The ‘Interesting People Project’, in Conversation with Jude Carmichael.

 “I’m outgoing and create an energy that you can feel in the person or the character, there's a depth to it. A lot of it is intertwined to who you are as a person.”

Benjamin Meredith-Hardy, "Interesting People Project" (photograph, https://www.bmhardy.com/, 2024).

The ‘Interesting People’ photographic project by Benjamin Meredith-Hardy portrays an insight into emerging actor Jude Carmichael’s creative process. Throughout the project Jude is pictured both with and without scripts, embodying the character he is reading for in a flat in South London. The photographs have an intimate aesthetic, as viewers we are allowed a glance of some of the mannerisms that Jude pulls from his own personality into the characters he plays. Jude spoke to New Wave about how the project embodies his craft, that he is continually learning “everywhere and anywhere”. His heartfelt, personal connection to his characters evokes performances that feel human, through both earnest and light-hearted moments.

Jude brought an exciting energy to the interview and discussed his journey so far, from his sporting days in basketball to playing the lead in Skepta’s directorial debut film ‘Tribal Mark’. Jude plays Nigerian teen ‘Mark’ as he migrates to London and navigates systemic oppression. He discovers his identity and eventually matures into a hitman for the ‘Black Secret Service’. Looking to the future, Jude is feeling optimistic with some exciting projects on the way. Jude’s charming personality, emotional vulnerability, and dedication to bringing a character to life is a combination that will continue to captivate the industry. He hopes to inspire young actors with these photographs, showcasing the “beauty and play” of acting.

Congratulations on your nomination for the Best Newcomer at the National Film Festival, how did that feel?

Thank you, appreciate it. It was fun, it was nice. I think when I found out I was with some of my friends at mine, so it was nice to share that experience with them for sure.

Can you share a bit about your story so far?

Since the beginning of my life I’ve been playing basketball. I was fortunate to play overseas in Spain, travel and play in major tournaments. I was on the national team, the under sixteens for England. A few years ago I got scouted for modelling and at the same time I joined a theatre company. It was an all-black male theatre company that was mainly focused on writing. It was through meeting those people a lot of them were actors it got me thinking, "cool, how can I jump into it?" And then they gave me different places to go. My sister was an actor, she was on West End doing Lion King when she was a kid. I had some sort of an end, some people to turn to. So, they recommended me to go to workshops. I started going to the workshops, Go Hub in particular, which is based in South London. Through there I met a guy who runs House of Jazz and he's been a real mentor for me.

I did a play in Peckham theatre, which I led, it was fun. It was definitely an eye-opening experience. I was studying acting and performance at university, in and around that time modelling was starting to work. At the same time, I was going to the acting class, and then in the summer, I really banged out the acting class as hard as I could. Through that I was lucky to find agent meetings. Then I got Tribal Mark, which is fun, and then a Google campaign, and all these different things. So, it really started to pick up. That's been my big journey.

Benjamin Meredith-Hardy, "Interesting People Project" (photograph, https://www.bmhardy.com/, 2024).

Since tribal mark, how are you finding navigating the industry?

It's been really fun, really interesting. I suppose I've been through a brutal industry already with basketball. I feel like I've been able to use the lessons I’ve learnt from that and translate them over into acting, which has helped a level of patience and work ethic; also, how to navigate yourself and actually have confidence in what you do. It's just been really cool. And then obviously, coming off this job, it was a real confidence boost to show that I can do my thing really. I think that's probably the biggest thing is now that I actually deserve to be here, like you have a story and a perspective that people want to hear.

For those who haven't seen Tribal Mark yet, what would you say some of your strong points are as an actor?

That's so funny, the only reason I laugh is because I was in class last week and the scene was in my strong suit. It's only now that I feel comfortable answering that question because I guess as an athlete it's quite easy to think, ‘okay I know my skill set, I'm fast, I'm strong, I can jump’, I mean it's easily measurable. So, when I first thought about acting, I was definitely considering ‘how do you get good at this?’, and I feel like I’ve figured it out now. I think a lot of it, honestly, it's to do with you as a person, my strong suit, I feel is my personality. I’m outgoing and create an energy that you can feel in the person or the character, there's a depth to it. A lot of it is intertwined to who you are as a person. If you can't practice certain things as a person, the notion that you're miraculously going to be able to embody that as an actor doesn't make sense. Sometimes it happens, sometimes people can do it, but for the most part you have to address certain things in your personal life.

How would you describe your process of preparing to shoot a scene?

It's different for every job. I’ll speak specifically on Tribal, that was very run and go. It was quite like a Guy Ritchie style shoot; scripts were changing day to day, in the middle of the scene, so you've got to be open, flexible, and ready. I feel for me it's just understanding the essence of what's happening in the world or what does the character want, what is he willing to do to get it, or what will happen if he doesn't get it? I used basic questions like that to understand how he's feeling or what's going on. Through that I opened up and was flexible. For me when I'm working, I like to be quite locked in, zoned in. I feel like I'm an unserious person in general, so if I start laughing then I won't stop laughing.

 Benjamin Meredith-Hardy, "Interesting People Project" (photograph, https://www.bmhardy.com/, 2024).

You've spoken previously about making a connection with a three-dimensional character, bringing them to life, how do you approach this?  

It constantly changes and it's different purely because I'm always growing as a person. Then the characters always growing, so my perspective on things is always evolving. I think as a baseline, it's always a question of what's the world, what’s the environment, who is this person? There are so many questions, you know. I love the work; I love the work so much. A lot of it is text work, you get a lot on the page. My friend said something to me the other day and I absolutely love it, this is a quote that I'm going to take with me for the rest of my life. He said “you're constantly showing people who you are, whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, subconscious or conscious. The way you dress, the way you talk, the way you show up, you can get so much from a person within 10 seconds of an interaction. Even just watching them from across the room you could learn so much.” I take that in the same way as a three-dimensional character when lifting it from the page. That's the job of an actor, to take what the writer's written and then turn it into a person, to lift the words of the page and to bring life to them. For me to do that, you just have to read it, read it, read it, read it, read it. Within that I question why does he never finish his sentence? Why does he just ask questions? He doesn't make statements, so he's not that confident. He does this, he doesn't do that. Okay, when he speaks to this person, he speaks in this room, but when he's in this room around this character, he doesn't speak. That means he's more like this and he's shown his dominance here, but not there. Then you build this mind map of a person.

How do Benji’s photographs reflect that process for you?

I think it reflects the process in the sense that it doesn't stop, it's a constant journey. It's always on my mind or even the breadth of learning lines. It's funny when people talk about acting and think it's just learning lines. The one thing I definitely learned at the start was learning lines is level zero. It's not even a part of the work. Anyone can learn lines and regurgitate words. The real job is to bring life to it. So, I think in the photos it shows the essence of, how do you bring life in the movie? Sometimes in the simplest but the weirdest ways and that the work is always on my mind. I think there's a photo with me in the shower or something like that so it never stops.

Benjamin Meredith-Hardy, "Interesting People Project" (photograph, https://www.bmhardy.com/, 2024).

How did the photoshoot with Benji come about?

Emma [Darlow, Tess Management] actually approached me about the project and what Benji was doing. When she sent out the deck and all that kind of stuff, it seemed really cool. It was definitely something I was really eager to get started on. It was really cool. We went to his house, and it was a really great shoot.

The photographs show different aspects of you, a playful side, relaxed and then what appears as introspective; how would you say that this reflects your creative process?

I'd say it reflects it in many ways. I tried to read and look at things from many different angles. Your perspective on things is always changing. When you're in a really emotional state, the way you perceive a scene might be in a very heavy, emotional way. What's it like when you first thing in the morning, you're not really thinking of anything. When you're really stressed, you look at it differently. I think considering these different emotional states is how I flesh out the different angles and viewpoints as I'm setting the scene, or even the character and how it feels in the scene. It’s going back to that three-dimensional lifting the character from the page that we were talking about. That's the real line of that I think.

Benjamin Meredith-Hardy, "Interesting People Project" (photograph, https://www.bmhardy.com/, 2024).

How did it feel being Jude on a photoshoot in comparison to a character on a film set or on a stage?

I love speaking to people, interacting with people, and I do that in the parts I play. Obviously, the characters are the characters but then again, the characters are me. It's just a version of me under imaginary circumstances. It's Jude as if he had got superpowers and it's like yeah, go play. It's fun but you also need to be very vulnerable. I feel like I'm at a place now where I'm relatively comfortable and still growing in that direction.

The photoshoot portrays you memorising scripts in quite a lot of different spaces. Is this repetitive practice quite important to you in your process?

Yeah, for sure. I’m dyslexic so let me start with that. I've definitely had to grow that muscle. But luckily, I'm going to the workshop I was talking about, that is eight pages and you have to learn that in three days and that's the same every week. When I'm auditioning and things are quiet or I'm not shooting, I can go back to that class and use that as a tool. I think the biggest thing with me with learning lines is getting it in my body in the sense that I can't sit down and do it. Run, even on the treadmill, while you're walking, while you're doing something, get it in your body. When you're up in the space acting or you're shooting or whatever, it's in your body, you remember how it feels, rather than just the words on the page.

Benjamin Meredith-Hardy, "Interesting People Project" (photograph, https://www.bmhardy.com/, 2024).

What the spaces all seem to have in common is a homely appearance, is this where you feel most comfortable?

Not at all, honestly. Like I said, I’m learning anywhere and everywhere. I used to work at Mulberry on Regent Street and people used to come up to me every day and ask, "are you talking to yourself?" I was like, "I'm running lines!" So, I was saying, "I’ve got eight pages I’m learning”. I’m running lines everywhere and anywhere, outside of the house a lot. When it's something a bit heavier I can’t be walking down the street screaming, you know what I mean? So, you know to have the comfortability of my home is important to practice things that I wouldn’t do in public. But for the most part, anywhere.

What kind of impact do you hope this project to have?

I hope that it showcases the beauty and play, I think that's the biggest thing I’d preach for this project. A lot of times you can feel very serious, and the industry can make you feel as if you must take this seriously. I'm pretending to be a 17-year-old kid from South London, it's cool. That’s not to take away from the impact of the message and the stories that we tell. But in the essence of what we do, it's playing, like you are literally playing. I think the beauty of this shoot and what Benji was able to capture is just different elements of play and how that ranges.

Benjamin Meredith-Hardy, "Interesting People Project" (photograph, https://www.bmhardy.com/, 2024).

You've mentioned that Skepta was your ideal person to play in a biopic, and now that you’ve worked with him in such an early project in your career, how are you feeling about the future?

Oh, very excited. Yeah, I'm gassed. It’s only up from here, things are in the works right now. Hopefully will be able to release some things soon. I think it was beautiful to have one of my first jobs to be around a person of such stature in a sense that I can look to them. I think the biggest thing for me was he's a great person in that he leads by example. Coming into the job I was thinking I’m going to ask him all these questions, pick his brain. Genuinely, I didn't have too once. You just kind of watch. I think the biggest thing he taught me, he said to me, “I'm always watching, I'm always paying attention.” It was such a beautiful lesson for me in my life. Lead by example I think is a beautiful way to describe him.

If you could create your ideal film or play to act in, what would that be?

I'll pitch it to you. I saw this video, it was like this girl, she was talking about pub culture and how like everyone should work in a pub like at least once in that life. It got me thinking, I would love to see a play of a pub. The environment, it all takes place in a pub. I think it would be such a simple way to create a play. There's a playwright called Annie Baker; she will write some in real time. The play can take four hours. This play would be short, it'd be two hours. I would want the play to be in the exact time of the world. Yeah, I think that would be cool. Then a book I've been reading, ‘Children of Blood and Bone’ [Tomi Adeyemi], they have officially started casting so that is like something I'm gunning for right now.

You can explore more of Benjamin's photographic projects at https://www.bmhardy.com/ and follow him on insta @bm_hardy.