Plastic QuadAccording to Sebastian De Souza, one of the stars in Julian Gilbey’s upcoming comedy caper Plastic, “To be a young person in this industry right now is ******* great”.

We had the pleasure of speaking to the actor, who plays Rafa in the film, on making these criminals endearing to the audience, and recalls his memories of his time shooting on location in Miami. He also discusses why he believes the future of film to be so bright for the next generation of talent, as well as his own personal ambitions, with his next film Kids in Love not too far away, a picture he co-penned the screenplay for.

So what first attracted you to Plastic? How did you come to be involved in this project?

Strangely enough, and this is not something that happens every day, certainly not with me anyway – but I was offered the role after I’d read it and I was keen to be a part of the project, certainly the part of Rafa, who I play in the movie. It’s a part I never thought I would ever play. There is a great deal of heart in this character, and though the story didn’t lack heart, it’s got a lot of purpose, it was this character who seems to have the greatest deal of heart. There’s a sadness to his story, and that was attracting to me.

The character does have a lot of heart – but was it still quite a challenge to make him quite sympathetic, and people the audience can root for, given they indulge in criminal activity and conning innocent people? Was it a tough balance to strike?

Yeah, though I imagine that’s a question you’d be better off asking Will and Ed, and definitely Alfie. The point about Rafa is that he’s a bit like a loyal dog that is dragged along by these guys. He’s an active participant but it’s more reactive than pro-active. He’s the guy who goes along with what his friends are doing, because he values friendship above all. I hope there’s a great deal of comedy in Rafa, and certainly for the rest of the characters in the movie, but I hoped also that they come across as more than just fraudsters, they’re young people who clearly are trying to get a degree and go out in the world and make something of themselves, but actually are finding it’s nigh on impossible to do any of that. So I hope they’re representative of what it is to be a young person these days.

It’s based on an incredible true story – did you have to do much research into the events that took place?

I didn’t do lots of research. It was based on a documentary, which was based on a true story, but the guy who orchestrated all of the extraordinary events that our film’s based on, was on set. He was very actively involved in the making of the movie. That was as far as my research went, you know, becoming closer to him and being sure to learn as much as I possibly could about what happened in reality. That was an amazing thing, to not only be representing a real character, but to have those characters in front of you. Though it was also daunting as well, those people are watching you so you don’t want to misrepresent them!

Even though it’s all part of the job, and you undoubtedly all worked really hard – it must have been pretty sweet to be shooting on location in Miami?

Yeah, man, it was fucking extraordinary. It was snowiest it has ever been in England or something last year in January and February, and we were shooting in Miami for two weeks. We started the whole shoot there, then two weeks went by and we came back to probably the coldest Watford I have ever, ever seen. It was freezing. A massive, big fat, reality check. Miami was an extraordinary place and I feel very lucky to have gone there.

Did you get the chance to hang around much with the other guys? Or was it quite strictly work?

No, no, look in my really limited experience doing TV or film, it’s such an intense working environment that actually when you stop working you can’t get away from each other. You either hit the hay at the end of the day and go to bed, or you all find yourselves sitting in the pub with everyone for another five hours. It was great, I managed to take away a lot of really good friends, that I feel very lucky to now know – they’re all really great people. It was fun, we had a real great time.

This is your first feature length film – how was the experience for you? Does it differ much to making TV shows?

No it didn’t differ at all actually. It differs in the subsequent logistics of what it’s like to be in a movie. They’re released at a particular point on a particular day. People see them, or they don’t see them. Serialisation in TV happens over weeks, or months, and you’re in people’s living rooms and they get to know you that little bit better. Film is still, even now with a changing face of the film industry, when you’re in a cinema it’s a very different thing. That’s been an interesting experience.

The line between TV and film is so blurred these days, are you finding that to be quite beneficial? Has it broadened the opportunities?

I think the rise of television the greatest thing to have ever happened to the entertainment industry. I wish I could tell you that conventional cinema in the way we go to the cinema and buy our tickets, was going to be as strong an aspect of our lives in 20 years as it is now. I really don’t think it is. I think that people, especially young people, are just watching movies on the internet more and more, and they are watching internet-based content on their televisions at home, and TV has got to such an extraordinary level and the production values, especially in America, are so high, there’s almost no difference. It used to be that when you went on to a film set you were like, ‘oh, fuck, here I am on a proper film set and we’re shooting on 35mm film’. Every time someone called action, you’re spending money. Now, everyone shoots on digital which is not a bad thing at all, because there are a lot more opportunities as a result, but it’s not the same extraordinary etiquette on a film any more. The lines are blurred and I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It’s actually bringing about more and more opportunities and making everyone push themselves further.

You sound very clued up and passionate about the behind-the-scenes elements to film. Is that a path you’d like to explore further? Directing perhaps, or producing one day?

I love all aspects of making movies and making TV programmes. I love writing and I have just written a movie myself. Because the lines are blurred and the industry is changing, actors are beginning to write and direct and just do. I think it’s an amazing thing, to be a young person in this industry right now is fucking great. People have stopped doing what they’ve done for history and eternity, which is to think, well I’ve got to jump through this hole, and this loop, and then when I’ve met this person and worked as an intern for 25 years, then I’ll be able to direct my first feature. Now people are just doing it. People are going out and shooting pictures, and actors are putting themselves in their own pictures, and they’re producing their own films. A lot of them are ending up winning Sundance, winning Cannes. People are making money, and it’s great. The internet is allowing so many people who would otherwise not be able to show their work, to show their work to billions of people. I’m really excited by it, I’m excited about being a part of something really new. Whether anyone is ever going to allow you to do any of that is another question, but whether they should is certainly a big question. The point is, if you want to do something, you can just go and do it now.

Even though the exposure is fantastic for young, fledging filmmakers – is there any danger that it could almost become congested, having a platform that allows anyone to get their work shown?

No, because there’s this idea that audience can’t separate the wheat from the chaff, and I think it doesn’t matter what platform it’s on. Look, YouTube is already congested. It’s an extraordinary collection of billions of videos. I think when million of people watch something, millions of people are able to say, actually this is good, and this is worthwhile content, it’s worth me sitting down to watch it. Films flop, and films do well, and TV flops and TV does well – it will be the same as we move into this internet generation where people are watching things online. People know what they like, do you know what I mean? Things are already congested, people only need to start worrying when people stop watching.

Just finally the film you’ve written than you mentioned earlier – Kids in Love – is not too far away. Can you tell us a little about that?

Yeah, course I can. It’s an up-to-date coming-of-age story, similar, in many ways, to how Plastic is about young people. Kids in Love is about being a young person in London, and having to make big decisions that we all made when we were 18/19. Will Poulter absolutely smashes out of the park, he’s a fucking genius as far as I’m concerned. He carries what I hope will be a really great film, that will come out later this year.

Plastic is released on April 30th.