Photography - Lee Malone

Interview - Tajinder Hayer

Styling - Fabio Immediato

Grooming - Paul Donovan

The most talked about television show over the last few years, Masters of the Air has finally arrived on screens. Now on Apple TV, from executive producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg the show follows in the footsteps of shows like Band of Brothers and The Pacific as a World War II drama, which tells the story of the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army during the final stages of the war where airmen risk their lives with the 100th Bomb Group, a brotherhood forged by courage, loss, and triumph.

Actor David Shields stars in seven of the nine episodes as Major Everett Blakely, alongside actors such as Barry Keoghan, Austin Butler, Callum Turner and Anthony Boyle.

For those that do not know, or haven’t heard of the show, tell us about Masters of the Air

So Masters of the Air is the story about the 100th Bomb Group who were a group of American airmen in the Second World War. They conducted a series of bombing campaigns against Nazi Germany from 1943-45. They were often flying 25,000 ft in freezing cold conditions. There was potential that they would lose oxygen at any moment as well as facing artillery and German fighter jets in the air with them. Vast amounts were killed whilst in the air. They all went through very specific physical and psychological challenges which is the story that we are trying to tell. So its about those missions as well as coming to terms with those missions when back on the ground. So we get to see a different element to the story, as we see them when they are back at home.

What can you tell us about the character that you play Major Everett Blakely?

I play the part of Captain Everett Blakley who is a very disciplined and well respected pilot. In the book by Harry Crosby A Wing and a Prayer he is described as “the most GI of GIs”. He often led not only the group but the entire wing which would be hundreds of aircrafts out into combat. This is pretty remarkable when we consider that he was aged 24 at the time.

I also picked up on the fact that he was quite a happy-go-lucky guy. He was able t cut loose and have a good time. And he got on really well with his crew.

Are you like him in any way?

Well I wouldn’t like to see my attempts at trying to fly a B17! Perhaps there are some similiaries in that I also have a discipline in me, and I also can find time to relax and have a good time as well.

It seems like Masters of the Air has been talked about for years. Was the production schedule really long?

That’s a very good question. Well the shoot was very long. The show has been in the pipeline for over twelve years. The last three years have been shooting and when we were shooting we were right in the middle of the pandemic which brought quite a lot of challenges. We were also conscious of trying to get it right. It’s quite a difficult feat to tell this story and to also show aerial combat in the way that Masters of the Air does. I don’t think that it has ever been attempted before on this scale, certainly not on television. Hopefully audiences will appreciate that the wait was worth it.

Did you have to do any prep before coming to set?

Yeah there was. The great thing about historical shows is that you have so much to draw on. The book I mentioned A Wing and a Prayer was really helpful as my character features quite prominently in it. There were also interviews which his son conducted in 1980 so I get a sense of his spirit from that, and it also where I learnt that he had a strong penchant for cigarettes which you’ll certainly see on screen.

We also did a boot camp together where we got to grips with the plane and all of the technical parts of the character’s lives. We had a couple of weeks doing that and that was really where the cohesiveness of the cohort started to emerge.

Who did you work with the most in terms of your fellow cast members?

You will see me with Anthony Boyle, Elliot Warren, Callum Turner and Ed Ashley the most I would say. Those were the guys that I was often flying with. Anthony was the navigator on my plane, and Elliot was the bombardier and Callum was the lead pilot.

Does working on a show with a big budget and big production values put any specific pressures on you?

There are evidently a reaction to when there are big names, history and great people behind the camera. Personally, I loved Band of Brothers which is one of my favourite television shows of all time. All of those factors would bring a lot of pressure, so I think you have to make an active decision to not be overawed by all of those things. Somehow when you are in your scene you have to just find a way to be driving the car rather than letting it drive you.

What was behind your decision to pursue acting as a career?

Well I had done plays through all of my time at school but it wasn’t really until I was 17 and played Shylock in The Merchant of Venice and someone came up to me and asked whether I had considered acting professionally. That was quite a lightbulb moment for me I think. It took me until my first year at university when I accepted that it was my passion and didn’t really want to do anything else.

What are you working on now and next?

I can’t say! I have just shot a detective show in Amsterdam which was a great place to be shooting. I just got offered a job yesterday too which is pretty exciting.

Masters of the Air is on Apple TV now.

Follow David Shields on Instagram.