Original-Cin Q&A: U.K.'s Daniel Mays talks Mike Leigh, and the heart-tugging reality-based hit Fisherman's Friends
British mainstay Daniel Mays is one of those actors who never stops, having appeared in countless TV series and films like Line of Duty, White Lines, Temple, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, 1917 and many more.
Now you can see him in the delightful film, Fisherman’s Friends, based on the unlikely real-life story of 10 fishermen from Cornwall who were signed in 2010 for £1 million by Universal Records, and whose debut album of sea shanties became a top-10 hit. (The film itself was a U.K. hit last year, finishing second to Captain Marvel on its release).
The film also stars Tuppence Middleton, James Purefoy and David Hayman.
Mays plays Danny, the record executive who not only discovers them but learns about himself in the process.
In this exclusive Canadian interview our Bonnie Laufer spoke with Daniel about his film and career as he quarantines in the UK quarantining with his family.
Fisherman’s Friends begins streaming on demand Friday, july 10.
Label exec Daniel Mays makes some singing fishermen famous and falls for local lass Tuppence Middleton
ORIGINAL-CIN: Fisherman’s Friends is such a feel good movie, I truly enjoyed it! But I have to tell you, I was not warned that I would need a few tissues on hand!
DANIEL MAYS: “Yes, it becomes quite a tear jerker, doesn’t it, by the end. There's so much packed into it. There's sea shanties, you laugh and cry. It's just a wonderfully heartfelt relationship drama.”
OC: Tell us a little bit about the film and who you play.
MAYS: “I play a guy called Danny Anderson who is a high-flying music executive from London. It's based on a true story about the Fisherman's Friends a Cornish folk singing group who were discovered back in 2010, and signed a million pound recording contract.
“They got into the top 10 with their first album and they've gone on tours around the country. So it's just kind of a rags-to-riches story really and champions the underdogs. My character basically discovers them singing in the small town in Port Isaac in Cornwall. It's the story of a community and how my character develops a friendship and trust with them.”
OC: Of course there’s a love story too!
MAYS: “Yes, my character falls in love with a girl played by Tuppence Middleton. She's the daughter of the lead singer of the group who is played by James Purefoy.
“He also falls in love with the community and the fishermen when he inadvertently comes to a crossroads in his life. He's up in London in the rat race and he has to kind of re-evaluate what's important to him and he goes on an amazing journey.”
OC: This story is so relatable to a lot of us, especially now. Here you are a guy who never stops working. You have two young children and now we have been thrown into this quarantine. So did that make you kind of re-evaluate your life a little?
MAYS: “It immediately forced me to slow up a bit, you know. I mean we were all kind of forced to do that.
“You're right, up until lockdown I had a really long stream of jobs. It was ridiculously busy for me. And then, when the pandemic hit, everything just stopped.
“Being home for the last three-and-a-half months has forced me to reassess. I've had an amazing time with my family, and like every other parent, I've struggled through homeschooling with my seven-year-old daughter.
“My son's been pretty much doing his own thing online which has been great. But it's been great to slow down and to just re-establish those family bonds, because that is the most important in life.”
OC: Here in Canada, we are able to watch all of your shows whether on Netflix, Amazon or Britbox. I am curious what the deciding factor is for you when you choose a project?
MAYS: “I feel like I've been very lucky over the last couple of years, but it is predominantly about the writing. It's always about how good the writing is, and then you look at who the people are involved in it. Who are the other actors and have I worked with them before? Is it a character that I haven't played before and is it going to push me in a different direction? I've been blessed really to work with some amazing people the last couple of years.”
“I was lucky to be a part of this amazing show called White Lines on Netflix.
“I'm actually on a holiday at the moment in a coastal village very reminiscent of the one in Fisherman’s Friends. We’ve finally be allowed to be out in the public a bit and everyone is just stopping me in this place in Devon asking me if I am Marcus from White Lines! People have really enjoy that show. I loved playing that role and we all had such a great time making it.”
OC: Getting back to the Fisherman's Friends, did you know about these guys before and did you have to do some research about them?
MAYS: “I had never really heard about them. I came to the project fresh. They sent me the script and I immediately downloaded the album and was taken by the fact that it was just an amazing true story.
“The great thing about that film is that at the core of this true story, it’s a completely amazing tale. We played around with the characters in and around the story. The band itself in our film is like an amalgamation of all of the real fisherman, but I think we really got the essence of it.”
“It was also great to actually film in Port Isaac itself, because that's where it all happened and the whole community down there literally welcomed us with open arms.
“It was such a glorious shoot, and we shot all of the Pub scenes in this tiny village right in the Golden Lion, which is the pub that is obviously featured in the film as well.
“So yeah, we buy it by the end of the shoot. I knew everybody in the village and I had tabs at all of the coffee shops and bakeries. It was just a glorious time, but don't worry I paid all my tabs before I left!
OC: I’m sure plenty of beer was consumed as well!
MAYS: “We drink a lot of beer that is for sure. As the Music Manager, I didn't really have to learn any of the sea shanties but they are so infectious. We'd finish a day's filming and then just go straight to the pub and we'd be singing all the sea shanties as a group. So by the end of the shoot, I knew all the words to every single shanty!”
OC: Do you now have them all on your playlist?
MAYS: (Laughs) “Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Occasionally when I shuffle and I'm going for my run I might hear, “Drunken Sailor.”
OC: The town where you shot, Port Isaac, is also where they shoot the popular show Doc Martin. So they're used to having crews around. But I understand too that you were kind of dealing with loads of tourists who wanted to watch the filming?
MAYS: “There were a lot of American and Canadian tourists, since the show is so popular in North America. They even conduct Doc Martin tours there so we had a ton of people watching us.
“That was the thing that shocked me really. It's so popular that show, but it's also such a picturesque part of the world. We had some amazing cinematography on Fisherman's Friends as the town itself is a character in many ways.”
OC: Working with this cast couldn’t have been too bad either. Such a talented and easygoing bunch I would imagine that the camaraderie was pretty instant.
MAYS: “The ensemble you couldn’t have asked for more, particularly for the guys playing the fishermen. They were thrown into singing rehearsals very quickly. So I guess that sense of bonding was felt immediately.
“We had an amazing crew and our director Chris Foggin led from the front and the community welcomed us as well. So it was really a joyous unforgettable beautiful shoot.”
“The other thing is you never know how successful a film is going to be. Sometimes it’s a shot in the dark, really, and you try your best to make the most engaging and entertaining film that you can invest in the story.
“But we were all really surprised how brilliantly it was received here in the UK. It was literally it kind of smashed in at number two second to only a huge Marvel movie. So it just shows that people are looking for something that will out a smile on their faces and this one definitely does that.”
OC: You actually got to do a scene out at sea. How did you fare?
MAYS: “Thankfully my sea legs were fine. I can’t say the same for the focus puller and the boom operator who were literally throwing up during the scene. (Laughs)”
OC: When you started to act, one of the first directors that you worked with was Mike Leigh. Talk about getting thrown into the fire! What was the most valuable lesson you learned from him?
MAYS: Working with Mike was an education in itself. I was lucky enough to work with him a year out of drama school. I was a huge fan of his work before then, and then I got an audition with him and I remember it being a very nerve-wracking occasion.
“But we instantly got on and then I had the most amazing time. The movie was, All or Nothing with Sally Hawkins and Timothy Spall which was just unbelievable to me. I’d done three years at drama school but to work with someone as brilliant as Mike so soon after getting out of school is something I will never forget or take for granted.
“He was just such an amazing teacher, and the way that he delved into the characters and finding the truth in every situation was so insightful I was just blessed to have had that experience.
“Soon after that I was hired for Vera Drake, that got such amazing reviews and Oscar nominations (best across for Imelda Staunton and directing and screenplay for Leigh). After that film the doors started to open for me for many other roles. So I owe everything to Mike Leigh.”