Simply dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, Valmike Rampersad didn't look or act like someone who played the lead character in an award winning film.
A son of T&T soil, Rampersad moved to London at age 16, where he worked and enrolled in two schools–The Method Studio and then the Central School of Speech and Drama. He eventually gave up his communications job at Ralph Lauren and flung himself into theatre training. Rampersad's enthusiasm paid off as he had the opportunity to act in various films.
However, his acting as a suicidal manic depressive in the 20-minute film Open Secrets, gained much attention, and the film won an award in November. Open Secrets copped the Best Film Title at the Buffalo San Film Festival on November 13–two days before Rampersad's birthday. The film, set in London, is a drama about the stigma of mental health in the Asian community. "It was exciting playing that character because it was a character so far removed from me," said Rampersad. He spent a lot of time researching manic depressive illnesses and went as far as to ask doctors about the condition.
In the film, Rampersad's character, Sunil, smokes cigarettes–something Rampersad never did before–but he learnt. "I don't smoke and the first types of cigarettes were too strong for me, so they found some different ones." Smoking was not the only new thing to Rampersad, as he has to look like he attempts suicide in the film.
Missing family
Rampersad's genuine modesty about his contribution to the film was impressive. He maintained it was a team effort. Some of Rampersad's past work includes the film Aisha and Nadeem–first runner-up in at the Satyajit Ray Awards. According to the actor, the film had no script, even for the part in which he is kidnapped. That, he said, gave it an unassailable realism.
Aisha and Nadeem made such an impression that it was picked up at the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival for international distribution. He also acted in a film shot in Denmark last year, Get to Know Me. Despite his accomplishments in London, Rampersad visits T&T every year. He ensures he eats a lot of callaloo–which he says is not the same in London. "Two things I miss most about Trinidad are my family and the weather," he said.
Photos first
Rampersad said initially actors get picked because of their photographs: "You need to maintain your headshots but the good thing is that there is a market for every look and size," he said.
www.valmike.com
