Q&A with Joe Dempsie

Were you familiar with Marlon James’ work before, and what did you think when you first read the script?

I was, yeah. I actually think that whilst I was aware of The Booker Prize as a ‘thing’ -it was Marlon winning in 2015 for ‘A Brief History of Seven Killings’ that made me aware of the power and impact of it. I saw people reading I everywhere at the time. I’m no writer, but as a reader I often find the most immersive and rewarding experience comes from authors who have mastery not only of character and plot, but of place. Who can transport you and your senses to another world, one that feels authentic and lived in. That you can take the temperature and feel the life of. I also like stories that explore big themes in subtle ways, through the ordinary lives of everyday people. I repeat, I’m no writer, but I imagine those things are just as hard (maybe even harder) to do in scripted drama as they are in a novel – so I had no idea what to expect when I opened the scripts. But I was amazed to see how seamlessly Marlon was able to transfer that ability from novel to screenplay.

It had all the elements that I look for in a project; a compelling narrative, but one that is primarily driven by rich and complex characters, set in a world rarely seen on television, that addresses difficult, knotty, historical and political themes with the nuance they deserve.

How did you hear about Get Millie Black and how did you land the role?

Pretty much the usual way, through my agent - although the unusual thing for me was that it was a straight offer. Holborn’s a complex character, and I get the sense that Marlon and the producers’ idea of him was constantly changing throughout the pre-production process, so I ended up being one of the last pieces of the jigsaw. But I’d worked with (Executive Producer) Simon Maxwell on a show called Deep State back in 2017, and (Casting Director) Shaheen Baig has almost single-handedly kept me in work over the years – so eventually the part came my way.

At which point Marlon wrote me a letter to like…’sell’ the project to me. And as

I’m sure you can imagine; the dude can write a letter. But I mean…it’s a noir thriller penned by Marlon James for HBO & Channel 4 that’s shooting in Jamaica for 3 months. I was already hook, line and sinker.

What’s Luke Holborn like? Who is he?

See, that feels like a really standard, straightforward, softball question for this kind of thing – but it’s actually quite a difficult one to answer. My intrigue around that was what drew me to the role in the first place, and ultimately, I wouldn’t say the show goes out of its way to answer it.

Ostensibly, Holborn is a detective from Scotland Yard who’s risen high and risen fast, and he arrives in Kingston seemingly with the simple mission of collecting Freddie Somerville – a Jamaican man who has agreed to testify in a big case against an OCG that Holborn’s trying to bring – and taking him back to London. But as that seemingly simple mission begins to spiral out of control, the truth of Holborn’s intentions is revealed as far more sinister.

In the letter that Marlon sent me before filming, he said that ‘Get Millie Black’ is ‘about power structures, and how they can be abused to nefarious ends’. In many ways, Holborn is the physical representation of that within the show; a shady establishment figure on the take and out for himself, using the apparatus of a rotten system to cover his corruption and stress-test its weaknesses from within. But I think one of the broader themes the show tries to explore through Holborn is the extent to which these ‘power structures’ and rotten systems create the monsters who end up abusing them. That Holborn is also a product of his environment.

We learn that he was born into abject poverty, and, ascending from nothing to a place of success is driven by an insatiable need for more and a fear of going back to where he came from. A hunger to fill a void that can’t be filled and run from a past he can never quite escape. Despite being Millie’s main antagonist for a stretch of the show, they actually have much more in common than they first think – but again, Holborn’s presence poses more uncomfortable questions about their very different experiences of life in the Metropolitan Police.

Tonally how would you describe Get Millie Black?

‘Get Millie Black’ is ostensibly a cop show, a crime thriller. But it has loads of other layers that I think make it hard to define and put squarely in that box. The aesthetic is vivid and stylised, the story takes us through every level of Kingston society (from the underworld to the rich and powerful), and in her mission to find Romeo, Millie pulls on threads that expand the scope of the case and expose crime and corruption on a scale beyond anything she could’ve imagined - which are classic ingredients of film noir.

And on top of that, Marlon’s writing feels steeped in history and the ghosts of the past. Some of his dialogue almost feels poetic as opposed to naturalistic, and we tried to lean into that as much as possible.

With all these elements together, I hope we’ve ended up with the kind of show people haven’t really seen before.

How was it working with the other cast members?

The best. As far as the British contingent goes, I was aware of Tamara, thought Gershwyn was brilliant in ‘Small Island’ at The National Theatre a few years prior, and knew Anjli Mohindra from our time at the Television Workshop in Nottingham and beyond – so was really excited to work with them all.

But arriving in Kingston and getting to work with such an amazing group of Jamaican actors – some of whom were acting on screen for the first time – was a joy. Sharing scenes with Chris Daley, Shernet Swearine, PJ Thwaites, Chyna McQueen, Belinda Reid and Nestor Absera (to name but a few) was a real privilege. Some of them are seasoned, and for some ‘Get Millie Black’ is the first step in what should, by rights, be long and successful careers in the industry.

Was Marlon on set? If so, what was it like working with him – did he give you any advice?

Yeah, Marlon was often on set. Just having him around to hang out with was exciting. And that’s basically what he did, he came to hang out and he’s great company - he wears his genius lightly. In terms of the scenes we were shooting on those days, he didn’t really get involved – and I say that as a good thing. He seemed excited and intrigued to watch the characters and scenes that he’d written come to life, relaxed and confident enough to let the director and the actors do their thing and interpret the material in their own way.

I always think it must be terrifying for a screenwriter to relinquish control and hand their work over to a director and a group of actors – but it can also be the most thrilling part of the process too. A new set of people with new sets of eyes who may see things in the material that even they didn’t. I can’t speak for him, but it seemed like that was how Marlon approached the shoot.

What was it like filming in Jamaica?

Something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I’d never been, and before reading Marlon’s scripts I definitely held the same preconceptions as many other people – of Jamaica as a holiday destination – but part of what makes the show unique is that the action takes place in Kingston. Most tourists land there, disembark the plane and jump straight on the minibus to a Sandals resort, but Kingston is a vibrant, working city that’s constantly on the move and where music is omnipresent. I’m so fortunate to have had Kingston as my first experience of Jamaica. I think I got a much greater feel for Jamaican culture than I would’ve done sipping a pina colada on a pristine beach in Ocho Rios.

And in terms of the work itself, it was a dream. I think we were the biggest production that had come to the island, and there were a couple more coming after us, so it felt like a potentially watershed time for the Jamaican film industry – but top to bottom the cast and crew were incredible. So go film in Jamaica because the talent’s there and the infrastructure is there. And cast Jamaican actors, but if you need Brits…. trust me, they’ll say yes.