Harry Melling talks about his role in the new film 'Pillion', how it contrasts with his earlier work in the Harry Potter franchise, and the process of preparing for a role exploring the BDSM subculture. He discusses the script, research, and the support from the crew.
Harry Melling is very aware his work in the new film Pillion is about as far away as he can get from his portrayal of Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter franchise. “A lot of people, they’ll go, ‘Wow, Dudley Dursley ’s in this kinky movie.
’ And I don’t know what to say about that.” Fortunately for Melling, critics are praising his performance as a shy man, Colin, entering the BDSM subculture through a relationship with Ray . “What I loved about the story is meeting him in this brave moment of going, ‘I’m gonna give this a go.’ Watching him explore what he wants.” For Melling, this role is another example of how the actor is challenging the difficulties some child actors can have moving into more adult roles. “I always knew that I wanted to do this properly. Like I was a massive theater nerd, so I wanted to do theater, I wanted to work with the great movie directors. I took steps to bridge the gap.” With Pillion, it’s clear Melling is all grown up. SUBSCRIBE TO THE PARTING SHOT WITH H. ALAN SCOTT ON APPLE PODCASTS OR SPOTIFY AND THE FOR THE CULTURE NEWSLETTER. Editor's Note: This conversation has been edited and condensed for publication. Preparing for a film like this is an undertaking, but particularly unique for this project. Were you nervous at all going into it? No, I wasn't. I really wasn't. I thought the script was so good. Oftentimes scripts aren't as brilliant as maybe they should be, but this one felt so solid, nuanced, detailed and rich that I actually felt very confident going into it. Obviously, there were aspects of the story that I wasn't so familiar with—the kink world and the dynamic of a sub-dom relationship. Those needed a lot of research, time and talking to people who were very familiar with those things. It was all fascinating. We had a fantastic group of people, a lot of whom were part of the gay biker gang in the U.K.; they ended up being in the movie as the pillions , which was a lovely happening. Riding on the back of a bike for the first time was another experience I was not privy to—terrifying and lovely. But those are the best projects, I think, when there are new things to discover and learn about. What have you been hearing, particularly from queer people, about the uniqueness of this story and how it stands alone within recent queer cinema? We've had some fantastic Q&As. We recently did one in Brighton, England, which has a very large LGBTQ+ community, and we had these fantastic questions from dominatrixes who were saying Ray is a very irresponsible Dom. Those are wonderful conversations that you aren't necessarily thinking about when you're making it; you're just trying to tell the story honestly and do the script justice. The main thing I’m finding—and it's not just from people familiar with BDSM subculture—is that the film is quite clever in that it presents a world many won't be privy to, yet it feels very relatable. There’s something about it that feels familiar, in the structure of the movie or the way it tries to embrace an audience and bring you with it as opposed to pushing you away. Talking to people knowledgeable of that community, certainly the bikers who were instrumental in shaping the world for us, they're so proud of it. They’re proud that their world has a platform to exist and that people can learn about their experiences. I think that's the best takeaway from the movie. Outside of the kink element, what about the story felt universal to you? One of the exciting things for me in exploring a character like Colin is that we are meeting him at a jumping-off point. He is shy and inexperienced, but it's not from some deep traumatic thing or a lack of love within his family—all of that stuff is there. It's just that he hasn't quite found his lane yet. What I loved about the story is meeting him in this brave moment of saying, “I'm going to give this a go.“ I think that is something a lot of people can relate to, kink or not: that moment of saying, “I think I've found something, and I'm going to explore it.“ Even his first meeting with Ray in the alleyway—when I was explaining that scene to people, they felt very confronted by it, but there's a massive smile on his face afterward. He wants this desperately. That really drew me to this character—watching him explore what he wants and understand himself. Dramatically, that exploration of identity can lead to situations that are scary. Absolutely. And dramatically, in terms of filmmaking, it's an interesting place to be. Regarding the fact that Ray is an “irresponsible Dom,“ the director, Harry Lighton, said that gray area is what you need to keep the friction of the story alive. I look back to early experiences I had and think, “Christ, what was I thinking?“ But that's part of where Colin is at—learning the ropes and the do's and don'ts of this world. That was a wonderful thing to play with as an actor. For a lot of people, they’re going to see the kid from Harry Potter becoming a Sub. But then you realize it’s actually like Harry Potter in that he’s just finding himself. That’s great! I’ve never heard that before. It's someone figuring out who they are, and that narrative is always going to be the most fascinating story to me. I am interested in people and why they do what they do. This is a perfect example of a character where where he ends the movie is very different from where he begins. Hopefully, that’s universal enough for people to latch onto. Even when he starts dressing in leather, it’s just a young person figuring out their style. It’s so sweet, especially how accepting the family is. It's so sweet. I think Harry Lighton got that so well. The love housed in that family is so moving every time I watch it. They want to support Colin so much—almost too much. In the Sunday roast scene, where all these different worlds collide, it’s one of my favorite scenes because it’s all these people from different sides smashing together and trying to navigate this dynamic their child is going through. It was a really clever steer to have the family come from such a place of warmth and acceptance. What was it like establishing the chemistry between you and Alexander Skarsgård? Well, we didn't have much time—if any time—talking about what we were thinking with the characters. We didn't really talk at all before turning up on set. We had one rehearsal, which was the wrestling scene, and that was the first time I met Alex. It was literally, “Here are your singlets, put them on, and off you go.“ Wow. It’s like a weird night at a gay bar. Oh my word, yes it was! But in a way, it was the most brilliant way of engaging this dynamic. Colin is always second-guessing Ray; he’s a mystery to Colin. Because I didn't really know what Alex was going to do or his backstory, it meant those moments of surprise or not quite getting it right were caught on camera as opposed to being a discussion we’d had at dinner. Alex is just so game. Every choice where we said, “Let's play with this,“ he was up for it. That's what you want from a scene partner, especially during very intimate moments—you want someone wanting to explore, and Alex is all those things. Was there an intimacy coordinator, and how was that beneficial? Yes, a wonderful guy called Robbie Taylor Hunt oversaw the intimacy, and he was instrumental. It’s an interesting position because some people are going to be less comfortable than others with this material. I felt very comfortable because the sex scenes were housed in a narrative; it wasn't a “sexy moment“ for sexy sake. It was telling a story about my character coming into an experience. Alex felt the same. It was storytelling, not an interlude of hands clenching at sheets or sweat going down backs. It was very much on their faces. Robbie's job was helping us choreograph the scenes and working out where the camera needs to be in order to “sell“ the moments that are actually quite complex. In that regard, he was instrumental in making sure we were telling the story correctly. The perspective of the camera changes a sex scene in a huge way. Absolutely. There was one shot—and I'm sure Harry Lighton won't mind me saying this—where Alex is unzipping, and you get the full reveal. It was a close-up, and Harry realized in the edit that having that moment in there was just wrong. It was the wrong perspective. It gave the audience a moment to react to something when he actually wanted the focus to be with the people. The shots and what we tell an audience to listen to are all part of selling these complex, intimate scenes. Every shot contributes to the story in a very specific way. I have to wrap by asking about Harry Potter. Did you ever worry that the work you did as a kid would define you and prevent you from doing this type of work? I think being a child actor is something that can, if you're not careful, get you stuck. It's a weird question because at the time I didn't think much about it, but I always knew that the destination was never just to be “an actor in Harry Potter.“ I knew I wanted to do this properly. I was a massive theater nerd, so I wanted to do theater, work with great movie directors, and try to articulate human behavior. Because of that, I took steps to bridge the gap from being a child actor to an adult actor. I went to drama school and did all the things I knew I wanted to do to be as good as I could be. In a way, being a child actor gives you some fire underneath you—an engine to do the thing you always dreamt of doing. To a lot of people, they'll go, “Wow, Dudley Dursley is in this kinky movie,“ and I don't know what to say to that other than, “Yeah, but I've also been doing this for 20-odd years now.“ It doesn't feel new to me—I did King Lear in London and was completely starkers on stage! But I'm just so lucky that I've been able to branch out of a franchise which, in some sense, can trap you. I've been very lucky.
Harry Melling Pillion Dudley Dursley BDSM Film
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
UFC legend Frankie Edgar details 1st gruesome fight, discusses Hall of Fame career, N.J. wrestlingThe UFC Hall of Famer and MMA legend joins this week's episode of Weighing In to talk his wrestling career at Toms River East, his son and a lot more
Read more »
Pillion Review: Alexander Skarsgård Has Never Been Better Than In Harry Lighton's Sexy Feature Debut Centering BDSMGraeme Guttmann is the Deputy News Editor for ScreenRant, overseeing the News and Interview & Events team for film and television. He began at ScreenRant in 2020 as a freelancer. He has interviewed talent from various films and series, including Jennifer Coolidge, Mikey Madison, Emma Roberts, and more.
Read more »
Trump discusses Iran with China's Xi Jinping in wide-ranging call ahead of Beijing visitPresident Donald Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Iran as the Trump administration works to secure a peace
Read more »
'Pillion' Review: BDSM meets barbershop quartet“Do you give?” It can be a pertinent question in any relationship, but it’s a particularly poignant one for the BDSM couple of Harry Lighton’s kink-friendly, disarmingly affecting romance “Pillion.” Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård star as a submissive-dominant couple in what could be termed our first “dom-com.
Read more »
Harry Melling Transforms in New Film ‘Pillion’Harry Melling stars opposite Alexander Skarsgard in 'Pillion,' the new BDSM gay love story movie.
Read more »
Kinky 'Pillion' captures the thrill of attachment — even if BDSM is not your thing'Harry Potter' alum Harry Melling gets into some hairy situations as a submissive enthralled by Alexander Skarsgård's gruff biker daddy.
Read more »