We catch up with Joshua Hill who has just finished shooting the much anticipated Krays biography LEGEND, starring Tom Hardy as both the gangster twins, and Christopher Ecclestone.

How easy or difficult was it to get your first job after graduating?

I got my first job before I graduated; I had a small role on Yann Demange’s ’71’. It was great experience, not just working in front of the camera but everything that goes with it.

Do  you ever feel nervous working with such distinguished actors as you do in films such as Pride or Legend?

I’ve always enjoyed feeling a little nervous when performing (otherwise you’re dead!) and I’ve learned to embrace it rather than fight it.  Ironically great actors put you at ease with their skill and they all tell you that they started where you are now.  Also what with half the stuff you have to do at drama school, performing with actors whilst not naked or covered in paint is a treat.

Did you find it hard to connect with the events of Pride?

I wasn’t alive at the time but it is natural to empathize with victory, loss and struggle. When injustice occurs within your lifetime, 200 years ago or 2000 years ago, it is a natural human response to connect with those that suffered. We got to talk first hand with Mike Jackson, co-founder of LGSM and Stephen Beresford, the writer, for a week before filming. They gave us insight into the lives and the times of gay men and women and the oppression of the miners during Thatcher’s England.

Did any story stand out in particular and pull you in?

Stephen told me that the police would dress up in plain clothes and try to seduce young men into having sex with them only to arrest them at the last minute for public indecency or underage sex (21 for gays at the time). I remember hearing that and thinking it sounded like the gestapo. The people employed to protect you were out to trick you, the Prime minister despised you, the public fed with adverts and news about how bad an influence you were to society were scared and disgusted by you. It was a very brave thing to be ‘out’ at that time and I understood just how risky it was to do something as simple as collecting for charity when your charity has the word gay in it.

Can you see yourself being the leading man in a future film?

Ha. Yeah of course, that’s the dream isn’t it?

Interview by Mattias Crowe
Photography  by Andrea Vecchiato
Grooming by Stan Watts @The King’s Canary
Clothes: Sweatshirt by Paul & Joe, Shirt by Reiss, Jacket by Reiss, Polo by Raddar7