Joshua Chadwick has always wanted to be an actor from a very young age. Taking part in all the school productions and drama classes. “I fell in love with acting, when I finished my first-ever production at primary school and the admiration that I received, the applauds from the audience, and the mere buzz of performing in front of people sparked something in me that I never felt before and I loved it and wanted to carry on doing it and have carried on ever since,” says Joshua Chadwick
indieactivity: Tell us about the improved career you have?
Joshua Chadwick (JC): I’ve worked hard all my life to get where I am today. Through primary and secondary school, I stayed mixed in with the arts and participated in all the classes and the productions to stay passionate and creative. I studied theatre at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk and gained a first-class BA, Hons, in Drama.
I learned a lot about the industry, directors, practitioners, and the history of the industry and performed in many different shows including performing a Radical Feminist adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Taming Of The Shrew” at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2019 which was a truly amazing experience which cemented my love for acting and theatre. I’ve also recently (March 2022) played Banquo in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” at Chorley theatre and I miss that every day! I love performing Shakespeare and I’d love to work with the Royal Shakespeare company one day and even perform at the Globe.
I take every opportunity that comes my way as it’s all experience and you never know what may come of it! I’ve developed a love affair with theatre and cinema and I love going to watch shows and films and seeing how all these other actors perform their roles and see how I can learn from them and see what good things they put into their performances.
How has your acting improved?
Joshua Chadwick (JC): Ever since leaving University I have constantly been studying and working hard to gain a full-time career in the profession. My acting has massively improved since taking acting classes with Act4tv and multiple workshops with casting directors and directors. Learning all about how to create a character and read a script and how to make a scene your own has really elevated my performance.
Understanding the lives of other characters really jumps out to me as I love seeing things through different people’s eyes and putting myself in their shoes making decisions and choices I’ve never had to make or even I have had to make but now it’s a different way of dealing with it.
I studied various practitioners from Brecht, Stella Adler, Meisner, and Stanislavski which all became essential to help me understand how to develop a character and gain access to emotions and thoughts I wasn’t sure how to connect with. I tend to follow Stanislavski’s method of “What If”. What would I do if I was in this situation? ‘ Also known as the ‘magic if’, this technique means that the actor puts themselves into the character’s situation.
This then stimulates the motivation to enable the actor to play the role. Never ever stop learning. I can never tie myself down to one specific technique because there are loads of different ones out there that you can put into your toolbox and pull them out whenever needed. Also, the main improvement for me is how to treat my career as a business and how to market myself to casting and directors and show them what product they are going to get.
You are an experienced actor, how much work: creativity, energy or focus do you put into your scenes?
Joshua Chadwick (JC): I spend hours looking into a script and working on the character using all the clues given in the character description, the stage directions, and even what the characters say about each other. If the writing is good, the clues are always in the script. I put 100% energy into it, if I’m not putting my all into it, I won’t be bothered or I’ll get lazy and that’s not how I like to work.
Find the most interesting way to play the scene and play your character and keep working on different ways till you get one that feels right. Why are you there? “What is happening?” “What do you want?” “What is your attitude?” What’s happened before? Relationships? All these questions, and more, I ask myself before heading into the scene and it will really bring it to life.
You have worked on popular shows, and films, how has each show impacted your work as an actor and your career? for example 600 Bottles of wine?
Joshua Chadwick (JC): I’ve recently (February 2022) just made my professional TV debut since leaving university and tackling the industry head-on. I appeared on ITV’s Emmerdale playing a guest role of the van driver. This was my first TV credit since leaving University in 2019 where I predominantly worked in theatre and did many theatre shows. Getting this first credit was absolutely amazing.
The time I had on that set was life-changing for me as it really boosted my confidence and boosted my passion for the industry as everything I worked for finally paid off. It made me believe that people do see me and know I can be trusted to do the job and that now I have to keep going to show more people I do have what it takes. I’ve been getting more auditions than I normally have had in recent years and I feel more energetic and enthusiastic about getting up and booking that next role and working my way up the ladder to build up the credits on my cv and ultimately landing bigger roles.
How does the work you do on one show, compared to another?
Joshua Chadwick (JC): Well, I’ve only had one TV credit and I’m still working hard behind the scenes to boost that but there’s no shame in that because I know the work I am doing is going to get me where I want to be and I know I’m doing all the right things. From my knowledge of the industry, one project can be different from another.
There isn’t much difference in terms of the production and the way things will be set up and undertaken. You’ll still do your character preparation and read the script to understand it fully, but you’ll work with different directors and different actors who like to work in different ways and have different views on how to play the scene or shoot the scene.
Let’s take a show you’ve done, how did you prepare for such a role: the cast, the physicality the terrain, the climate, weather, and the demands of the show?
JC: For my role on Emmerdale, I had three lines but that didn’t mean I had to not work hard. The same exact preparation went into the role, as I would do if it was a regular role in a continuing drama. I was there to move the story on and not steal the limelight. I still created a character that was real, who had a real job, who had a real-life and focused on making sure these three lines will be the best three lines I will ever do.
You must put in the work no matter what role you do. I still had the same passion and desire, I was so excited to get on set and smash those three lines. I was super grateful to be there and have that opportunity and I wanted to repay the faith to my agent, the casting directors, the producers, the directors, and ITV. You want people to remember you for the right reasons and know they can trust you with whatever they put in front of you or give you.
How do you get into character?
JC: I get into their world and get into their mannerisms and their way of life. I am not me anymore, for now, I am this character and that’s who I will be until the director says cut. You don’t look outside of the character and use the words him or her, you use the word “I” because otherwise you’re not thinking or acting like them, and it won’t feel authentic. I feel like if I am chilled and relaxed, I will put in a better performance rather than stressing out and overthinking everything. Music can help calm the nerves and focus my attention on getting excited and being ready to film my scenes.
What are your principles on a production set?
JC: I am respectful to everyone no matter who they are or what their job is in the production. I am always kind and caring and listen to everyone and all the instructions given out, so I know what I am doing and know what is happening around me and when. Also, I take everything in as its experience and that can go a long way. Set experience can be key to developing and knowing what you are doing and knowing what people are saying. Once I come out of character – To get back into character, I focus on myself, remind myself who I am and where I am and what I am doing, and I go again.
Explain one creative choice you took on the set?
JC: I wouldn’t say it was a creative choice, but the director told me to enjoy myself and I did. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and put myself in this character’s world and at the end of it, I came out thinking “I didn’t even feel like I was on a set there, I felt like I was actually this person” and that made me super happy.
Talk about the industry here, making the move over, and especially how Hollywood has been affected by the pandemic?
JC: During the pandemic, the whole industry took a massive blow just like everyone else and it was hard to see that because I love this industry and not be able to go to the theatre or go to the cinema or do anything industry-related, it kind of sucked a bit of life out of me. It’s been great to see things getting back on their feet and theatres opening up again. I found myself being more grateful as I’ve attended so many more theatre shows and visited so many more venues in the past year. We’ve adapted and evolved, and we’ve come up with solutions to overcome the effects of the pandemic.
Self-tapes have become more prominent now which is great as more people are being able to be seen which means more talent can be discovered and given the chance they deserve. Zoom also means we can meet people and collaborate from anywhere in the world and that’s truly where some great ideas get created. Hopefully, the industry can get back up and running and thrive again giving audiences and viewers the entertainment they deserve.
I was involved in an online web series during lockdown based around “Macbeth” called Fair is Foul where I played Banquo, created by Lana O’Kell, who is amazing at what she does as a writer and an actress (YouTube: Fair is Foul by A Fish on the Web). This was all filmed in our own homes separately and edited together to make it look like we were there talking to each other, and it really helped me stay creative. It’s amazing the things you can do with technology these days!
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