Rising star, Valmike Rampersad is not just a pretty face, since graduating from drama school he has starred in 6 award winning films and played the lead in SKY TV’s ‘ Cloud 9 which ran for a staggering 125 episodes.
September saw another three of his films, one including the Hollywood film Bazodee all feature at major film festivals. We got the chance to pin him down from his gruelling schedule to ask him a few questions.
Over the past month, you’ve had three of your films open. Bazodee, which opened the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival, Thriller, Mile End and Comedy, Meet Pursuit Delange which both opened at Raindance. Three very different films, which was the hardest? And which was the most fun?
All three films were fun, but you’re right, they were all very different. ‘Bazodee’ was probably the most fun as it was the longest shoot so I got to know the cast and crew very well and we were in the warmth of the Caribbean. I think it was also the hardest as the character is very far removed from me and I had to play that character the longest of all three films. ‘Mile End’ also had challenges in that the character was fitness obsessed which meant maintaining a very strict diet and gym routine before and during the shoot.
With 3 films hitting festivals in one month it’s obvious you like to keep yourself busy, how gruelling was your schedule at the time of filming? Did you film back to back?
Yes, I enjoy being busy. Luckily we didn’t film back to back as that would have been tough. The most gruelling schedule was probably on the set of ‘Bazodee’ as we started shooting soon after we landed. The jet lag didn’t help and we moved on to night shoots half way through the shoot, sometimes from 5pm until 5am. However, being on that set was so much fun that I think I would happily have done the whole shoot without sleep!
I’ve read that your character, Nikhil in Bazodee was a bit of a nasty piece of work and at the end of the film at the world premiere at the Trinidad and Tobago film festival the audience had to be told you were really a nice person. Does playing these types of roles worry you about how the public might think you’re like that in real life and give you a hard time?
Nikhil sure is a nasty piece of work, but so much fun to play him. Thankfully no one has given me a hard time based on the characters I have played. I like challenging roles and they tend to be dark. If the public think I am like the character they have just seen in the film, at least that way I know I have done a good enough job to convince them. However, people know deep down that they have just seen an actor in a performance. I think perhaps actors who are on long-running soaps are more likely to face this problem as the public sees them daily as that character, so would find it harder to dissociate.
Bazodee was filmed in your homeland of Trinidad and Tobago, Did you feel it was the right time to go back? Is this what attracted you to the role?
I love going back to Trinidad as my family live there. I miss them dearly! I was initially attracted to the role, then the script was a real page turner, the location was an added perk. This character, the villain, was the kind of challenge I look for in a role, to create someone who isn’t anything like me. I liked the idea of playing him as it gave me an excellent opportunity to transform and once I read the script, I knew I had to do it.
Six times Emmy-nominated Todd Kessler, Directed Bazodee, what was it like working with him?
Todd was really excellent to work with. He knew exactly what he wanted in every shot and every performance. He has a very calm approach to getting you to try things. It helped that we trusted each other from the onset as it made it easier for me to just go with his suggestions and he would always listen if I had any questions.
Friendships are bound to be made on the set of a film, is there anyone in particular from these 3 films you gained an instant friendship with? And did it lead to any high jinxs on set?
Yes I have made some wonderful friends with cast and crew from almost all of the films I have worked on. As there is common ground, you are all excited to be on the set and create something good, so you end up bonding with everyone. It’s the staying in touch when the shoot is over – that’s the hard part. A few of my friends from other jobs were already cast in ‘Meet Pursuit Delange’ which made the shoot even more fun. On ‘Cloud 9’ there were lots of guest star roles weekly and I managed to get quite a number of my friends seen for those, some even ended up with series regular roles.
You played the lead in Sky Drama series Cloud 9 which ran for 125 episodes, which is a pretty long stretch. What did you take from your experience on Cloud 9?
Cloud 9 was a big learning curve as my character was in 123 of the episodes. Scenes got rewritten very last minute and there was no choice but to learn the lines quickly and deliver the performance. Being the lead I worked under a lot of pressure but it was still a lot of fun. Sometimes locations changed at the last minute and the next day’s scenes were brought forward, it helped that I was usually on top of the next few days work. Practicing lines every day made it a lot easier for other projects. I really loved the intensity of it all and was always excited to wake up in the morning and start shooting.
Do you think the series delivered in representing the culture of the younger generation of British Asians as well as it expected?
I think the series could have gone further. We were almost halfway through before we had the first onscreen sex scene that the channel had ever shown, then they introduced a lesbian drug addict and a number of story lines that represented things that the younger generation experience – going out, clubbing, relationships, getting drunk etc. If it had gone to the level of SKINS, I think it could have been even more fun. Younger British Asians have the same experiences as everyone else and it isn’t depicted on screen, but then again this show was on twice daily, starting at 6:30pm so there was only so much that the channel was allowed to show. I wonder how an unedited version would have played in the 10:30pm slot!
Since graduating from The Royal Central School of speech and drama you have starred in 6 award winning films. All incredibly impressive I must say! do you ever take time out for yourself? What do you like to do in your ‘Spare time’?
When I am not shooting, I take the weekends off and try to get away, usually on a city break. If I have been on a long shoot and back in London, I like to take a few days off and catch up with friends and see London as a tourist, visiting some of my favourite places. I miss London when I am not here. I always find at least an hour of spare time daily so that I can get to my cross fit class most days or grab lunch with friends.
You obviously don’t want to slow down anytime soon, where can we see you next?
I recently ventured into voiceovers having just done an animation series about anti bullying and would really like to do more in the future. I play the title role in ‘I, Amir, an interactive film installation commissioned by B3 media and Directed by Nisha Bhakoo which will be at the Rich Mix, London, in November.
Check out more on Valmike on his website Valmike Rampersad – Actor
Also you can follow him twitter @valmiker or instagram @Valmike_