From Hollywood to London and online hit with Hardy Bucks spin off Viper's View

Lorcan Fox is a fim and TV director. He works on a TV show called Sam Delaney's News Thing. For the past 18 months Fox has been making the online news series Viper's View with English-born, Irish-based actor and writer Chris Tordoff, who wrote produced and played Francis 'The Viper' Higgins in the RTÉ series Hardy Bucks.

What is your background and how long have you been away from Ireland?

I studied film and video at the National Film School of Ireland (formerly IADT) and graduated in 2003. I worked in Hollywood on shows such as The Anna Nicole Show and The Osbournes. I also worked for a few years in Ireland on commercials and random bits of TV and movies, before doing sports and news with Paul Collins. Then the crash came and although I had a job and was happy, I always wanted to live abroad. I had lots of family and friends in London, so off I went in January 2009.

How did you become a filmmaker?

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Indiana Jones, Stella cinema, Rathmines, circa 1988. It was love at first sight. This immediate fascination was then nurtured and supported by my ma Norah, who had a lot of friends in the creative world.

How did you get your big break?

I got my first job in Dublin as a trainee director from my graduate film at a college showcase I put on in the Sugar Club.

What have you been working on recently?

We now make Viper's View once a month as an insert for Sam Delaney's News Thing. I have also started working on News Thing and direct all the VTs (short video inserts that get played during the studio show). I shoot Fulham Football Club's home matches every other week. I occasionally direct for Going Underground , a political TV show, and have been in the Ecuadorian embassy to interview Assange, as well as doing Noam Chomsky, John Pilger and Pamela Anderson. I also just shot a campaign for ancestry DNA with the Made in Chelsea cast and I collaborate regularly with the artist Stuart Semple.

What made you decide to move to London?

Becoming single. Well, it was more the fact that I love working on comedy/music/football – all of which is excellent here.

Are opportunities better there for filmmakers than they are in Ireland?

There are a lot more opportunities, for sure. There are much bigger events, much bigger stars – just a much bigger infrastructure. Game of Thrones and Vikings are great for a few lucky people in Ireland (and those high profile shows probably give an inflated sense of how healthy the industry is), but it must be to the factor of 10 bigger over here. There's no comparison.

Where in London do you live?

I live in Peckham, which is very close to Westminster, the West End and London Bridge, where I’m mostly based. It is still affordable, probably due to the lack of a Tube station. Likewise, the negative is there is no tube, and too many buses on the street.

Tell us a bit about your life there?

Both myself and my partner Lisa cycle most of the time, but are partial to the occasional Uber. We’ve just moved in, so we are still finding our feet. I’ve been doing a lot of DIY and she has been trying out all the local yoga spots, and together we have been sampling the numerous great eateries.

Do you hang out with Irish friends in London and is there an Irish community where you live?

Yes, I have a lot of Irish friends, most of whom have bought property or are having kids or both. I used to play football with the UCC Diaspora team and I also regularly go to events at the London Irish Centre and the Irish Embassy.

What have you gained from working in another country?

Everything. Perspective. London is truly one of the world’s great multicultural cities. It seems a contradictory thing to say but I feel acutely more Irish yet less nationalistic as I get older.

[  abroad@irishtimes.co ]