Interview with Lewis Gribben (Steff)

23 October 2024

Why did you want to get involved with the project and were you a fan of Ben Wheatley?
I really like Shaun of the Dead, and this has remnants of that. Misfits a little bit as well, because the teenagers didn't feel superficial, they felt like real young people with nonsense going on in their heads. Most zombie TV things are dead serious, so it was good to do something that had some drama but also good twists and dark comedy. I watched Free Fire during the audition process, and it was such a cool, nostalgic action film. Then I found out that Cillian Murphy lobbied to work with Ben Wheatley, so I thought: this guy must be very interesting…

Could you introduce us to Steff?
Steff is good friends with Charlie (Jay Lycurgo), although it’s an uneven relationship because he’ll do anything Charlie asks. Steff really fancies Kelly (Buket Komur) and would like to be a relationship with her, but she has an on/off thing with Charlie, who Steff thinks doesn't always do best by her. He’s also sort of friends with Finn (Viola Prettejohn), but he’s oblivious to the fact she somewhat likes him, despite him being a bit of an idiot. He thinks his dad (Chris Reilly) is subservient to his mum (Sophie Stone) and he thinks he should be “a man” and stand up for himself. Like a lot of young men, Steff’s a bit misguided and ill informed, a follower of an Andrew Tate-type influencer who gets roped into things. He’s good at heart, but a bit of a coward when things go awry.

Does Steff have any ideas about his future?
He probably wants to be an influencer or a YouTuber, some modern job that doesn't necessarily require education, because the one thing he controls is his YouTube channel. He does show a game to Charlie that he made so he could be some sort of creator, although I don't think he'd work for it. He'll just stumble into something and hope it works.

Could you relate to him?
A little bit. Whereas Danny in Somewhere Boy was the serious, emotional side of me, the idiotic, moronic, illogical side of me where you’re away with the fairies is Steff. Neither of us have a clue what to do in a situation.

Did you enjoy doing the improvisation?
I loved it. On TV and film, you tend to do what's in the script with maybe a little bit of ad lib, but with Ben we did one as written then one where we could say anything within the context of the scene. No director I’ve worked with before or since has done this – I wish they would! Some of the stuff I came up with was quite risqué, but it gave me ownership and I think it helped make something wholeheartedly unique.

What themes really interested you about Generation Z?
The generational working-class struggles, Charlie's relationship with his stepdad, Steff’s relationship with masculinity and what that means to be a man, Kelly wanting to afford going to France but not really having the money… There were such realistic themes of what teenagers go through in this. And I loved the genre splicing of people struggling through the trials and tribulations of everyday life, with a zombie apocalypse on top of it.

What was the most challenging aspect of filming the series?
The way Ben works is super quick. You have to be on it and know the lines inside out and he makes you work very hard. At the same time, he's a really cool guy who’s into comic books and classic movies, but who also happens to be a director who’s had dinner with Scorsese. Being with him was a great pleasure. But things did go very fast and get very gory, especially when the dog gets attacked and Steff films it – I can’t wait for people to see that! Episode one will be a real test for some people, but the ones who go with it will love it.

How would you fare in a zombie apocalypse?
I’d be like: Can't we just get the police and stay home? Honestly, I'd probably be one of the first to go. I would try and hide, then get hungry, go out without being careful enough and be the one who trips and falls as we're trying to get away. If we managed to get to a compound, I'd be the one doing observation. I'm not going out there!