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Your new movie P.O.V.
- in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell us about your
character in it?
Hi there, yes, well P.O.V. is a
horror film shot entirely through my character's point of
view, Zack who has just been dumped by his girlfriend and his older
brother and mates decide to cheer him up by throwing him a
long weekend party in this abandoned old folks home they are
renovating. Sadly it is not going to be a episode of Hollyoaks and things
get a bit messy.
What did you draw upon to bring your
character to life, and how much of Tom Clear can we find in Zack?
With
Zack I can relate to the poor bloke, someone who is down on his luck (laughing) - I think any guy and
even girls can relate to being dumped from a long term
thing and not seeing the light at the end of the tunnle at some
point in their life's. But I think that is what is great about him, you do
not want him to be in this situation and you're egging on to be all right. Even
though you're the lead in P.O.V.,
you as good as never appear in front of the camera - so what kind of a
feeling was that, and to what extent were you responsible for camerawork,
how was that aspect of the film handled? Yes that
was a challenge, trying to be a main character, but not being seen. I had
to put a lot of the work in the voice to let it carry through. And yes, being the
camera man as well as an actor was
really multi-tasking. I remember thinking on the first day ''Oh my,
can I do this for two weeks?'' But
a lot of the time Richard, the director [Richard
Anthony Dunford interview - click here], was guiding me from over my shoulder with a
little hand-held monitor connected to the Camera strapped to my head, I
must have looked like an oddball to the other actors, lol. I think the hardest
bit with the camera was where I had to aim a gun at a certain bit on the
wall, and it took me about 100 rehearsals to get it right. Very calm crew, to
go through that.
How did you get
involved with the project in the first place?
Richard asked me to be in a short film called Groupie
where I played a rockstar kidnapped by a obsessive fan. That was point-of-view from my role as well.
So I think Richard knew since I had done this before I would know
what to expect. To what
extent could you identify with P.O.V.'s
horror theme and approach to the genre?
My
older brother
was really into horror
films, once when he was at school he got a detention for writing a horror
story in
English about possessed lesbians
dancing in a graveyard, lol. So once when I was very little and did not
know how to work the video player he put on Night of the
Living Dead.
I was terrified and did not know how to
switch it off. I could have just left the room I suppose, but
looking back I think I just wanted to see if the people
would get through the night. Just like my character Zack but the
opposite trying to get out the house, not trying to barricade himself in. George
A Romero - just seen some of
his non-zombie
films recently and they are
just as scary.
Apart
from that I really loved the Hammer
horror films when I was growing u,p
and still feel sad about poor old Christopher Lee passing away recently
and Peter Cushing,
who passed away in 94, I do not think you can get such gentlemen actors
like that now, they where of their time.
Also Tigon horror, films like Blood on Satan’s Claw
with Linda Hayden, always
great for Halloween.
What can you
tell us about your director Richard Anthony Dunford [Richard
Anthony Dunford interview - click here], and what was it like
working with him? And since this is not your first movie together, what
can you tell us about earlier collaborations, and how did the two of you
first meet even? I
always enjoy working for Richard, he is calm, professional but knows when
to have a laugh. But he also knows what version he wants. I meet Richard
through another director I worked with called Rhys. He emailed him saying
"Have you any actors to be in this short horror film called
Nick & Tara's Sex Tape?" It's about a couple filming a sex tape
and behind the woman you see a grotesque creature in the corner by the
wardrobe. We pitched it as ''A homemade sex tape turns into a video
nasty''
- great fun! I think the guy who did the monster had worked on some big
films and did a
great job. What can you tell us about the shoot as
such, and the on-set atmosphere?
The atmosphere was the
opposite to what was in the film, haha, hope I do not spoil the illusion?
But everyone got on so well and it felt like we where on a two week holiday.
We were focused during filming of course, but you've got to find a
balance in this line of work, that
is part of its charm. And we would get up to pranks and have heavy nights
playing bingo at the Grand Burstin Hotel, which was a strange
hotel we stayed at,
they would have Christmas Tuesdays where they sing Christmas tunes from
early September.
It was very cold in the old folks home where we filmed, and it was abandoned
like in the film, I must admit when I was there on my own in the place I
did feel a bit on edge, there was a eeriness to it . And on the last day a
guy from next door said they closed it down because all the old people
where dying like flies?
Think he was having us on, but still could not wait to leave after that.
Just in case.
Any future projects
you'd like to share? Just finished a film version of Hamlet which I also
produced. I am looking forward to seeing it as we filmed it also in an old
empty castle. Also got a part in a gangster film called 8ish filming this
year. What got you into acting in the
first place, and what can you tell us about your education on the subject?
I grew up in the 80's and early 90's, not great
decades, but there was a lot of films and TV at that time which I think
made me want to be a actor, from
playing Doctor Who in the playground to
Star Wars, but it made me think that I
wanted to be involved in this industry
as it makes people happy and entertains them and maybe sometimes makes
them realize something in life they never knew before. I think when it
came to finding the magic of theatre was pantomime, and when I got a bit
older great classic theatre like the Glass Menagerie to Journey's
End.
I was a bit of a rebel at school and left with no qualifications but managed
to do a lot of fringe theatre, and learnt that way. I went in my early
20's to LA and did an acting
course out there, and when coming back I really wanted to pursue this and
auditioned for a drama school which was a division of Brighton University.
I did a Shakespeare piece from Julius Caesar. I got in and graduated in
2008
What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to P.O.V.?
I've been in a lot of independent films and shorts that have done the rounds at
the festivals, for TV I played
a farmer call Jack Townsend in Holby City and had a role in a historical film called
Shady
Lady with narration by Michael Dorn from Star
Trek.
Besides
making movies, you've also done quite a bit of theatre - so what can you
tell us about Tom Clear, the stage actor, and how does performing on stage
compare to acting in front of a camera?
Theatre
can be great, it is like being a rockstar but without the band, just the
lines. You get a buzz from the live audience, which you do not get in
film, you get it in film when you see it at the premiere.
But the bad things about theatre is that if you lose your lines or
something goes wrong you got to be quick and at your best, unlike in film
where you can just say cut. It
is all in the eyes with filmwork, people see emotion from the eyes, where
with theatre you got to be
really OTT and project your voice.
Best theatre I have done is a tour of a
ghost story called Whistle and I Come to You, great giving a live audience
a scare. And working at the Festival Theatre in Chichester, with Ian Glen
from Game of Thrones in the lead, he was a
very nice guy, very focused on his craft.
How would
you describe yourself as an actor, and some of your techniques to bring
your characters to life? I
think just life and observation makes me a actor, I do like the
Stanislavsky system and maybe would like to go that extra mile and do a
bit of method but I think I would probably get sacked from my day job
if l was always coming
in as a different person all the time and thinking people are demons if I
do something like P.O.V. again,
lol. Actors (and indeed actresses)
who inspire you?
I said two earlier but Pete Postlethwaite is one.
Was a very good character actor, love to get up to his level of
greatness. And Christian Slater because
he is a cool dude.
Your favourite movies?
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Oh man, I love so many, but off the top of my head Labyrinth
with David Bowie. ...
and of course, films you really deplore?
Oh, Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, good film, important meaning to it
and great director
Pier Paolo Pasolini ... but
when I watched it there where
some bits I had to turn away or felt sick like, mind me saying this?
When they have shit for dinner, lol
- apparently it was marmalade
and chocolate, but still not nice at all. Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?
Hamlet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veF2MmF_pOo
http://tomclear.wix.com/tomclear
Anything else
you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask? Yes,
will be doing a lot of projects with my company The Working Theatre
Club, watch
this space! Also in a high budget Doctor Who
fan film, which will be
fun
if I am playing
the Doctor, one way or the other that is fine with me. Thanks
for the interview!
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find Tom Clear at adultvideouniverse.com
