woman, even with her hair gray, her apron, her wide hips, someone who's very much middle age,

always cooking, always in the kitchen, always offering someone food, always saying, come, come into my heart, come into my life, because that's my only person. purpose. That's it. It's 1957. It was very important for me to create that specific character. So that by the time Troy gives me the news, I can't prepare that because it's a surprise. I couldn't sit and go, okay, I'm going to play that character in the big monologue. I'm going to play her first. I'm going to come out mad, pissed off, all of that. I had to create the joy.

I had to create the investment of love and that investment of 18 years. So by the time it's taken a way it's there. And I was so surprised at how it set the 50s culture so strong and it's so shocking. It's so close to us nowadays, but so backwards. And you just absolutely, my heart broke for your character. Absolutely. But also how relevant any woman being told that 50 years ago, 100 years ago or tomorrow, it's the same raw.

And you just absolutely nailed it. So that's why it really upset me. And probably anyone who could ever have their heartbroken. I was like, oh. Absolutely. And just quickly to round off with the Golden Globes. What was that like personally? being there and was it all a blur? Did you black out? Was it like, it's never a blur anymore. I try

not to make it a blur because I try to remember it. At 51, it becomes very important for you to remember every moment of your life. It really does. You'll see. It was very important for me. Merrill Streep said, I will be at your Walk of Fame ceremony and introduce you if you give me the Cecil B. DeMille Award. I did not see it as a favorite trade. But I, I don't know. wanted to honor her in introducing her. I wanted to honor her how much she contributed to me and every artist out there. Because you know what? Here's the thing about acting. It is not rocket science, but it is an art form and it's an important one in a world where people walk around blissfully unaware of themselves and others. And we can't do that. We expose. And she does it so beautifully.

wanted to honor her. I just felt like I was awake for the whole thing. I was metaphorically, I was awake. And I had a fabulous time. Back row and chill with No Clark and Joanna James on football. A huge welcome to Clifford Samuel, actor and Cespion. Hi, hi, everyone. Welcome. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Well, we would just have a little chitch-chat. Clifford just dropped the bomb that he has just worked at the globe. The very globe that is the fake globe. Yeah, the fake globe, yeah, on the waterfront. The waterfront fake globe. What were you doing at the globe?

I was doing a play called Budica as a new writing, but it's based on the female warrior princess, played by the lovely Gina McKee. It was a blast. Buda or Bodicea? Yeah. As a lot of people like, oh, is it Budica, Bodicea. Yeah, I was told not to say it in my audition,

not to say bodicea because that's the Latin. And you have to do the British version, which is Budica. I learned something new. I've been speaking Latin. Yeah. Yeah, of course. Yeah, Buddhist year. That was the first thing I ever learned about in history at school ever.

Oh, really? I remembered sitting down in history when I first went to school, and they talked me about this, like, amazing woman fucking warrior lady. And I was just like, yes! Yes. There's a statue of her outside of Westminster. There is. I'm totally missing out on knowledge here.

Oh, my gosh. She was like this, like, kind of pre-viking dark-aged queen, and she, like, led armies into battle and stuff. She was like, with ginger hair and, well, I'm assuming. This is what happens when you only did you see geography, and you miss out. Yeah. No. History, it's not about history.

But it got a bit dark at the end because basically, like, the Romans capture her and, like, rape her daughters and stuff. Oh, great. Casual, yeah. That was the beginning. That was the beginning of the play? Yeah, and then the revenge starts.

Oh. Because Rome occupied, Rome's occupying Britain. And then she fought back. Now, Clifford, I want to mention Macfewa, which is the BBC TV child that you are part of at the moment. And it all kicks off in the new year, which apparently I missed,

because I was obviously not, I don't even know where. I was. Yeah, well, way. New Year's day. Yeah, it was near day. Nine o'clock. That just wasn't the one for me because I was, I don't know. I was still thinking it was 2017 and I don't know.

Yeah, or not even pizza take away. I just can't remember. Like, that's just like a blackout that day. What did I do? I was asleep. But I'm so sorry, I missed it. So how did you get involved that? You play Femi, who is the boyfriend of, so anyone who doesn't know what

McAfee is about. It's about a Russian mafia powerhouse family. Yes. And you were the new boyfriend of the daughter. No, no, well, boyfriend. but I don't know how many. The long term. Or some people say partner

because we've been together for a long time. Oh, yeah. Wait. Yeah. How long before you actually become a partner? Good question. Yeah, I know. Because, I mean, I've been going out with someone for two months now.

Is it appropriate that I call him my partner? That's your boyfriend. Or girlfriend. I'm just, I'll just say, oh, it depends. Once you're living together, maybe? That's what I was going to say. Well, who says you can't? I use that as my partner now.

Maybe when I introduce him next time, I'll just say, hi, this is my life partner. And let's see how much you guys. Yeah. You get confused with like business partners are, don't they? Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's true. Oh, you're like, oh, this is my dating buddy.

There's so many words and all the gray areas in between. Yeah. So you are the partner slash long-term boyfriend of the Russian. The Russian. Katia Godman. She's a bit crazy, huh? Yes, as you start to discover, there's all little clues have been dropped every episode of what's happening between us. And then you discover.

Because you're really likable in the hospital. Because you're there and you're trying to call her. Am I allowed to say that bit? Yes, yes. Sponerala. Yeah. It's quite hard to talk about because I can't. There's so many spoilers and I have to be careful where we're at.

But this is good. And she's nowhere. But you're like, cool. Well, maybe not in, you can maybe see the inside. But like, if your girlfriend was out partying all night, couldn't reach her. And alarm bells going off. Yeah, yeah.

I can't, again, there's a spoiler. which I can't go into. But he's one of the few nice characters. In the mafia, in the whole... In the series. In the series. It's like, I think you meet about 150, 160 characters.

Oh, wow. And he's kind of one of the handful of nice people. One of the nice people. Yeah. Yeah. And how did that come about? Was it just like an audition? Did you know someone?

It was an audition for... It was very secretive. There was no script to hand and it was... Oh, one of those? Yeah, yeah. Just get the size. A blindfold audition. Yeah, like, what is that?

Yeah. This is kind of roughly the world. This is what we. you're doing and your character is called Femi and a little description about him and take it away. Okay. Yeah. So we... And you improvise?

I had scenes, all sides, as they say, to just learn about four pages of them and just kind of you contribute what you think the characters about. But there was no, yeah, there was not a lot of reference to go by because there was no script. There was a script, but it was too secretive. Yeah. Yeah. And it makes sense now. What was it like?

Because you were just thrown in there with like James Norton who plays. the lead. He's a hearty, well, he's a hearty, but he's also going to be potentially the new James Bond. So, you can't say. Oh, yes. Oh my gosh. No, no, no, I can't say. No, no, no, no pressure. No pressure. Okay, the secret, the mystery cell shall remain. No, the lovely James. He's fantastic. This is really good. He's been attached to it from the beginning, and which was nice. So then they at least had a face to then cast around. Yeah. Family, especially was one of the earliest ones they wanted to do. And Faye, I think, was cast pretty early, I was cast pretty early so we set up the family and then

then they sprawled out with the rest was kind of filming and casting as they went along for like the day players as they say well there was a lot of buzz about McAfia especially online and as well especially for your storyline because it is a Russian mafia powerhouse and you are the boyfriend

of the daughter but there is tension between the parents and you because you're black she's Russian and they've got quite institutional racism in their and you're a 21st century couple. Which is great. Was it exciting to play that kind of?

Yeah, that was one of the biggest draws. And then when I did got the part and then got the script, I was like, wow, this is very subtle in terms of how Hussein Amini, the amazing writer and the showrunner, he's the guy who wrote Drive, if you remember, the film Drive. Oh, yeah, yes. So this is kind of his first TV because the whole idea, I mean, it's not the whole series is like an eight-hour film when you do.

It is. It's real filmic. Yeah, it keeps go. Yeah, it's shot. Yeah, beautiful. So Hussein, we were talking about the character and why, and it was so nice to have, it was called Femi. It's not just another character where you've just slotted it. Oh, we just need a black guy to put in there.

No, no, no. It's a completely political nod to what's happening now, to have that generation with, like you've just described, which, you know, Russia's, especially Russia. They're known to be, let's call it hostile with their views on, you know, any race. But, yeah, so to have that. not heavily commented on but yet visually you can't help us see I mean they're all Aryan yeah it's literally white men

for an hour just all white men the whole series yeah and then there's you absolutely it's daunted but there's you know all the plus side to it as well you do stick out but you really stick out as the actor and then the character and the series

oh yeah yeah very positive I think it's super relevant and I'm just like I'm all about that right now having recently entered into an interracial relationship, I'm sort of like navigating through this personally. Yeah, of course. I've kind of switched onto it now and I'm... Yeah. So yeah, I've really liked that

the BBC were pushing in their like prime time TV, putting those storylines forward and addressing them because I personally felt like oh, it's like 21st century now. Everyone's, everyone can date everyone and it's free love and you can be gay, you can be whatever. Yeah. But actually, there is so many people who are older or from other cultures or from other countries

and it's still like super... New. Yeah. Just look at the Megan and Harry thing. It's still an issue. It's always a way of trying to make it easier to understand. Oh, it's because, you know, Prince Harry. Oh, it's because, no, no, she's already, she's beautiful.

He found her. It's not a favor. I mean, she's achieved so many things. Yeah. Maybe even on par with Prince Harry or more than Pratt. I would say so. And then having to sacrifice all that. Oh, yeah.

I mean, you know, no offense to, like, Prince Harry, but he was born into that privilege where she, like, earned that privilege. Oh, yeah. She became a public figure out of her own talent. In one of the hardest industries. Yeah, so she kind of, like, worked up to that level. He was kind of just given that.

Like, he didn't choose to be famous. Yeah. He is that. Yeah. He just is famous. Imagine being born famous. Like, wow. Just, yeah.

Pressure. Back row and chill with Noel Clark and Johannes James on Thubbar Radio.