When I left DSL the industry was very different. It wanted to put you in a box- you were an actor or a director or a casting director or a producer. You couldn’t do more than one thing. One actor friend successfully cast a channel 4 series but had to do it under a different name as the industry wouldn’t approve. Thankfully things have changed for the better. In 2023 alone I was a co-producer on “To Leslie” which shook up Hollywood with its Oscar nomination for Andrea Riseborough while also staring as an actor in the feature film Luther: The Fallen Sun which was #1 on Netflix for April, shot a national commercial for Amazon and also teaching DSL students self-taping practice. Now you really can do everything.
As a student at DSL I learnt that it would be a journey and it would be my unique journey and it might take a while, but this was the best advice I ever got.
My journey took me to Australia and then to the USA where I worked as an actor for 12 years before continuing my career back in London.
While I was in L.A. a good friend had written a film and offered me a role but also asked if I would help her produce it. It wasn’t something I had ever done before but I really enjoyed being part of the project from the script stage and seeing it through to the release on Amazon. Through this experience I learnt the process from beginning to end. Even though it can take years it is incredibly rewarding and began feeling another passion.
From that moment I began attaching myself to other projects, they say you need at least 7 projects because they will all move at different rates. Soon after I read the script of “To Leslie” On that first read it was an understatement that I was blown away. 5 years later and a shoot in a pre-vaccine covid world Andrea is being nominated for an Academy award.
Currently I’m working on my 7 projects! They include a short “Violin Boy” a family story set against the backdrop of knife crime and a road trip with a twist that has just attached “I hate Suzy” star Daniel Inge and “Superstore” comedy legend Mark McKinney.
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Oscar nominated 'To Leslie'
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Henry Hereford at 'Luther: The Fallen Sun' premiere
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Henry Hereford as Brian Lee in 'Luther: The Fallen Sun'
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