Emun Elliott on Strawberry Fields and Prometheus
Emun Elliott’s most recent film credits are polar opposites. After his role in Prometheus in which he played the spacecraft pilot Chance he can now be seen in Strawberry Fields, the latest film from the Microwave scheme which has previously delivered Shifty and Plan B’s Ill Manors. While the budget of Prometheus was estimated to be $120 million, the upper range of Microwave films is £100,000.
Set in a strawberry picking field in Kent, the film sees Elliott portray Kev, a multi-faceted character who amplifies tensions between two sisters; the straight-laced Gillian and the ultra-manipulative Emily.
“It’s a timeless story set in a contemporary environment,” says Elliott. “The reason I wanted to do it is because it’s unlike anything I’ve ever read before. I know it draws parallels with A Streetcar Named Desire, which I love, but it has lots of different elements to it as well.”
Elliott describes Kev as: “A macho ex-con who slowly starts to unravel and crack. He does come across as quite tough, hard and charming. But then the edge starts to come out of him and after that he actually becomes quite vulnerable.”
An engaging and accomplished indie drama, the main strength of Strawberry Fields is the combination of the evolution of the central three characters together with the cast’s nuanced performances. “Kev comes across as a bit of a villain at certain points, but I think they all do,” he continues. “They all take their turn at being the good guy and the bad guy. They’re all good people who have made mistakes at some point in their lives.”
A long-term fan of the Alien series (“They’re landmark films, especially the first one Alien, which has really stood the test of time”), Elliott relished the chance to join the cast of Prometheus. “I’m sure it will be a once in a lifetime experience that I just savoured everyday,” he states with contagious enthusiasm. To get a chance to work under a master like Ridley is incredible. You learn a huge amount, and most of the time between takes you’re just sitting back in awe.”
Also on the horizon is a role in Irvine Welsh’s Filth which stars James McAvoy as the misanthropic detective Bruce Robertson. Inevitably, the Trainspotting comparisons are already emerging. “It’s a hell of a lot darker than Trainspotting,” counters Elliott. “If you thought Francis Begbie was a bad ass, wait until you meet Bruce Robertson!”
