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Luke
Aikman
LukeAikman
(1995-2002)
grewup surrounded by
actors and starred in Fever
PitchwithColin Firthwhile
still in the Third Form. Now
an entrepreneur and film
producer, hewrites of his
acting experiences and the
lessons it has taught him
a lot of waiting around, which doesn’t
suit my character. It also isn’t as creative
as it looks; the industry is small and you
get cast in the same roles with different
names and dialogue over and over again.
You need to look a certain way or get very
lucky to be cast in a ‘character role’.
Acting is merely a manipulation of one’s
character in order to fit a circumstance.
Humans are all inherently similar, but
with a different mix hormones, emotions,
afflictions and interests. When acting, you
are simply dialling bits and bobs up or
down. This is exactly the skill-set needed
in ‘the real world’ to build and maintain
relationships both personally and
professionally. The idea is not to be ‘fake’
but to have a heightened understanding
of the character in front of you allowing
more empathy and ultimately more
grew up surrounded by the film
industry; my dad a stuntman, mum
and sister actresses and uncle in SFX.
By the time I was six I was doing
TV commercials, followed by guest
parts in shows like The Bill and
then had the opportunity to lead in
educational dramas (some of which
embarrassingly were shown by my
science teachers!).
When I arrived at Taylors’ in the Third
Form I was still working and fortunately,
within a year or so of arriving, I landed
the 3rd lead in Fever Pitch, starring Colin
Firth. It was a great experience and
something I won’t forget in a hurry. The
shoot was roughly five weeks and I was
needed probably three days per week on
average. It was quite easy to balance the
work with school as at that age there is
nothing too demanding. The teachers were
understanding, in that as long as I was up
to date with the learning, it was ok to leave
some pieces of work undone. It taught me
how to get up at 0530 to get into work,
and, most importantly, how to eat a plate
of fish and chips identically throughout
dialogue over a period of three hours.
I left acting in my late teens. Acting
had been a consideration from a young
age, but I always thought I would pursue
a professional career. It was not for me;
it’s not a hard or full-on job and there is
I
understanding and a better rapport.
Rejection is the best lesson available.
Auditioning is hearing “someone else
got the part” repeatedly, until you finally
get lucky. You enjoy the job, then start all
over again. Your skin gets hardened and
you learn that persistence is the critical
success factor, nothing else. This, in my
opinion, is reflective of personal and
professional pursuits. Other things come
into play, of course, but within the realms
of possibility, persistence is usually key.
I have worked on a few films in the last
10 years, but behind the camera. There
are not a huge number of individuals that
understand the world of film, especially low
budget film (it’s very strange, doesn’t make
a lot of sense, but somehow works and
survives) and also understand the world
of business. People seem to end up going
down one route or the other and rarely
cross. Having reached a decent level of big
picture understanding, I’ve helped smaller
films bridge that communication gap,
ensuring that financial and business plans
for films return in palatable ways for non-
traditional film investors and vice-versa.
Film is a magical world and the cinema
is sacred; there are few things better than
a great story portrayed on screen. Acting
is a precarious career that suits few, but,
acting as a child at school, professionally
and in local drama groups, I couldn’t
recommend highly enough.
Summer
2013
Film
