Tag: craig fairbrass

Interviews

Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance Interview: Craig Fairbrass – ‘We tried to give Pat a few redeeming qualities, which is difficult to do’.

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Following on from 2021’s origins prequel, the sixth instalment in this gritty British crime saga is Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance. Directed by Nick Nevern, this chapter is set in 90s Soho and sees Craig Fairbrass reprising his role as the vicious gangster Pat Tate. Ahead of its release, I jumped at the opportunity to sit down with the actor to discuss the film…

The last time we spoke (our 2022 interview), you mentioned that you enjoyed switching into ‘Pat Tate mode’ for these films. How was that process this time around and were there any big differences to the previous times you’ve played him?

He’s much more of a thinking man in this film. He’s calculating, putting two and two together, and he’s on a mission for revenge. It’s just different, and there’s a little more depth to him in this film. He’s not just running around shouting and screaming and swearing and snorting cocaine and beating people up. You know him a little bit more, but he has the physicality and the violence that goes with it.

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DVD & Digital

Film review: Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance

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Beginning with the brutal retelling of the Rettendon murders, the Footsoldier franchise has since spanned nearly two decades, expanding the saga from true crime into fiction. The sixth instalment, Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance is a direct sequel to 2021’s origins prequel and sees actor-turned-filmmaker Nick Nevern return to the director’s chair. Craig Fairbrass reprises his role as Essex hardman Pat Tate who’s out for revenge when one of his loyal footsoldiers is brutally murdered in mysterious circumstances. Crossing paths with Sam (Jamie Foreman), David (Phil Davis), and Fergus (Stephen McCole) in the seedy underbelly of 90s Soho, he will stop at nothing to track down his friend’s killer.

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Interviews

A Violent Man Interview: Craig Fairbrass – ‘It was very visceral and quick. I’d say most of the time in life, that’s how violence is’.

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On the big screen, actor Craig Fairbrass is perhaps best known for his integral part within the Rise of the Footsoldier franchise. In recent years though, he has tackled even more brutal, complex portrayals that transcend his hard man persona. I was lucky enough to chat with him about his latest film A Violent Man, a prison drama written and directed by Ross McCall…

In A Violent Man, there are long sequences where the director Ross McCall ramps up tension without any dialogue. As an actor, how do you go about contributing to the tone and atmosphere with a very minimalist script?

Well, you obviously have an overall perception of the story. I’m quite intuitive when it comes to things like that. I knew what the mood of the scenes were, I knew what we were trying to portray, and how to move the story forward but to still make it interesting. With a look, you can say 1000 lines, so it was that type of thing. I think the energy of the opening sets up Steve Mackelson as the type of man he is. He’s not a man of a lot of words. As the film moves on and things are irritating him, he has to get his point across.

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Interviews

Boiling Point Interview: Philip Barantini – ‘I wanted to make the audience the voyeur, and it added an extra layer of tension’.

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Filmmaker Philip Barantini combined his experience working in busy kitchens with his time as an actor to craft his latest feature Boiling Point. It’s all shot in one continuous take and centres around a head chef played by Stephen Graham during a hectic evening at a high-end London restaurant. I was fortunate enough to chat with the director about the process of making this ambitious film…

I’m sure this is what everyone is asking about but as if getting a film made wasn’t hard enough in the current climate, you decide to do it in one take. Where did the decision behind this come from and are there any other one-take films that influenced this style choice?

Well, we did a short in the back end of 2018, and we did that all in one take. That was just 20 minutes. I’ve seen Victoria, Russian Ark, and movies like that so I knew it could be done. For me, the reason we did it in one take I think is because I wanted to throw the audience into that perspective of being in a busy restaurant, over that period of time and almost like making the audience the voyeur, and it added that extra layer of tension. I wanted the audience to maybe forget halfway through that it was a one take and be like ‘Oh my god!’ when they realise. Someone said to me the other day, which is the best comment I could ever get, that they hadn’t realised it was one take and that they’d need to watch it again! 

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DVD & Digital

DVD review: Muscle

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 Indie filmmaker Gerard Johnson isn’t content with making simple crime movies. His work to date has blended the genre with other elements, crossing into wider arthouse ideas. With psychological thriller Muscle, he casts his directorial gaze upon gym culture and the toxic masculinity that can come with it. The plot follows Simon (Cavan Clerkin), a schlubby call-centre worker stuck in a rut. In an attempt to better himself, he joins the local gym where he meets Terry (Craig Fairbrass), an intimidating personal trainer who offers Simon a helping hand. They strike up an unlikely friendship, but it soon becomes apparent that all is not what it seems.

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