Pride’s Nicole Vassell speaks to Aml Ameen, the lead in Idris Elba’s directorial debut, Yardie.
It’s rare enough to see films with a majority black cast get widespread attention from the industry, as well as interest from audiences. And even then, you aren’t likely to hear the cast with accents hailing from outside of the US, or the south of England.
However, late summer release Yardie looks set to buck that trend – and will hopefully establish a healthy streak of authentic films that widen perception of the Caribbean, and those who make their lives in places far away from home.
Adapted from the 1992 book by Victor Headley, Yardie is a story about grief, trust and belonging, set before a backdrop of crime and misdeeds in 1980s Kingston, Jamaica and London, England. The film follows Dennis (or, ‘D’), whose elder brother’s murder during his childhood sets into motion a life of seeking revenge. However, with his childhood love Yvonne dedicated to living an honest life, D must figure out what’s most important.
As well as chatting to Shantol Jackson who plays Yvonne, we spoke to British actor Aml Ameen to find out just how he enjoyed bringing ‘D’ to life, getting into character, and his own personal journey from starring in 2006 hit film Kidulthood, to a range of big budget US projects (The Maze Runner, Netflix series Sense8) in the years since.
So you were involved in the film very early on – how did you come to get the role of D?
Aml Ameen: I’ve known Idris for a long time – from the days of Kidulthood. And in 2015, we happened to be getting on the same plane from LA to London – and he stopped me and I was like, ‘What’s going on, man – I haven’t seen you in ages!’ He goes: ‘Mate, I just saw you in The Maze Runner and I really loved your performance in it, and I was gonna get in contact with your people to discuss this movie I’m gonna be directing in a bit.’
We both ended up sitting next to each other on the plane and speaking about it; talking about what the film could be and talking about our fathers, because they both come from that generation of immigrants first coming into the country.We spoke about, presenting this tale of this kid who’s got trauma, but also like a well-rounded, humanised view of a ‘yardie’. I said I’d read the script right now, forget the agents!
I love Idris as an actor, and I’d heard of Yardie as a book, and I thought a chance to do something in my own culture would be amazing. We shook hands there, took a picture (which is now on my Instagram)… and the rest is history.
Aml Ameen (left) and Idris Elba (right)
Your accent is so on point in the film – a lot of people think they can do a good Jamaican accent, but it takes a lot to sound so authentic. How did you get it down?
Aml: I started a few years ago when I first understood I was doing the part, but it was really a community effort from a lot of people. I went to visit my Aunty in Jamaica, who introduced me to people from Studio One (who did a lot of the old school studio records), who introduced me to members of the Marley family, so I really started to hone this accent. Shantol Jackson helped me out, members of my family helped me out so, I was constantly checking the accent with people before I started the process. With method acting, you start thinking like your character, so even my inner inner voice started to become the voice of D – I’d wake up in the morning and be thinking, ‘Yo me need fi go brush me teet quick.’ (He laughs.) It’s stuff like that. It’s developing as a person rather than just an accent. Shantol is right – we were kind of trapped in that world together and it really shifted the dimensions of honesty, you could just be rather than thinking about being.
You’ve been taking up a lot of roles in America. What are your thoughts on working as a Black British actor right now?
Aml: I mean, it’s twofold for me. First things first, I remember crying to my mum when I was 11, saying ‘How am I gonna make it as an actor when I sound like Shakespeare?’ All my heroes at the time were Americans, you know like Will Smith. So I always knew I was going to America; my mates from Kidulthood would laugh when I said I was going to America, but I always knew I’d do it.
It’s been really difficult for actors of colour to have stories told about them in a full spectrum way in the UK. The story of Kidulthood was amazing, but that was just one strand of who we are as people in general. I think that with the success of all the different actors that have come to America, things are changing because we come back home because we are able to greenlight stories about us as a whole, or more varied stories about who we are.
I’m a writer and a director as well, and for me there haven’t been many films that tell my versions of life. Where’s my Love Actually? (He laughs.)
I feel it’s the job of film and art to make sure that when we look back, history says: we were here. So that’s something I would love to be a part of changing and helping to develop.
I think lots of people in their twenties and early thirties probably know you best from Kidulthood – do you ever get called ‘Trife’ or ‘Trevor’ [his character’s name] in public?
Aml: Yeah – when in London, it’s: ‘Trife! Trevor!’ My career is kind of pocketed into different things so there’s people who just know me for my American work too, Trife is a big one when I’m back in the UK.’
Does that ever get annoying?
Aml: Not at all, man, not at all. It says to me that it was something that lives on in some people’s consciousness. That’s what the best form of art does. People literally grew up on that movie, it’s like Boyz N The Hood. And my career has been able to move on to other things so I’m thankful. I’d definitely hope for more of those types of moments in a career – hopefully Yardie can do something that will live on for a long time in people too.
You said earlier that you wanted to be an actor from a young age – I’m interested to hear what kind of influences gave you this desire to act?
Aml: It’s a funny one, y’know. In a literal sense, I grew up watching a lot of movies with my mum and I went to stage school from when I was six years old. I was in the business from age six, professionally. Entertainment has always been in my family blood: my brother is a musician, my sister’s a dancer. But I watched movies like Home Alone, Mickey Rooney movies, West Side Story, and I said to my dad one morning: ‘Dad, I want to be an actor.’ He sent me to stage school and I’ve never looked back. My father was always about pursuing your passion and the natural passion that come through you, because that’s gonna sustain you, energy-wise, when things are not going the way you want it to. I think it’s key for everybody to pursue their passions and breathe.
Yardie will be released in cinemas August 31st
Interview by Nicole Vassell
