Interview with Elliot Edusah, star of Pirates movie

Shirt and trousers - Scott Fraser Collection, Jewellery - Serge De Nimes and Maya Magal

Pirates, released in cinemas last month, directed by Reggie Yates features three talented young newcomers, among them Mr. Elliot Edusah. An attendee of the BRIT School for Performing Arts and graduate of London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, he starred in Steve McQueen’s award-winning Small Axe and Sitting in Limbo for the BBC.

In Pirates he plays Cappo, alongside Reda Elazouar and Jordan Peters as three friends driving from North to South London on New Years Eve in 1999, searching the city for tickets to the hottest party of the year.

How old were you in the period that Pirates was set?

I was about three years old. I’m born on March 9th 1997

What are your memories of the turn of the century?

I can’t remember much as I was super young, I was told kids don’t remember much before their toddler years, so I was probably somewhere drinking milk or playing with toys. My parents are very spiritual people, so I was probably at church with them at the turn of midnight.

Was there any apprehension at all on your part on working on a directorial debut project?

No apprehension at all. I received the audition from my agent about Shaheen Baig and her team casting a Reggie Yates project called Pirates about three boys from London travelling around the city on New Year’s Eve 1999. Once I heard the words garage and Reggie Yates, I was sold. I grew up watching Reggie on TV as a kid, from him being a child actor in Desmond’s to documentaries and travelling the face of the earth, I’ve always been tapped in, so to meet, work and collaborate with him was a fantastic experience. We have a great relationship, and I see him as more of an older brother or mentor figure in my life, I have learnt a lot from him both on and off set. There were also a lot of first times for me, it was my first time playing a lead in a feature film and for Reggie it was the first time directing a feature film so we could all enjoy the experience together which was beautiful.

How important is the soundtrack to the movie?

The soundtrack of the film is one of the most important parts of the movie. It’s the score, it complements the picture but it also expresses our characters emotions and situations when words can’t. All the songs in the film were written in the script so Reggie had plans of embedding them in the story way before post production, so we almost knew the vibe of the scene due to the song choice underscoring our lines.

We had a Spotify playlist with all the garage bangers and we’ll listen to it everyday en route to set and on the way home to help keep us in that world but also to know all the lyrics as if we really were partying up in 99.

Do you have any favourite track from it?

I think Woooow - Battle is such a great song, it’s motivational, uplifting and makes you want to get up and dance, theirs a scene with Kidda (Reda Elazouar) where we sing out hearts out to Battle and I think after shooting that scene so many times and having to learn every lyric, it’s always going to be a special one for me.

Overcoat - Edward Sexton, Tracksuit top and bottom - Sunspel, Jewellery - Serge De Nimes and Maya Magal, Sunglasses - Kirk Originals

1917 must have been an entirely different experience. What was it like to shoot?

Firstly, I’d like to thank Nina Gold and Martin Ware for this fantastic opportunity to work with many of my peers but also actors that I’ve looked up to and loved for years. It was a gift from God, a blessing. Working on such a big set and on such a big project was amazing for me. Sam Mendes is a great guy. Roger Deakins is an amazing DOP (Director of Photography) one of the best in the world. He has worked on all the greatest films in history. So, it was a privilege just to be on set and just pick their brains.

1917 is such a unique piece of art, because no film has ever been shot continuously like that without any edits or cuts. So, for me, I felt like I was being part of history, as well as playing a black soldier in a World War one film. That was a big responsibility for me, because I felt like I was representing the community, which hardly gets represented, especially in World War One films or other war films. But, there were black soldiers there from all over the world – from the Caribbean, from Africa, and even from the UK. So, to be able to represent those people was such a blessing to me.

How important is it that things like Small Axe get made?

Working with Steve McQueen has been a dream of mine for years. I loved his films, artistry, and specific style and how it’s varied and transformed over the years. From Shame and Hunger to 12 Years A Slave, he always extracts the rawness from every performance and the authenticity in the moment. In drama school, when they would ask me who my favourite director was and who I would love to work with, his name was always at the top of my list. Every day working with Steve was transformational; gems were getting dropped left, right and centre and I couldn’t help but take them in and refine my process with all the knowledge I had received. He’s a pure artist, and his specificity and attention to detail is next to none. I’ve always believed the script is a music score, the actors are the orchestra, and the director is the conductor, and Steve isn’t far off from Beethoven.

Projects like Small Axe need to be made because this is British History, not just Black British History. It’s part of our culture, how we were treated when we first arrived, you can’t know where you are going unless you know where you came from and I think that’s the important thing about this project. For all the kids who don’t have living grandparents and parents to share down the stories and experiences of Britain from the 60’s-90’s, Small Axe is there to educate them but also for them to see the struggles and pain our ancestors had to endure to ensure you have the privileges and freedom which we take granted of today. I hope stories like Small Axe are continually made because there’s a lot more to our story as Black Britons.

What are you working on now and next?

My next project is the TV series Django, which is set to be an original reimagination of the 1966 Western classic by Sergio Corbucci. It is set in the Wild West in the 1860s and 70s and I will be playing Andrew Ellis, the son of Nicholas Pinnock’s character John. There is a really great cast including Matthias Schoenaerts and Noomi Rapace. I’ve worked a lot with Matthias – he is a brilliant actor and a great man as well. I learned a lot from him. We really connected and we still talk all the time, I’ve loved of his work from Rust and Bone to Bullhead, so to share the stage with him was a privilege. Not forgetting the iconic Nicholas Pinnock, a man of such integrity whose work continues to motivate us young actors, he has taught me a lot both on and off camera and took me under his wing in times of trouble and I appreciate his support throughout the whole process, he’s literally like a father both on and off camera which is a beautiful thing. Funny story is Nicholas Pinnock was one of the only people who visited the Pirates set pre-Covid as he’s good friends with Reggie, and one and a half years down the line, I’m playing his son in another project. Small world, but magical at the same time. That was another childhood dream of mine, being in a Western. I kept thinking how am I, a boy from East London going to get into Western? And now here we are.

Pirates is currently in cinemas

SPOTLIGHT: Mr Elliot Edusah