FILM LONDON LODESTARS: Calvin Demba
"I love Calvin’s approach in Baby Dolls, which manages to feel fresh and Shakespearean all at the same time. I always appreciate a message wrapped in comedy. Calvin's momentum behind the camera could easily overtake the progress he's made in front of it."
Jordan McGarry (Head of Talent Development & Production, Film London)
Calvin Demba is a fresh young writer, actor, director and poet from East London who is full of character. Calvin first gained attention for his innovative spoken word series Rue Boy which was broadcast as part of Channel 4’s Random Acts series to much critical acclaim. The mini-series was written by and starred Calvin in the lead role and led to Calvin developing his first scripted series with Channel 4. Calvin’s debut short film, the BFI NETWORK-backed Babydolls, is whip-smart and hilarious. Calvin is currently developing an original scripted comedy-drama series called Fleeting Fortunes with Drake’s production company 30kft in Los Angeles, and developing short film scripts that could serve as a proof of concept for a feature.
As an actor despite no formal training, Calvin’s talent has landed him significant roles on both stage and screen, including starring in Amazon’s upcoming thriller series The Rig, Emma Thompson’s Last Christmas, Idris Elba’s Yardie, and Mike Bartlett’s Life for BBC1. In 2014 Calvin was listed by Screen Daily as one of their ‘UK Stars of Tomorrow’. Calvin was nominated for the Evening Standard 'Emerging Talent' Award for his performance in Patrick Marber's The Red Lion at the National Theatre.
