Stormzy: Lead acting role was uncomfortable but I loved it

5 hours ago 2

Eleanor Doyle & Riyah Collins

BBC Newsbeat

Louis Browne Stormzy at the Big Man premiere. He has a short beard and shaved head and wears a mossy green shirt. He's pictured in front of a board printed to resemble a blue sky.

Stormzy says playing a rapper in his first lead role made it hard to separate himself for the part.

Big Mike stars as Tenzman in Big Man - the first release from the grime star's production company #MerkyFilm and his first lead role.

Speaking at the film's premiere, he tells BBC Newsbeat: "It was really tough if I'm honest.

"It felt like I'm playing a rapper but I am a rapper, it's tough to totally separate."

#MerkyFilm follows Stormzy's other projects like #MerkyBooks and #MerkyFC which have aimed to elevate black British voices and talent.

"In every single area that we've tried to infiltrate we've said, 'if this is the status quo, we want to try and do things a little bit different'," he says.

He says moving into film has been a dream of his for a long time - as for why he's waited until now, he says he can't describe it.

"I just know why it's important in general," he says.

Jason Nocito Stormzy as Tenzman in Big Man. He wears a grey hoodie over a white T-shirt with a print of a dog on it. He looks to the left of the camera with a despondent expression and is shot against a pale blue cloudy sky.

This year marks 10 years since actors started boycotting the biggest event in the film world, The Oscars, over criticism about a lack of diversity.

Since then, campaigns like #OscarsSoWhite have seen calls grow louder for improved representation on screen.

"What we've tried to do at Merky, whether it's music, sports, whatever, we do we just want to stand in our truth, tell our stories, but also not from the same perspective that it's always been told from," Stormzy says.

"Even being black British, it's such a nuanced experience – you've got the black experience, you've got the British experience, and then you've got the black British experience.

"We want to tell it from our perspective which is nuanced, it's brilliant, it's different, it's not always the same, it's not a monolith."

'A challenge I was honoured to be part of'

One of Stormzy's co-stars, 15-year-old Klevis Brahja, tells Newsbeat how he was scouted for the film on the street.

"I never knew I wanted to do acting and then out of nowhere I'm in auditions," he says.

"It's crazy to be near someone like Stormzy and to have an opportunity like this. A lot of people dream for this and we're the lucky ones, it's amazing."

Stormzy also worked with Oscar-winning director Aneil Karia, known for projects including The Long Goodbye and Surge, on Big Man, which was shot entirely on a phone.

"It was really tough but it was a challenge I was so honoured to be a part of," Stormzy says.

"I like to be challenged, I like to be a bit uncomfortable so I love it."