Wilfred Owen Film #8 Playing Moncrieff - Harry Owens

In a strange way, it is sad to think that if I had not had the wonderful opportunity to be part of this film, I would now be poorer without the insight into the untold story of an extraordinary human being. Moreover,  before The Burying Party my knowledge about the life of Wilfred Owen consisted of, as I imagine also for a handful of people, a collection of ‘useful quotes’ half - learnt, and in no particular order, hither and thither, the subject matter ultimately crammed in, trimmed at the edges, left colourless and  under a subject heading, WW1. 

My role in The Burying Party was to portray someone who had lived, fought and endured this unimaginable period. I had, as we all did working on this project, a responsibility to truthfully portray the world that surrounded the lives of these remarkable people. It was a true gift to have been given the freedom to research and develop the character as I felt was right. I was only one, small part of Wilfred Owen’s life, but it felt no less important. 

Richard is an incredibly inspiring Director that I feel very lucky to have worked with. To have a Director on board that has devoted endless hours into the research and development of the material, continually taking more and more on board to make a film Worthy of the Life Wilfred Owen had bravely led, had been more than enough evidence for me to know this project is going to be something special.

The first day on set was a mixture of nerves and anxious excitement to create this vision. We were all in it together, and this camaraderie endured throughout the whole filming period, despite the usual bumps in the road, the spirit was always high. Such a talented cast and crew made the whole experience feel meaningful and always professional. 

The fragility of circumstances when performing in front of a camera, on location and to the attentive eyes of the crew can be a daunting process. I can happily say that on this occasion, this was most definitely, not the case!