Why This True Crime Story Became a Major Film | NO ORDINARY HEIST Interview

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:09]My guests today are director Colin Macgyver and actress Eva Berthistle and the brand new feature film No Ordinary Heist. Now, No Ordinary Heist marks Colin's third feature film based on the remarkable 26 and a half million pound northern bank robbery. And the film stars Eddie Marsan and Iana Hardwick, Eva Berthistle, as well as Michelle Fairley. And in addition to his film work, Colin is an accomplished television director. His credits include the 2023 World War II epic World on Fire for Prime Time BBC 1, as well as several award-winning short films. Now, actress Eva Berthistle recently starred in series 2 of Bad Sisters for Apple TV opposite Anne Marie Duff, Sharon Han, and Sarah Green, as well as Eve Houston.

[00:01:01]Now, the show won best drama series and best supporting actress at the 2023 BAFTA awards. She is also best known for her role in Ken Loach's A Fond Kiss, which saw her win a London Critic Circle film award and also starred in the Oscar nominated Brooklyn for John Crowley. She can also be seen in the hit Netflix show The Last Kingdom. But both are here today to talk about the new suspense thriller, which is based on true events, No Ordinary Heist, which to me is a mustsee feature film. So ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome director Colin Macgyver and actress Eva Eva Berthistle to the show. So welcome to both of you.

[00:01:44]>> Thank you. Very nice to be here.

[00:01:47]>> Well, Colin, let's kick this off with you. The film is based on a true story of the 2004 Northern Ireland bank robbery. What intrigued you about that particular event to make a film about it?

[00:02:01]Yeah, it was just one of those um I didn't know at the time, but it was a it became a very seismic event. Um I I actually happened to by chance pass the bank the morning after the robbery um and it was all cordoned off. And it was one of those uh stories that as it unraveled, not necessarily the politics, but more the human story. Um, and the fact that it was the largest bank uh robbery of cash in British and Irish history where the gang never stepped foot inside the bank that it just felt so cinematic. And um after I had finished my second feature, I was looking about for projects and it just it just bubbled to the top really as as um something I could could get stuck into. And uh yeah, I did a a very what what I would describe as a vomit draft um to get it out there and put it into a scheme in London and it did really well.

[00:02:50]It got through a bunch of sort of um decision rounds, judging rounds and so I knew I had something but uh when I brought Ashen Corstein on my coowriter, she really helped sort of knock it into shape and and uh yeah, off off we went.

[00:03:06]Well, you know, after I watched the film, I went and did some extra research on the actual bank robbery and the story is extremely complex because there's even a story after the story. So, >> Oh, yeah.

[00:03:23]>> And for you, was it a little difficult to really bring that whole story just basically focusing on the bank robbery itself? Because like I said there was a whole another story after this whole situation was found out.

[00:03:40]>> Well look I think when you grow up in the troubles and even myself both did you know I mean it it's very few families it doesn't touch and it's it's not not in a good way you know we certainly have had um occurrences in my family um around the troubles and I grew up a stone throw from a British army helicopter base. So my whole soundtrack as a child playing football or whatever was helicopters literally 20 ft above our heads coming and going from so it it it was it's something that you're immersed in at a young age but when I decided that film making was the discipline that I wanted to move into um it never appealed you know it never appealed as uh as a subject matter that I wanted to get into. the TV was full of trouble stories, you know, as you know, living on your side of the pond. Um that's what we're known for, you know, in Northern Ireland. Um but I that was not what attracted me to the story, but as you say, there is a bigger fallout into the um Good Friday Agreement and what the robbery actually meant. you know, there's there's a big story there and obviously what happened to the real families is absolutely harrowing and you know, it can never be understated and it's something that I say repeatedly that you know our our hearts go out to them all of us you know the cast, the crew, you know, we all knew we were sort of dealing with a subject that that actually affected real people. So, um, but yeah, it was more the I was, in a weird way, I was sort of looking for almost a little chamber piece, a two-hander that could be contained. And, you know, this was a a contained chamber piece in a bank vault with huge consequences, you know. So, um, yeah, that's that's that's that's where the starting point was really. Well, you know what was so intriguing about this whole film was is if someone doesn't know that it was based on true events, you would look at the film going, "Wow, this is just brilliant writing. It's a brilliant idea. This is the coolest thing. Who would ever think about robbing a bank by never stepping foot in it?" But this is a really a true story and that's what is so mind-boggling.

[00:05:43]But that do you know what that that's something that and you know even with what I have now on my um slate and inverted com what's on my desktop I I find that it I I just think you know with True Stories um you get much more bang for your buck really you know and you do with Zoom my previous one about the woman who kept an elephant in her backyard in the 1941 blitz you know a hell of amount of what happened after the film was released was people going off and googling and seeing the true event and seeing the photos and on God that that really happened, you know, and I'm I hope um I mean we're in the almost sixth week, I think, here in Northern Ireland with it in a cinema, which is unheard of for such a small independent film, you know, and that just goes to show that people are still intrigued by what what happened there, you know. So, um yeah, as I say, true stories are something that that, you know, it's not overly intentional, but it's definitely what catches my radar of what's out there, you know. Oh, well, I I'm a sucker for period pieces and true stories when it comes to film. And Eva, for you, what intrigued you about the script to want to play Selene Murray opposite of Eddie Marson?

[00:06:55]>> Well, I think you probably touched on on um quite a bit of what what appealed to me as well. It was the true story aspect of it. I sort of I I um I vaguely remembered it happening, but I couldn't I couldn't remember the details of the whole event. And so um when I read the script I immediately Googled it and again like you was utterly sort of you know blown away by the fact that this happened without anybody actually step stepping foot in the bank. So it was sort of it was the the sort of intrigue and I mean dare I say excitement you know taking just at that sort of that element of it but it is sort of fascinating sort of um um event that took place and they and the fact that they they managed to do it in the first place but ultimately and really you know what appeals appealed to me and appeals I think probably to most actors when they're reading a script is the human story because that's you know that's what matters first and foremost but it's also what touches us and what you know either we can relate to or what makes us feel and have a response and have a reaction and it was this very very human story um uh that that was at the heart of it. So sort of, you know, in amongst all this kind of the craziness of of the heist itself and everything, you know, that sort of, you know, happened on the day, you have these people whose lives are very um damaged by it and and and Seline had to go through such a an awful awful ordeal that it was sort of just, you know, sort of, you know, thinking about what that must have been like for her, you know, and and exploring that.

[00:08:30]That's what appealed really. Well, you know, for you, you know, because like you said, you read the script and then you went and Googled it because I, you know, after I saw the film, I wanted to know more about this whole story. And for you, how much research outside the script did you have to do so you could feel about shaping Selene Murray's character?

[00:08:55]Well, this was a slightly tricky one in the sense that the um the the families involved made a very conscious decision to keep them themselves out of any sort of limelight and they didn't want any press around them at the time. They were very I think you know worried and concerned about um what people thought of them with their safety and their privacy and and all that. So there there was nothing to find on them really. there was Selen's and um some of because of her trans you know her accounts were read out in court. So there was um some of that that I could you know look at and and um and helped inform what happened on the day but even that was sort of I could only only you get to little bits that were in newspaper articles um but I couldn't meet her um and I couldn't so I I had to sort of go on what the facts were that were presented to us what Colin had um brilliantly sort of you know created in the script and amongst the facts and then myself and Eddie talked about you know who these people are. We, you know, what their backstory was and how they met and what their relationship was like before it started to sort of fracture. And we created our own sort of um story around it to to make these people feel real and like they have a history and they're relatable and that we care about them.

[00:10:17]Um and that we believe that it's a marriage that has, you know, started to sort of pull apart. So that was sort of very much done with um chats with me and Eddie in the leadup to filming.

[00:10:27]>> Well, I think Go ahead, Colin.

[00:10:30]>> I was just going to say it's important to say that's it's inspired by um uh purely out of just um care of what what they had went through. you know, we we were we're all aware of what, you know, the the two men had to do for their families to save their families, but we fictionalized the names, you know, um the family dynamics are all fictionalized as well, you know. So, thankfully, Eva and the rest were very much willing to trust myself and and Ashen and what we had put on the script and, you know, tried to answer whatever questions we we thought m may be um useful, but um you know, a lot of it is very real. you know, a lot of the events what you know what happened, you know, even the bank takeover at the time, but the the marriage situation, the uh redundancies, you know, we no one knows the specifics of those. They were just layers that, you know, it's very important to put in there to to to keep it organic and uh yeah, keep it keep keep it um human. That was the thing that that I really liked, you know, because when it comes to feature films and I and and I love feature films like this one because you have the main story, you have the bank robbery, but there's also stories behind those stories that are filling in the blanks, giving the film more weight on the human side, on the character side. I loved the storyline between Seline and Richard because you show what their marriage dynamic is in the beginning. Then we start seeing a little bit of this change when you when you go back when you're going back and forth between scenes. Maybe you're at the bank. Maybe it's, you know, showing Selen's situation. It's showing Richard's situation. And I love the way that you completely brought this together in the end. Just the story of Seline and Richard alone has the perfect threeact arc in this film. Yeah. And a big lot of credit goes to Ashen Corine, my coowriter for that. She that was something she had been sending me her writing for um a good few years before we hooked up. Um it's it's funny actually. Um, Eva probably doesn't know this, but I met Ashley for the very first time on the set of New Oring Heist. We we wrote the script entirely via Zoom. Um, or not even, you know, WhatsApp and just emails and stuff like that. So, um, but we're very very very close, but she definitely had a really good way of um, dealing with the domestic situation and sort of keeping it grounded. You know, I think I my writing probably could get a bit more fancy Phil, a bit more Hollywood inverted commas. Um but uh uh Ashley was very good that way. But yeah, I think that's I think that's really important, you know, because it's it um as as Eva said and Eddie and Anna, you know, that they all want to, you know, get their teeth into something that they can believe in, you know, they want to the old cliche is wear the shoes, you know, so you you have to give them material that um that they can recognize, you know, and everyone's had a, you know, a bit of a Barney with the other half um and know know what it's like when it gets, you know, tense. But um yeah, that's something we're very proud of as well. In fact, we had a lot a really beautiful scene that at the beginning of the movie that just didn't quite make the cut um where it was an early morning scene with um Eva and Eddie, you know, which sort of set up what was to follow.

[00:14:00]But um yeah, the two guys, they they were great, you know. I mean, absolutely, >> blowing smoke direction here, but but absolutely superb. Couldn't be happier.

[00:14:09]>> Well, what was it about Eva that you wanted her to play the part of Seline?

[00:14:13]Well, Eva's name came up and it was one of it was one of those ones where literally there was a flurry of emails within uh seconds going hell yeah, hell yeah, hell yeah, hell yeah, hell yeah.

[00:14:26]I swear to honestly it was just um and it came from the uh casting agent. So obviously we we we we obviously went out to get our um Richard and Barry characters and that took a long time not just because of um names and stuff but availability. I mean that's the most difficult thing with independent film making is you you can have all the best ideas in the world but the the schedules that these guys have are just really hard to work around but um Eva's name popped up and it was one of those right across the board. There was about maybe seven or eight of us on the um on the email trail that all went yeah let 100% let let's go is and you know our work speak for itself. It's funny because when we when we went on set, I reminded her that I'd worked with her on a short film now, not as a director, you know, way way way back where she played and in fact our DP as well, D. Elliott shot the short film from back then. So those little things are little ice breakers that helped sort of, you know, you know, get us get us up on our feet, you know.

[00:15:26]So >> we're talking about like 25 years ago, aren't we? I think it's a long long time ago, maybe more.

[00:15:32]>> Yeah. I'd like to we could cl call ourselves kids back then, but um it was just one of those nice little connections. And I'd worked with Michelle on my first feature. I worked with Patty um both Patty Jenkins and Patrick O'Ne on on previous stuff, you know. So, you're just trying to populate the the cast with um people you want to work with for God's sake, you know, and humans, you know. It's um that's that's what the Big E was. And obviously, A's ridiculous. He's he's you know, he's he's not playing fair at all at the moment. He's winning all the awards and Eddie is just a he's a an independent film one man invalidator you know so when he came on board we knew we you know we were going to have power there you know so uh just totally blessed across the board really >> well you had you had really perfect casting in this film because as I'm watching it and I'm watching all the characters I'm listening to the dialogue watching how it's delivered I can't picture anybody else in any of those parts because everybody just fit their role perfectly.

[00:16:38]>> It is funny. It is funny how you know Eva is Eva is a director in her own right and she so she'll know this the pain of trying to sort of put the jigsaw pieces together of cast you know it's but it's amazing how when you get out the door with your cast how you cannot think of anything other >> than what what you had and what they brought to it and you know there was no I was saying on a previous interview there's no direction involved you know you just go in and sort of point them towards the location and say here's roughly what's going to happen we'll try to get from this page to that page and they they were great, you know, right right across the border. Once um I suppose to get technical about it, once we got um Eddie and Ana, so you've got a guy from Cork um in Ana, the south of Ireland, and Eddie who's a Londoner. Um so neither are from Northern Ireland. My my if there was a you know a Mavavelian plan it was to populate the other rules around those guys as most as as much as possible as Northern Irish if not Irish you know to have that you know access to the Northern Irish accent you know which is particularly difficult um so and AA's background is that you you grew up in Derry didn't you?

[00:17:48]>> Yeah >> I moved to Derry in um in 88. Yeah.

[00:17:52]>> Yeah. Yeah. So, it was trying to >> Yeah. Trying to have um people surrounding them, you know, that that uh that would bring that authenticity to it. And and you know, Eddie and everything that he's talked about in the film since he's said that that was such a massive help that, you know, everyone would mock in and go, Eddie, um you screwed that line up. It's it's you pronounce it this way or you know and he'd be the first of all hand up and say he loved the challenge you know and um he was just astonishing but yeah >> no it is because I've been to Ireland love it one of my favorite countries and but the dialect in Northern Ireland is much stronger much heavier it's kind of like being in the UK and the farther north you go the dialect truly changes.

[00:18:44]And when I was in Ireland, a friend of ours who who lives there, we were in a pub and now for me, I couldn't tell the difference between anybody's Irish accent and where they from. She knew exactly where they were from, where they lived just by the dialect. She knew the slight changes. And so when I watched the film, I was impressed with everybody's u ability to try to bring that Northern Irish dialect to the film because ladies and gentlemen, when you watch No Ordinary Heist, you feel that this film from beginning to end is completely Northern Irish. So Colin, you did a spectacular job, especially with the casting and for all of the all of the actors really bringing their agame, especially in that area.

[00:19:43]>> Yeah. No, listen, it's, you know, Eva can talk to it more. I mean, that that that um that is a massive challenge, you know, and the the guys, you know, even Eva's lived across in London for a long time, you know, to click back into that accent, which is very specific, you know, I mean, you do you want to have a we word on that? Yeah.

[00:20:01]>> Yeah. It's I was lucky enough that I had I suppose spent those quite formative years in Derry. So you know I was there for maybe seven years from you know from a teenager and and my parents still live there. So I go back you know a few times a year and I only sort of have to be there for half an hour and you know I sort of start to go you know straight back into into the rhythm of it. But um so I found that I I was very much at at an advantage. Um, but I think like for Eddie, you know, that's like it is a big ask. It's a difficult accent and also it's a true story. There's something about it being, you know, you're um you're playing these real people. So, you feel like there's you you have you you have to nail it even more so there's an added kind of pressure I think. And, you know, Eddie's obviously English and um being, you know, with a a predominantly Northern Irish crew as well. I'm sure the pressure he felt he must have felt the pressure. He he didn't show it. He's such a um a positive, lovely um you know, optimistic, energetic person to be around on on set. He he was, you know, always like driving it forward and he never seemed to be under pressure. But I just thought it's such a huge feat that to come over and and have to, you know, get that accent down, but as you said yourself, he did such a great job of it, you know.

[00:21:17]>> Oh, absolutely.

[00:21:18]>> Oh, no. Go ahead, Colin. I was just going to say what Eddie did at one of the little tricks and I hope he doesn't mind me saying this because we laughed about it so much on set was his years of working on Ray Donovan, you know, with the Boston accent. He found that the Boston accent was one that he could roll into Northern Irish a lot easier. So between takes and on set, you know, he would um quite often come up to you and go, "Hey Colin, how's it going?" You know, this Boston and you're like, "Yeah, it's all good." you know, and then you're like, "Oh, Christ, how is he going to roll into his next line in the next scene?" But he was um he was brilliant. And you know, you had a great vocal coach, a guy called Liam French Robinson who he works with on lots of stuff. So um yeah, it is a very big ask, you know, and and you know what, we're hyperritical over here in the UK and Ireland about people's accents, you know. So um so far so good, you know, everyone's sort of has bought into the authenticity of it. Well, I think I think uh everyone nailed it in in their performance. And Eva, your performance in this film as Seline is twofold. Your marriage is one-sided as your character isn't getting enough attention and affection from Richard, who is the bank manager, but then there is a line in the film where Richard asks you, "What do you want?" And his reaction to what you said was like what most men, "Let me fix it." and we move on. So, but with Seline, she was wanting the love and affection of her husband and then also to be emotionally present in their marriage. Correct.

[00:22:57]>> Yeah. Yeah. That that's that's right.

[00:22:59]You know, I think you know, as Colin said earlier, there's so many elements I think most people who've been in a relationship will be able to understand and we've we've all been there at certain times. Um, but I I I think what was painful for Seline, you know, was the fact that she had to had to be spelled out. That's what he was asking Harper, you know, like he he couldn't recognize it. He had to be told, you know, instead of instead of knowing, instead of sort of understanding her pain and getting it, >> sounds like a man.

[00:23:34]>> Well, you know, okay. Well, you know, okay. It's the same, but listen, you've said it.

[00:23:39]Well, yeah, because it's the scene where where he's standing there and and you and Eddie are having this conversation and he is completely disconnected emotionally >> right >> in in that scene. You could you could see it on his face because his mind was thinking about something else. And then his phone rings, which it was the bank again. And then the look on your face of like this is never going to end.

[00:24:12]>> Yeah. Well, he had a choice in that moment, didn't he? Don't pick up or pick up. And he chose to pick up. And that that said everything. Then she's she's done, you know. He he had one little kind of an opportunity and he he didn't he didn't even see it then. or he did, but he chose to to to go the other way and to ignore it. And I think that was everything to her.

[00:24:30]>> I think he answered the phone >> to escape the conversation.

[00:24:37]>> Yeah.

[00:24:38]>> Because emotionally he was so disconnected in that moment.

[00:24:46]>> And >> you know, cuz I was, you know, cuz as as I was watching it, I'm going don't answer it. Don't answer it. and he did and I'm like, "Oh man, this is not gonna this is not going to end well." But I also >> But I think you're absolutely right. I think that's very astute. I think that that's it was it was the easier it was the wrong thing to do, but it was the easier thing to do in in the moment instead of having to really confront her and and himself ultimately and to do it.

[00:25:16]It was that it was that moment for for him but he was basically saying I don't want to talk about this right now because he because I think for a man he wasn't ready. He also felt disarmed and again it goes back to he didn't know how to fix it and his idea of fixing it was just going to make it worse. But also, >> sorry, >> I I was I was just about to say cutting that scene was an absolute um privilege because there you know we we almost could have played that without dialogue that the looks and glances between the two of them were were superb and you know Eva I think it was your choice to sit down and look up at him and so that you had that sort of par dynamic as well which you know just um really which was turned the other way by her looks at him was was was brilliant, you know, and I think we paired the dialogue back quite a bit on that, you know. I mean, it all played out in the glances. So, um, no, it was really great. Sorry, Eva. Go ahead.

[00:26:26]>> Well, here's something that I also noticed in that scene. So, Colin, I'm going to give you credit for it, unless Eva was the one that suggested it, but I like the fact that you had her sitting down in the scene because if she was standing up, it would have come across more threatening, but her sitting down, it gave her more control of the situation and it put the heaviness of the conversation on Richard because now she's by her sitting down, >> it's like she's in the position to hopefully listen to what he has to say to in a way defend himself. So she was giving him space in a in a in a way a loving manner and then because if she was standing the scene would have not played out the same way.

[00:27:21]>> Yeah. It's it's almost one of those popcorn almost like sitting down and going go on go on you know.

[00:27:26]>> Exactly.

[00:27:28]I I think I'm sure it was Eva's uh decision to sit down. Um we we talk and block things through, you know, is whatever feels right, you know, but she is so utterly exasperated at that point, you know, it just felt like, you know, we we arrive into the scene where she's clearing out the wardrobe. So, we get a sense of, you know, her energy at that point and how pissed off she is. Excuse me. Um but it just felt so right, you know, was was that she just pop down and go, She she sort of sort of almost broken at that point. There's there's a there was a level of of exhaustion and she's so done with it all. Done done with him and done with you know her you know constant sort of trying and willing and you know wanting and him not giving anything back and him not having a language around it. So I think when we meet her at that point point she's spent you know. So it's also just the the physicality of just you know the version of collapsing isn't it but just sort of g I've got nothing left it's over to you now I've done my bit and I'm I'm spent you know so sort of it's the the deflated aspect of that >> well it's a p it's a you know it's a powerful scene because it really sets up the next series of events that come into the film and for you Eva most of the time In the film, you are frightened, scared, future uncertain, but now you had to rely on Richard to do what he was told so that you would survive. What elements or thought processes did you use to create the character of Seline in the areas in which she was taken hostage?

[00:29:11]>> Well, I think you know so much of that is um well, it's all you know it's reactive. So that there's only there's you know the prep that you do beforehand when you're you know reading the script over and over and you know making those decisions about you know the character and the relationship with her husband and but but really that thing then you sort of let that sort of permeate then you know and you sort of let let go of it and when you're when you're on set and with your um co-acctors you it's really age-old thing that you hear of all the time acting is reacting but but it is It's, you know, if if I'm not getting anything back off Richard, off Eddie, you know, then, you know, if he's in a playing it in a different way, I can only respond to what he's giving me and vice versa. So it's it's it's which makes it should make it organic and you know instinctual and and hopefully each time a little bit different as well because you don't want to you know you know you know with obviously we talk with Colin and like with any director you know the beats that you have to hit you know the trajectory of the scene but you sort of then try to let go of it as much as possible and it's a sort of that's a sort of you know the you know I suppose some actors do it very teing very naturally or else you sort of learn it with with time. But it's it's the skill of being able to absorb the notes and the the the conversation around the scene before filming it and then putting that to one side. Not not playing the notes, not not being conscious of those conversations, but just reacting to what's happening in the moment, knowing that you know your character and that we're all on the same page. So really it's sort of it's it's you know it's that sort of in the- moment response to something.

[00:30:59]>> You know the other thing about Seline characters Seline the character that I noticed was she almost was thinking ahead of the robbers.

[00:31:14]like, you know, the scene where the the young man is tying your hands behind your back and you're like, "No, don't put the tape over my mouth." And and so he he took basically the the the stocking cap and just put it over your whole head, over your face. I mean, what's it like acting with a stocking cap over your whole face?

[00:31:36]>> It It was not very pleasant. It was hot.

[00:31:41]Um, and you do very much rely on on everyone around you, you know, um, the actors you're you're with and and your crew because there's there's a huge amount of trust that goes along with as well. I couldn't see particularly well where I was being sort of forced um or else I've been, you know, sort of pushed down in the bed and and sort of handcuffed and taped together. And so, you know, it's it's not exactly a fun day at the office, but it's, you know, you want to do it justice and you want to make it real, so you want to go for it. But it's very much, you know, that that's, you know, along with Colin and and, you know, the um the actors, you're you're it's a it's really all based on trust and and and the agreements that you have beforehand. And it's those particular elements have to be sort of carefully rehearsed as well just so you know no mistakes are made. I don't suddenly fall down a flight of stairs or you know but also I think what was amaz what I really admired about Seline was her grit. you know, she has this kind of steeliness and this grit and this ability to with her utter frustration with her husband to know that she couldn't necessarily rely on him, that she wasn't sure how he was going to be in that situation. And so I think for her it was a, you know, she chose to fight, you know, and uh and and I I thought it was a really admirable trait that she was going to, you know, she would go down kicking and screaming and, you know, you mentioned the tape. That was her sort of trying to hold on to some sort of, you know, >> freedom.

[00:33:19]>> Yeah. Power and look after herself, you know.

[00:33:22]>> Well, you know that scene? Well, it's the scene where were you and then the the female that was part of the gang and your line of questioning to her because you were trying to figure out what part that woman was playing in all of this and you kind of pushed her a little bit and she knew it. But that was your survival instinct of trying to get into somebody's head, >> right? Yeah. Yeah. And and also I think trying to trying to connect trying to find the human there, you know, the other woman. let's let's talk to each other woman to woman, you know, trying to get that response from her, you know, >> which is great. I I think that's I think we did a lot of work on that scene because um the that that is something if you read into any hostage taking uh stories over the years that that is a very common thing that people do in that situation is try to no matter how terrifying situations try to appeal to the human side of it, you know, and it just I thought the two two two guys were uh two girls were great, you know. I mean such a powerful simple little scene, you know, that um yeah, it was great. But I think just to just to to talk globally about Eva and how she came on board. I mean that that was your one of the first things she said to me Eva was um you you loved the grit of the character and you were going to come come bringing the power. You know I was like okay that that that sounds great because I was very much of the I was very much saying we might be in a very cold wet forest in the winter in Northern Ireland. Um and it's going to be barefoot and pretty grim. In the end, it actually turned out to be relatively comfortable. But um I was very aware that I was asking Eva Berthle to do something that is pretty harrowing for for her time on on the screen. But that's what she embraced really, you know, which was an interesting lesson for me as well as a director to hear what actors go for in material, you know.

[00:35:22]Well, you know, that was >> Well, Eva, let me ask you this because Colin just brought it up, which was actually my next question here because I'm not I'm going to avoid any spoilers here because I want everybody to see this film, but there was a scene in the film where you were led out into the forest. Now, you take your hat off, but it was the terror and the fear in your eyes that spoke volumes. But then there's that moment of am I free or is someone waiting for me? So I loved the change in emotion just from your face alone was brilliant and because the change was so slight. So tell me how you prepared for that scene because as an actress what do you use from within to convey two emotions that must synergistically become one?

[00:36:15]Well, I I think there's probably, you know, in some ways there's not really much prep you can do because when you're sort of on location in a forest barefoot, you know, with a hat over your head, you your hands tied and you know, you you sort of you immerse yourself in in your in in your surroundings. And again, it's that sort of, you know, it's a great scene that she, you know, has the gun to her back and she's, you know, tripping tripping along and like you say, she doesn't know, you know, is she now free? Is she safe? I I don't to I don't really know.

[00:36:53]I just sort of, you know, I suppose I've never been through anything like that thankfully, but I suppose, you know, what actors tend to do, what I do is beforehand, not not not necessarily on on on set, but relate it, you know, to something in my life that made me feel terrified or um alone, scared, and and you it's called emotional recall, you It's something you do as an actor in your training generally and you you remember what those feelings are and then you merge it with your character and and your situation. So I don't think like I I it's hard to answer because I wasn't at the time thinking this is now when I change this moment. This is my my shift.

[00:37:40]It's something that just sort of instinctively happens at the right time, you know, like we we talked about the scene of course and what need to happen.

[00:37:46]when she needs to take off the how did she get the hood off and she can't use her hands and you know and then it's the obvious thing of am I alone am I safe do I go do if I stand up to some is there somebody behind a tree you know it's the uncertainty of it all and so you just sort of have to go for it and hope that it's not nap that's it >> no it was it was a it was a it was a brilliant piece of acting in that scene because I played it a a few times because I was because I um because I would I would start it at the beginning of the scene and then watched it all the way through and when I saw the change of emotion and it's so slight you know because I get impressed by those those little things.

[00:38:36]>> Well, thank you. I'm I'm glad that that's you know if it works that's all we can hope for. You know as an actor you want it to be feel authentic. So that's, you know, but so much is also trusting your director and just kind of going for it and hoping that it's, you know, land in in the right way and and ultimately you don't, you know, sometimes it does and there's some takes it doesn't and then, you know, hopefully there's enough between all the takes that Colin can get into an edit and go okay, you know, and and picks those moments and and and >> whenever we was funny, it was one of those scenes because it's almost like a rebirth scene, you know, whenever she actually does wriggle the hat off. Um, it was such a shock to us behind the camera as well, you know, in terms of the power of the performance, the reality of what she had to do to get it off. Um, I remember D, my DP, quickly going, we need to get more coverage in this and grabbing the camera literally handheld and running to another position to get that wider shot where it just it it spells her out in in her isolation in those woods and the you know how terrifying that is. you know, that wasn't once I'd got the sort of closer stuff, I was ready to move on, you know, as always schedules against you, you know, but it was one of those ones when we saw the performance and the Yeah. the the vulnerability in in Eva's eyes and even her body shape on the ground kneeling and, you know, it was just like, oh, you know, we we've got to cover this in another way. You know, it it um yeah, it was it was it was fantastic. Well, tell me and explain the addition of the storyline when Mags Fulton portrayed by Michelle Fairley.

[00:40:12]Uh, it's it's actually funny. There was um as part of um the film making process, you know, you have to get any names that you have fictionalized. You you've got to send it through to the Northern Bank um to ensure that you're not using names of real people. And it turned out that one of the senior security guards was actually a female, you know. So it it um it worked really well. It it it was a decision made way back, you know. I mean it um I don't ever think we went anything other than a a female uh security guard and then her sidekick. Um and yeah, it again I worked with Michelle on my first feature and uh again she just brings such authenticity and power as well. You know, I knew that in a weird way, I was sort of offering her the role was sort of like, oh god, you know, is she going to want to do like a dressed as a security guard and, you know, that that sort of is this beneath her, you know, but she embraced the role and very much um as Michelle does, which is something you you embrace and love about her, really takes literally word by word and tries to sort of work it with you to to get it to where it needs to be. So, um, yeah, there was an authenticity to the fact that there was really a female security guard back then, but also getting Michelle, you know, it it all just clicked, you know, as so many of the things, didn't >> Well, you know, that was, you know, when I was watching the film and I was watching her part, I kept thinking the whole time going, she took a supporting role and because we all know how we know we know how big she is and and so I was kind of surprised, but at the same time, >> her you set up her storyline against Richard so perfectly because she doesn't know where the status of her job is and but then when when Mags comes comes down I guess to the to the holding area the u the garage area I'll call it that and then she sees sees what's really going on. It was her look when she looked at Richard.

[00:42:32]Her look was tense, but it also left a bit of mystery because at that point, we don't know if she's willing to help him due to her own storyline in the film. So when I looked at that that scene when her eyes looked down and then her eyes went back to Richard, you know, you kind of left it to the audience as an open interpretation as to what she was going to do.

[00:43:00]>> Well, I think we we put a lot of work into establishing that um both uh Mags and Richard had worked together for a long time. It felt like they had risen through the ranks together or at least um had been there for each other for years and years and years. And so there is a a deeper relationship than just a work relationship there. So I think what we tried to create was a moment where everything has gone, you know, we we know there's something up. She knows there's something up. The boys are in the middle of the most horrific event.

[00:43:32]You know, uh Barry and his character stand in the back of a bloody lorry with some, you know, un unseen person, you know. Um, it was really just to try and try and have a moment where um, Mags knows that if she raises the alarm at that point, it's it's all sort of over, you know, it's over for the lot of them really, you know, and there's a duty of care that we hope people take away from it in terms of her relationship with Richard. And she knows he's going through something, you know, something's up. She she says it earlier in the film. Um, and uh, yeah, it was um, again that was another scene where we we chatted a fair bit, Michelle and I, and um, you just when you see moments like that, you just hold the camera there, you know, why would you go elsewhere? Just let let that look linger. And our editor, John Walters, who's superb, um, he's got a keen eye for those sort of column, don't don't even don't even bring music in. Don't even, you know, don't cut the dialogue.

[00:44:38]Just hold on those two glances or the three glances between the three of them.

[00:44:42]Um, you know, it speaks a thousand words. You know, the old cliche, but um, but yeah, it was it was we were trying to create again back to the human story that there's a relationship there that she knows she doesn't know what to do.

[00:44:56]What, you know, I could go up the office and call the cops here, but what does that mean? You know, what does that mean to all of us? my job. My there's a backstory that then we shot and it was beautiful scene with um her husband who was a um incapacitated in a wheelchair um at the end of the film where Eddie's character goes to visit her and they they sort of they have a little bit of a moment together um that again it didn't feel like it you know when the robbery was over it felt that the story was over. Um but we had built a backstory that her husband Billy, you know, who once was a kuner around the bars, you know, used to sing and and all the rest, you know, unfortunately, you know, succumb to a um a a a situation where he ended up incapacitated. And so we could see even more of her human side. But again, when you cut these things together and you see the look in her eyes between her and Eddie and um even her conversation about her job and his office, the relationship's there. you know, you don't need to expand on that.

[00:45:55]You don't need to keep people sitting in their seats for another 5 10 minutes if it's already built, you know, but um sorry again, another longwinded >> No, no, because one of the things I appreciated was you allowed every actor's performance to stand on their own and you didn't bring a music score in to manipulate the audience's emotions. You allowed the actors to do that job. And when I when I was watching the film, that was one of the things I most appreciated.

[00:46:26]>> Well, it you know, I mean, you'd be off your head. I I don't know any other way to do it. You know, it's funny when you work with um various crews and stuff and, you know, how much they enjoyed working on the set and the vibe on the set and, you know, I don't, you know, obviously I've come up through the ranks, you know, from runner to driver to, you know, and I' I have been on sets where it's barking and it's a real, you know, it's it's it's a horrible tense situation. I I I can't think of anything worse. You know, I feel like if you assemble these Avengers um and bring them onto your set, you know, you've got to just hand it over, you know, and we all have a goal to get the end of of our our day and shoot our seven or eight pages and, you know, get the emotional beats and the little trailer moments, but you know, if if you become overly prescriptive, you know, or micromanage, you know, it's it just I I can only imagine that would be a horrible experience for the actors. you know, they they want and feel that they can, you know, look at a couple lines on the script and go, we're not doing that or there's no need for that or and then again into the edit as I say where, you know, John and I did a a couple of passes on the film where we where I've always done is like how efficiently can we tell this scene and how much dialogue can we take out to leave? Like there's so many scenes where Eddie, for example, is on the phone to the Marx character explaining what's going to happen, you know, because it so it becomes a we bit um uh it yeah, it it it just he's spelling it out a little bit too much. So we went through and tried to cut out out early as quick as we possibly could each time, you know, or put the phone down, which he didn't do. So when Max asked him, "When's Lori coming?" He puts the phone down. It's like, "Oh gee, you know, you do you realize what you're do?" you know, just to add those little moments.

[00:48:09]And again, with the the actor's performances, it's really just letting it breathe and going, do we really need score in here or do we need to say anything more or, you know, is it coming across in Eva's performance or Michelle's performance or Eddie's, you know? So, you you just try your best, you know, and it's only when it goes out to an audience that you realize, oh, actually, that sort of seemed to work.

[00:48:29]>> Well, yeah. It's kind of like >> interesting though, isn't it? because you kind of have to a lot of the time have the scenes in their entirety on the page and then you have to shoot it in order to make those decisions, you know, like it's you kind of have to see them play out at their most, you know, fullest capacity in order to be able to go actually hone in, go tighter to go closer, cut back, you know, so kind of you need one for the other to to then happen, don't you?

[00:48:54]>> Abs. Absolutely. And that that is something and I I am very thankful to Kieran, our first AD, because he uh scheduled every single silly little line we had in the script or every single little detail. And I remember going to his desk a couple of times and thinking, do we really, you know, we're up against it? Do we really need to do this? You know, even the the CCTV footage. But he said, Colin, if it's in print on that script, I'm going to schedule it and you're going to shoot it, you know, and that that again, you're always learning in this game. And that has stuck with me, you know, since the film and in the edit that shoot the lot, you know, do not because you, you know, if you think you're pleasing the crew by finishing early or, you know, I I'm not sure I need that, you know, uh, shoot the damn script, you know, because you'll, you'll be astonished by what um, what you can reuse or recycle. But also, more importantly, as Eva said, once you've got the whole thing on its feet, then you can start to go, don't need that.

[00:49:51]Don't need that. don't need that that you know what I mean. So um yeah.

[00:49:56]>> Yeah. No, I I completely agree. Shoot it all and then you can decide if you want it when you get into post.

[00:50:04]>> Yeah. If you if you've got the schedule time, you know, do you know, don't be calling an early day. If you you know, just to to you know, if you if you've got your crew alongside you and there's good there's good vibes and everyone's moving together, you know, don't don't be don't be, you know, damaging yourself down the line, you know, that's that's definitely a a bit of a learning uh thing that I take away from this film.

[00:50:27]>> Well, with with No ordinary heist, it's not just about crime, but it's about consequence. What do you hope audiences will take away about the human cost behind such a historic event?

[00:50:41]Yeah, I I just love um response that we're getting at the moment and as I say the longevity of it in the cinemas is that um a lot of people are coming back and saying my my god I didn't I didn't realize a half of this you know the what these people went through and you know if people if people can you know if there's a little bit of permanence in their mind afterwards as to you know that's a really solid piece of work you know right across the board and well worth watching and not only that It's, you know, it's it's inspired by true events. You know, it sort of it it sort of peaks behind the curtain of a of an episode of, you know, the Northern Irish history of the Irish history, the UK history that was just damn horrific, you know, that, you know, but pe people went through and and there's lots of similar stories to this, you know, that that that are out there and aren't aren't out there. So, I you know, you just you just hope people ultimately enjoy it and are moved by it. And the biggest word that we get which is great um you know I was in Washington with it and various other places you know and everyone talked about the tension the tension the tension and you know Ash and I talked about that Ashley and I you can write that in your script but until you shoot it the actors do their bit you bring it into the edit you and your score our incredible score by Phil Phil Kieran um you don't know what you've got you know so I just love that people are getting out of their seats going oh my heart rate's just now coming down, you know.

[00:52:08]>> Um, so yeah, just just a good, you know, oldfashioned thriller, you know, that's solid piece of work.

[00:52:14]>> Well, it is a solid piece of work and that's the greatest thing and that was one of the things I noticed in this film was the tension and the fact that this film moves along with such a wonderful pace. It goes from scene to scene.

[00:52:31]There's multiple things going on. Um, there's nothing slow about this film whatsoever. It is just a great film to see. And I'm and it makes me happy to hear that this film has been in the theaters for six weeks.

[00:52:47]And that's what needs to happen with with all theatrical releases. You know, I want to go back to see films stay in theaters for 60 days before they're shoved off to streaming. But, uh, I that makes me so happy to hear that. And Eva, you give such a brilliant performance in this film. So, what is next for you?

[00:53:08]>> Oh, well, um I think I'm directing um I think I'm directing somebody else's script this year. Um which will be interesting because I've only directed my own stuff before. Um and I've written another feature film, so that's going into development sort of this year as well. And how and how about you Colin?

[00:53:31]You have what are you working on? Or maybe you may not be able to say what you're working on after no ordinary heist.

[00:53:37]>> Yeah, look, it's it's a broad range.

[00:53:39]It's funny when you have a film in the cinemas, you're suddenly quite hot and your material starts to land on your desk. So, I've got a range of projects and I've also um signed up with US management in the last week or so, which is great. Um things are getting a bit more real there. Um, but it's a it's a mixture a mixture of historical dramas.

[00:53:59]I've got a black comedy with um Ashen, the the the coowriter of um No Ordinary Heist. Um couple of TV series things.

[00:54:07]Some of my own, some of other people's, you know, so they're all they're all at different uh bubbling at different levels really. And um oh yeah just you know I always say against the cliche when I'm meeting the the uh the bacon buddy at the monitor I believe it's happening you know and that's that's the best way. Um but yeah there's talk talk of things at the end of the year and um yeah who who knows touchwood we could we can all get back out again and do northern heist 2.

[00:54:39]You know what? I wasn't going to bring that up, but but I know that there's another story, a much >> probably a much deeper story after the heist because I did a little bit research and read it and I was I was taken back and I'm looking at looking at what has transpired after the heist and there is a whole another story that is oh, how how would you describe it? the human story of the aftermath is I mean enough there's enough tension and emotion there that would probably rattle most people.

[00:55:21]>> Yeah, >> there you go. Your next script.

[00:55:25]>> There's, you know, I suppose it it it it obviously goes into politics quite a bit after the robbery, you know, and there's been great documentaries out there over the years that stand, you know, are are are very worth watching. Um, but uh, yeah, we we we just wanted to get our little two-hander out there with a a great surrounding cast. So, thank goodness we're there. You did it. And ladies and gentlemen, anchored by a quietly commanding turn from Eddie Morsean and guided with a steady assured hand by Colin Macgyver. No Ordinary heist proves to be more than a retelling of the notorious crime. It's a deeply human story wrapped in tension and restraint. Now Eddie Morsean brings a layered vulnerability to Richard Murray, capturing the silent unraveling of a man caught in unimaginable circumstances, while Eva Berthistle brings a multi-layered performance of her own as Richard Murray's wife Seline, who is kidnapped and facing an unknown future.

[00:56:26]What emerges is a gripping character-driven drama that lingers long after the credits roll. It's not just about the heist itself, but the unseen cost, the weight of fear, responsibility, and survival. Now, for audiences seeking a crime film with substance, nuance, and a powerful central performance, No Ordinary Heist is well worth the watch, this is a solid film with a lot of weight. And I want to thank both of you, Eva and Colin, for sharing this amazing film with me today.

[00:57:00]>> Thank you. Thank you for the >> You're very welcome. And ladies and gentlemen, when No Ordinary Heist comes to America, be prepared to be in the theater and well, you will be walking through the tension just like I did, sitting at the edge of your seat. So, I can't wait for this film to be in theaters here in America because like you just heard in the interview, it's been in theaters in the UK and Ireland for six weeks. That is fantastic to hear. So for the rest of you, ladies and gentlemen, you can watch or listen to all of the Bondon Cinema interviews at bondcinema.com.

[00:57:37]Check out our Prime Show, our YouTube channel. Yes, we're on Spotify, iTunes, and more. And remember, you'll either see me at the movies, or from the red carpet.