British actor Ben Miles chatted about starring in the new film “Words of War,” which was directed by James Strong.
The movie stars Maxine Peake, Jason Isaacs, Academy Award nominee Ciarán Hinds, Ian Hart, Ellie Bamber, Harry Lawtey, Naomi Battrick, and Ben Miles, among others. It was released on May 2nd via Rolling Pictures.
“Words of War” is from two-time Oscar winner Sean Penn (who serves as an executive producer), and BAFTA-nominated and Emmy award-winning director James Strong, who directed from a screenplay by Eric Poppen.
In “Words of War,” journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s (Maxine Peake) brave crusade, fighting to be an independent voice of truth for the Russian people, puts her own life in jeopardy.
Anna’s voice was silenced but her legacy lives on. Anna’s story serves as a reminder of the dangers that journalists face and the importance of protecting their right to report the news without fear of death or reprisal.
Portraying Yuri in ‘Words of War’
Miles was drawn to his character, Yuri Schekochikhin, due to his “clothes.” “My character wore some really cool ‘90s Russian clothes,” he said.
Lessons learned from this script
On the lessons learned from this screenplay, Miles reflected, “Screenplay taught me to concentrate on the story that is being told, and not think so much of myself acting in a movie.”
Working with director James Strong
On working with director James Strong, Miles exclaimed, “James is fantastic. He is brilliant; he is the best director!”
Closing thoughts on ‘Words of War’
For fans and viewers, Miles remarked, “I want people to start talking about things. I want the audience to leave the movie theater thinking we should open our eyes more and our ears more. We should do what we can to question the powers that be when we know something isn’t right.”
“I think we should try to support journalism around the world,” he underscored. “We should try to depolarize the situation. We should encourage people to listen and to get their sources of news from other places than the ones they get.
“We should encourage debate, empathy, intelligence, and we should encourage progress and democracy. That’s very necessary for human beings to coexist on this planet because when that goes, we are screwed,” Miles concluded.
