Q&A: Paolo Sedazzari - Director
Q&A: Elliott Jordan - Brian
VIDEO INTERVIEW: Elliott Jordan - Brian

Q&A with Elliott Jordan who plays Brian in The Toybox:

*** THIS INTERVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS ***

What appealed to you about the character of Brian?

I read the script and I thought "finally a piece of meat," something that challenged me. This is why I became an actor - to live in the skin of someone else - wear that uniform, and to play a role like this.

Brian may be a psycho but he's also personable - a normal lad. That's what was so interesting and mad about him. He has the ambition to be a star, which a lot of young people have.

One of the themes of the film is about wanting to be famous.

Exactly. Fame. Everyone is obsessed with being famous but obviously we can't all be. Like so many young people Brian is striving for that. That's why I related to Brian - when the band was no more - he knew the only credible way he had of being famous was to kill people.

I mean, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to be like Gary Oldman or Daniel Day Lewis. But for me it's about the quality of the work - and not the adulation.

What were your first impressions on meeting the Brandnew Films team?

I remember the audition vividly and it was quite intimidating. If you're an established actor you've got a track record to talk about. But I was relatively new - so I hadn't.

But When I met Paolo we instantly clicked. We are both creative, ambitious, determined. We just talked at first - then we read through the script. I knew the audition went well. I felt that my name was stamped all over the script. I felt I was Brian. I knew I could do it.

How did you research the part?

I like to think I'm quite method - I get into the mentality of the character. First thing I threw onto Paolo was - "how do I get into it, to make it seem real?"

That's when Paolo gave me a stack of films, books and music. He gave me the soundtrack to the Shining - which helped a lot.

I was interested in looking at why he did it. Instead of it just being about killing people. The great thing about the script is that there are loads of things bubbling under the surface. The obsession with his sister - The dream of being famous.

In the space of two days, all that his life has revolved around has just gone. It all changes and it gets very nasty.

I needed to look at the whole journey. Once I understood that=then I can play it.

What do you think of the black comedy aspects of The Toybox?

I loved it. He's killing all these people but he's still humorous. And there are moments of complete calm. He has a very efficient method of stacking them up in the garage.

He kills people that are bigger than him - very swift and efficiently. That was the whole Jake the Mid-Folker obsession thing. Jakes hates polite conversation and false laughter. He raids the boggy marshlands and kills people. Brian believes he is destined to be that person, and he is looking for something beyond the mediocrity of family life.

What's your favourite scene in the film?

There are so many great scenes. Going through the alleyway in the snow with the hook- that was just electric. I get locked in the toilet and BANG! Out I come running through alleyways in the snow with a hook - I don't get to do that every day.

Another favourite scene of mine is in the garage where they're drinking cider. He's being funny there - but the craziness is bubbling under the surface.

The Toybox was not shot in chronological order - as I recall the first scene we shot with you in, was with you going psycho. How did you cope with that?

It didn't matter that the film wasn't shot in chronological order. I'd read the scrip ten times - made my notes I knew what was going on in each scene. That's filmmaking and that's why I think you can run into problems if you don't prepare.

Shooting films is mixed up like that. In the morning I was doing a dining room scene and cracking jokes - and in the afternoon I was killing someone.

What was the experience of shooting the film like?

Shooting the film was possibly the best two weeks of my life. Every job I do, I am incredibly focussed. When I got there I wanted to be on-set all the time, take it all in, as this was the house my character had spent 17 years of his life.

It was noticeable how focussed you were on the set.

It's scary to play a role like Brian, and the only way I could play it was to be totally focussed. Every actor works in different ways, some don't need to do any preparation and they can mess around with the crew. But I can't work like that - it's just my method.

How was it working with experience actors like Suzanne Bertish and Heather Chasen?

I was constantly picking their brains, about technique. They were very generous and helped me enormously.

The film was shot in a punitive 18 days, how did you feel about this very short schedule?

We were pushed on some occasions; I would have liked more time. But you have to do it that way. Excruciating long days. But when I'm shooting - I'm never happier.

Then the snow didn't help.

That was a godsend - three days of snow. Unbelievably lucky to have it come down when we were shooting the chase sequences, it added so much to the atmosphere of the film.

Two years later the film is finally completed. A long old process - don't you think?

Frustrating. You shoot it and you think it's going to be out in two months.
That's filmmaking. It's been worth the wait. I'm just excited about it and want people to see it. It's a good story and a solid film.

Finally, he asked me to ask you this. What was it like working with Paolo Sedazzari as a director?

He gave me my first role in my film - picked me up and made it easy.

We had lengthy discussion about Brian - and that really helped.

He's into rehearsals - constantly thinking and working, because he's an actor's director - and understands actors. I was constantly asking him things - and he would always have enough time.

He's very thorough - with a lot of patience. Someone to watch out for.