Servicing the feature film industry for over 35 years
The Devil’s Double was a great job for me and an important one personally, because it was the first time I was really left to run the whole show on my own.
We filmed in Malta, one of my favourite countries in the world. I’ve always loved the Maltese, and there’s a genuine warmth towards the English that you feel immediately. Walk into a bar and before long you’re being treated like one of the locals. It’s also remarkably easy to get lost on a Maltese pub crawl.
I had Keith Dawson and Stuart Heath with me, two superb technicians who were right at the top of their game. We didn’t have a huge budget, but between us we managed to get a great deal onto the screen and formed friendships that have lasted ever since.
One of the biggest sequences was the opening artillery barrage. The location wouldn’t allow us to use pyrotechnics, so the entire bombardment was created practically with compressed-air effects — throwing debris, dust and impacts around the set to give the impression of incoming shells.
When Dominic Cooper gets caught in the explosion, that really is Dom in there. We fired a mass of lightweight foam blocks and debris at him, and it worked brilliantly on camera. Dom was great to work with — very much one of the boys.
Lee Tamahori was also a blast. A wonderfully eccentric character with huge energy, and never dull to be around.
Perhaps the most extraordinary part of the production was spending time with Latif Yahia, whose story the film was based on and who had actually been Uday Hussein’s body double. Having the real man standing there on set while we recreated parts of his life was quite something. He had clearly lived through experiences most of us could barely imagine.
Great practical work, a brilliant crew, lifelong friendships and another unforgettable period in Malta. The Devil’s Double is one of those jobs where the memories of making it are every bit as strong as the film itself.
