Simon Amstell interview, Culture Whisper
Simon Amstell isn't on our screens enough, but he seems to like it that way. Since leaving Never Mind the Buzzcocks in 2009, he wrote and starred in his own series Grandma’s House, based on his family; he made Carnage, a dystopian satire for the BBC that equates the killing of animals to genocide; and he continues to do plenty of stand-up comedy.
Now he’s made Benjamin, his debut feature film loosely based on his experiences as a twenty-something. Benjamin, played by Northern Irish actor Colin Morgan, is struggling to finish his second film. He's terrified the audience won’t like it, which feeds into his overall fear of intimacy and relationships. Amstell talks to Culture Whisper about Benjamin, stand-up comedy, the process of filmmaking, and John Cassavetes.
Culture Whisper: Congratulations on the film. Are you proud of how it came together?
Simon Amstell: I suppose I am. I don’t really think about being proud… maybe relieved! When we premiered it at the London Film Festival and everyone laughed and seemed to feel things during touching moments, it was a great relief that what I made connected to people. It meant that I wasn’t insane to have thought it would be a good idea to make it.
