Exclusive: Paapa Essiedu Talks ‘Gangs Of London’

Concluding its 10-episode first season recently on AMC was the critically-acclaimed drama Gangs of London, which starred a multi-talented ensemble cast including Joe Cole, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Colm Meaney, Lucian Msamati, Michelle Fairley, Paapa Essiedu and Pippa Bennett-Warner.

Set in the heart of one of the world’s most dynamic and multicultural cities, Gangs of London tells the story of a city being torn apart by the turbulent power struggles of the international gangs that control it and the sudden power vacuum that’s created when the head of London’s most powerful crime family is assassinated. The series has been renewed for a second season with AMC on board to co-produce.

For 20 years, Finn Wallace (Meaney) was the most powerful criminal in London. Billions of pounds flowed through his organization each year. But now he’s dead – and nobody knows who ordered the hit. With rivals everywhere, it’s up to the impulsive Sean Wallace (Cole), with the help of the Dumani family headed by Ed Dumani (Msamati), to take his father’s place. If the situation wasn’t already dangerous enough, Sean’s assumption of power causes ripples in the world of international crime. Perhaps the one man who might be able to help him and be his ally is Elliot Finch (Dìrísù), who up until now, has been one of life’s losers, a lowlife chancer with a mysterious interest in the Wallace family. But as the wind of fate blows, Elliot finds himself transported to the inner workings of the largest criminal organization in London. It doesn’t end with the Wallaces though, there are shadowy higher powers at play.

Gangs of London is created by award-winning filmmaker Gareth Evans and his creative partner Matt Flannery and is produced by Pulse Films in association with SISTER for Sky Studios. The series was executive produced by Pulse Films’ founder Thomas Benski, and Lucas Ochoa alongside Jane Featherstone for SISTER and Gabriel Silver for Sky Studios. AMC will serve as co-producer for the second season.

BlackFilmandTV.com spoke with Paapa Essiedu, who plays Alexander Dumani, one of the keys players in the series. A theater actor who won 2016 Ian Charleson Award for his title role in Hamlet and Edmund in King Lear, both at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Essiedu also appeared in the series I May Destroy You opposite Michaela Coel.

Did you know what you were signing up for when you took on the series?

Paapa Essiedu:  I was very familiar with Gareth Evans and Matt Flannery's work. They were the lead directors in the first series. I've grown up watching their films. If you've spent any time watching any of their films, they've got a real fearlessness when it comes to attacking violence on screen at least. I don't think I was surprised by anything that I've seen.

What went into saying yes to the role? Did you audition for the role?

Paapa Essiedu: I did. I did a tape for it, and then had a conversation with Gareth about the character and about ideas that we had for it and directions that we could take it in. I was just really taken by the ambition of the piece. The way that these characters were being positioned. I don't think it's often that you see black characters in these roles. We're so used to seeing gangsters in London, particularly, a certain type of gangster and a certain type of violence and certain type of criminality. There was something way more sophisticated and designers suited about this particular type of approach to it that I was really interested in.

How would you best describe Alexander Dumani?

Paapa Essiedu: Alex is the future. He’s the present and the future. There's a shelf life to the type of approach that both families, the Dumanis and the Wallaces, have to their work because of the shelf life to it. Everyone wants to go legitimate ultimately, and the key tool to going legitimate exists in the brain of Alexander Dumani, but it doesn't come easy. There are many trials and tribulations in the way before we get to where we get.

How thrilling is it that this is a show that shows a lot of diversity and gives them an equal footing in the series?

Paapa Essiedu:  From the top the show is trying to debunk any expectations that you might have in those kind of shows and stay a step ahead of the audience. We don't want the audience to feel comfortable or feel safe really, after watching the show. We all want them to feel like they're desperate to know what happens next. That's threaded into the DNA of the approach that we're making to it. It's really really exciting to be at the center of that.

How was working with this cast?

Paapa Essiedu: It was good. We ended up being really close. We like to have a good laugh on set and everything, especially when what's happening on set is so serious, and so shocking. You've got to maintain a sense of play and try the vive off set. So yeah, it was really it was really good laugh in my world.

You also appeared I May Destroy You earlier this year. How was shooting that series?

Paapa Essiedu: It was great. I shot that pretty soon after finishing shooting Gangs of London. Yeah, it's weird. It couldn't be more different, I suppose, in tone. We shot in a lot of the same places, and I'm from London. That’s my life. That's my world. It was a real privilege to be able to make two great shows in my hometown.

What goes into saying yes to the roles you take?

Paapa Essiedu: The writing in general. It's generally about the story. If the story is on point. and if it interests me, and if I find it challenging or innovative in some way, then it's got my attention. I'm less interested in doing things that feel repeated and motif for something that's a bit conventional. I'm less interested in that.