E109 - Amit Shah: Acting in Happy Valley

In this episode of The Directors' Take podcast, your hosts Oz Arshad and Marcus Anthony Thomas are joined by prolific actor Amit Shah (Happy Valley, His Dark Materials, Doctor Who). One of the most important collaborations on a film set is between a Director and their cast, so we do a deep dive into what that process looks like to help demystify what it is to work with actors. This covers:

 

-Amit's journey into acting.

-Amit's range as an actor.

-What is the role of an actor?

-What's the difference between shorts & TV?

-Is the industry becoming more diverse?

-How does a director gain your trust?

-We talk about the process of blocking actors.

-We talk about resilience as an actor.

 

AMIT SHAH has probably been seen by everyone in England in one project or another having had roles in - Black Mirror, White Van Man, Benidorm, Casualty, Hustle, Fresh Meat, Lillyhammer, Silent Witness, W1A, Jekyll & Hyde, Crashing, Midsommer Murders, Johnny English Strikes Again, Doctor Who, Last Christmas, The Witcher, His Dark Materials, The other one, Death in Paradise and most recently he played a rogue Happy Valley. He also won a BIFA for best actor in the short film Big Ears.

https://theartistspartnership.co.uk/artist/amit-shah/

 

Nuggets of the week

Marcus: Behind the Curtain - The unknown story of writing drive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsfWO5eJtm4

Oz: A personal story from Oz about not taking life for granted.

Amit: 'The more honest you can be about the specificity of a subject matter, the more universal it can be.' - Darren Aronofsky.

 

Credits

Music by Oliver Wegmüller

 

Socials

Instagram: @TheDirectorsTakePodcast

Twitter: @DirectorsTake

Amit's Twitter: @theamitshah

Amit's Instagram: @amitshahactor

 

If you have any questions relating to the episode or have topics you would like covering in future releases, reach out to us at TheDirectorsTake@Outlook.com.