Beaver Falls: Arhser Ali interview

5 July 2011

Is it true that you didn't really choose to become an actor, it just sort of fell into your lap? How did that happen?

I still don't know to this day how it happened. All I remember is going to college and having the idea of being a sports journalist - I'm a massive football fan - and I was doing media studies. And for some reason, I think it was to do with chasing girls, I had performing arts on my timetable. I have no idea how it got there!

 

It soon became apparent that this was a good direction for you, though, didn't it? You won quite a prestigious student acting award.

Yeah, that's right. After college I decided to give media studies a bit of a rest, and I went to drama school. I kind of fluked my way in first time, and then while I was there, I won this award. I think every drama school nominates a male and a female, and then you go to London and do all these gruelling auditions, and I managed to win that, which was great.

 

You were also named A Star for the Future by Screen International in 2007. Do accolades like that act as an encouragement, or are they an albatross around your neck?

That Screen International thing was weird. I got nominated for that, and then straight away I was locked into a really long theatre contract, so it felt a bit like nobody was going to see me for two years. The same people who were named in that were people like Andrew Garfield and Gemma Arterton, who all went off and became huge. But it was definitely nice to be recognised.

 

You did two years with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Are you an aficionado of the Bard?

Yeah, I'm back here now doing another run with the RSC. There aren't many plays that match up to Shakespeare. You do modern plays and you don't get that feeling afterwards, it doesn't feel as gratifying.

 

A lot of people will know you from Four Lions. That must have been a fantastically exciting project to be part of.

Yeah, just working with Chris Morris was amazing. He's a genius.

 

What's he like to work with?

He's brilliant. He allowed us to improvise quite a lot, and to get involved in developing the characters, which was great. He's a madcap genius.

 

Do you find a lot of the roles you're cast for are defined by your ethnicity, and if so, is that a frustration?

Yeah, it is, which is why doing Beaver Falls is such a breath of fresh air, because it didn't involve me playing a terrorist. That's rapture for an Asian actor. I don't die, I don't get blown up at the end, I get to see the character through, and he's human and multidimensional.

 

So that was a big  consideration in you accepting the role. What else drew you to Beaver Falls?

Just the fact that it was a funny script. Four Lions was one script that you laughed at while you were reading it, and Beaver Falls was the other one. I thought 'You know what, even if I'm not in this, I'm still going to watch it - it's going to be funny.'

 

Is there a different skill in playing a comic role to a serious one?

They're pretty similar. I think that the best comedy is when it's straight. I think comedy often works best when it's deadpan, and it comes out of a situation and how someone reacts to that situation, rather than high jinks and that sort of stuff. So I guess the skills are pretty similar.

 

How did you enjoy shooting in South Africa?

It was amazing. Me, John and Sam were all city boys, so to be in a space like that with vast expanses, huge mountains and windy trails was incredible. Just the drive in to work every morning - there was no way you could be moody at 6am, because you were going up these amazing, misty, windy roads. It was quite a hard place to be moody.

 

Particularly when everyone back home was suffering under several inches of snow.

Exactly! That was another good thing about it, getting to skip winter.

 

What were the logistical problems filming there?

I had a bit of trouble adapting to the heat at first. When we got there, it was 44 degrees at one point. And on set, where we were filming, there was loads of wildlife running around. It was amazing. You could be outside shooting a scene, and then a zebra would run past. Which doesn't entirely fit in with the idea of the camp being in America.

 

Your character is A-rab. What's his story?

He met the others at university, they were housemates, and were about to leave university. They're at that important time when you leave and have to decide what you want to do for the rest of your life. And then you get the types who put it off for a year. And the three lads are the type who'll put it off for a year. A-rab is probably the thinker and the worrier of the group, he's probably the most responsible. He goes over there to teach football to the Americans. And he arrives there with a broken heart. So Flynn and Barry have convinced him to take the first few steps on that road to forgetting her by coming to America, where they hope he'll meet loads of girls, party and have ridiculous amounts of fun. And obviously when they get there, it's a completely different story.

 

They say never work with children or animals. How was it working with the kids on Beaver Falls?

I don't think that saying applies to them at all. They were ridiculously good and professional. I expected them to be unruly, but they were great. Sickeningly brilliant.

 

Have you ever been to a summer camp?

No. I've been to sports camps, but not ones where you actually stay there. I've been to those camps they set up where you just go there every day, you don't actually camp. Why do they call it a camp? Even when I've been to festivals, I've never stayed, I've always got day tickets.

 

You're not one of life's campers?

Not really. I've never fancied going to Glastonbury. Yeah, to see the bands, but not to wade in mud and wonder where I'm going to have a poo.

 

If you were to end up teaching on a summer camp, what would you teach?

That's a good question. I could do film history, maybe - I'm a bit of a film buff. That would be really boring, and wouldn't make use of the outdoor setting. Maybe I could teach cricket, I'm not a bad cricketer. I guess I wouldn't be doing that in America. 'So, how long to games last?' 'Five days.' Can you imagine how that would go down?