Geoffrey Moore, the son of legendary James Bond actor Sir Roger Moore, plays Hugh in Knightfall, marking a return to the spy genre that made his family name famous. In the film, Hugh is an MI5 field agent and the boyfriend of Ros Knight, who finds himself caught in a deadly race to stop a stolen bioweapon from falling into the wrong hands.
Geoffrey stopped by to chat with us about the film and the state of British cinema.
Today we’re going to be talking about your new movie, Knightfall. What was it that made you want to be a part of the film?
Being an independent British film, and I think that to be able to support the industry, especially the UK, have stuck to their incentives. It’s one of the best offerings, and I think there is a need of more independent films which are not really dictated by the big five, and that you can actually start to do projects that have a bit more culture and not regurgitated like the big franchises. So, Knightfall is, in a way, a very soft entry point into this world. There’s an obvious connection there: it’s an MI5 story, and the lead happens to be the son of an actor who famously played a spy. But beyond that, Jonathan Sothcott—who I would argue is one of the most successful independent film producers working today—has created a formula that clearly works. The proof is in the sheer number of films he’s been able to make. By operating within a specific budget range, he’s found a sweet spot where productions remain financially viable, allowing him to keep making more films on a consistent basis. If you’re making a movie for 90 to 100 million, you have to spend another 100 for printing and advertising. So, this is more going back to the days of The Long Good Friday, proper English films, English actor, English crew, etc, etc. So, I support the independent, I support that it’s British. And it’s one way back in without it being too but; if it’s a flop, no one’s seen it. If it’s a success, it’s going to be Blair Witch Project.
Following on from that, I’m loving seeing more of the action thriller content, particularly from Shogun films and Jonathan Sothcott. I feel like I want to see more British movies in the theatre, and we don’t really get to. Why do you think we don’t get too many of the bigger budget UK films?
Well, the major studios have an advantage because they operate at a scale where they can take over multiple soundstages and dedicate significant resources to a production. That’s where their financial muscle really comes into play. As an independent producer, you generally need to align yourself with a distributor operating in a similar market space and budget range. That’s the sweet spot that can work so well. When a studio is spending $90 million or $100 million on a single production, smaller independent projects can easily be pushed aside. In many cases, those productions struggle to secure resources such as soundstage space et-al. That’s one of the reasons I’m getting involved in that side of the business. I want to help support talented filmmakers and give them access to the facilities and opportunities they need to get their projects made. I have a partner in America who worked on the HBO/BBC series Rome. Do you remember that?
Yeah, with Ray Stevenson…
That’s right. At the time, it was one of the first television productions to have a budget and production values that rivalled those of a major feature film. It helped pave the way for the high-end television dramas we see today. Achieving that level of production required a huge amount of investment upfront, making it a very bottom-heavy undertaking financially. The idea, I think it really is down to distribution and money.
Yeah, 100%. So, back to Knightfall itself. How would you describe Hugh and what part of his personality would you say you relate to the most, if any?
How would I describe Hugh? I think Hugh is, I don’t want to give away the plot, but it’s somebody who realizes that doing the right thing, sometimes you got to do the wrong thing to make it right. And so, I saw this as a likable character who doesn’t really enjoy killing, even though he’s trained to do it. And that I could relate to. If I personally were a hired gun or double O or whatever, I can’t fathom that because I mean, how ostentatious; a super-secret spy walks into any bar in the world, and they know what he drinks. So, the actual real kind of MI5, going even to a lower level, it is not glamorous. They didn’t have the fancy cars. The idea of being a spy isn’t that glamorous, so I’m sort of wanting to put it into reality that it’s a person who does have a heart, but, there comes a point where you get crooked or if you get paid enough, then you’re not going to take bribes. And I don’t want to take bribes. But there comes a point where you go, enough is enough. But I’m not going to give that away. The idea of working with Ian Ogilvy, who took over The Saint on television, and I thought that was wonderful serendipity. We had the most amazing time between takes, talking about everything. I could see why he became The Saint thereafter, because he had that twinkle. He’s got something quite, quite lovely.
Yeah, I just spoke to him half an hour ago.
Oh, you did? How’s he doing, by the way?
He’s doing very well, actually. It’s the first time I’ve spoken to him. He’s just such a nice guy.
He’s so delightful. I mean if you’re going to play characters like The Saint, the camera never lies; you can’t be a you know what and pull that off. You’re cast because you walk into that audition, and the casting agent, the director, the moment you walk in, they go, okay, let’s hope he’s got the right voice. Because it’s not so much the voice, it’s how you say it. And the combination of that, he’s definitely delightful to work with. He’s such a lovely guy.
How was working with director Ben Fortune on the film?
Ben, I believe he’s an Etonian. He’s smart. It’s always good to work with someone who’s smart. You’ve got the right focus puller, and you’ve got the right camera, and then someone who knows how to operate it, and you’re able to do your job, and everyone stays in their lane. Then it’s, regardless of whether you get on with the guy or not; I got on like a house on fire. I really enjoyed working with Ben.
Finally, how would you like Knightfall to resonate with audiences?
Well, bear in mind, this is an independent British film. So, if someone’s watching in the UK, I think it’s important. It’s a bit like people that make the music. It’s AI that delivers. Let’s keep it people.
Yes. 100%.
Very nice to speak to you.
Thank you so much for taking the time out to chat with me. It’s been an absolute pleasure.
Oh, not at all.