Simon Phillips is a bit of a dark horse on the independent film scene. While most ambitious British actors wander through the usual rights of passage; a few lines on The Bill, an extra on a Stephen Frears film-Phillips is something of a self made man. Best known for his leading role in the British gangster trilogy ‘Jack Says,’ Phillips has kept his circle close by adopting the brat pack ethos. Find actors and directors you trust, then just keep making movies. He has just wrapped two features; a horror film starring Julian Glover called Airborne and UK comedy How to stop being a loser, which he stars in as well as producing. The two films, directed by newcomer Dominic Burns showcase a few of the same faces, like Billy Murray and Gemma Atkinson. Since producing his first film Measure for Measure, a contemporary take on Shakespeare’s ‘problem play’, Phillips has helped to create six UK features. Despite the relentless funding issues that face everyone in the industry, he has never abandoned a project.
With with intimidating sells like ‘studied Stanislavskian method acting’ and ‘Commedia dell’arte,’ on his CV, you might expect Phillips to have an actorly air. Instead, you get a rough and ready ginger bloke who looks chuffed to pieces to be at his own party. Whilst premiering the last installlment of the Jack trilogy, Jack Falls in Mayfair, Phillips took time out to shoot the breeze with The Hollywood News;
THN: For those who haven’t seen the film, can you tell us a little bit about your character (the lead), Jack?
Simon: He’s a really enjoyable character to play because he’s an undercover cop so it’s all really about the sort of questionable moral choices he makes for the greater good. It explores what’s part of his job and what isn’t-when he needs to draw the line. It’s a really interesting character for me to play.
THN: Are you a fan of the gangster genre?
Simon:Can I be honest and say not really? Great, I am not really a fan of it at all. We tried to make it (jack falls more of a character story. I’m not really interested in guns and explosions which kind of goes with the territory but if you make the characters real then you feel a bit more for them when these sort of things happen to them.
THN: Was there a favourite scene for you?
Simon: I am going to be really guilty and say it’s one of those really show-reely things I’ve got where I walk away from an explosion behind me. Every actor wants to do that. I love my scenes with Jason Flemming too, I wish he was with us more, he was only there for the day with us but he was such a nice person-him and Alan Ford. Long may it continue-I hope.
THN:What was it like working on a trilogy, did it ever get exhausting?
Simon: It wasn’t exhausting but it was nice to see it from year one to where it is now. We’ve got the first ever British film to be made into a trilogy so its an honour to be part of something that’s a first-you don’t get many of those any more. But its been nice to watch the character grow and all the cast and the story. From our original intent to what we ended up with, it’s a bit different to what we thought it would be.
THN: Did you get quite attached to Jack after playing him for such a long period of time?
Simon: People keep coming up and saying ‘ooh you must be angry like Jack’ but I’m the most inoffensive person in the world. Anybody with a leather jacket and a gun you kind of feel more of what your doing. I leave it behind at the door when I am finished.
THN: Was that enjoyable, that angry escapism playing someone so different from you?
Simon: Yeah, its pure fantasy, the only bit where we try to bring in the realism is that anguish between what’s right and what’s wrong. Thats part of the challenge for us because the explosions and the special effects, they sort themselves out really. If you’re not engaged in the character, you don’t get as much out of it so hopefully thats worked out.
THN: What do you do to spur yourself into anger before you go on set?
Simon: I think of-I’m feeling very guilty-I actually think of actors that annoy me and things that annoy me. It sounds like a silly thing to do but if your doing a scene with a really nice person you’ve just got to hope you don’t have to do something where your angry with them, you just think “oh god I am so sorry-i don’t want to do that.” I try and think of annoying actors that take it all a bit to seriously. No method acting here!
THN: Do you think things are brightening up for independent British film?
Simon: Recently The Kings Speech has lead the way for stuff like that. Obviously the closure of the UK Film Council has upset a lot of people but its things like these, you know we’re British and I suppose it harks back to the World War Two days, we wont give up and we’re not going to go quietly. So, I think people have realised that we are here to stay in one fashion or another and there will be a presence of British film forever.
THN: So what is coming up next for you that we don’t know about?
Simon: I just finished on a couple of feature films, one is a comedy called How to Stop Being a Loser with Gemma Atkinson and Martin Kemp is in that one as well. Richard E Grant is in it too. We have also just wrapped a feature film called Airborne with Mark Hamil aka Luke Skywalker. I grew up on him, so that was awesome, I kept looking at him during scenes going ‘that’s Luke Skywalker’ so I’m looking forward to that, it should come in to fruition later this year.
