On the coronary heart of James Krishna Floyd and Sally El Hosaini‘s 2023 queer romantic drama Unicorns is the scintillating chemistry between co-stars Ben Hardy and newcomer Jason Patel. The pair play two could-be lovers who first have to beat the boundaries between their two worlds. Hardy performs a single father and a mechanic whose sudden night time with Patel’s South Asian nightclub drag queen Aysha/Ashiq sparks a surprisingly deep connection that might result in one thing extra. It’s a premise that requires a powerful connection between its results in pull off which each stars attested to.
Whereas on the Toronto Worldwide Movie Pageant the place Unicorns is making its premiere, Hardy and Patel sat down with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff on the TIFF media studio on the Cinema Middle at MARBL to speak about how they solid such a bond on set. Though the previous is the extra skilled of the 2 actors, boasting roles in 6 Underground, X-Males: Apocalypse, and Bohemian Rhapsody, each had been wanting to do what was essential to deliver out the perfect of their scene companions. Whereas Patel’s solely different expertise performing on-screen is the brief movie Do for Love, Hardy discovered him to be extremely accommodating and useful in bringing his personal character to life:
Forging such a connection is a two-way avenue and Patel was equally capable of attest to Hardy dedicating himself to constructing a rapport with him all through their time collectively. “Bouncing off what you stated, we simply had been there to assist one another, and we try this all through after this course of as nicely,” Patel added. If their connection in Unicorns appears real, it’s as a result of they shaped an actual bond that exists past the set. Each shared the identical flame for the mission, Patel stated, which ignited into some really particular chemistry when the 2 had been introduced collectively. “We’re such good mates, and we simply cared about what we had been doing. I might inform that this individual is simply enthusiastic about what they do exactly as a lot as I’m, which is nice since you don’t at all times get to work with folks like that such as you stated. On this course of, I used to be like, ‘Yeah, I’ve simply discovered somebody who’s like my match in that sense.’”
In between the movie’s steamy scenes exploring the “gaysian” neighborhood and the way the pair can overcome their sexual preferences, the co-stars would energize each other earlier than shoots to make sure they had been each locked in when the cameras had been on. “And we had little pep talks, as nicely, didn’t we?” Hardy added. “Earlier than scenes typically we form of hyped one another up. We’re like, ‘We will do that! Let’s do that! Let’s go!’” These little moments helped deliver the vitality up which, in flip, translated to the display the place the sparks might fly.
Along with co-directing Unicorns with Hosaini, Floyd penned the screenplay for the queer love story. Keep tuned right here at Collider for extra on the movie protection from TIFF 2023, and watch the total interview under: