Posts tagged ben drew

I recently spoke to the Ben Drew aka Plan B (for the music heads) to talk on his role in Harry Brown, working with Michael Caine and his highly anticipated second album. Ben Drew is brilliant as Noel – one of the reckless youths from Harry Browns`s (Sir Michael Caine) estate, Harry Brown is a retired Marine and a widower who lives alone on a depressed housing estate. His only company is his best friend Leonard (David Bradley). When Leonard is murdered by a gang of thugs, Harry feels compelled to act and is forced to dispense his own brand of justice. As he bids to clean up the run-down estate where he lives, his actions bring him into conflict with the police, led by investigating officer DCI Frampton (Emily Mortimer) and Charlie Creed-Miles.

Your character in the film is evil! How did you get into that mode?

Ben Drew: Come on, you know me bruv, I was a little bit like that when I was younger, not that bad, but I used to get up to a lot of madness so it wasn`t hard at all, a lot of the youngers act like that in my manor still so I took a bit of how they act and move with my character. To be honest without being big headed at all it wasn`t that hard you know, there were times when we didn`t completely go with the script so I used words that I would use in my manor or I`d hear the youngers use

There`s one scene in the film when your in the police station getting interrogated was one that one of them moments? Your character went off on one.

Ben Drew: (laughs) Yeah exactly, with that scene I had noticed Charlie (Creed-Miles) who plays the copper, he wasn`t going by the script and I hadn`t heard cut, so I went off on that as well and thought what could be the filthiest and nastiest things I could say. We just bounced of each other it was great. The experience was great you know I loved it, I learnt a lot.

How did you actually get involved with the film?

Ben Drew: The casting director of Adulthood, Adulthood got me the part really. The character is quite similar to him, he`s much more cockney though.

What was it like working with Michael Caine?

Ben Drew: The Mad thing is we never actually spoke to each other in the film, there`s no scene where we`re speaking. Every scene we`re either shooting at each other, running away or he`s chasing me. We don`t actually speak one to one in the film, we don`t actually exchange words, even at the end when we`re in the same room he doesn`t speak to me directly, he`s speaking to Sid (Liam Cunningham). We never say anything to each other, I guess because of that there wasn`t as much pressure, I didn`t have to shine if you know what I mean, it was quite good because I didn`t feel that pressure on me, if that makes sense

I hear that, with your music when can people expect a second album from you? You done the theme song to this with Chase & Status.

Ben Drew: That`s coming out early next year man, by the time this interviews up Zane Lowe should have played the single from that (Stay Too Long), it`s a concept album about a Motown singer who gets sent to jail for a crime he didn`t commit, it`s got Hip Hop in it, it`s got rapping in it but it`s a lot more singing, it`s all live, live band, strings, brass, it`s just a little project I`m doing next, it doesn`t mean I`ve turned my back on hip hop, it`s just another project, just like my film stuff, right now I`m doing this. Next year it`ll be something else

What else have you got lined up?

Ben Drew: I`ve got a brief cameo in Noel Clarke`s next film 4,3,2,1 I`ve only got a very small part in that, I done that really as a thank you for Adulthood. I haven`t got any other film parts lined up at the moment, just the album, it`s a big deal, I need to focus on it. I`m gonna be directing my own film I`ve written though, I`m just trying to get the finance for that really, the script was written two years ago, I shot a short film for it almost three years ago, I`ve been trying to get the film of the ground for a long time