“It’s my proudest achievement in film to date.” James Nunn
It has taken six years for director James Nunn to bring his one-take, real-time action movie to the screen. During that time, ‘one-shot’ movies like Birdman and 1917 have not only dominated at the box office, but they have also been lauded by critics. In many ways, Nunn’s intense, relentless thriller, One Shot – which is released theatrically and on VOD services in the USA on 5 November 2021 courtesy of Screen Media Films – is an even more remarkable achievement, considering its comparatively low-budget and 20-day shooting schedule (1917, by comparison, was made in 65 days). Nunn puts the success of the film down to a huge amount of preparation, and an incredibly hard-working cast and crew – especially its leading actor, Scott Adkins, who is intimately followed through every long-take, moving from dialogue scenes to gun battles, knife fights, explosions and punch-ups. As a technical feat, there’s nothing quite like it in the DTV action world. In this conversation, James explores the film’s many great performances – from Adkins to co-stars Ashley Greene Khoury, Ryan Phillippe, and the MMA fighter Jess Liaudin – and lifts the lid on how it was made.
Lee Charles – “the Al Leong of British cinema”, according to fight choreographer Tim Man – has fought on-screen with some of the world’s biggest action stars. He took a clobbering from Dave Bautista in Final Score (2018), and tired to take out Sope Dirisu as ‘Lenn the Butcher’ in an iconic, grisly battle scene in the TV show, Gangs of London, co-created by The Raid‘s Gareth Evans. His role as a French mercenary in One Shot marks another opportunity for him to go toe-to-toe with Scott Adkins – the duo worked together on Nunn’s previous Adkins flicks, Green Street 3: Never Back Down (2013) and Eliminators (2016), plus roles in Accident Man (2018) and Avengement (2019). Charles is the walking embodiment of his own life motto – that anything is achievable through hard work. He’s currently working with his childhood hero, Sylvester Stallone, on the all-star action sequel, The Expendables 4. We discuss his multifaceted life and career; from Everton FC to six-time World Kickboxing Champion, training with Benny “The Jet” Urquidez and making it in the movies.
Listen back to our previous episode with James Nunn on Episode 14, and follow James on Twitter and Instagram. For all the latest Lee Charles information, follow Lee on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. One Shot is released in cinemas and on-demand on 5 November in the USA by Screen Media Films. Visit oneshotthemovie.com for more information.
James Nunn and Scott Adkins during the filming of One Shot (2021).
Lee Charles, Waleed Elgadi, James Nunn and Scott Adkins filming One Shot (2021).
Scott Adkins and Lee Charles on the set of Avengement (2019).
Lee Charles and Sope Dirisu trading blows in Gangs of London (2020).
