Interview with Alex Butler on playing the mysterious Mr Harding.

Moving on to Alex Butler in our series of cast interviews who plays the mysterious Mr Harding.

Q: Who is Mr Harding What can you tell us about his character? A: Mr Harding is a bit of a loser, down on his luck and desperate for some sort of place in the world. He just wants to be accepted by people around him and taken seriously…typical jack of all trades master of none type of a guy. He’s a scruffy guy, he doesn’t really look after himself and that’s part of why he never gets taken seriously by anyone.

Q: How did you get involved with the project? A: I got involved with The Shimian as a stroke of good fortune really. I had worked in another project with a couple of the crew (Rik and Raf) and they put my name forward to be considered. Luckily James and all at Bader thought enough of me to bring me in.

Q: How did you approach playing Mr Harding? Was there any aspects of the character that were challenging? A: When looking at Mr Harding as a character, just by the description of his appearance I knew he was a loser and someone who although tries his very best it never quite goes the way he hopes it will and I can relate to that. I’m very lucky in many ways but my best laid plans always fall flat and I have to try again, so I saw a lot of myself in Mr Harding as a guy. I didn’t find him challenging as a character in that way because of those similarities…he’s just a much more rubbish version of me

Q: Any favourite memories from the set? A: Fav memories? Ooo too many to say all of them but apart from the obvious of meeting and working with such great people, I’d have to say getting the reaction I had hoped for from cast and crew in our scenes together will stay with me for a long time.

You can see Alex in action as Mr Harding at the movie's premiere on the 29th September 18:30 at Millennium Point Birmingham. Tickets HERE