AS viewers flocked to complain about the graphic violence in Sky Atlantic’s Gangs of London its star and director are defending it.
Not longer after the acclaimed drama hit screens, people complaing about having nightmares and not being able to get through episodes of the drama which follows the aftermath of the death of major London crime boss, Finn Wallace.
Dubbed the “most violent British drama ever” some viewers even took their gripes to the communications regulator Ofcom.
But for Sope Dirisu the actor who plays Elliot Finch the hard man who works his way up the Wallace family ranks by smashing heads and taking down dangerous enemies, the violent scenes were not “harrowing” to film.
Sope, 29, told The Sun Online exclusively that the graphic violence was so far removed from most people’s real life experiences that he did not feel any anxiety playing the physical role which sees him beat people up, shoot them and even put a glass ashtray in a man’s mouth and smash his head against a pub bar.
He promised he didn’t suffer any long term psychological damage while filming Gangs of London.
“So because it’s fiction, because it is drama and because we are playing pretend there’s a lot more levity and a lot more fun on set,” Sope explained.
“Then a lot of the worst stuff gets added in post [production]. So, in rehearsals we’re having the fun of our lives and enjoying each other’s company and creating this thing we all really believe in.
“So it’s definitely not hiring. And also, I suppose you’re hosting it and then it becomes really real when you get to set. An actress transformative moment is like it’s more exciting is hiring more scary. So, no, definitely no baggage, nothing psychological that I’m carrying on.”
The Halcyon actor also admitted people turned off by the show’s violence were probably never going to like the show anyway.
He said: “The majority of people that don’t like it just would never get to connect with genre anyway.
“For anyone who’s got an open mind to crime and violence it’s [Gangs of London] been so fantastic.”
Director Gareth Evans (Apostle, The Raid) backed his star and defended the show’s violence which included eye gouging, and setting fire to a man hanging upside down from a skyscraper.
“It’s all about how you choose to treat violence, I don’t think anything we’ve done has been exploitational,” Gareth told The Sun Online.
“We don’t put a huge amount of focus on injury detail, suffering and pain. What we give you are little wince inducing pockets of images that the camera then moves away from.”
Gareth went on to say the viewer fills “in the blanks” themselves once the cameras panned away.
“You’re filling in the blanks that I’m choosing not to show you which obviously can result in some people finding it more offensive because it becomes what’s in their head as opposed to what’s on the screen.”
Sope also added that everything that happened in the series contributed to the story.
He said: “I don’t think that we’ve got anything in the series that doesn’t add to the story.
“The violence is not something that’s gratuitous for the purpose of injury porn.
He added: “Everything that’s brought in this in this series contributes the story that we’re telling and the world that we’ve created.”
The action and fight sequences were enhanced because of Sope’s talent who’s gone on to be a fan favourite.
The director praised the actor who was a relative unknown until the gang drama and said he’s the become the “president of the Sope Dirisu fan club”.
Gareth gushed: “Making the show like a week in, when we saw what we were getting from him, I think every single member of the crew felt like we were seeing the birth of someone really special, who had like an incredible talent, not just the drama, but also all the physicality that we were throwing at him.”
“The idea that there are people now who are going to be watching this show and an consider Elliot as a as a fan favourite is a thing of beauty for us.
“So we’re really, really excited to see what comes next for Sope.”
Gangs of London can be viewed on Sky Atlantic on Thursday at 9pm.
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