David Dawson on 'My Policeman,' Gay Romance, and Working With Harry Styles and Emma Corrin
In the hotly anticipated period film My Policeman, David Dawson explores a complicated, clandestine affair and draws inspiration from his character's experience.
Photography by Zeb Daemen
Styled by Michael Miller
Since its announcement, the frenzy surrounding the upcoming film My Policeman has been focused mainly on Harry Styles’ casting as one half of the story’s central same-sex relationship. On the other side of that relationship is David Dawson, a British actor best known for his roles in The Last Kingdom and various BBC dramas. In My Policeman, Dawson plays Patrick Hazelwood, a museum curator whose midcentury clandestine relationship with an attractive young policeman named Tom (Styles) could threaten both of their lives.
As a gay man, making My Policeman was certainly an emotional experience for Dawson, but also educational and rewarding. “It’s certainly stayed with me and in the most beautiful of ways,” he says. L’OFFICIEL connected via Zoom with the actor—who was logging in from a friend’s (un-airconditioned) London apartment—on a warm August afternoon. Here, Dawson unravels those lingering feelings to piece together the formula for such an enchanting film.
L’OFFICIEL: What was the audition process like for My Policeman?
DAVID DAWSON: I’ve been a big fan of [director] Michael Grandage for years, and I’ve worked with him and for him in the theater a few times now. My agent received a call from Michael [asking] if I would read this script and audition for him. So, because I love him so much, I devoured it that night. There are certain scripts you come across as an actor when you have this kind of funny feeling in your gut that I did with this, with Patrick, that I knew this man and I would do all I could to end up playing him. To look into this period of British society when being someone like me would’ve been incredibly difficult, I was fascinated by the question of, what do you have to do to survive in that world and be happy? And how would I have coped as well? So, that and the fact that it was Michael Grandage meant that I really wanted to be a part of this project.
"I was fascinated by the question of, what do you have to do to survive in that world and be happy?"
L’O: How was it working with Harry Styles and Emma Corrin?
DD: It was amazing. It was very special. They were wonderful to work with and I sincerely mean that. We had the luxury of having this rehearsal period, so we had time to really build this chemistry and dynamic among the three of us. And also separately, as in me and Harry and Harry and Emma. I was really lucky because going into a project like this, when it is about three characters who grow so close, you hope you’re going to work with people you can trust and have fun with, and I really hit gold with them. The level of support we were given and the level of support we gave each other meant that, hopefully, we created something special. And since then, I went to see Harry on stage for the first time while he was performing in Brixton. I was just so proud of him. He’s this incredible showman, so it was weird knowing him the other way around. And Emma as well—I got to see them on stage in the West End and they were stunning. They both have an incredible versatility that always excites me as an actor.
L’O: In this film, your character has a trial scene. Maybe this is a testament to how much things have changed, but I never realized how often queer people in the ‘50s faced not only physical violence or societal exclusion, but also legal persecution. How did it feel playing a character who is being put on trial for his identity?
DD: When I did my research into this period and found a lot of talking heads of men who had lived at this time, my initial reaction as a gay man was an emotional one, and anger as well, I suppose. But it reminded me of, years ago, when I worked with a man called Tony Warren, who created the soap opera Coronation Street. I played him in this [2010 drama, The Road to Coronation Street] and I was looking to become his friend. He was a young gay man during this time. We would sit for hours together and he would tell me about this period and, actually, the stories he told me are ones of romance and excitement in this clandestine sort of life that he had to lead. It’s a testament to the queer community that out of something horrible they managed to find hope and passion and love and friendship. So all those conversations came back to me. I suppose I then, and especially for Patrick, concentrated on those stories I heard about how people had found their own happiness and made their way through life during this time and found hope and romance and sex.
L’O: On the surface, this film is about a closeted gay man finding love, but the heart of it is really themes of identity and acceptance. Is that something that you related to when you were reading the script?
DD: A journey of self-discovery, maybe? Yes. The universal question that I love about this complex triangle is just how far they all have to go to understand who they are, and it takes a lifetime for them to do that. It’s the question of, what would you do for love? Not only for somebody else, but for yourself.
L’O: The story takes place in Brighton, and the scenery is so beautiful and really matches the overall tone of the film. Was that helpful for you during filming?
DD: Absolutely. It’s a Victorian seaside town. I already have a real love for the place. I’ve been going for years, whether that’s with my fella or friends or family. I’ve performed there at the Theatre Royal Brighton too, but you’re right. Brighton has its own character within this story because it’s a place that’s full of history but also full of romance. It also has these hidden alleyways, like the secrets of our story and the secrets that the characters keep from each other. It’s full of art as well. There are lots of different areas that are still just like they were in the ‘50s. I love being in period dramas because of that little boy that’s still in my head who wanted to be an actor—the thrill of walking onto a set and being in a completely different time period; you never lose that joy. All the beautiful cars and the fashion and the etiquette of how you had to be during this different time and looking into the way that women are meant to behave, and men are meant to behave. I’m constantly fascinated by that.
"It's a testament to the queer community that out of something horrible they namanged to find hope and passion and love and friendship."
L’O: You’ve done a lot of period dramas. Is there another genre you'd really like to do?
DD: I’m a huge fan of horror. I have been since I was young, so some kind of fucked-up horror.
L’O: By the end of the film, the three main characters reach what feels like one last chance to find peace. Were you able to walk away from this character with your own sense of catharsis?
DD: The one thing this film really did was give me a great appreciation of just what the LGBTQ+ community and its allies have achieved for me to be able to now have all these freedoms in my life. It certainly did that and also acknowledged there’s still so much more to be done. It was a very special project to be a part of.
GROOMING Brady Lea
SET DESIGN Josh Stovell
PHOTO ASSISTANT Jack Snell
STYLING ASSISTANT Lacie Gittins
SET DESIGN ASSISTANT Benthe De Vries and Tagore Chayne
