Andrew Osei-Karmen is a UK born actor with French Ghanaian heritage. After completing Drama School his career started in the West-end which included numerous #1 national and international tours. He has now expanded into television and film.
Thank you so much for interviewing with us! Can you share your story on how did you get started in the film industry?
After Drama school, I landed a West-end lead role in the play ‘Five Blue Haired Ladies’. I developed good relationships with my co-stars, very accomplished and famous actors. One of them had contacts within Warner Bros. Two members of their staff happened to be in the UK and came to see the play. Hence, I was introduced to them and received very positive feedback on my acting ability and potential screen presence in the movies. I was always interested in film and very much prefer it to the theatre. Getting feedback like that from people that work with one of the biggest film studios in the world was amazing! At that point, I knew where I wanted to focus my ambition within the industry.
![Andrew Osei-Karmen](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5cc07c_a60810ba10c94ec5bc1046b0a29ac77e~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_328,h_466,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Capture_JPG.jpg)
![Andrew Osei-Karmen](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5cc07c_b5979957ff594656b5ae3ff7b025cd87~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_418,h_537,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Capture_JPG.jpg)
Who are you grateful for your success and can you share a story about that?
I feel most grateful to my Highschool Drama teacher. I always enjoyed acting at school but never took it seriously. I thought of it more as a recreational activity. I recall finishing a group performance of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ and, when the class dismissed, my teacher asked me to stay behind. I thought I was in trouble! She sat me down and asked me if I ever considered going to Drama School to become a working actor. I responded with no. She then highlighted my natural potential and her belief that I would be very successful if I were to pursue it seriously. We ended up talking for thirty minutes, and she gave me the most inspiring information about being an actor — highlighting the challenges, the rewards, the complexities, and many other factors! She poured crucial knowledge into me, and I am so honoured for that. I have used this information throughout my career there in after.
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​Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
Throughout my career, I have always acquired roles with varied amounts of intimacy with co-stars. My first intimate scene involved nudity and sex. I got thrown in at the deep end! As an actor, you are always aware there will be a point in your career where you will be required to do scenes with kissing, etc.. That moment had come for me but with simulated sex and nudity too! In addition to this, the crew for the production was quite big! I didn’t shy away from doing it because I knew it would develop me as an actor. The real challenge was doing the scene with a difficult actress. I used this whole situation to challenge myself as a method actor.
![Andrew Osei-Karmen](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5cc07c_2241337f4ca3435e865f1e0dbe281687~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_416,h_276,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Capture_JPG.jpg)
What has been the biggest challenge in your career so far? How did you overcome it?
One of my biggest challenges was being in a cast group for six months, where everyone hated each other. We had to travel to different locations and live and work together. The environment became unbearably toxic and aggressive and was taking its toll on the whole cast, including me. I initially struggled as I have always been a people person. When I identified that relationships were beyond repair, I used the opportunity to learn from the experience and spend time during the production alone and focusing on myself and truly getting to understand what makes me tick. Looking back, I am pleased to have experienced such an environment as it helped me to understand myself better as a person.
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What are your ‘‘5 things I do to prepare for the role” and are you able to share a story or example for each?
When preparing for a role, I will always do the following:
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1) Identify my character’s backstory to give me a scope and mindset of the character. If there is no additional information available apart from the screenplay, I will make up a loose backstory that has continuity with the film.
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2) I always look for personality similarities between me and my character. I feel this is crucial to giving a compelling performance. As an actor, I don’t believe in desperately trying to squeeze myself into the character. I believe in finding similarities between me and my character e.g. attitude/motives will give the foundation for the character to fit into me, which will subsequently result in more organic performance. I am in the process of doing this in the film ‘Loving Emily’ (Moda-image Film Productions, dir. Yan Frame). There are close similarities between me and my character Nicholas.
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3) I always explore posturing, voice tone, pace and mannerisms weeks ahead of filming or rehearsals. This method is vital to me as the physical attributes make me feel like the character. I used this method to its highest level in a film that is due for release, ‘Baby Killer’. It is a story about a cop that accidentally kills a 12-year-old girl in a car accident and dealing with the abuse and repercussions.
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4) I respectfully debate my co-stars regarding characters during production. It’s naughty, but I don’t tell them what I am doing because I want their genuine opinions to relationships and motives. With this information, I shape my character more effectively when we shoot scenes.
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5) Regardless of the type of character I am playing, I always try and empathise with them. This method helps me to act the scenes more passionately, and most importantly — believably. I can do this with even the most warped characters. For instance, I play an evil murderer with perverse tastes in the short film ‘Sequence’ (in post-production). I don’t approve that kind of behaviour in real life however there is a scene that shows how he became the way he is, and this is the element I connect with to play the character to the best of my ability.
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What methods or techniques do you use to find truth in your character’s behaviour?
As a method actor, this is one of my favourite pre-production activities. During the development of my character, I will always attempt to be around the kind of people I will be playing leading up to shoot. I believe that irrespective to how well you perform there will be someone in the audience that will challenge your performance because they know someone that has experienced what you are portraying. It is easy for actors and production companies to stereotype characters, e.g. drug addict, schizophrenia, etc.. I also watch videos and documentaries of people who have the traits of the character I will be playing, observing speech patterns, body language and any habits.
![Andrew Osei-Karmen](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5cc07c_54c3791b6c3d4772aac83dd98019677a~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_483,h_310,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Capture_JPG.jpg)
What are your top 3 tips for actors that are starting?
1) You will need to develop a strong emotional resilience, no matter how strong you believe you are, nothing will prepare you for the amount of rejection you will get.
2) Research and study the most successful actors in the world. Analyse their techniques on camera.
3) Don’t get caught acting! It may seem odd to some, however, this is the first pit hole 90% of actors stumble on. Don’t overact or try too hard, as 4K camera picks up the smallest details, be natural and subtle.
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What has been inspiring you lately?
I have been inspired lately by one of my favourite actors Joaquin Phoenix. He has excelled in his performances, especially in ‘You Were Never Really Here’ (Why Not Productions, dir. Lynne Ramsay, 2017) and, of course, the soon-to-be the iconic film ‘Joker’ (Warner Bros, dir. Todd Phillips, 2019). I have been watching talks with him online, he truly is on the next level as an experimental actor!
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What movie would you recommend watching and why?
I would recommend any serious aspiring actor to watch ‘The Machinist’ (Filmax Group, dir. Brad Anderson, 2004) with my all-time favourite actor Christian Bale. This movie isn’t for everyone, but Christian Bale’s performance in it is a masterclass of screen acting.
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What is one message you would give to your fans?
In life, if you feel like quitting, shut up and get up!
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How can our readers find you online?
Website: https://andrewoseikarmen.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AndreOseiKarmen/
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11915019
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andre_karmen
Insta: www.instagram.com/andrew_karmen_official/
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Thank you very much for your time and honesty! Wishing you all the best for your success!