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Sopé Dìrísù talks Mr Malcolm’s List (The FH Interview)

6 min read

Sopé Dìrísù is a rising star, literally, he was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award not two seasons ago, and since then has been in many praised works. From early roles in hit drama Humans, to fantasy sequel The Huntsman: Winter’s War, he has been steadily amassing a varied body of work. Leading action crime series Gangs of London, Netflix fright fest His House and now Mr Malcolm’s List a period romantic comedy that sees him as a man unable to commit until he finds the perfect woman, Dìrísù is a name on the rise and with good reason. FilmHounds sat down with the man of the hour to discuss his new film and perhaps becoming the new version of a famous spy.

So, His House, Mothering Sunday, Silent Night, Mr Malcolm’s List, Tides, Gangs of London: Season Two. Quick question: do you ever sleep? You appear to be in something new every other week, has it been full on?

If anything I sleep too much. If I was awake more the list would be twice as long.

Mr Malcolm’s List is different from usual period dramas in that it employs colour blind casting, we’re still in the early days of people doing that, I can only really think of this and David Copperfield.

Yeah, I suppose in terms of movies but you also have Sanderton, and Persuasion with Dakota Johnson is a lot more inclusively cast and you have the phenomenon of Bridgerton. But yeah, I said recently it’s been a long time coming but now that it’s here I feel like people are really actively employing this change. If people don’t think so the money and the statistics say otherwise.

Do you think that soon it’ll just be the norm, it won’t be a question in an interview, it’ll just be that Period Dramas will be with people of different races?

That’s the prayer, it’s just entertainment in theatre, and film and television are inclusive. I would love for that to happen but I am also not naive enough to think that it will definitely happen over night. It is a process, but it’s good to see that the process is processing! But it would be delightful to see as much employment of diversity and inclusivity represented more behind the camera as well and in the production offices and at the top of the chain but it will get there eventually.

You say about behind the camera, looking at that list there’s quite a few directors of colour, quite a few women directors. Has that been a conscious decision on your part or are they the ones who offer you parts?

Yeah, I mean, I don’t have to go on a crusade to say that I’m only going to work with women or people of colour because the talent and the quality is out there. I’m very happy to work with everybody and anybody so long as they’re good and they think I’m good. I don’t think it’s a coincidence because there are as many talented women and people of colour directing as white men directing.

What was most enjoyable about the film was it’s lightness of touch, a lot of period dramas can be very heavy or overly stuffy but this at times felt like a modern rom-com that happened to have fancy clothing, was that appealing to you?

Definitely, the opportunity to play a leading role in a period setting would have been appealing to me but the romance and the comedic aspect were definitely bonuses. The women on set, Freida [Pinto] and Zawe [Ashton] compared it to a a 90s rom-com, and once that was said that was definitely the track we were on. I’m glad it doesn’t feel stuffy, because I know that can be a barrier for people to enter. Like “oh no they’re going to be talking in Thees and Thous”, it can be boring and terse. But it’s really fun to make a comedy that is set in the period.

One thing that has struck me in your work, as a fan, is the variety of genre. I thought that His House was one of the best films of that year and I’ve been boring everyone I’ve met saying it’s great. Is there a desire to do different genres?

Absolutely I just love telling stories and don’t ever want to be bound to one style or story type. I am as interested in small art house films as I am your Marvel movies. I would love to be able to look back on my career and see that there was a real spectrum of stories and genres and storytellers. I’m glad that you’re telling me it’s already evident in what I’ve done so far.

Universal Pictures

You were recently nominated for the EE Rising Star Bafta, has that changed how you’re perceived in the industry at large? Has it aided in getting offers or auditions?

I think so. There’s an expectation in awards and awards circles that will do that. But it’s a strange thing it’s not tangible, I don’t know how many more auditions I’ve got than I did before but also it’s not something I want to rely on. There are so many great pieces of work out there that aren’t recognised whatsoever, but that doesn’t mean those pieces aren’t good or those people shouldn’t be celebrated. I would love to continue to attract people to working with me based on the quality of my work rather than me getting nominated one time. Hey, I don’t know if I’m going to get nominated again in my whole life!

Never say never!

No, but I don’t know that it’ll happen, so I don’t want to rest on that laurel. I think that’s the short version of that waffle.

You have a background in theatre, you were in One Night in Miami, you played Coriolanus. Post Covid are you looking to go back to that? A lot of actors have said it’s one thing they missed during the pandemic since it’s more difficult to theatre than say a film.

My mum used to say if I only had five pounds left to my name I’d find a five pound theatre ticket. And she wasn’t wrong! But unfortunately having that eighteen months where we couldn’t have theatre has killed that, I haven’t been as much since as I did before and I’m gutted about it. I also haven’t been able to perform as much as I want to. I was fortunate enough to be on stage in The Key Worker’s Cycle which were one off plays about the people that got us through the plague. But I’ve always wanted to do a show a year but Covid and scheduling hasn’t allowed that to happen. But it’s always been a love and ambition of mine to perform in theatres. I hope I get to do that in the not too distant future.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the fantastic Gangs of London, and the second season is coming soon, I know it’s a frequent question but since I saw that first episode you’ve been who I think should be the next Bond, are you interested in flexing more of those action muscles?

Hey, like I said I would like to work in all different genres, it is one I’ve done a bit of but you can never do too much. I’ll leave it at that.

Finally, in my mind with Mr Malcolm’s List you join the Hugh Grant ranks of romantic comedy leads.

Yo! That’s high praise. I appreciate that!

Mr. Malcolm’s List will release on 26th August