Interview with filmmaker and actor Thomas Loone
Interview with filmmaker and actor Thomas Loone
Thomas Loone is a Midlands based actor who has taken his first foray into filmmaking with his debut film made in 2022.
In Critically Acclaimed (our review) Loone directs himself playing an actor with imposter syndrome facing media scrutiny whilst on a press and promotional tour. We sat down and spoke to Thomas about his latest film, the leap from actor to director and the important society issues raised in his thought-provoking short.
Midlands Movies: Hi Thomas. Thanks for talking to us. Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and how you got into your current position in the film industry?
Thomas Loone: Of course. I’m 28 years old and I’m an actor and I'm originally from Birmingham, Solihull, but I currently live in Leeds with my fiancé. For me, it all started when I was at university. I was living away from home and studying a degree that wasn’t really right for me. I was feeling pretty directionless, and that’s when I discovered my love of film. I’d watch YouTube videos of film critics like Mark Kermode and Chris Stuckmann, and they totally changed the way I saw movies.
That’s when I realised I needed to be a part of it and that what I wanted to do was act. I started off working on free student and independent films for the first few years, just figuring out how a set works and just really teaching myself how to act in the first place. From there I managed to get into Drama school, and now 9 years later, I have an agent and I’m auditioning for TV stuff! It’s been a long road and definitely really tough at times, but acting and film have really helped me kind of figure out who I am and discover my identity.
Cheers. Your new film is called Critically Acclaimed – can you explain a little about this project?
We follow an up and coming young actor who’s just starred in a major indie hit and the whole film really is one giant interview, where we meet him on the cusp of stardom and he seems poised for Hollywood. We slowly start to realise though things aren’t all as they seem. Behind the veneer and the smiles and the glossy suits, his personal life is actually falling apart. The short is an exploration of fame. About how you have acting, in its purest form, but it has to fit into a business, and how those two things can be at odds with each other sometimes. Without getting too pretentious, I guess it’s about how hard it can be to monetise creativity, something I’ve definitely had to come to terms with myself.
And what inspired you to tell this story?
I think initially it came from a place of just wanting to do something creative. All actors know the gaps between auditions can be very long, so I decided to plant a flag in the sand and be proactive instead of just waiting for the phone to ring. I knew I wanted to write something that would push me and be a challenge, but it was only after I started putting it together that I guess all of these things that I felt subconsciously, about the tough practical reality of what it takes to be an actor, started to bubble up to the surface without me even realising. It snuck up on me but ended up being very cathartic.
Given the film’s themes, what issues surrounding fame and the industry seem prevalent in 2023?
I suppose the rise of social media has changed things. Actors a lot these days can’t only be actors, they have to promote themselves and their brand and constantly be ‘on’. It must be so much pressure, I imagine it’s harder and harder to maintain their privacy.
How do you think those big issues relate to small productions in the local film scene?
It’s a double edged sword because those social platforms give so much power to local filmmakers - they can get their stuff out there to audiences in a way they’ve never been able to before, across the world. They can network so much more too and there are just so many free resources online that can really help young filmmakers learn their craft if they can’t afford to go to a film school. Anyone can be a filmmaker now and I think that’s fantastic.
(interview continues after the jump...)
As a first-time filmmaker what were the hurdles you had to overcome?
The main hurdle was making a film in the first place! I watch a lot of films and I’ve acted in a lot of them but I didn’t have the first clue how to make one myself. I suppose I’ve picked up a few things here and there along the way as an actor, but this was definitely a whole different beast. I was very nervous. So I took Tarantino’s famous advice, and just surrounded myself by incredibly gifted people who did know what they were doing. Without Robert Cannon and James Clark I wouldn’t have a film. Those guys are so talented, I was very, very fortunate to have them on my team.
You star and direct too. How was that situation?
Usually on a shoot all I have to worry about is my own performance, I can focus everything on that. This time around I had like a hundred more things to consider! The shots, costumes, the other performers, locations. I also wanted to make sure I was really prepared on my end when it came to my character, so that on the day it’d be second nature to me and I could free up my mind. It meant a lot of prep on my side, more than I’ve ever done before.
And what’s the best acting & directing advice you’ve received?
I've watched a ton of interviews with directors on YouTube in preparation for it and ended up learning a lot. I was inspired by famous actors who’d done it themselves, like Ryan Gosling, Paul Dano and Bradley Cooper. The consistent thread through all of them was ‘expect things to go wrong’, which of course they did, but knowing that it’d happen helped me relax and realise some things would just be out of my control on the day, and that I’d have to learn to adapt. I’m pretty sure Paul Thomas Anderson said something along the lines of "casting well is a big part of the heavy lifting". I think I definitely did that. I was so, so lucky and grateful that all of the actors I wanted said yes, they made my life so much easier and were so prepared. I can’t thank them enough.
What films or performers inspire you?
I think every film I watch inspires me in some way. I try to watch as much as I can, from Hitchcock to Fincher. With this film though, I wanted to really call back to the movies that got me into acting in the first place. Films like ‘Blue Valentine’, ‘Her’, ‘The Master’ and ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’. Anything by PTA. It may not be obviously there when you watch my short, but I was definitely so influenced by those small, character driven indie-dramas. Acting-wise, I always cite people like Daniel Day-Lewis, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Fassbender, Gary Oldman, Brando and Jack Nicholson. Those guys are my heroes.
What’s next for Critically Acclaimed? Do you have any plans for future projects too?
At this stage, I’m still waiting to hear back from a few more festivals but we’ve already gotten into the Infinity Film Fest where we won ‘Best Screenplay’, which I was really chuffed with. If we can get into more I’ll be thrilled. After that, then I’ll be releasing the film online in the Spring - and that’s what I’m most excited for, getting to hear what people think of it.
As for future projects. I swore I’d never make another short of my own after this, and instead just focus on acting. I was just so exhausted after we’d wrapped and I felt like I’d scratched that itch. But I’ve already gone back on that, because I’ve written a second one, and if I can get the money together, I’m going to put myself through it all over again!
Are there any Midlands creatives out there you’d recommend our readers checking out?
So many including Jonathan Hawes, who is a writer and director I’ve worked with before. He just goes from strength to strength with everything he makes. His film ‘Cosmo’ is hitting the festival circuit around the same time as mine and I think it’s brilliant. I'd say David Hastings too. That man’s work ethic is insane. He really gave me my start with film acting and I’ll always be grateful for that. People like him and Jonathan, they give the Midlands filmmaking scene a good name.
Thanks Thomas.
Thomas' work can be found on his IMDB page here and you can follow him on social media at Twitter and Instagram
