For Stefan Boehm, acting is synonymous with learning. As an in-demand actor in both his home country of England and the United States, Boehm learns new skills and expands his knowledge on the subject matter of the script with every new project. He researches his character, learns new accents or languages, studying various historical moments or cultural norms. This understanding is necessary in embodying another, and it is this aspect of his craft that makes him love what he does so much.
“As a kid I was playing all the time, pretending to be a soldier, cowboy, astronaut, president, hero, doctor or whatever I wanted to be, and in the film and television world you actually get to be those characters and take on the attributes needed to be those people,” said Boehm.
Audiences can recognize Boehm from many prolific projects, including the Netflix original series The Liberator, the award-winning film Dead Ringer, Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, and more. His resume is extremely versatile, spanning across all genres, from science-fiction with the film Override, to the film noir crime thriller 100 Bullets.
100 Bullets is set in gritty East London. Five years ago, Frank Phoenix robbed The Firm. Betrayed by his own crew and murdered, the stolen gold was never found. Now someone is planning revenge. The story immediately caught the attention of Boehm, who has always loved crime dramas like The Godfather and Scarface.
“Sometimes the simplest stories are what capture people’s imagination and why the same tales get told over centuries. 100 Bullets is a story of betrayal and greed, which is timeless. For me filming on any project is always in my most vivid memories. There is always a real buzz being on set and we are surrounded by a large team that are all committed to one goal, delivering a quality story, usually in extremely taxing circumstances. It’s a huge privilege and I think strong bonds are formed as the whole filming experience is incredibly intense,” said Boehm.
Boehm played the lead role of Dylan Johnson, a detective who is playing both sides of the law. Dylan is at the center of a plot to get his hands on a stash of gold in what appears to be a betrayal of his team in a heist that’s gone wrong. This type of character can be difficult as they have questionable morals but still need to capture the hearts of the audience. Boehm was eager to take on the challenge, and did so beautifully.
“I think in cinema history there is a pattern of audiences gravitating towards on-screen characters who have questionable morality and ethics at times but who also do the right thing in key moments. Life is shades of grey and not always black and white and we are all flawed so perhaps it’s comforting to see this portrayed in film as well,” said Boehm.
The Director, Virendra Kumar Sahu, gave each actor the assignment of finding outfits and music for their characters to help get into the role. He also arranged for weapons training and stunt work to master the combat scenes. For Boehm, this made the process immensely enjoyable, as he was able to learn and acquire new skills.
“As part of the buildup to filming we had firearms, stunt and combat training. This goes to the essence of the ethos of playing and learning as an actor and was my first real experience of these facets of the business, which I loved,” said Boehm.
100 Bullets premiered at the Neo Noir Festival 2016, held at the Century Club in London. The film then went on a successful tour of neo-noir festivals of the world, picking up a Gold Award at the LA Film Noir Festival. As a lead character, Boehm was a major part of this success, and he is so proud that people all over the world enjoyed the film.
“Stefan was the perfect fit for one of the lead roles in 100 Bullets and his dedication to what was a very ambitious production was most appreciated. He is a very charismatic person who can play various roles, so I have utilized his ability in various feature films. I look forward to working with him on the action movie Tell No Tales later this year,” said Ben Richards, Producer of 100 Bullets.
Richards and Boehm have teamed up for several future projects including three feature films. One of which, Coyote, is due to shoot in New Mexico pending Boehm’s visa approval. Be sure to keep an eye out for what is to come from this dynamic duo.
Photo by Ed Tyler