David Dawson Source

"I mean you’re rarely involved with a project where it’s literally kind of three people working together incredibly closely. It’s their world. I don’t think I’ve been in something that’s ever felt so kind of claustrophobic because you know, the society in which the film set, the 50s, would do that. I suppose that we spent an awful lot in Patrick’s beautiful apartment that kind of was the symbol of the whole piece for me. It’s one of the only spaces where Patrick can be his authentic self without fear of any repercussions from that. I think that the memory of that apartment stays in my head also because that’s where he first kind of gets to know Tom as well and their love affair is built in that space."

"I read the script first. I’ve been in many things over the years that have been based on books and one thing you learn is normally there are an awful lot of differences. Generally, the narrative is the same but just because filming is different and the way you tell the story on cameras is different. I read the script first but then I always love to go back to the book to find gorgeous little details that you can find in chapters that you could bring into your performance."

"I’ll always remember Venice, I’ve never been there before. Everyone always says how beautiful it is and what a special place it is, but you don’t believe them until you get to see them yourself. We never got to have a wrap party where you meet and thank all the crew for the work they’ve done because of COVID. Venice was kind of our mini wrap party at the end of the shoot. It was very special to be there with Michael and Harry and our crew and just have two days in this incredible city...

"I’m quite a quiet lad in real life. When I wanted to be an actor when I was little, that was kind of my outlet in the world. I suppose Patrick has that same kind of in public, he has the persona. He’s the storyteller, the raconteur who is charming, and then you have the quiet man at home where you get to see the more vulnerable side of someone and get to see the innermost thoughts"

"As actors, we weren’t part of conversations that our characters wouldn’t either. That was very effective I found in terms of coming onto set. I suppose one of the lovely memories I remember was one of the first times we got together, the first time we met each other in person. They put us into a sound booth in London in a music studio because there’s a song that we sing together in the film when we’re all getting quite drunk together. We got a random clap piano when we were told to sing for each other. I thought that was a clever way of getting rid of any nerves or butterflies that you might have had."

"I think well, certainly in terms of being a gay man myself in living in Britain now. it makes me have an even greater appreciation for just what’s been fought for and achieved over the years to enable my generation to have the freedoms and rights that we have. It also makes me acknowledge how vulnerable those rights can be. I watched a wonderful documentary that the Olympic diver Tom Daley made for the BBC and I think that was incredibly poignant in terms of, it was called illegal to be me. You can think about this movie as a period piece, but the society in which Patrick, Tom and Marion are living in which is 50s Britain is a present for many people around the world now. I hope our movie holds poignancy in terms of that."

"What I love about him [Patrick Hazelwood] is he’s very passionate about trying to create collections that will draw the masses to the gallery and not just make this for the refined few, art should be for all. That’s when we first meet him. He’s a gay man who is living in a time when being his authentic self can be incredibly difficult, but what I admired about him is that he’s very skillfully found a way out of necessity to thrive in 50s Britain and achieve his life goals. I think that was something I was very excited about that dual persona was in public. He has to present himself in a certain way to remain “respectable.” Then you get to see in private the vulnerability of a man who, like anybody else in this world, wants to find love and the joys of life, whether that’s in music or art or sex or love."