Hayley-Marie Axe interview

Actress on the rise Hayley-Marie Axe impressed as tough-talking cycle cop ‘Val Stone’ in the black comedy thriller May I Kill U? - one of the highlights at this year’s Film 4 FrightFest.

At six foot tall and with a strong, athletic build, Hayley-Marie is an actress you better not mess with! Although May I Kill U? is her feature film debut, she has considerable experience treading the boards at various theatres, aptly playing The Amazonian Queen ‘Hippolyta’ in THE TWO NOBLE KINSMEN (Theatre Royal Bath), and ‘Nurse Ratched’ in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS NEST (Customs House Theatre, South Shields).
Hayley-Marie furthermore played the lead in several acclaimed short films, and her first break was in EASTENDERS (playing the part of ‘Kylie’).
Away from the spotlight, Hayley-Marie is passionate about cars and is a qualified driving instructor.

Film-News’ Claudia A. felt some questions are in order!

Film-News:
Hayley-Marie, ‘May I Kill U?’ is your debut as far as feature films go. Any particular reasons why this particular film?

Hayley-Marie Axe:
When I started reading the script I couldn’t put it down until I got to the end, and I could see myself playing Val as soon as I had read her first couple of scenes.

FN:
Were you approached for the part, or did YOU hear about it and approached the director etc?

HMA:
I facilitate casting workshops and I had met the casting director three or four times there, so when I found out he was casting a film that required a 6’ female lead, I dropped him a line.

FN:
What is it that interested you about the movie, and how do you see your part as Val Stone?

HMA:
I really liked the script in the first place because it made me laugh and it was very clever, but also the characters were very real.

Val is quite a socially awkward person, who is tough on the outside, but vulnerable underneath. Val is a complicated person; she was originally written as being celibate, but at the same time having feelings for her partner Baz (Kevin Bishop), and not quite knowing what to do with these feelings. Baz and Val are both quite awkward characters so they are kindred spirits and Val sees companionship with Baz. Her work ethic is very straight up and down, she is a no- nonsense good cop, who is normally very on the ball, but she allows feelings to get in the way of her professionalism.

FN:
How did you prepare for your part?

HMA:
Val and Baz are cycle cops so one of the first things I did was get out on my bike. As soon I knew I had a recall from my first audition I was out on my bike practicing riding one handed (attempted no hands but we won’t talk about that!), I tried a few jumps and skids too!

I spoke to a few police officers too, a couple at the tube station on the way to my first audition, and then before the recall I got in touch with a local female police officer and she spent quite a bit of time answering my questions. This was a really important part of the process for me because I don’t know any police officers personally so it helped me see beyond the uniform to create Val the person, rather than just Val the cycle cop.

I also watched a lot of footage of the London Riots online, and read reports, as well as reading up on serial killers and their behaviour.

FN:
How do you see the role of female police officers in general, and do you think discrimination and sexism toward female police officers prevail?

HMA:
That was the first question I asked the female police officer I spoke to when doing my research and her answer was no. Well to be more specific I asked her if there was sexism and discrimination within the force and she said no. Whether there is from the general public is another question.

FN:
You are passionate about cars, and are a qualified driving instructor. You must have been gutted that the part of Val Stone is that of a cycle cop…

HMA:
I had fun whizzing around the streets of London on Val’s bike, but yes I would have loved to get in a high speed car chase without a doubt!

FN:
Tell me a bit about your on-set interaction with colleague and fellow actor Kevin Bishop, and also with director Stuart Urban.

HMA:
Working with Kevin is good fun; he is a full-time comedian, on and off camera. Stuart is a fab director, he allows you to really create the character yourself and experiment, but guides you when you need it. The whole experience was brilliant for me; I had fun filming, but also learnt so much at the same time.

FN:
The movie is primarily a black comedy but also touches on serious topics such as the London riots, urban prejudice, and the increasingly excessive use/dependence on social media. What’s your stance on that?

HMA:
I think social media has become a necessary evil, it’s great in some ways; for work related matters and the news we can all keep up to date with what’s going on in the world so much easier than we could ten years ago, but I am a bit of a traditionalist and enjoy seeing my friends in person to chat and catch up.

I did a lot of my research about the London riots online so if there weren’t so many videos etc. online then I would not have been able to do that, so I suppose that was very useful.

FN:
‘May I Kill U?’ was received well at this year’s FrightFest, so I take it participating in another movie sooner rather than later is a fair prospect?

HMA:
Yes I love working in film and have few things in the pipe-line so watch this space.

FN:
Any specific role that you would like to play one day?

HMA:
That’s a tricky one because I don’t want to play a role that somebody else has played, but there are many types of role I would love to play. I love comedy, so I would love to do more Brit comedy films, but I also really enjoy playing dark gritty characters; iconic roles that spring to mind are Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over The Cuckoos nest- a role I played in a theatre production, Annie Wilkes in Misery and Xena Warrior Princess. I’m not saying I want play those particular roles but if something similar came a long that would interest me. Action movies are definitely on my list too, and being 6’ tall I think it’s on the cards. I will soon be playing a gladiator, a ‘baddie’ who is a new regular character in an established online series with a big following in the US.

FN:
Many thanks, Hayley-Marie, and best wishes for your next projects.