Before The Lights

This time we welcome our first writer and director to the show; Sam H Freeman!

The BAFTA nominee, who has worked on shows like Industry, tells us about taking the leap into his directing debut FEMME and how the process encouraged him look at his mental and physical health differently.

Along the way he discusses how he aims to keep casts engaged on set and his effort to make his work, as well as the teams he works with, welcoming spaces for young, emerging LQBTQ+ talent.

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You can also click here to apply for Before The Lights membership.

This episode was recorded at Fiction Studios, situated at Before The Lights.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Before The Lights team return with a name you'll know from Barbie, Sex Education, SAS Rogue Heroes; Connor Swindells.

As well as his acting career, Connor dives into his boxing background and how the lessons he learned in the ring helped him end up on set with some of his biggest acting inspirations despite having no traditional training... and how he nearly shat himself after a particularly hard punch.

He also discusses how he keeps his mind and body in check between work and his efforts to raise the awareness of bowel health after losing family members to cancer.

Follow us on Instagram for updates on all aspects of the club.

You can also click here to apply for Before The Lights membership.

This episode was recorded at Fiction Studios, situated at Before The Lights.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rivers of gold in Lord Of The Rings, continuous sound effects and a terrifying alter-ego called Gladys... strap in for a journey with this week's guest Benjamin Walker.

After realising Ben can contractually say *nothing* about his role in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power George, Josh and Dave move on to the next logical subject; a mask of an old lady that he keeps in the loft. Beyond being used as a prop at Halloween parties, it turns out 'Gladys' played a key part in Ben's early stage work as a comedian in New York before he moved into acting.

The guys then go on to a career-spanning chat from his days spent "learning to be a tree" at The Juilliard School through to training for his roles in films like In the Heart of the Sea and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (which features a scene with "too many horses" that blows George's mind).

Along the way they discuss the importance of "looking after your instrument" both mentally and physically to make sure Ben's in the best shape possible in and out of work as well as getting to the bottom of why you should NEVER clean a skillet pan.

Follow us on Instagram for updates on all aspects of the club.

You can also click here to apply for Before The Lights membership.

This episode was recorded at Fiction Studios, situated at Before The Lights.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s rare that one of the team cries during the recording of an episode. But this week’s guest Sacha Dhawan (who you’ll know from Doctor Who, Iron First, The Great and so much more) has no issue setting off the water works as he delivers an embarrassing story which Dave calls “one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard”.

Before we get there though, the guys hear about Sacha’s journey from working for his dad to touring the world as one of the original cast of History Boys alongside the likes of James Corden, Samuel Barnett and Richard Griffiths. He explains how his part in the show set him up for the rest of his career and taught him lessons he still leans on today. 

Sacha also explores the struggles of being on set with severe anxiety and how he only started to gain control of his mental health after getting therapy and talking about his struggles out loud after reaching “a real low point”. Josh, George and Dave also find out how allowing himself time to reevaluate the importance of mental and physical self-care has helped Sacha take better control of his Crohn's disease and the choices he makes in his career.

The conversation also delves into Sacha’s focus on his British Asian heritage and his views on how it’s represented across the industry from stereotypes in writing rooms to the choices made in castings.

Follow us on Instagram for updates on all aspects of the club.

You can also click here to apply for Before The Lights membership.

This episode was recorded at Fiction Studios, situated at Before The Lights.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’re a fan of horse riding approach this episode with caution. If you’re not a fan of horse riding, there’s still a pretty wild story about riding horses on a film set. 

This week Josh, Dave and George and catch up with Kingsman and Infinite (among lots of other things that she may or may not have forgotten the name of) actor Sophie Cookson. 

As well as the usual heady mix of embarrassing stories and tangents about Josh’s trousers, the conversation explores how becoming a parent has shifted Sophie’s focus on work and what she looks to get out of training since having her daughter.

Along the way they also discuss how far actors can be pushed on and off set and how a healthy relationship with fitness can help give perspective on what’s important to you, your body and your family. 

Naturally, before the episode’s over the guys also find out how stalking Liam Hemsworth with a bow and arrow got Sophie into a pretty impressive blooper reel and that she has no idea when her upcoming film with Adrian Brody is being released. 

Follow us on Instagram for updates on all aspects of the club.

You can also click here to apply for Before The Lights membership.

This episode was recorded at Fiction Studios, situated at Before The Lights.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An audio guide to Belfast, 2.5 embarrassing stories and titbits of a load of projects that “I can’t talk about yet”; what more could you want when Before The Lights catch up with actor, writer and generally very busy man Conor MacNeill?

As well as teasers of his upcoming role in a Liam Neeson action-thriller In the Land of Saints and Sinners and the return to hit finance drama Industry, Conor also tells Josh, George and David about bum training for a part in Derry Girls and how writing a script with Jamie Dornan “saved him” during lockdown.

The guys also explore how Conor uses meditation to get in and out the zone during hectic filming or writing schedules and find out that giving up drinking has given him a new-found level of focus and productivity. 

As always, if you’ve got an embarrassing gym story of your own feel free to slide in the DMs on Instagram, we're @beforethelightsuk.

Follow us on Instagram for updates on all aspects of the club.

You can also click here to apply for Before The Lights membership.

This episode was recorded at Fiction Studios, situated at Before The Lights.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The majority of the guests on this show have two things in common:

1/ They train with Dave, Josh, George and Georgia at Before The Lights.

2/ Julie Harkin has almost certainly played a part in their career.

This week we're joined by our first 'behind-the-camera' guest as award-winning casting director Julie Harkin discusses her work on TV shows and films including the likes of Misfits, I May Destroy You, Industry and Utopia. Throughout her career, Julie and her team have been dedicated to making sure the best people for the job gets roles, with a keen focus on body diversity and colourblind casting in the industry.

During the conversation she explains how she'll "send scripts back" if they describe a character's weight without context and how there's been in culture shift in looking after yourself on and off screen. The discussion - of course - leads to an embarrassing story about how a pretty strenuous workout was interrupted by Daniel Kaluuya and Joe Dempsie (who Julie has cast in several projects over the years) who wanted to say hi mid-session.

Particularly keen listeners will also notice the conversation only contains George, Dave and Julie. Josh was in Milan on a work trip at fashion week when the episode was recorded. He called in and was on the line listening in but turns out the sound check of a catwalk isn’t an ideal environment for being able to hear you on a podcast. He'll be back next time.

Follow us on Instagram for updates on all aspects of the club.

You can also click here to apply for Before The Lights membership.

This episode was recorded at Fiction Studios, situated at Before The Lights.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When you think of Maisie Williams, the first things that spring to mind are eyebrow injuries, “jabber” swords and hand-stitched dolls, right?

The Before The Lights boys have struck gold again as actor, producer and fellow podcaster Maisie delves into her relationship with fitness throughout her career. From growing up on the set of Game Of Thrones to the intense character study for her recent role in Sex Pistols mini-series Pistols, Maisie has a pretty impressive CV of fascinating (and sometimes embarrassing) tales from the set and the gym. 

Dave, George and Josh hear about how a 12-year-old Maisie learned how to sword fight with her weaker left hand to go full “Daniel Day Lewis” on her role as Arya Stark, and how the show helped shape her understanding of the importance of keeping her mental health in check on and off set. They also uncover an unexpected hobby that helps her switch off between jobs. 

Maisie also tells the guys about her creative platform Daisie, something she hopes can help give emerging talent the time and space they need to develop their ideas and break into the TV and film industry.

This episode was recorded before the sad passing of Pamela Rooke aka Jordan Mooney, who Maisie plays in Pistols. 

Follow us on Instagram for updates on all aspects of the club.

You can also click here to apply for Before The Lights membership.

This episode was recorded at Fiction Studios, situated at Before The Lights.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode George, Josh and David welcome one of their “longest serving members” James Norton to talk about a really old pair of shorts.

Aside from his loyal Sondicos making it into the BTL hall of fame (and possibly an episode of Happy Valley) the guys cover some far more pressing ground. Topics they cover include how James balances his type one diabetes with training, focussing on a better work life balance and how his habit of cycling to auditions “almost certainly” lost him a part in Pirates Of The Caribbean early on in his career.

Before The Lights is hosted by George Ashwell, Josh Betteridge and Dave Hastie. The show is produced by Jimmy Blake for Bug Productions. 

It is recorded at Levi's Haus of Strauss in central London. 

Follow us on Instagram for updates on all aspects of the club.

You can also click here to apply for Before The Lights membership.

This episode was recorded at Fiction Studios, situated at Before The Lights.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Before The Lights podcast is back!

We took a bit of time out to round up a new crop of guests and find ourselves a studio outside of the gym to record the show (thanks to the lovely gang at Levi’s for the new home).

In the gap between series one and two, we’ve also grown our team. So in this first episode you’ll get to know Georgia. From standing on a horse in front of the Queen to representing Great Britain in martial arts, she’s got a pretty great background in fitness and training. Hear about all of that, the brilliant character she brings to the gym and of course an embarrassing story or two along the way.

And there’s plenty more where that came from as we also introduce you to the rest of our clients you’ll hear from in series two, we promise it’s a SOLID line-up.

Before The Lights is hosted by George Ashwell, Josh Betteridge and Dave Hastie. The show is produced by Jimmy Blake for Bug Productions. 

It is recorded at Levi's Haus of Strauss in central London. 

Follow us on Instagram for updates on all aspects of the club.

You can also click here to apply for Before The Lights membership.

This episode was recorded at Fiction Studios, situated at Before The Lights.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.