CraveOnline: We spoke with Alfred and he told us that acting is fun, even when it’s painful scenes like the birth story, that it doesn’t have to actually be painful. Did you ever talk to him about that?
Kaya Scodelario: Yeah, Alfred is amazing. Every time I see him, I just want to cuddle him because he’s the best person to get cuddled from. He’s just lovely and wholehearted and I think possibly the nicest actor I’ve met on my little journey. He just really made me feel safe and welcome. He just kept the mood so light the whole time and that’s so important I think, especially when you’re doing a low budget project. Everyone’s quite stressed, they’re doing very long hours and your’e trying to get everything done. If you have someone like Alfred on set who’s just laughing throughout the whole day, it really does lift the mood. He taught me that, that it’s important to have a bit of fun with the crew members and keep it lighthearted, and it helps the day go along quicker.
What did you do after Emanuel?
I just finished shooting a TV show for a channel over here, a four part drama directed by Sean Durkin, who was massive at Sundance a few years ago. It was really cool to be able to talk to him about what the experience was going to be like, and he’s such an exciting young director that has such a different vision from everyone else, I kind of want to carry on doing that, working with exciting people that are trying to do things a little bit differently and pushing the boundaries of everything.
I hadn’t heard that Sean Durkin was doing a TV show, let alone in the U.K. What’s that called?
It’s called “Southcliffe.” It’s a thriller for a channel called ITV over here.
What do you get to play?
I don’t know how much I can say about it. I don’t think they’ve had a press release, but it’s set in a very small town in England where a tragedy occurs. It’s how different families and different people involved deal with that tragedy. Sean Harris is the lead in it and he’s an amazing actor. My part is quite small but it was one of those that you’re on set and you just feel like you’re part of something really cool.
One of your first roles was in Moon. What was your experience on that film?
It was amazing. I was only 14 at the time and it was only the second audition I’d ever been to, and I didn’t want to go to the audition. My mom actually really convinced me to go because I was really nervous. It was an American accent. I’d only ever done “Skins” which was the show I started on. I was quite terrified of it all. I was a very self-critical 14-year-old. So we went down and met Duncan Jones and he was amazing. He was very warm and very kind.
I was only on set for a couple of weeks but it was just really interesting to see a film being made. It’s such a different vibe. The sets were incredible and there was a giant spaceship. I got to meet Sam Rockwell who at the time I didn’t really know. I just thought, “Oh, this guy’s really lovely. He’s very nice, polite and nice to my mom.” Now looking back on it I’m like, “Oh my God, that was Sam Rockwell.”
What was your experience on the huge budget Clash of the Titans?
Very different. Very, very different. I felt like a tiny little fish in a gigantic sea. It was great to see how it was done and the costumes were beautiful. The setup was amazing, but I think it really taught me to appreciate little films and to appreciate a director who loves the project they’re doing and people that are involved in something because they really want to make something that interests them or that challenges them, and not necessarily just to make a lot of money. It’s a completely different world I feel and I was still only 16 at the time so it was quite overwhelming to me, but it made me miss being on a tiny set with a small crew and no trailers, eating fish and chips.
How do you look back on “Skins?”
“Skins” was the university for me. It was the best years of my life really. We were all just a bunch of friends. At the time, we were all just a group of eight kids that had been given this amazing opportunity and we really wanted each other to do well. We really supported each other and we just wanted to have fun and make the most of it. We still all keep in touch now, and we try and meet up every month all together. It was great. Those are some of the strongest friendships that I have now.
Did you ever see the American version of “Skins?”
I saw one episode. I was on holiday in Jamaica with two of the other girls from the cast. It was American MTV on and we started watching it, and it came on out of nowhere. We weren’t expecting it, and we were so freaked out about it that we had to switch it off halfway through because we just couldn’t. It was too much of a headfuck for us. It was just too strange to see Americans playing our parts. It was such a different feel. I think they bleeped out the swearing as well which is a bit like, okay, what’s the point of that?
Fred Topel is a staff writer at CraveOnline and the man behind Best Episode Ever and Shelf Space Weekly. Follow him on Twitter at @FredTopel.
