Harry Jarvis Interview

Liselotte Vanophem: Hi Harry, how are you doing?

Harry Jarvis: I’m fine. Thank you. You?

LV: I’m fine as well. Thank you. Of course we’re here to talk about the 2:hrs movie. What was the thing that attracted you to the movie?

HJ: The reason why I went for the movie itself was the concept. It was a very interesting one. Tim has just two hours more to live which he finds out quite soon into the movie. Roland [Roland Moore, Screenwriter] made it an extremely interesting story from start to finish. Straight away Tim has a clock of two hours through this movie. He’s trying to embrace life and just do the things that he never wanted to do before because he was too scared to do. Now that he has only two hours on the clock he’s embracing his fears which I think is really interesting concept for anybody. That was one of the main reasons why I really identified with the script. The character of Tim was also a very interesting one. His dad died a year before the start of the story and he’s just going down the wrong path entirely. Throughout the film he really needs to try and figure out where he has gone right and wrong in life and I think that’s very interesting angle. So yeah these are the two main reasons. Alongside that it was also meeting my co-starts during the audition and the chemistry and getting along so well with them made it a lot easier as well.

LV: Based on the movie it seems that you guys really had a lot of fun making it.

HJ: Ella-Rae [Smith], who plays Vic, and I still meet up for coffees and stuff all the time and Alhaji [Fofana], who’s Alf in the movie, we still meet up a lot as well. Everyone in the cast was just fantastic and we had so much fun shooting the film. There were a lot of outtakes during which we just end up cracking up in the middle of takes. There was the scene in the movie in which Tim, Vic and Alf are writing Tim’s bucket list on the back of a chicken bucket and Vic is trying to ask what she could do and I told her to get my homework book at my aunt’s house and I show her the house. She knocks on the door but it’s actually a prank because an old guy opens the door. We just couldn’t get through that scene because we have been laughing so much. It took a good 30 minutes of laughter and outtakes to finally get the scene right. You will see in the movie that the laughter we have, is actual laughter from during filming. We got along so well.

LV: Right before Tim gets to know that he only has two hours to live; he steps into the machine that predicts how long he has. How was the on-set? Was the machine actually there or was it added later during the postproduction?

HJ: No, it was actually on set. The prop department and the production design did an incredibly job with that. The entire machine you see in the film, apart from the sparks, shooting and other special effects, was there. The building of it took them three or four days and getting inside it really felt like you were into some pseudo-science machine. It was just fantastic. Amazing work from them and it really brought you into the film and helped you act it. You had everything around you. Everything you see in the film there they build and it was incredible.

LV: In the movie Tim has just two hours to live and needs to think about what he would do during that time span. So what would you do if you get only two hours to live?

HJ: Well that’s actually an interesting question. I was asked that by a friend after the movie finished shooting and it took me a while to think about it. I’ve always been terrified of skydiving but I also always wanted to do it. I feel like that’s the one thing I really would like to do if I just have two hours left to live. I think that’s also what this movie is meant to do. Makes you think “if I had two hours left, what would I do”. Hopefully you will realise what you most want to do with your time if you try and get over those fears and go out there and do it. I think skydiving is now on my bucket list for life. Yeah go skydiving and probably say thank you to my family.

LV: Would you tell them? Cause that’s a dilemma Tim faces in the movie. Telling his mother about it or not.

HJ: It’s a very though one. I don’t think I would tell them. I think I would have a really nice last hour spend with them and not tell them. It’s really something Tim struggles with in the movie. Telling it to his mum and little sister or not. I think something else that people should take from this movie is the importance of family and friends as well as embracing your fears.

LV: Is this the kind of movie you like to do or do you prefer other genres?

HJ: Well I’ve done different genres of movies. I’ve done horror and thrillers and this is probably the first lead I ever played in a feature film. We shot it about three years ago and it was definitely the most fun I ever had on set. It’s a family film but it also has something for the adults as well. You can play both sides. You can be silly and have fun but also moments where you can switch into more dramatic acting. The script was fantastic and the different things I had to do in terms of jumping of a building or riding a motorcycle. There were some really cool stunts in the film that I got to do because of where the script takes you to.

LV: Were there any accidents that happened during filming because of those stunts?

HJ: Well, a couple actually. I jumped off a three-store building and did the stunt myself and luckily that went ok. They called my mum before that and if it was going to be ok that I would do the stunt. One of the stunts that didn’t go as perfectly as planned was the one in which I run in front of a car and it’s going to be like a scary moment with the car. The car was moving very slowly forward and I had to run into it and then with some movie magic it would look like the car was going to hit me. However I did hit the car quite heavily and I ended up with a big bruise down my leg. It was worth it and hopefully it looks good on screen.

LV: You’ve already mentioned that you did a lot of movies and this was your first lead. When did you know that you wanted to become an actor?

HJ: I guess I first knew it when I was 9 or 10 years old. I did a production of Shakespeare and I think it was at my primary schools weirdly. Despite the fact I didn’t acted a lot before that, I really enjoyed being on stage. I did my first professional job when I was 11 on a Sky TV series and doing that really made me realize that I wanted to be an actor. One day we were shooting for 14 hours and it was raining like crazy and it was freezing. I was covered in mud, fake blood and we were outside and all I kept thinking about was the fact that I loved it so much. Everyone was like “you’re absolutely crazy”. It was a terrible day but I couldn’t believe my luck being on set. I think that was when I knew that if everyone was hating this so much because of the weather and I just couldn’t get enough of it that that would be the thing I would love to do. I can’t remember one day on set when I thought “I really don’t want to do this” or that I woke up and not looking forward to being on set. This is the job that I really thought about doing. I love it so much. It’s got this great energy and everyone is part of a working machine that ends up making a beautiful product.

LV: If you wouldn’t have gone for the acting side, would you go to the more technical side of film making such as being a cameraman or sound?

HJ: I’m writing a lot at the moment as well. If it wasn’t for acting in a movie then I would like to write and direct one. Those are the two things that I’m the most interested in. I’ve always been interested in camera work as well but I’m just a terrible photographer to be honest. I love watching people doing it and producing incredible shots and then I try and take a picture myself which will probably be totally out of focus and blurred. Directing and writing are just some things I really love. James [Newton], the director of 2:hrs, just managed to bring everything together so smoothly and was a very calmly presence on set. He just seemed so in control, knew what he was doing with the actors and crew and being able to do that yourself and watch a movie goes from nothing to something is just an incredible job and James did that really amazingly.

LV: If you could direct any actor or actress for your next movie who would it be? 

HJ: I love Leonardo DiCaprio and I think he can do a ton of things. I really would love to direct James McAvoy as well. He’s amazing and puts his heart and soul into everything. For example his performance is Split is just unbelievable. I feel like if you got to direct James McAvoy then you just have so many different ideas and you can just let him improvise. See your script comes to life in ways you never imagined before. He would be the one that I really want to see bringing a script to life. He goes so well with dark comedy and always brings a twisted and evil side to the screen. If I was going to direct James McAvoy in something then it definitely has to be a twisted comedy.

LV: Any idea what that script would be about?

HJ: Well I’m working at a script at this moment and I’m about 100 pages in but I’m not sharing too much about that until I’m finished with it.

LV: Apart from the writing at the moment, do you have any more upcoming projects?

HJ: I just finished a movie called High Strung: Free Dance which is coming out this summer and the release date of that is going to be set very soon. It’s a piano and dance movie and I’m playing a pianist trying to make my way in New York and I end up getting cast in a West End Broadway show. The strict director comes along and directs my character in his lead dance in this incredible show. I think that’s really going to be a fun movie and it’s coming out soon. I’m also doing a Fox television series called Proven Innocent which shall be coming out at some point next year.

LV: Ok well good luck with everything and thanks for the interview!

2:Hrs will be available from the 30th of July 2018 via iTunes, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Sky Store and you can read review one of 2:Hrs here or an alternative review here.