RWD PROMOTION
SKET IT RIGHT
From the makers of Anuvahood and Shank, new film Sket stars Ashley Walters and Lily Loveless in a thrilling tale of retribution set in east London. Hattie Collins caught up with rising Scottish talent Emma Hartley-Miller to get the inside scoop...
Hey Emma. Firstly, how was filming Sket? It was an amazing experience, you become like a family, all sharing this crazy experience. Everyone worked extremely hard to get the film finished in the time frame given so it was very intense and tiring, especially playing a character like Danielle. The work load aside it was such a laugh working with the girls and all the crew. I hated having a day off as I always felt like I was missing out; I loved filming so much (laughs). It’s quite dark - how do you feel a film like this is relevant today? Sket is such an important and pertinent film, it’s not just a film about gang violence and how awful gangs are. I’d like to think that Sket allows you to see that these young adults are damaged children. I don’t believe they were born evil; we are all products of our environment. I am not condoning their actions however I hope that the audience can see beyond their actions and that they are young men and 76 / RWDMAG.COM
women who have gone through things they never should have been subject to, and as a result made bad choices. Do you have any funny stories from the set? Vee (Varada Sethu) was the joker; she stood in dog poo about three times and managed to push the fight director through a wall! How was working with Ashley and the rest of the cast? Ashley was great, we didn’t have much filming to do together but the scene we did have was a major one. He is a great actor and was a pleasure to work with. What are your hopes for Sket? That it’s seen as a great piece of drama, a slice of real life and a moving, exciting and passionate film and not written off as another hoodie movie because that is not what it is about. I would love the film to be successful in every way possible and I would hope that it really stands out on its own as a great piece of work that people want to watch.
What else are you working on at the mo? I’m in a BBC drama called White Heat in the New Year, and I’m currently working with the National Theatre of Scotland on a play called 27. It is going to be on at the Lyceum theatre in Edinburgh, which is really exciting as my family all live there. I play an aspirant alcoholic nun! How did you find being Scottish but playing someone from east London? The accent was tough (laughs). Having lived and worked in Manchester I was very used to using a Northern accent and had done many TV shows such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale etc., with a different accent. I stayed in a London accent all the way through until the end of filming. It was only the girls and Nirpal who knew I was Scottish! I did however struggle to go back to my natural accent after filming - it just felt so strange to be Scottish! Sket is out 28 October. For more on Emma, follow her @Hartmill