Interview with Buket Komur (Kelly)
Category: Press Pack ArticleWhy did Generation Z appeal?
I was surprised by how insane it is – every page I turned, I was thinking: Are we going to be able to show this? It was really, really funny at the same time, and once we got to set I knew it was going to be a really good time. Aside from how wacky and ridiculous it is, the themes Ben Wheatley has incorporated feel real: he’s tapped into things that will speak to what a lot of people are feeling right now.
Which themes particularly struck you?
The generational divide is a big one, how different people in the country live, especially the old and the young. Young people are really worried about our future. Sometimes it feels like people might not understand the anxieties we're facing with student debt, the cost of living and not being able to afford to rent somewhere, these things that the previous generations perhaps didn't face in quite the same way. You get to see real British families in the show, like the people on your street.
So Kelly was quite a familiar figure for you?
Yeah, I tapped into her in a way. Kelly's a really ambitious teenager who knows what she wants for her future and her relationships. She wants to get out of Dambury and make a good future for herself – I could see her going to uni and getting into politics or journalism, because she talks about geography a lot and really wants to go to France but can’t afford it. There's a funny bit in the show where A-Level exams are back on despite all the chaos, which is a very British school thing to do. The other kids are like: Surely we're not going to do this? And Kelly's like: No, we really are! That was really sweet, because I’m the same – education has been really important to me growing up. She’s confident as well, a go-getter and a fighter who takes charge in her little purple jacket.
Kelly’s Nan Janine (Anita Dobson) obviously really believes in her potential?
Yeah, it was incredible to work with Anita. She has such a radiant energy and really lights up a room when she walks in. Maybe her parents (Johnny Vegas and Suzanne Ahmet) resent her Nan, because it feels like she is rubbing her wealth in their face while they're struggling. Kelly sees that and understands it's a bit ruthless, but it also inspires her to set herself up in a better way.
Her relationship status is complicated: she has an on/off thing with Charlie (Jay Lycurgo), but Steff (Lewis Gribben) really fancies her as well. How does she navigate that?
It's really funny. I love how the characters are really teenagery: they’re in this bubble where she's had her first secondary school relationship, and she's like: Who else is it going to be if it's not Charlie? They live in a small town, so it feels like the end of the world. They've grown up in similar circumstances, there's a real kinship there and they’ve been a comfort to each other in recent years. She does suspect that Steff has feelings, but she's mostly ignored them – she sees Steff as a sweet puppy, so open with how he feels compared to Charlie.
How does it feel to be attacked by zombies?
Exhausting! Four months in the woods, running, sprinting, scrambling, crawling, falling over in the cold. The prosthetics were incredible. Having gory, horrific creatures to look at does something to your body, because everything is in real time. Ben created an environment where everything was pretty authentic, so we could be free to actually feel what was going on, and they were absolutely terrifying. The runners had to be quick with umbrellas to hide the zombie faces, because we were filming in rural locations where there were kids around!
What did you pick up from working with TV icons like Anita, Sue Johnston (playing Cecily), and Robert Lindsay (playing Morgan)?
How often do you see actors of this calibre and this age bracket, getting to do something so physical and so big? As a young person with certain insecurities, it was inspiring to see them be so free and physical. They haven’t lost the passion but they’re happy to let go, to play and not take it too seriously.
How would you handle a zombie apocalypse?
When I was a little I was so good at hide and seek, and I’m only five foot so I’d be quiet as a mouse and find somewhere to hide. If that failed, I’d try having a conversation with them, because these zombies aren’t typical braindead ones, they almost have a new lease of life. It’s a type of zombie people won’t really have seen before.