Simon Bird and his new venture
Inbetweeners star Simon Bird talks to Jane McGowan about his new film, fatherhood and finding his feet as a director...
Simon Bird has moved on. Despite constant reruns and streaming services doing their best to keep the 35-year-old, father of two trapped in the blazered body of uptight, teenage geek Will from comedy megalith The Inbetweeners, the actor has broken free to direct Days of the Bagnold Summer – his first full-length feature film.
Adapted by Simon’s wife Lisa Owens from the 2012 Joff Winterheart graphic novel of the same name, the movie takes a tender look at the relationship between unassuming, middle-aged, single mum Sue and Daniel, her sulky 15-year-old ‘metal head’ son.
The narrative follows the pair as they are forced to spend the six-week school holiday together after Daniel’s dad cancels his son’s trip to visit him in Florida.
Rob Baker Ashton
Days of the Bagnold Summer
Unit Still from the feature film 'Days of the Bagnold Summer' by Photographer Rob Baker Ashton
What ensues is a wonderful portrait of the day-to-day tightrope parents walk between exasperation and disappointment, while constantly trying to reconnect with that happy child who once hung on their every word.
“The beauty of the relationship is all there in the book,” Simon explains. “I can in no way take credit for that. It was just our job to bring it to life and not destroy it.
“The book is about ordinary people – nothing much happens. But in a way, there was something slightly dangerous about trying to make a film about people for whom nothing ever happens, a film that is deliberately quiet and uncinematic.”
Uncinematic it may be, but Days of the Bagnold Summer has nevertheless garnered widespread acclaim receiving four-star reviews from the likes of the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw and the FT’s Danny Leigh.
Lockdown has meant that inevitably its release has been online rather than on the big screen, which Simon says in some ways suits the commonplaceness of the Bagnolds’ story.
“Thankfully, it’s such a low budget film that its success wasn’t dependent on its box office gross,” he laughs. “I feel sorry for some bigger films that needed to recoup some money for their investors – fortunately, we weren’t in that situation.
“Our film is weirdly suited to being watched at home – it’s about being stuck at home so actually this global pandemic has worked out very nicely,” he says before immediately apologising for the “overly glib” remark. “I found the story relatable before this situation, but it feels more so as it is literally about someone who has the summer holiday cancelled and is forced to stay at home.”
And while the reviews have all applauded the debut director's mastery behind the camera, Simon remains resolutely reserved about his achievements.
“I am very, very quietly thrilled,” he admits after much prompting. “I am not shouting about it from the rooftops, more whispering from the basement.”
Instead, Simon chooses to lavish praise on the story’s author and the talented cast – which includes Bafta winner Monica Dolan (W1A) as Sue, Tamsin Greig (Simon’s onscreen mother in Friday Night Dinner) as his best friend’s cool mum and newcomer Earl Cave (son of rock star Nick) who shines as Daniel Bagnold, a disaffected soul consumed by boredom, insecurity and general teenagerdom.
“I am a huge fan of Monica’s and I just knew straight away that she would be the right person for it but the Daniel character was much harder to find,” he explains. “It’s a hard part – it’s hard to have an introvert at the heart of the film who doesn’t say much and who is pretty unlikeable throughout. We needed someone who under the swearing and surliness had a sweet and vulnerable nature and luckily Earl appeared at the auditions and that was that.”
Simon was born in Guildford in 1984, the third of four children. His parents are both economics professors and two of his siblings are doctors. He was educated at RGS Guildford, before going on to study at Queen’s College Cambridge, where he not only secured a double first in English but was also president of the prestigious Footlights theatre society alongside fellow future Inbetweener Joe Thomas.
It wasn’t until he was filming the second series of the award-winning comedy that Simon withdrew from his PhD in philosophy.
He remains very fond of his Guildford roots, returning to his alma mater for its annual prizegiving ceremony and narrating the school’s promotional film. In fact, the town was considered as the backdrop for Days of the Bagnold Summer.
“For a long part of the process we were hoping to film in Guildford and looked at some roads and houses in the area,” he says. “In the end, we opted for Bromley – for the very boring budgetary reason that you don’t have to pay for the crew’s accommodation if you stay within the M25.
“But certainly in my head, I was looking for locations that reminded me of my school holidays cycling around suburban backstreets of Guildford, Merrow and Burpham. So I think that yes, the film has got a strong Guildfordian feel to it.”
And while Simon is determined to keep his new-found skill as a director in the background his enthusiasm for his new role is clear.
“If you are asking if I was there barking orders through a megaphone, the short answer is ‘No’. If I have learned anything from acting is that if you want to get the best out of everyone – cast and crew – you have to create an atmosphere that is relaxed and informal where people feel they can make suggestions and try stuff out and to fail.
Rob Baker Ashton
“Also, I was aware that everyone knew it was my first time and that I didn’t necessarily know what I was doing. So I made sure to surround myself with people who did know what they were doing. I had such an experienced team that thankfully it all went relatively smoothly.”
Which is more than can be said for Simon’s current situation of coping with two energetic under-fives.
“At the moment I am mostly spending time playing ‘Go Fish’ with my two-year-old and four-year-old and hours of draw-along videos on YouTube – so there is very little work happening. During lockdown, it has been hard to find the headspace – or actual physical space to be creative in any way. Even doing promotion for the film has been tricky as I have to keep kicking my wife and kids out into the garden.”
And after spending a good part of his adult life either playing or working with adolescents, how does he feel about the prospect of parenting his own teens?
“To be honest I am trying not to think that far ahead,” he laughs. “At the moment I am just hoping to survive the terrible twos which feels as bad as it can possibly get.” Have you seen The Inbetweeners?
Days of the Bagnold Summer is available to view on streaming platforms: iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Sky Store, Virgin, BT, Curzon Home Cinema & BFI Player. To find out more visit: altitude.film
