The Great Charade (2019)
Director: Dan Strange, Rodeo Strange
Writer: Dan Strange, Rodeo Strange
Stars: Francesca Louise White, Candice Palladino, Ricardo Freitas, Philip Boobyer, Marcus Davis-Orrom
A psychological thriller in which the world’s two most famous actors are kidnapped. They awake, bound and bruised, with no inkling of where they are. Unable to move they are at the mercy of those who adore them the most; their fans.
Continuing our coverage of The Great Charade I got a chance to ask actor
Marcus Davis-Orrom a few questions about what we can expect from The Great Parade.
Q. How did you get into film making originally?
My foray into film has come relatively recently. Up until 2017, I have almost exclusively been a theatre actor. The Great Charade is in fact my first ever feature film role, so I really have Rodeo and Dan Strange to thank for my introduction to the world of film (As well as Francesca Louise White, who put me in touch with Rodeo and Dan in the first place).
Q. You play Lyle Cole in the upcoming thriller The Great Charade which is being released later this year. What can we expect from the film?
You can expect a very disturbing time! The film doesn’t pull any punches in terms of dark and twisted behaviour, and irredeemable characters! But as well as that, there are some brilliant moments of dark humour, and you might even find yourself empathising with some of the awful people on display in the film.
Q. What attracted you to the role of Lyle when you first read the script?
I’ve always loved playing a good villain, and Lyle is a hell of a good villain! The way Rodeo and Dan wrote him gave him a huge amount of depth and nuance. I have always found it extremely interesting to explore characters that I find it hard to relate to (and Lyle is very hard to relate to, believe me!) as it gives me a chance as an actor to really explore the details of the character and develop his backstory to find out what in his life has caused him to be the way he is.
Q. What sort of preparation did you do for the role?
Well, like I said, I spent a lot of time developing his backstory, both discussing it with Rodeo and Dan, and working on it on my own. As well as that, I was given a watching list of sorts, which included the likes of The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and American Psycho (2000), for me to draw from to inform my performance. As the film had Hollywood itself very much at the core of the story, it felt appropriate for me to take inspiration from these iconic horror characters and incorporate some subtle elements of them into my own performance.
Q. Did you make any changes to the character to how it was written in the original script?
Nothing drastic, no. The script was so brilliantly written and the characters already so layered and complex. Of course an actor will always put their own spin on a role, and new interpretations of the text will arise as you work on the project, which is one of the joys of acting.
Q. Did you experience any issues during the filming of The Great Charade?
On the whole the shoot was an incredible experience. All involved were very drained by the end, having had 7 days of back to back 14+ hour days. But it was an exhilarating week, and I was extremely glad to be a part of it.
Q. What were some of your favourite moments during filming?
Oddly enough, given the dark and horrific subject of the film, there were a good few moments during shooting where the whole cast and crew found ourselves in hysterical laughter. One particular scene, a very short scene as it happens, prompted fits of laughter from all of us, due to so hilarious bits of improvisation from Candice Palladino (who played the role of Dixie in the film). Look out for some of that in the gag reel! Some of my other favourite moments during filming, I probably shouldn’t say too much about (Spoilers!), but I did particularly enjoy shooting the very opening of the film, where Rodeo and Dan left me and Will Tullet, the DOP, alone on set and left us to shoot Lyle’s very twisted vlog. It was a lot of fun to have free reign of the set to explore my character.
Q. Do you have any other projects which you are currently working on?
As an actor, not at the moment, however I am regularly running workshops for Open Stage Arts – a company running acting classes for adults in Oxford, where I am based. I am of course always on the lookout for new and exciting projects to get involved with!
Q. What advice would you give to someone who is looking to get into acting themselves
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If you’re auditioning for drama school or similar, don’t hang all your hopes on securing a place on a course There are lots of different paths you can take into this industry. I myself don’t have a degree of any kind, I learned my craft in a practical way, by seeking out people from whom I could learn and taking advice from as many different people as I could, and I still do so, even after a near decade long career. As well as that, whatever path you’ve taken into your career, you will inevitably come across some ups and downs, it can be tough and there’s a lot of rejection to deal with. Most importantly, if you love what you do, keep putting in the work, and push yourself to keep learning and exploring and trying new things.
You can find out more about future project from Marcus Davis-Orrom by following him on Facebook
Published in various websites, Philip is a reviewer who is best known for his interviews and media coverage of independent projects including; films, books, theatre and live events. Always on the lookout for something different to cover!
Related Posts
