Simon Parkin is an award-winning TV & Radio presenter who presents Simon Parkin in the Morning on BBC Somerset. Simon has been a professional broadcaster for over 30 years which has seen him work with the BBC on Children’s BBC, But First This, Top of the Pops and The O Zone and at ITV on GMTV, Granada, HTV West, Westcountry, and Meridian. Simon has now turned his hand to acting and was cast by us at Fishbulb in our latest film Dead Air where Simon played the lead role of Lester, a down on his luck radio presenter.
Can you tell us about your background in entertainment?
I’ve been a professional broadcaster for over thirty years working as a presenter on both television and radio, mainly with the BBC and ITV.
Is acting something you have considered moving into in the past?
I’ve dabbled in acting having appeared on a few tv specials over the years and I’ve been cast in numerous professional pantomimes but that was more to do with my tv profile rather than my acting abilities! Obviously there’s an element of performance in the tv and radio work I’ve done but playing a character and learning lines are definitely skills I didn’t realise I had.
How did you get involved with working with Fishbulb?
My daughter is a Facebook friend of Jordan, who directed Dead Air, so when she spotted the casting call out on Facebook she texted me to say that I should put myself forward, so I sent an email with a link to my tv showreel and expected to get back a polite no thank you. It was a bit of a surprise when Jordan replied with the scripts for a couple of scenes and asked me to send a self-tape and a total shock when he offered me the role.
What drew you to the character of Lester?
Thankfully I’ve never been in his situation but I can see how being tucked away on a show nobody cares about or even listens to would affect your overall wellbeing. It’s a lovely twist in the story that as the world descends into chaos Lester finds he has an important place in it after all.
How did having a background in radio help you prepare for the role?
Because I’m a presenter by trade, in the scenes where Lester is broadcasting, I already knew how to do that, so it gave me the confidence to think that with that bit sorted I could hopefully get to grips with the other aspects of the performance and the acting techniques that I was much less secure about.
Can you tell us more about how you found the production of Dead Air?
The whole experience was a joy from start to finish. I was hugely impressed by how organised and focused everyone was but how relaxed and friendly the team was too. Everyone else knew precisely what they were doing, so I was really worried that with my lack of acting experience that I’d be found out at any moment and the production would be shut down! But everyone on the team was so helpful and supportive that my initial fears were soon put to bed. On paper, it was a pretty full-on four days of filming but when we were actually doing it, it was so well structured and good fun, that it was just a real pleasure to be part of.
What was your favourite moment/moments from the set of Dead Air?
I love that everything looks so slick and glossy on the screen but I’ve been around studios long enough to know that the reality isn’t quite how it seems, so my favourite moment was in a scene in the studio when Lester is chatting to a caller on the line but of course, in reality, there was no caller at all. It was a clever shot in which the camera did a three hundred and sixty-degree move around the studio which meant there was nowhere for anyone to stand and not be in the shot. So the caller’s lines were being fed to me by Fran the 2nd AC who was reading them off her phone whilst sitting in the dark under the studio desk! Oh, the glamour of film making!
What was it like working with Fishbulb?
It was such a lovely experience. The script was so good and Jordan the director was so clear in his vision that it made the shoot so enjoyable. All of the technical aspects of the filming were so well thought through and whilst I was constantly panicking about which scene was coming next and whether I’d remember my lines (and that they’d come out in the right order!), everyone else on set, who presumably had their own concerns about the camera, the lighting, the sound, the continuity and getting their bits right, were just so focussed and professional that it just all went smoothly and stress free. It was so great to be part of a team that worked so well together and to see how much faith and trust everyone had in their colleagues.
Would you like to continue working in film going forward?
I’ve been so lucky in my broadcasting career to have had some wonderful opportunities come my way, but to find myself outside of my comfort zone, on a set with a hugely talented team, acting in a film still blows my mind! Acting is not something I seriously thought about doing before but I’d like to think that Dead Air will perhaps be the catalyst for some new adventures and maybe the start of a new and exciting chapter of my life.
