David Jonsson and Tom Blyth chat tense drama 'Wasteman'.

Shot in just 18 days, Cal McMau’s BAFTA-nominated debut Wasteman is a claustrophobic watch. The Floor Mag caught up with its stars and close friends; David Jonsson and Tom Blyth to chat all about filming, giving back and looking out for one another. 

“…That's the cool thing about this film, I don't think we're posing any answer(s), but just asking some questions and playing the truth of any human that finds themselves, you know, on the wrong side of the justice system.” says Jonsson of what it was like to play Taylor; a prison inmate just trying to keep his head down ahead of his impending early release.

There’s a moral grey area that’s captured by the realistic dialogue throughout the film. Despite misgivings; addiction, attempted murders and dealing, you feel a sense of kinsmanship with the inmates and even more so when we’re introduced to Taylor’s new cellmate; Dee (Tom Blyth). It’s clear that the cell isn’t big enough for the both of them and that egotistical Dee could ruin all of Taylor’s hard work.  

David Jonsson and Tom Blyth (Lionsgate UK)

“I think to be good at what we choose to do for a living, you can't judge your characters too much. So if you're playing someone who is, quote, unquote, a bad person, then you have to choose to find the love in them, the ambition, the passion and whatever it is that makes them tick, even if they're doing bad things… It's an exercise in empathy, even if it's someone who you might not ordinarily understand or empathise with, but you have to choose to in order to try and understand their humanity,” explains Blyth on how he tapped into playing Dee with such conviction. 

A deeper understanding for prison reform and systems also came in the form of working with charity Switchback, a London based prison rehabilitation charity. The day before speaking to them Jonsson and Blyth had “literally broke bread with a couple of guys who were on the film”, working a shift at well-known East London Bakery, The Dusty Knuckle.

“We had one job and one job only, and that was just to listen, to hear what they what they've been through, what they were willing to offer us, and hopefully, you know, embrace it to make the movie that we made. We've got nothing but love for Switchback and all charities that help people, giving them a second chance. That's what life's about, second chances,” gushes Jonsson on how the charity brought a much needed level of authenticity to the prison film which is often missing in projects of a similar nature. 

Cast and Crew of Wasteman (Lionsgate UK)

Members of Switchboard had served the film through providing anecdotes, supporting the filmmaking process and overall “value swapping” with production. “It just feels like we've made a film, but it's also a part of the community as well.”

Jonsson and Blyth have also found community in each other. Both are in their early 30s, and have had a strong, steady rise in their careers. Jonsson, in The Long Walk and Blyth in People We Meet on Vacation in the last few months. 

Jonsson smiles as he talks about how easy the 18 days of shooting were with Blyth and his side, “Having a mate like Tom, who genuinely is a friend, first, colleague, second, it made it easy to kind of like, go, all right, you know, we'll do the most intense day shooting. We'll do all the scenes that we need to do. We had like, seven/eight scenes to do in a single day…Then we'd like, finish off, and basically be like, right? Should we get some food? Should we chill? Should we talk about life? So yeah, it was the balance between the two things, which made it possible.”

It’s clear the two enjoy working together. Brought into each other’s orbit “because some colleagues thought that we get along really well, and lo and behold, we did.” 

Here’s to more Blyth/Jonsson collaborations in the future.  

Wasteman is available now in UK cinemas.