Film / Interviews
Joe Sims: ‘There’s a darkness in me that needs to be sated’
Joe Sims is a supercharged Duracell Bristolian bunny when he hosts the BBC Radio Bristol breakfast show every morning but at the Encounters Film Festival, cinemagoers will see a very different side to him.
He stars as a psychotic decorator in Blockhead, which receives its first Bristol screening at Watershed on Saturday evening.
Sims describes Blockhead as “The Shining meets Fight Club in Britain, which I think is pretty compelling”.
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“The minute I read the script, I couldn’t put it down,” said Sims on a recent morning in the Arnolfini bar.
He plays Mikey in Blockhead which was written and directed by Matt Harlock, and produced by Bristol’s Oliver Kendall.
“He’s been referred to in reviews as a demented handyman, which I love!” Sims laughed.
“When I’m on the radio, I try to put a little bit of positivity into the world and send everyone to work with a bit of a spring in their step.
“But there’s a darkness in me that needs to be sated and I get to do that because of the unfortunate way I look on stage and on screen!”
Joe Sims presents the BBC Radio Bristol breakfast show from 6am to 10am every weekday – photo: BBC
Blockhead tells the story of a novelist with writer’s block who, searching for inspiration, goes to a warehouse in east London where he meets Sims’ character.
The handyman gets the author to do more and more outlandish things, and the more outlandish things he does, the more it frees up his writing – but it comes with consequences.
Sims has acted in Broadchurch and Doctor Who but this production was a much more low budget affair.
“In the same way as professional footballers would probably be playing Sunday league football if they weren’t playing professionally because they just love the game, this is like a love letter to the world of acting and the world of filmmaking because it’s made by people that genuinely care about it and have got a primal urge to tell a story,” Bristol City fan Sims explains.
And he is now thrilled that after a premiere at London’s FrightFest in August, the film will be able to be watched by a Bristol audience.
“I’m a passionate Bristolian through and through, and so the first people that I want to come and see our film are other Bristolians…
“My mates always laugh at me because they say that I sound like a competition winner, but I feel like a competition winner!
“As a kid growing up, I walked past the Watershed and aspired to be on the screen there and play in theatres like Bristol Old Vic, so the idea that my film is going to be here and having been on stage at the Old Vic, it’s a beautiful feeling.
“So I’m excited. It feels like a homecoming and I just hope that people like it.”
Blockhead screens at the Watershed at 8pm on Saturday as part of Encounters Film Festival, followed by a Q&A with the cast and crew. For tickets and more information, visit 2025.encounters.film
Main photo: Blue Finch Film
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