Yourcinemafilms.com | Critically-acclaimed actor Demmy Ladipo (The Kitchen, Dreaming Whilst Black, Agatha Christie's 'Murder is Easy') shares why he still trains, the importance of 'doing' acting and Sheyi Cole going to the same improv classes as him!
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FunTranscript
00:00 Now everyone's making it in film and TV, but we don't really know how. Here we uncover
00:07 the truth. Welcome to the Your Cinema Podcast.
00:13 Welcome to the Your Cinema Podcast. This is where we explore the truth about film and
00:18 TV and hear it directly from those who are smashing it in their areas. Today, we have
00:24 got a returning guest, a highly critically acclaimed actor who's had notable roles in
00:31 Jamie Wells' Black the Kitchen, Agatha Christie's Murder Is Easy and loads more. We've got Demi
00:40 Ladipo. What's going on, man?
00:42 Hey, I'm good, man. I'm good. I'm good. I'm good.
00:47 I love it.
00:48 Yes, all good. Can't complain. Can't complain. How are you?
00:50 I'm good. You know, like when I was reading your, like, just like, oh, wait, actually,
00:59 this is what you've, you've been in. Like, and I only, I only, I only said like a few,
01:06 a few of the projects, really, when I think about it, I'm like, yo, you're a working actor.
01:14 Like and it's deep because I think I said this last time on the pod, but it's like,
01:18 no, like you're, no, you're doing it. Like, this is your life.
01:23 Yeah, yeah, yeah, it is. It's like, it's how I make my living, which is, which is crazy.
01:29 Which is crazy. Yeah, yeah. It's a, it's a, it's a weird one, isn't it? Because it's kind
01:33 of, there's a point where you're not, and then you want to be like a working actor.
01:39 And then you just kind of, you get your first job and then you get your second one and you
01:42 just kind of keep on going. And it's like, oh, okay, I'm actually, like, I'm doing it
01:46 now. I'm working. I'm like, I'm in it now. You know what I mean? Yeah. So yeah, it's
01:51 nice. It's nice. It's not easy, but we keep on going, you know?
01:57 I love it. Well, you're making it look easy. Today, what, what, what we'll really be talking
02:03 about is like, you know, what makes a great actor and how to hone your skills for great
02:10 performances on screen. This coincides with, you know, our partnership of Launching the
02:16 Craft, which is, you know, a series of acting classes that's really designed to help emerging
02:24 actors genuinely hone their, their, their skills, helps helping them to be more upskilled
02:32 for more truthful performances on screen. Which, and I think, you know, there's probably
02:39 no one, no one better I can think of to actually partner with in terms of delivering these
02:46 sessions. Do you know why? Right? There's two reasons. One reason is because, and I
02:51 think this is probably the most important is like, we know loads of actors in it, but
02:56 you have a genuine heart for like helping and supporting emerging actors. Right? Like,
03:04 and I've, I've seen that because like, you've reached out to me on a number of occasions
03:10 when I was like, kind of thinking, oh, how we, how can we do that? But it's like, yo,
03:14 I saw this, like next time, like I want to, like, if there's any way I can help, I'm like,
03:20 and that's been like a few occasions and it's like, oh, like, and I remember speaking to
03:24 you, like, why? Like, like what's the reason for like, in a nice way, like, okay, cool.
03:32 What made you hit me up? Like, ah, I just, you just want to help. And then I think the
03:38 second reason is because like, you are smashing it and you're, you're, you're at the stage
03:46 for me anyway, where when we first started, like the first time we interviewed you, like
03:54 many years ago, probably like about seven, eight years ago, it was like, you just had
04:00 your first credit. So.
04:02 Yeah. Enterprise.
04:04 Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. So, and so like in this, in this section and generation of where the
04:15 industry is at, right. You, I think are so well placed to be able to impart knowledge
04:23 and techniques and the craft to a set of actors who are coming from where you've come from.
04:31 Do you know what I mean? And would want to be in your position of, you know, having a
04:36 great agent, being in Netflix shows, being in BBC shows, like, bro, you're a black guy
04:41 who's been in the Agatha Christie, like what is that?
04:45 Yeah. Good, good times, man. Good times. Yeah. Yeah. No, you know what? Thank you for saying
05:00 all of that, man, because yeah, it's like you said, I feel as though that when I was
05:08 coming through, maybe just before that, you know, the first interview that we spoke about
05:13 just before that point, the few years leading up to that, I remember, I still remember very
05:18 freshly, you know, wanting to just do like, just wanting to be a part of some sort of
05:27 course or some sort of workshop or just some sort of actors group where I could be around
05:34 other actors that want the exact same thing as me, come from a similar background in the
05:39 sense of maybe they're not coming from a traditional route where they go to like a performing arts
05:45 college or performing arts school, like a brick school, and then go to drama school,
05:50 like a Lambda or Radha or these sorts of things. You know, just the people that actually just
05:55 love acting, have an interest in it and want to actually do it without necessarily having
06:02 to go to like a steam drama school because they have a day job or because their career
06:07 path didn't necessarily lead them down that path, but they still want to exercise that
06:13 muscle and work and just play, you know. So that's why I want to do these sorts of things
06:25 like the craft where it's working practically, working with an industry professional, and
06:35 trying to break down that sort of barrier between say the actors that are trying to
06:40 become working actors and the working actors that were emerging actors, you know. So yeah,
06:47 just trying to bridge that gap so that they can see what it's like, they can ask questions,
06:53 actually speak to somebody that works in this sort of field, sort of demystify any sort
06:59 of things that are, you know, misty in their minds, because there's so many things that
07:07 weren't told to me, so many things that I had to find out on my own, which, you know,
07:11 I'm glad I did find out on my own. But, you know, a lot of the stuff I did was like, you
07:17 know, trying to wade through the mud and just trying to figure out what exactly is that
07:22 I'm looking for, or what exactly is that I need to know. And obviously, luckily, I've
07:27 been able to accumulate experience, I've been able to accumulate knowledge. So I can just
07:33 pass on to the people straight, like literally directly behind me, you know, and that's all
07:37 it is, you know, it's just like accumulating what I've learned. And I've still got so much
07:42 more to learn, by the way. And passing it on to passing the torch on to those, to those
07:49 coming next. And that's pretty much it in a nutshell, in terms of the why. Yeah.
07:56 Amazing. Amazing. Thank you. Thank you for that context. See, you've got the heart, you've
08:01 got the heart for it. So like, given your experience, right, and your journey, coming
08:11 up from like having amazing raw talent, right, you and Tom doing those classic legendary
08:17 sketches, why do actors need training?
08:23 I think actors, all actors, we need training, because it's always good to hone in on whatever
08:31 talents you do have. Training also can show you, reveal to you your weaknesses, which
08:37 is always a key, key element of improvement. Because if you don't train, if you don't understand
08:45 where you need that improvement, then how can you improve, you know, it's good to have
08:52 your strengths. But equally, it's even more important, actually, to strengthen your weaknesses.
08:59 And that's one part of training that is underrated, I think, is the fact that it shows you the
09:04 things that you aren't good at. And a lot of times people know the stuff that they're
09:09 not good at as well, they know the stuff that they want to become good at. And that's the
09:15 beautiful thing about training, is that it doesn't need to be the sort of formal training
09:20 where it's like, you must go to drama school, just training, which is actually just practicing.
09:24 That's all I mean when I say training. But yeah, the reason why actors should be doing
09:31 training, honing your craft, you can never know too much, finding out your weaknesses,
09:39 strengthening your strengths, diversifying your skill set as well, you know, there's
09:44 also that. And just building the experience, because the more you do, acting is something
09:50 that you have to do to, you know, to improve, you have to do it, you can't just, you know,
09:55 you can't just act, you know, some people can, some people can, you know. But most people
10:03 just can't just act, do you know what I mean? You have to do it to learn it. And training
10:09 is literally that. So yeah, can't not train.
10:13 I love that. No, that's great clarity. In terms of like, there were three main aspects,
10:24 we'll probably build out more as time goes on. But there are three main aspects in terms
10:28 of like, analyzing scripts, improvisation, and I think, like scene breakdown or character
10:35 analysis, right? Why is breaking down a script or knowing how to do that so important?
10:43 Yeah, it's one of the most important things or parts of the process, because it gives
10:50 you all the information you need in terms of trying to figure out the characters, trying
10:56 to figure out exactly what's happening in the scene, what's happened before the scene.
11:03 It'll also inform you of how you want to approach the scene in terms of, you know, the state
11:09 of mind that your character's in and what the character wants in the scene. The way
11:15 you break down the text is vital to all of these components, because the more thoroughly
11:22 and the more succinctly you break down the text, you will have even more opportunities
11:30 and even more weapons for your arsenal when you are approaching or attacking the scene.
11:37 That's why that part of it is like, essential.
11:41 I love that. So, right, you, the other day, you had some auditions come through. And I
11:54 wanted to know, right?
11:55 I'm editing this right now.
11:56 I love that. I love that. So, like, given, right, given that on that day, you've had
12:12 these auditions dropped on you and you need to turn them around quickly, like, what, how
12:19 did you, how did you go about that in terms of understanding what your character wanted?
12:28 Because now that you're working, it seems like that has to be something that you can
12:34 do quickly. So, yeah, like, yeah. How did you approach that?
12:40 Well, the thing is, so when I, when I was training, when I was doing some training with,
12:45 I was training with a really good acting coach called Toby Clark, worked with him on Alt,
12:54 checked them out, they're really good. Yeah, I remember when, when he was showing me how
12:59 he analysed text. Basically, once you learn how, like, the sort of the structure or the
13:11 components of, of a scene in a really sort of basic way, like, there's a scene, the characters
13:17 start off in one, one place, and then something happens in that scene. And then the characters,
13:23 that causes the characters to end up in a different place. That's really like the most
13:26 basic sort of macro breakdown of, of like, just the whole, of a scene in general. So
13:37 now, obviously, with more experience, I understand characters. And also, you know, with my experience
13:44 with writing as well, now, like, because I tell stories, as well as like, you know, acts,
13:51 act them out. Now I understand where scenes are changing. I've got like a lot more of
13:59 a sensibility for where I think things are happening, which allows me, because, and the
14:06 reason why I say where I think things are happening, because sometimes you may interpret
14:10 things slightly different. And you might find moments in different parts of a scene, where
14:16 things are changing, because of you as a person and your personality. So certain things might
14:21 resonate with you more, and it might be more of a moment to you. So a lot of times, it
14:26 kind of depends on you as a person. But oftentimes, in scenes, you know, if somebody's just cheating
14:32 on someone, like the moment that it gets revealed is pretty much the moment that things change,
14:38 right? So you got to be able to use your common sense. But that's the great thing about doing
14:44 this now for me, because it just seems a lot more straightforward when I do it now. So
14:50 when I do auditions and stuff like that, it's a lot easier to turn it around. Because a
14:54 lot of times, it's characters, characters are quite simple in terms of what they want,
14:59 or what they're trying to do. And once you can analyze that sort of thing, it makes it
15:04 easier to approach it on a more quicker turnaround sort of thing. Like with auditions, where
15:10 you have two days to read something, digest it, figure out what you're going to do, film
15:19 it, edit, send it in, all of that. So yeah, it gets it does get a lot quicker, it gets
15:25 a lot easier, just for experience. I love that. So you know, you know, you said something
15:32 that was quite interesting, where you said that where you think things are changing in
15:38 a scene, right? And I love, I love that understanding and that phraseology, because it sounds like
15:47 what you're saying is, this is where I think things are happening, but someone else might
15:52 have a different perspective. And the question that sort of came to mind, right, is, I guess,
15:59 if you've made an assumption on how a scene is being played, or you've got a perspective
16:05 on it, but then you go to an audition, and the director asks you to try it in a different
16:12 way, is, does that, like, does improvisation help with that? I'm trying to, I'm trying
16:19 to understand, oh, actually, does improvising help to like, think in a scene?
16:24 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because improvisation is all about flexibility, it's all about the
16:29 ability to move on the spot, to perform on the spot, under duress, basically, to perform
16:40 under your own sort of imagination and making decisions based off of your impulses. So if
16:46 you are adept at being able to improvise, which is being able to, you know, pick up
16:52 things that are falling, or maybe having to change directions on the fly, then it definitely
17:04 helps you in terms of how you take notes from directors, because sometimes you might have
17:10 your way of doing it. And a big thing for me is my ability to take direction, my ability
17:18 to adapt to what's being asked of me. Because that's so key as an actor, like, one of the
17:26 biggest things that you can do, or one of the biggest attributes you can have is the
17:31 ability to take notes really well, to be able to decipher the information being given to
17:37 you and apply it practically. So definitely, the improvising aspect helps massively with
17:48 that aspect of being able to take notes.
17:52 Wow. And you know what, right, so you see with improvisation, I've noticed that I think
17:58 you quite like it. Why is that?
18:02 Because it suits me. Firstly, it suits me very well. But beyond that, I like it because
18:12 it's kind of like the lifeblood of acting, because it's like your imagination, you playing,
18:19 it's like you running free, do you know what I mean? Running like wild in the jungle. So
18:25 it's a great thing. And it keeps things fresh, it keeps you sharp, because you can't rest,
18:32 you can't rest, and you can't preempt, do you know what I mean? Because you don't know
18:38 what the other person's gonna do. So, and you don't know what you're gonna do. So that's
18:42 why it's constant. It's like this constantly moving dance that has lots of moves. Yeah,
18:50 so that's why I love it. And it's fun. Improvising is really fun. It's literally spontaneous,
18:57 do you know what I mean? So yeah, that's why I like improv. And that's why I use it in
19:02 my workshops and in any sort of training that I do, that I want to do.
19:08 I love it. I love it. I love it. Now, you've learned a lot, and you'll continue to learn
19:14 more. But what I wanted to know, right, is, and this may be reflected on like your early,
19:22 early days of wanting to act, and it may not be. But I wanted to know, right, what are
19:28 your thoughts on why some emerging actors think they don't need to train, or do acting
19:33 classes or whichever?
19:35 Yeah, I don't know. Honestly, that's an interesting one. Like I have, I don't, maybe, because
19:47 I know maybe with some actors, maybe if they book work quite early on, like from when you
19:52 start out, sometimes that can give you the feeling because you're working. Because the
19:58 thing is, when you are working, you are learning. That's the thing. You're learning whilst you're
20:02 working, of course. So there is that, like you are training when you are working. Well,
20:08 if the job is challenging enough, but even if it's not that challenging, you're learning
20:13 in different ways. But I think maybe when you get work very early on, from when you
20:20 start out, maybe you feel, maybe you don't feel the need to train. But even me, like
20:26 I still go to, I still go to training. I still go to training classes and improv classes
20:31 and stuff like that. And like a friend of mine, Shea Cole, he got work straight out
20:39 of drama school and he attends, what's it called, these training classes and stuff like
20:48 that, in the sense of he's a working actor, working in America, working here, doing this,
20:53 doing Netflix film, doing everything, do you know what I mean? But he still has the onus
21:01 on himself to be like, no, I need to keep it sharp. Even if I am working, even when
21:07 I'm between jobs, I need to keep it sharp. So that's what I think. In terms of why some
21:16 actors may think they don't need to train, then maybe it's that, in terms of getting
21:21 work very early on when you start. But like the example I used to show you, Cole, even
21:28 the really busy actors that have come straight out of drama school and they're getting jobs,
21:36 they still train.
21:37 - I love that. I love that. I love that. One of our USPs with The Craft, which I'm really
21:46 excited about, right, and you touched on, is like, you know, being taught by people
21:52 that are in the industry, that are like working actors, basically. And I wanted to know, like,
22:01 why do you think that's so important?
22:03 - It just goes back to that point I made about bridging the gap. If you've got, if you have
22:11 never worked in the industry and you want to get into the industry, imagine you could
22:18 just train with people who work in the industry. It's that, it's like, it's mad simple. Like,
22:30 it's so simple the way I see it, because you want that first-hand knowledge. You want to
22:38 be able to ask people, what did you do? You know, how did you do it? And it's not to say
22:45 that, oh, you can be like, oh, I'm going to do what they did. It's more about understanding
22:50 the different ways that it works. Maybe learning from mistakes that I've made, you know? Maybe
22:57 you can ask me questions about mistakes that I've made, or maybe I can advise you about
23:02 things that you don't need to do, because I did that, and I know that you don't need
23:06 to do that, you know? What if it's like, you want to ask about questions where there's
23:10 like, agents that want to sign people by telling people to pay, you know? And then sometimes
23:16 some people, like, bad actors have asked me, oh, this agency wants to sign me, but they're
23:21 saying I need to pay like a registration fee. If they didn't know me, or they didn't know
23:25 like a working actor that they could actually get the information from, then they might
23:29 have got fleeced, you know? So that's just some of the reasons why, and there's just
23:35 nothing like working, training, and learning from the actual people that are in these rooms
23:43 doing this work that you want to do. That's just like, I just think it's a no-brainer,
23:47 like, because when I was a kid, I'm watching stuff on TV. Just watching the stuff made
23:54 me want to be an actor, but if I thought that there was like a sort of opportunity to actually
24:02 work with some of these actors, or to actually just be in the same room, and to be able to
24:06 ask questions, just so I can satisfy that sort of itch for myself, that would be like,
24:13 invaluable. So I'm just thinking to myself, let me try and provide that for others, so
24:19 that they can ask the questions that they want to ask, they can work in the fashion,
24:24 they can actually do their work at a level close to what's required, and honing your
24:32 skills and refining your skills with working actors, it's a great way to do that, to up
24:38 your ability, so that you can work when the time comes.
24:43 I love that, I love that, I love that. In terms of, I guess my last point is, really,
24:54 I want to get your thoughts in terms of hopes and what you would want the craft to achieve,
25:07 to achieve for, like in the long run, when we look back 10, 20 years, and all of these
25:13 sessions and stuff, what would you like to see?
25:16 Yeah, I think in the long run, like long, long run, big picture is, I'd want the craft
25:23 to be a resource and a network where people that are interested in acting, people that
25:32 are just getting into acting, people that are learning acting, people that are, you
25:39 know, curious about acting, can come, learn, receive information, and find tangible, practical
25:55 routes into the industry through this resource, whereby you can, you know, you can train,
26:02 you can network, and you can perform in front of people working in the industry, so that
26:08 you don't have to do that sort of traditional, that traditional route. You can actually come
26:14 somewhere, train for X amount of time, and get opportunities to perform in front of people
26:22 who are the people hiring, who are the people working, who are the people that have clients,
26:30 agents, and stuff like that, the people who are, like I said, hiring, the casting directors.
26:36 That sort of opportunity to rub shoulders with these people who you would never get
26:41 that opportunity if you didn't know all of these things, or you didn't have that sort
26:47 of traditional route into the industry, whereby you can go to a drama school and perform at
26:52 a showcase in front of casting directors, who it's their job to go to these showcases,
26:57 you know? So yeah, I think big picture, a place where actors can come, learn to act,
27:05 and have opportunities to get into the industry.
27:08 - I love that. I concur. I'm really looking forward to this, and what we build.
27:15 - Me too, me too.
27:17 - Well, my bro, thank you. I think, yeah, man, you provided some really good insight
27:22 in terms of what makes a great actor, and the ways in which people can achieve that.
27:29 So we hope it was helpful for everyone. Remember, there are limited spaces for The Craft at
27:38 the end of April and beginning of May. I think, what is it? It's April the 30th and the 1st
27:46 of May. So get your, book your spaces on yourcinemafilms.com/thecraft, and we will see you there!
27:54 (upbeat music)