You’ve seen him as Johnny Shelby in the hit crime series Peaky Blinder – a mouthy, fresh-faced gangster, with a jawline that could cut through paper. Or maybe you’ve spotted him as Skins’ resident drug dealer, Luke. More likely yet, you’ve fallen in love with him as Frank, the soulmate to end all soulmates in Black Mirror’s romantic offering, Hang the DJ.
Now, 29-year-old actor Joe Cole is gracing the big screen in one of his most demanding roles yet: real-life criminal and boxer Billy Moore.
In the prison drama A Prayer Before Dawn, out in UAE theatres now, Cole takes on the Liverpool man, who spent more than a decade behind bars for various offences. The gritty feature was based on Moore’s memoir, which also chronicled his former drug addiction.
As the film hits cinemas, Cole told Gulf News tabloid! what it was like to shoot on location in a Thailand prison, and gave us a peak into his next dark role, Pure.
What attracted you to A Prayer Before Dawn, and why did you want to take it on?
The subject matter was hugely compelling. It felt like a real challenge. And Jean-Stephane [the director] really felt like the right person to bring Billy’s story to life.
Did you read Billy Moore’s memoir prior to filming? If so, what’s the main thing you got out of it — the thing that helped you build and embody his character onscreen?
I read Billy’s book as soon as I knew there was interest in me for the role. We learn a bit about his psyche, his vulnerability [and] what makes him tick in that book, but meeting him in person and getting to know him as a friend took that to a whole new level for me. It was invaluable.
Becoming Billy, for many reasons, seems like it would be an emotionally demanding task. Was it easy to brush it all off once the director called cut, or was it a role that followed you around off set?
During the shoot in Bangkok, Thailand, I kept my head down and tried to stay close to the character. I felt pretty emotional on the plane back to England at the end of it all. It was a whirlwind. Or a hurricane.
What kind of physical preparation had to go into it?
I trained intensely in Muay Thai in the months leading up to the shoot. It was important to feel like I could handle myself and had the endurance of a fighter. The sparring is real and the fights were shot in long takes with no cuts, which meant we had to actually hit each other.
This film very much hinges on your character, singularly, rather than any side characters. Did you feel a different kind of pressure because of it?
I sometimes find there is more pressure playing a supporting role and trying to make your mark. With Prayer, I was quite excited by the challenge. You have more time to get it right.
Of course, you filmed in a prison in Thailand. Can you describe what that was like? Did you film with real inmates, and if so, what were they like to work with?
We filmed with ex-cons and ex-prisoner-boxers, who’d spent most of their adult lives in prison. The authenticity they brought to the project couldn’t really be recreated by actors. It was special. We also shot the final sequence in a working prison in the Philippines with 3,000 prisoners roaming around.
Were you nervous at all about shooting on location, before the production kicked off?
Not particularly.
Are you naturally attracted to darker roles like this one, or do you feel like you might want to switch to something lighter at some point?
I like variety. I want to play a range of roles. I enjoyed the contrast of going from this to more of a rom-com genre in Black Mirror.
Were you surprised by how much people took to your episode of Black Mirror, Hang the DJ? Why do you think that episode resonated so much?
I guess everybody wants to find love. And a lot of people use dating apps. It’s very current.
As a longtime Peaky Blinders fans, your portrayal of Johnny Shelby has a special spot in our hearts. How did that role impact your life? Is it the role that gets you stopped most in the street?
It’s definitely the thing I’m most recognised for. It’s great that the general public have responded to it so strongly. It’s all you can ask for as an actor.
Which Shelby brother do you suppose is most likely to survive a zombie apocalypse on his own?
Got to be Tommy, hasn’t it? You’d certainly want him on your side if [expletive] went down.
Finally, what’s next for Joe Cole?
I’ve just filmed a show called Pure for Channel 4, based on the true-life experience of someone who has intrusive sexual thoughts, or Pure OCD.
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Don’t miss it!
A Prayer Before Dawn is now showing across the UAE.
