Remember the name Aml Ameen, because the 33-year-old Londoner is about to get big.
Ameen is the star of Idris Elbas new film Yardie, based on the 1992 book about a young Jamaicans rise from the streets of London to the top of the drug-dealing underworld, and now in this exclusive video for Metro.co.uk, the Luther star reveals why it was so important for him to cast Ameen in the lead role and how the pair hope the film shows the real stories of British-Jamaicans.
Back when I was a teenager I decided to read the book and it struck a chord with me for many reasons, and I was fortunate to get the opportunity to make the film, reveals Idris, making his directorial debut on this project, and Aml has been my partner in crime for the entire journey.
I know that from the day we realised it was happening there has been a great sense of excitement, that our story – the black -Caribbean story – has never been told in this way and in this scope, adds Aml.
Advertisement
Advertisement
So titling it Yardie… Dee is suffering from trauma but still loves music and what we did – and what you did in edit – was to humanise that experience, and people will be grateful for that.
The colours and seeing Jamaica like that – my family feel like “thats my Jamaica”, and thats whats beautiful about it. And not to be too political but seeing a black family on screen that loves each other like that is quite unique. You see pockets but a full story..?
Elsewhere in the video, the pair also discuss their first meeting in a lift, how they spent a flight to Los Angeles together discussing their fathers, and the important of Jamaican music in the film.
Yardie is out in the UK on 31 August 2018.
MORE: Yara Shadidis mum didnt tell her about Black-ish spin-off for a week so she could apply for Harvard
Advertisement
Advertisement
