Roman Griffin Davis stars in this year’s most thrilling Christmas film, Silent Night. Silent Night is a festive apocalyptic comedy-horror that’ll really make you cherish your loved ones come the holiday season.
In true British fashion, (while the rest of the world faces impending doom), a group of old friends reunite to celebrate Christmas in the comfort of an idyllic country home. Burdened with the inconvenience of mankind’s imminent destruction, they adopt a stiff upper lip, crack open another bottle of prosecco and continue with their festivities. But no amount of stoicism can replace the courage needed for their last night on earth.
Marking writer Camille Griffin’s feature directorial debut, Silent Night features an all-star ensemble cast including Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise), Matthew Goode (Downton Abbey), Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit), Annabelle Wallis (“Peaky Blinders”), Lily Rose-Depp (Voyagers), Ṣọpé Dìrísù (“Gangs of London”), Kirby Howell-Baptiste (“The Good Place”), Lucy Punch (Into the Woods), Rufus Jones (”Flack”) and Trudie Styler (Filth, Moon).
Check out my interview with Roman!
I hear that this film was a kind of a family affair, your mother wrote and directed it and you worked with your brothers. What was that like working with family?
Roman: I loved it. I actually thought would be very weird. Like, it is pretty weird. I mean, I really enjoyed it. It was very funny to watch my brothers. It felt like me and my brothers were on a school trip. But I was really happy for my mom, she’s wanted to make films for years and years. So, there was also a lot of pressure. There was a lot of pressure beause I didn’t want to muck it up.
Did you know that your mother was working on an apocalyptic Christmas film, or was that a surprise?
Roman: Well, she’s written quite a couple of dark films before. So, it wasn’t really the first idea she’s ever told me that was pretty messed up. I wasn’t too creeped out by it. I mean, if I hadn’t have heard her other ideas, then maybe I’d have a different reaction.
Did you have to audition?
Roman: It would have been pretty awkward if she gave this role to someone else. I think she probably had to realize that um, it probably would have mocked up a whole family relationship that she didn’t cast me. So, I don’t think she already had a choice. It would have been very weird if she didn’t.
What was your reaction to the story when you read through the script for the first time?
Roman: I mean, my mom wrote it and she basically read us every single scene, scene by scene at dinner. So, I had maybe listened to the whole thing before I started reading it. Yeah, I liked it a lot. A lot.
Since your mother wrote your character, Art, did you get to bring a lot of yourself into him or are you two very different?
Roman: My mom probably wouldn’t agree that I’m the character because the character is caring (laughs) she wouldn’t say that. But I think so. I like to think that I’m similar to my character. I think everyone who plays a character is either very similar to not at all.
What was it like working with Keira Knightley and Matthew Goode?
Roman: Oh, it was. It was great. It was. It was such a privilege to work with them.
I absolutely loved the part where you and Keira were going back and forth like, ‘you shut up. No, you shut up.’ It was really cute.
Roman: Yeah, yeah it was fun. Me and my brothers had that conversation a lot. We’d just have a shut up battle.
What would you say was your favorite part of filming?
Roman: I liked a lot of the scenes where the majority of the cast was in it because the energy, not just all the energy, but it was nice to film because, you know, everyone was in it. I don’t know, the dynamics of it were great.
Were there any really challenging parts?
Roman: I found some of the scenes challenging. The one with the car, I thought that was pretty hard to do. I think a lot of the scenes I did find difficult, but thanks to my mother, she was able to be brutally honest with me which helped.
How did you prepare emotionally for this film?
Roman: Before I go on set, I’d often put myself in the same place of mind that my character should be in. I feel like just those couple of minutes before kind of changed me. I felt very excited to do those scenes and I really wanted to do good at them. So, I kind of made myself feel that.
Without giving too much away, what can people expect from watching Silent Night?
Roman: They should be expected to think. I like to think that they’d enjoy it. It’s very fun to watch. I think it’s very funny. I think you’ll come away from the film with a different mindset.
Before I let you go, is there anything else that you would like to say about the movie working with your family, anything like that?
Roman: I’d recommend to watch, obviously (laughs). Everyone who ws a part of this film put in a lot of effort and I think you can see that. I think people would enjoy it.
