Let’s be real, nothing beats an autobiographical masterpiece. And, if you are in the mood to get lost in an intense true tale drenched in murder and historic British drama, Rise of The Footsoldier is the movie for you. A thrilling project that promises to both inform and entertain, the brutal account of the infamous scandal that swept across 80s Britain comes as an anticipated prequel to the original 2007 Rise of The Footsoldier film. And, while the project already sounds undeniably thrilling, the fact that famed actor Terry Stone has stepped into the film’s lead of war veteran Tony Tucker in the scandalous portrayal of real-life events makes it all the more exciting.

“I developed the first Rise of the Footsoldier film way back in 2005 and spent 12 months raising the money and trying to get the film made,” explains Terry Stone when speaking on his new role. “I met with Carnaby Films, and they bought the rights off me and funded the whole film, which was a great result for me as a producer and as an actor as I had the second lead role in the movie and I’ve appeared in all five films.”

Upon the release of The Rise of The Footsoldier, the actor sat down with Wonderland to discuss how he prepares for his demanding roles and who his dream co-stars would be. Head below to enjoy our interview with Terry Stone…

Hey Terry, how are you! How has this past year been for you?
I’m great, thank you. It’s definitely been a challenging year, but also one of the best years in my 18-year-long career as an actor and producer.

A lot of people picked up unusual skills over the past year! Did you try anything new?
I became a takeaway food connoisseur. I have the best recommendations.

Living in a post-pandemic world, how has the filming changed for you? What has been the biggest change, if any?
The biggest challenge when lockdown happened last year was continuing to make our content under the current restrictions. We worked out how to do this, and we’ve managed to make three films since March 2020. The way we operate is that we only work on low budgets and on shoots of no more than 6 weeks. So, we were able to manage shooting these without anyone getting COVID. Thank god we didn’t have to shut any of our productions down!

How did you first get involved with Rise of The Footsoldier?
I developed the first Rise of the Footsoldier film way back in 2005 and spent 12 months raising the money and trying to get the film made. I met with Carnaby Films, and they bought the rights off me and funded the whole film, which was a great result for me as a producer and as an actor as I had the second lead role in the movie and I’ve appeared in all five films.

How did you approach your role as Tony? Could you relate to him in any way?
With the new film that covers Tony’s whole life, I did lots more research and as I’ve played this role on and off for the past 14 years, I know the character very well. There are bits of him I personally like and bits of him I really don’t like.

But, when you play these types of characters, you have to become them to make them believable. So, I actually become the character, which my wife doesn’t particularly like. She was actually quite happy on the new one as I went off to film in a bubble for 4 weeks.

You said you applied the method acting for this role. What was this experience like?
It’s actually great because you eat, sleep and breathe the character. The focus is 100%.
There are no distractions, there’s no one else except you sitting in a hotel room reading your lines, and when you are not training, you are eating, when you are not eating, you are sleeping, when you wake up, you are ready to go, and you are on set filming being a lunatic all day.

You’re also set to appear in The Last Heist, what can we expect from the film?
It’s basically a British Reservoir Dogs, a bank robbery gone wrong. I have a great part in this alongside Perry Benson, Emily Wyatt, Josh Myers, Jack Fincham, Rachel Warren and Sam Gittins.

Who would love to work with?
Ray Winstone, Al Pacino, Tom Hardy, Tom Hanks and Robert De Niro.

What would be your dream role?
My dream role would be to be a main character, a bad guy obviously, in any Marvel Superhero film, Star Wars film or Guy Ritchie film.

What are you most excited for?
Next year! They say you shouldn’t wish your life away, but I am counting down the days as I have three really exciting films lined up.