If there was a movie equivalent of David and Goliath it could be summed up by the box office chances of British actor JJ Feild’s latest films.
Goliath would be Captain America, a £140 million all-action, effect-laden, comic book adaptation due for release in July. David would be Third Star, shot on location in Pembrokeshire with an ensemble cast of four for just £400,000.
Feild, who joined co-stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Burke and Adam Robertson to make the low-key film, is well aware of the gulf between the two movies.
“I literally just finished Captain America a couple of weeks ago,” he says, from the countryside retreat of his parents.
“I play one of the Captain’s sidekicks, so I’ve been running around, shooting guns, blowing things up and trying to look cool for about a year,” he laughs. “I’m looking forward to relaxing and finding some nice dialogue to speak.”
Third Star, on the other hand, which was shot in just one month in September 2009, is described by Feild as “a labour of love”.
He explains: “It’s a beautiful film and it’s very rare that actors get to do work we’re deeply proud of. I hope it ends up being enjoyed by people because we had a beautiful time making it.”
Cumberbatch, best known for his recent turn as a modern-day Sherlock Holmes, plays James, a young 20-something with a terminal illness, who asks his three best friends to join him on a camping trip to his favourite place, Barafundle Bay in Wales.
Feild, 33, who possesses such graceful airs, good looks and talent that he could be Jude Law’s younger brother, was born in America but moved to the UK shortly afterwards.
He first read the script of Third Star five years ago and is grateful the project has finally come to fruition.
“It was very hard to get it made and I don’t understand why. We kept getting told it wasn’t topical enough or British enough. But it’s about an Englishman, a Scotsman, a Welshman, practically the entire funny joke, going on a road trip across the British countryside. It’s also about one of the most talked about subjects in the media, which is care for the dying.
“It’s one of the most relevant films in any cinema at any time and I hope that people will go and see it.”
Feild, whose credits include Northanger Abbey, Telstar and Centurion, plays the arrogant Miles, who undergoes the biggest transformation as he tries to come to terms with what James is going through.
