How ‘Gangs of London’ Star Sope Dirisu Prepares for his On-Screen Fights

Some of these highly physical roles require you to take a “fight test.” What does that involve?

I’ve done fight tests where I have been absolutely beasted, put through the ringer with sprints and burpees, jumping jacks, press-ups, but thankfully [the fight test for Gangs of London] wasn’t that. It was simply just to see how I fought, and what shapes my body made as I was fighting… To see how I take directions and how I work with stunt people, you know? It was a delight to be working with the stunt performers and coordinators like Jude Poyer. Chris Webb taught me all the choreography and kept me slim and trim, and put me through my paces to make sure I had the stamina to do the scenes.

You played Muhammed Ali on stage. How was that experience?

Yeah, I did. I enjoyed it a lot actually. I did lessons, and I would go every single day and train myself as well for the conditioning. I just wanted to have the physique that Ali would have had. I enjoyed boxing as a form of stress relief and exercise. It is excellent for cardio and great for building muscle in the upper body. And I was especially surprised at how much of boxing comes from the legs. All the power and torque comes from having a really good, solid foundation. It is definitely one of the best forms of exercise that I have done in my life.

Do you find that the footwork you picked up from boxing has helped with some of your fight scenes?

It’s interesting that you ask that because I still sometimes practice the [boxing] footwork now, and I’m definitely not going to be stepping into the ring with Anthony Joshua any time soon [laughing], but it helps you to be specific as far as where your feet are. And that really influences the fight scenes, massively. A fight scene is like a dance, you know? It is really important that you maintain the right distance, so that you don’t clout anyone in the face. Having a knowledge of footwork is definitely beneficial to fight sequences.

Have you found yourself on the wrong end of any of those on-screen punches?

Yeah, there were a couple of scrapes! Nothing too damaging. I think the funniest instance was when we were still in rehearsals and I was fighting Lee Charles, who plays Len, the guy with the meat cleaver. There’s a sequence where I’m trying to avoid being chopped by his cleaver, and he picks me up and smashes me down on this crate.

In rehearsal we learned to do that in stages, but we stopped short of slamming me down on the crate because it was just a rehearsal. So instead, Lee just dropped me from head height…He is six-foot-something and he just dropped me crashing to the ground but it gave us all a good chuckle. I wasn’t expecting that!

You were a quarterback for the Birmingham Lions. What fitness lessons did you learn as a player?

Ha, yeah… apparently not! That was another period in my life where I had a really wonderful relationship with my body and the gym, and nutrition, because I just wanted to be the best that I could be in my sport. I learned that its not just about how dedicated you are in training or how heavy you can lift, but your food is really important as well.

I know that if I ever want to achieve any of my body goals, that 80 percent of that is nutrition.

How do you approach nutrition? Are you a meat eater, vegetarian or vegan?

With my African heritage, eating meat is very much part of the culture, although I have become a bit more conscious about how much meat I eat. I try to get my protein from other sources like fish and also pulses too. I don’t think I will ever be in a position where I want to completely cut meat out of my diet, but one of the reasons that I might is for environmental reasons.

Do you still enjoy being active in sports?

The way I really like to stay fit is through [soccer]. Sometimes I play five times per week with only Sundays and Tuesdays off. I also cycle everywhere to keep my cardio going and it helps with my muscle stamina, especially in my lower body. I play football predominantly with people in the industry like actors and crew members and I have 5-a-side football games that I play with friends from my University days. With my schedule, its difficult to play in an organised league but with WhatsApp we can always put a game together depending on who is available.

Are there any good tracks that you like to listen to while working out?

One of my favorite running tracks to listen to is Shea Butter Baby, by Ari Lennox. It hasn’t got a pounding base line, it’s not super energising or motivating, but for some reason that chorus gets stuck in my head and it really keeps my feet going. Then Kendrick Lamar appears on it as well, and I just find that song super inspiring.

Have you been influenced by other great action stars like The Rock, Arnie, Stallone or Jackie Chan?

They are all up there, and they have had a really great effect on me for sure, both as a performer and as a filmmaker, but I tell you, Keanu Reeves as John Wick is just excellent. I’m a massive fan of that film franchise.

What other aspirations do you have for the future?

We’ve spoken about the action roles and I really, really enjoy that. I also enjoy playing a diverse range of roles, like romantic or comedy. My aspiration is definitely to do as much as I can in many different genres. I’d love to do an adventure film, like Indiana Jones.