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[ No. 15 ] Lock Stock & . . . by Ramon Lobato Forget the fact that his film was No. 1 at the UK box office for almost a month, or that it has already eclipsed "Trainspotting" in ticket sales. For Brit actor come heart-throb Nick Moran, it wasn't until he was chased by a swarm of office girls down a London street that he realised he'd made it as a star. Fortunately, Moran, star of Guy Ritchie's black comedy "Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels", wasn't too busy to catch up over the phone from his home in England. 'We were number one film at the box office, for about three weeks, then we got knocked off by these newcomers -- some bloke called Steven Spielberg, and a couple of other new kids on the block called Tom Hanks and Matt Damon,' Moran laughs. 'It's been a riproaring success over here, it's really unprecedented.' Moran, who plays the lovable East-ender card shark, Eddy, in "Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels" will be a new face to many moviegoers outside of the UK. The same is true with the other three leads, and Moran cites this as the film's greatest quality. 'It's full of great unknowns,' he explains, 'people that have done stuff that hasn't been seen by anybody. Vinnie Jones has never acted before -- he's a famous soccer star -- but he's brilliant! Jason Statham, the guy who plays my flatmate Bacon, the director discovered him when he was selling perfume on a street corner outside Harrods. He was so charismatic that Guy said "I want you in my film" -- he'd never done any acting in his life, he had never even entertained the idea. It's not a name film, it's not about anyone being particularly famous on a national or international level. My brother's a student and he's at university in Sheffield,' Moran continues, 'and people there are making quotes from the movie all the time, people are already memorising the script.' For some moviegoers "Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels" may be the funniest film of the year, but it could also be the most violent. With a huge body count and some truly menacing bad guys, Lock Stock has been criticised for excessive use of violence -- but only by 'very stupid people who can all go away,' says Moran. 'They should have a good sit down and a cup of tea,' he recommends. 'It's comic book violence. You don't see anybody get punched, you don't see anybody get headbutted -- there's nothing graphic in it, it's all implied and suggested.' Moran insists that these same detractors make no mention of Lock Stock's strong anti-drug message, which is an important but overlooked aspect of the film. 'It's probably the strongest anti-drug film made in a very long time,' he says. Lock Stock, nevertheless has given Moran an opportunity to indulge in one of his own favourite vices -- gambling. It is Eddy's love of cards in the film that starts him and his three mates on their whirlwind journey through London's underworld. Moran even put in a few days at his local casino before shooting commenced -- all in the name of research, of course. 'We spent a lot of time playing cards with Guy, the writer/director. He was constantly handing the cards out. So we were all playing various games of cards in the rehearsals, even to the point where Jason Fleming (Tom) lost so much money that he had to do a day's filming for nothing. I won 200 quid off Guy -- which he never paid me -- but that was my highlight.' With a role in a West End play currently receiving rave reviews
and sell-out houses, Moran has no shortage of career possibilities
and has signed up for a thriller project with John Hurt, as well
as an adaptation of the novel "Rancid Aluminium", which will see
him sport 'a ridiculous costume, a ridiculous accent and a silly
wig'. Moran's only difficulty is in deciding which of the countless
scripts that he is being offered are worth pursuing. 'I'm in that
awkward position of having to pick the right ones -- you don't want
to pick a turkey. You can't follow Lock Stock -- that was a one-off
film. But I don't want to do something that's completely crap as
a consequence of having done something that was completely good.'
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