Local radio personality Allan Stevens did not hesitate to take up the role of a first-time father when he was offered a part in the local short film Giving Life.
The short film was by local film producer Rajnel Prasad and his Bright Future Films company in collaboration with the Fiji National University’s College of Medicine (Fiji School of Medicine).
The script was co-written by Ashfaaq Khan and a former lecturer of Film and TV production Satish Rai, who resides in Australia.
And when the two sat down to write the character Ryan in the movie, they already had Stevens in mind and wrote the script according to his personality.
“Ashfaaq had written Ryan with me in mind, and was inspired by my ‘Rotuman-ness’ as he called it, which he put into the character.
“I was approached by Raj and Ashfaaq to be a part of the Giving Life project. We had worked closely together previously so when he had written the script for the movie, Ashfaaq insisted that I be cast as Ryan because he had written that role with me in mind,” Stevens said.
He appreciated the role agreeing that Ryan’s way of taking on the challenges life usually threw at him suited his personality.
“It was brilliant in the way it took a serious issue like childbirth and motherhood and infused it with different scenarios from everyday life with a touch of drama and comedy,” he said. “I think that those who watch the short film will be able to relate to it.”
Stevens plays Ryan, a former champion athlete in his prime, who because of injury was not able to pursue a very promising sports career but instead went on to coach high school sports.
Ryan tries to realise his dream of being a professional athlete through the students he coaches and is very strict and tough with them in their training. His whole life is just focussed on success.
“He is the typical guy in that he speaks in sports jargon, doesn’t have any clue about women, and is somewhat a chauvinist,” Stevens said.
Ryan’s world of sporting success was blown apart upon learning his wife was pregnant. He couldn’t run as fast as he would have liked or planned on being a father.
“Ryan can be very idiotic in the way that he deals with being a first-time father. His antics which come from a genuine concern for his wife can sometimes frustrate her and lead to conflict.
“The prospect of fatherhood can be overwhelming for first-time dads and there is a lot of anxiety and stress that comes with that. Similarly my character in the movie faced similar challenges before the birth of his child but was able to overcome that when he held his child for the first time and I can relate to that,” Stevens said.
One thing that Stevens loves about his character though is the fact that if the audience wades through all the machismo Ryan puts up as a wall, he is a devoted family man and supports his wife during her pregnancy.
To put all these words into his acting took a lot of research and luckily enough, Stevens is no stranger to acting as he had previously won an award for best comedy with the cast and crew of a film at the Kula Film Awards.
“After reading the script I watched a lot of movies and I also watched my uncles, who I thought reflected the personality of Ryan and tried to imitate them,” Stevens said.
When asked about his thoughts on the Fiji movie industry and the issue of pregnancy in the movie, Stevens just gave a one line answer to the pregnancy issue and a whole lot of lines for the movie industry.
A typical Ryan answer.
