Harry Melling Talks with Amanda Kramer on the Talkhouse Podcast

In-demand actor Melling talks with writer-director Kramer about their movie Please Baby Please, biopics, his love of dance, and much more.

By Amanda Kramer, Talkhouse Podcast, and Harry Melling

9:01 AM EST on January 27, 2022

On the latest episode of the Talkhouse Podcast, highly acclaimed actor Harry Melling and writer-director Amanda Kramer chat over Zoom from their respective homes in London and Los Angeles. The two recently collaborated as star and filmmaker on Kramer’s latest feature, Please Baby Please, which also stars Andrea Riseborough and Demi Moore and is the opening film at 2022 International Film Festival Rotterdam. In a wide-ranging conversation, Kramer and Melling touched on many subjects, from making Please Baby Please during COVID in Montana, to Harry’s love of dancing, why Amanda almost had a breakdown on set, actors’ misplaced obsession with playing real people, how Amanda expanded Harry’s love and knowledge of English cinema, and much more. For more filmmakers talking film and TV, visit Talkhouse at talkhouse.com/film. Subscribe now to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast.

This episode was produced by Melissa Kaplan. The Talkhouse Podcast theme music is composed and performed by the Range.

(Photos courtesy Amanda Kramer and Harry Melling, edited by Keenan Kush.)

Amanda Kramer

Amanda Kramer is another writer/director whose films have shown at festivals around the world. Her latest film, Please Baby Please, starring Harry Melling, Andrea Riseborough and Demi Moore, premieres at the International Film Festival Rotterdam on January 26, 2022. Her previous features include Ladyworld and Paris Window. She is a film radical and stands for the liberation of all artists. Learn more at her website.

Talkhouse Podcast

@Talkhouse

Your favorite musicians, filmmakers, and other creative minds one-on-one. No moderator, no script, no typical questions. The Talkhouse Podcast offers unique insights into creative work from all genres and generations. Subscribe now, and explore more illuminating shows on the Talkhouse Podcast Network.

Harry Melling

Harry Melling is a British screen and stage actor who has emerged as one of the most acclaimed and sought-after actors of his generation. He can currently be seen in Joel Coen's The Tragedy of Macbeth, opposite Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, and previously featured in Joel and Ethan Coen’s anthology film, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. He co-starred with Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Riley Keough and Bill Skarsgard in Antonio Campos’ Southern Gothic thriller The Devil All the Time, was part of an all-star cast including Charlie Hunnam, Tom Holland, Sienna Miller and Robert Pattinson in James Gray’s The Lost City of Z, and played chess grandmaster Harry Beltik in the miniseries sensation The Queen’s Gambit. Melling also stars in Netflix’s global hit The Old Guard opposite Charlize Theron, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Matthias Schoenaerts and will next be seen in Amanda Kramer’s Please Baby Please, which also stars Andrea Riseborough. Melling’s breakthrough role was playing Dudley Dursley across five films in the Harry Potter film franchise. (Photo by Wolf Marloh.)