BAFTA Rising Star winner David Jonsson has described the “intense” and emotionally draining shoot for his latest film Wasteman, which premiered at the BFI London Film Festival.
The gritty drama marks the directorial debut of Cal McMau and delves deep into violence, toxic masculinity, and survival behind bars.
The film follows Taylor, played by Jonsson, whose hopes for early release are thrown into chaos when he’s paired with a volatile new cellmate, Dee (Tom Blyth). As their uneasy bond grows, a violent attack forces Taylor to choose between loyalty and freedom.
Shot over just 18 days, the film’s claustrophobic setting and raw performances took a toll on the cast.
“It was an intense shoot,” Jonsson told The Standard at Thursday’s premiere.
Jonsson, who lost 30lbs for the role, praised his co-star for helping him through the physically and emotionally taxing process.
“Decompressing is an afterthought sometimes, but it’s easy working with this man to my right [Tom Blyth]. We love each other deeply as working partners but also as mates — after a hard day we’d talk, hang out and chill. That made it easier.”
Blyth, meanwhile, admitted that shaking off his character at the end of the day was often impossible.
“I can’t always do it,” Blyth said. “Some nights I would go home, have a cup of tea and sit and watch some TV and I realised I was carrying Dee’s tension. I think he’s ultimately very fearful person even though he doesn’t show it.
“He’s guarded because he doesn’t want to show his vulnerability and I definitely felt.”
Adding: “The funny thing was I was going to set everyday with all this bravado Dee has and then when I got home and no one was looking I felt his fear and his vulnerability, which was kind of weird because on the page I thought he was just bravado and then I was like underneath all that is rawness that he’s hiding. I felt that at the end of every day.”
Rivals star Alex Hassell said the shoot’s realism meant the cast often had to reassure one another between takes.
“We mainly apologised to each other, so I have to be really horrible and intimidating to a bunch of these guys,” he said. “We didn’t really know each other that well, you’re straight into it, improvising certain amounts of how the scenes are going to go so often you're trying to just make sure everyone's okay – and, sort of, I don’t know, not step too far out of it at the end of each take, but make it feel safe.”
Hassell described playing Dee’s ruthless rival inmate as an “interesting challenge,” explaining how the stripped-back realism of Wasteman made the experience both powerful and unsettling.
He continued: “This was particularly interesting because it felt very naturalistic and you’re trying to be as real and as like, un-sort of elevated as possible and therefore it sort of felt crueller and harder so I found it uncomfortable but it’s an interesting part of acting is to try and explore the kinds of psyches that you don’t inhabit and the worlds and experiences you don’t in yourself, sort of in your own life, partake in so an interesting challenge.”
Wasteman offers a raw look at prison life and rehabilitation, examining masculinity, fear and redemption through a stark, human lens. It marks the feature debut of director Cal McMau, who aimed to balance the brutality of incarceration with moments of empathy and hope.
Jonsson, meanwhile, is continuing his streak of working with emerging directorial talent, teaming up with musician Frank Ocean on an untitled project and with actor-director Coleman Domingo on Scandalous!, which follows the clandestine love affair between film star Kim Novak and singer Sammy Davis Jr. in 1957.
Asked what draws him to first-time filmmakers, he said: “I think it’s just good people. I don’t work with directors, man — I work with people.”
Smiling, he added of how prep for the upcoming Domingo-film starring Sydney Sweeney: “Sammy is exciting — that’s all I’ll say.”
Wasteman will hit UK cinemas February 20, 2026
