Follow-Up Filmmaker Interview with Mark Denham

Interview by Chris Olson

Thanks for coming back and speaking with us again following our 2022 interview. How has your perspective on the industry evolved?

A lot has changed since we last spoke. In 2022, I was very focused on making my own independent work and trying to create opportunities wherever I could. I still have that mindset, but working on productions connected with Sky, Film4, the BFI and Pulse Films has given me a much broader understanding of the industry.

One thing I’ve realised is that, regardless of the size of the production, filmmaking still comes down to people. You can have a much larger crew, more resources and a bigger platform, but you still need good communication, trust and people who care about what they’re making.

It has also taught me that a career in this industry isn't a straight line. You can play a lead role in one production and then find yourself fighting for the next opportunity. That can be difficult, but it has made me even more determined to keep creating my own opportunities and hopefully, at the same time, create opportunities for others.

I think I understand the business side much more now as well. Having a good script is only one part of it. You need the right people, packaging, relationships, finance, timing, and sometimes a great deal of patience.

How does acting in other filmmakers' work influence your own writing and directing?

It helps enormously.

As an actor, you experience very quickly what works and what doesn't. You know when dialogue feels natural and when you're fighting against something that nobody would actually say. You also learn how much a director can help an actor simply by creating the right environment.

Playing Russell King was particularly interesting because I was portraying a real person rather than creating somebody entirely from imagination. There is a responsibility that comes with that. You have to understand the character, but you can't just turn them into a caricature.

When I'm writing now, I think much more about what I'm actually asking an actor to do with a scene. Is there something underneath the dialogue? Is the character behaving like a real person rather than simply delivering information?

And when I direct, I don't want actors to feel like pieces being moved around a set. I want them to understand what their character wants and then have enough freedom to find something truthful within the scene.

How do you balance the heavy themes of Second Half with warmth and humour?

That balance is absolutely essential.

If Second Half were an hour and a half of people talking about depression, grief and suicide, I don't think it would connect with people in the way I want it to.

The walking football environment itself gave me part of the answer. You can have people from completely different walks of life together, having banter with one another, arguing about whether something was a foul, laughing, having a cup of tea afterwards, and at the same time there can be people within that group dealing with very serious things. That's life.

People don't stop laughing because they're struggling.

So, Second Half deals directly with grief, loneliness, suicidal thoughts, and men struggling to talk, but it also has friendship, football, banter, embarrassing moments, and people winding each other up.

The hope is important too. I'm not interested in making a film that tells people everything magically becomes perfect. I want it to show that sometimes having somewhere to turn up, somebody who notices you haven't turned up, and people who genuinely care whether you're there can make an enormous difference.

How important are grassroots and mission-aligned partners like West Ham United Foundation?

For Second Half, I think authenticity matters far more than simply having a recognisable name attached.

My connection with the West Ham United Foundation came through actually playing walking football with them. That experience helped inspire the idea behind the film, so approaching them felt completely natural.

I'm not asking them to finance the film. What I would love is their endorsement and support for what the film is trying to say about football, community, and mental health.

For an independent filmmaker, I think partnerships like that can be incredibly important because they connect the film to people who actually understand the subject.

If you're making something about a community, I think you should listen to that community.

And if Second Half eventually encourages somebody who is struggling to join a football session, speak to somebody, or simply realise they're not as alone as they thought they were, that means considerably more to me than having a logo on a poster.

How are you approaching character development in Oscar Drive?

I've always loved horror, but the horror films that stay with me are usually the ones where I care about the people before everything starts going wrong.

You can create the greatest jump scare in the world, but if I don't care what happens to the person walking down that corridor, the effect disappears very quickly.

With Oscar Drive, I want the supernatural elements to be genuinely frightening, but I also want the fear to come through the characters and their relationships.

I like the idea that the audience starts questioning things alongside them. Is something actually happening? Is this character reliable? Is somebody hiding something? Why does this place affect people differently?

James Wan has been an influence because he understands suspense and knows how to make an audience look into the corner of a frame expecting something to be there.

But ultimately, I want Oscar Drive to have its own identity. I want people frightened by what's happening, but emotionally invested enough that when the characters are in danger, it actually matters.

What makes Empire of Vice different from standard British gangster stories?

I love British crime drama, but I don't want Empire of Vice to become another story where everybody wears an expensive suit, drives a Range Rover and spends the whole time trying to prove they're the hardest person in London.

The criminal world interests me, but so do the people around it.

I want to explore the people being exploited, the families, the people laundering the money, the corrupt professionals, the people trying to escape, and the people who tell themselves they're not really criminals because they're one step removed from the violence.

That’s where Empire of Vice becomes interesting to me.

It's about power and the systems that allow people to abuse it.

There will absolutely be violence and criminal characters, but I don't want to romanticise everything. Actions need consequences.

I want audiences to understand why somebody entered that world without necessarily approving of what they've become.

What does developing several independent features actually look like day to day?

A lot less glamorous than people probably imagine!

There are days when you're rewriting scenes, then you're emailing a producer, looking at possible funding routes, speaking to actors, putting together a pitch deck, checking locations, researching something for another screenplay, and then wondering why somebody you emailed three

weeks ago hasn't replied.

That is probably the biggest challenge.

Writing the screenplay is the enjoyable part. Moving a screenplay from your laptop towards an actual production is an entirely different job.

I've spoken with directors who wanted to be paid before becoming involved, and producers who effectively wanted me to do the producing myself or pay them upfront. Experiences like that teach you to be very careful about who you bring into a project.

I'm learning to concentrate more on people who actually bring something to the table and genuinely want to build something.

Having several projects also helps because they aren't all competing for the same opportunity. Second Half, Oscar Drive and Empire of Vice are completely different propositions.

But I am also learning that sometimes you have to stop trying to push twenty things simultaneously and decide which project has the best chance of moving now.

What lesson would you pass on to filmmakers trying to balance acting with their own projects?

Don't allow somebody else's silence to determine how you feel about your career.

That's something I'm still learning myself.

You can have somebody tell you they love your work, ask for your screenplay or showreel, and then hear nothing. You can have what feels like a massive step forward followed by months where nothing seems to happen.

If you emotionally depend on every email becoming an opportunity, this industry will destroy your confidence.

So, I think the lesson I've learned is to keep building.

Take the acting job. Write the screenplay. Make the short. Meet people. Learn another part of production. Help somebody else with their film.

And don't be ashamed to ask for help. 

I've had moments when I've genuinely felt like I've taken one step forward and twelve backwards. But when I actually look at where I was when I was interviewed in 2022 compared with where I am now, there has been a lot of progress.

Sometimes you're simply too close to it to see it.

What's next for you?

Hopefully, quite a lot.

I'm continuing to develop Second Half and having conversations around how we can move that towards production. I'd particularly like to continue the dialogue with the West Ham United Foundation and hopefully secure their endorsement of the film and its message.

I'm developing Oscar Drive as a supernatural horror feature and continuing to build Empire of Vice, which is a much bigger crime world that I think has considerable potential.

On the acting side, I'm attached to play Vinnie, the crew's hacker, in the feature film Bullion. Mason Antonio Fardowe is playing Diamond, the team leader, and I'm really looking forward to working with him on that; he’s a great actor.

And I want to continue acting in other people's productions as well.

Playing Russell King in King of Lies reminded me how much I enjoy being able to concentrate purely on performing and somebody else's vision rather than worrying about every part of the production.

Ultimately, I don't want to choose between being an actor, writer or director. I want to keep doing all three.

And hopefully when I’m interviewed again in future, there’ll be even more to talk about.