When the first meager drop of fame trickles in, how far will you go to make sure the well never dries up? That’s the heartbeat pumping through the core of Lurker. Starring Archie Madekwe, best-known for Gran Turismo, Saltburn, and Midsommar, the British actor’s new film represents a pivotal evolution for his career, taking on a new role as producer. A truly beautiful film, the result of a team operating in perfect concert, Lurker is tight, exhilarating, and, at times, hysterical. Owed largely to the captivating performances of its leading duo—Madekwe as a burgeoning popstar and Théodore Pellerin as the tenacious barnacle suctioned to his orbit—Alex Russell’s directorial debut is nothing short of tremendous.

Steeped in the world of the mononymous fictional singer Oliver, Madekwe and Russell relied on one of the movie’s other featured actors (and beloved musician) Zack Fox to help cultivate the milieu of an LA artist on the rise. The upcoming project will coincide with an EP of tracks plucked from within the diegesis of the film itself, imploring the two co-stars to dive into the development of the film’s strikingly catchy soundtrack—performed by Madekwe himself and produced by Kenny Beats. In a conversation littered with far too much laughter to possibly transcribe, a myriad of questions transparently steered precisely towards a specific punchline, and some beautiful moments of shared admiration between two very different but magnetic stars, Madekwe sits down with Fox to talk about the niche he’s carving in the industry.

ZACK FOX: So I’m running the interview. This is a terrible idea. 

AM: I did think that. I really did think this could go in any direction with Zack. How are you?

ZF: What’s going on in my life? I’m just aggressively 35 bro. I feel like you are—maybe I romanticize your life a little bit—but I really would love my day-to-day to be waxing poetic about the game, about the art. I be waking up like, ‘Dog, who touched the thermostat?’ My day is very small talk. This is what goes on. But what’s going on in your life?

AM: So many things. Life’s about to get pretty busy, but number one on the agenda so far is Lurker.

ZF: I know, I’m excited. Between Saltburn, Midsommar, this—do you feel like you’ve carved out a space in that sort of subject matter?

AM: I guess that when accepting those jobs, I’m not really thinking about correlation and subject matter. I’m just really looking to work with great filmmakers and that’s the first thing on the agenda: who’s the director, who’s the writer, who’s the DP. I’m trying to carve out a career where—there’s not really a template for people of color to be in lots of auteur-driven films. To be a person of color and to be a leading man, you have to look like Michael B. Jordan or Daniel Kaluuya. You gotta be absolutely stacked, carved to the gods, unbelievably handsome. But if you’re not, you can be small and skinny and wiry. It’s a very different template. I don’t look like Michael B Jordan. I’m six foot five and gangly. There are incredible actors working, but there’s not loads of carved spaces in strange auteur independent cinema. I’m just constantly looking to take on projects that I don’t see people that look like myself in, whether that is something as small and interesting as Midsommar, or something as big as Gran Turismo. You know that was the pull for me with Gran Turismo. I can’t believe somebody’s giving this much money to make a biopic about this young person of color from the UK. It’s crazy that they’re going to make a film like that. 

ZF: The Michael B. Jordan thing is funny. On Twitter, they were talking about him and Jonathan Majors, and someone commented that they were ‘Civil Rights fine.’ And I was like, I need to figure out what my thing is, because nobody ever has called me ‘Civil Rights fine.’ I just need to carve out some space for myself.

AM: You’re a gym boy, though. You’re jacked. You’re constantly hitting push-ups on set.

ZF: But I’m not jacked enough to where women can’t tell I play Super Smash Brothers. I still got a frame to my body that is a Nintendo frame. 

AM: A married man’s body.

ZF: Absolutely, absolutely, the shop is closed. You talk about Midsommar, Saltburn, Gran Turismo, between Lurker and those films, is there a feeling you can note that’s either happening during the process or after that lets you know that that was something special?

AM: I think you can sometimes tell when something feels special, but that doesn’t always necessarily mean that it will be successful. Saltburn felt special in the making because the script was so great, everybody got so close. We were isolated in this tiny town, some people living in the house, the rest of us living next door in this incredible summer, boiling hot. But you can’t predict what the internet does, and then it becomes this huge success because of TikTok. And in the same breath, I’ve done projects where I’ve thought—and other people have watched and said, ‘This is the thing that’s going to change your life.’ And then it comes out to two men and a dog watching it. And not even enjoying it. [Laughs] But it still doesn’t take away from how special the project was and the lessons you learned. There’s not necessarily ever a light bulb moment of ‘I’m doing a great job.’ I’m always self-deprecating, I’m always doubtful, and I’m always worried that they’re going to find out that I’m actually not great.

ZF: All an elaborate ruse.

AM: Yeah, you’re just constantly trying your best, and then there are moments where… I think you can just tell, if you have a close connection with the director. Like on Lurker, we were all so close with Alex [Russell]. I know when he was happy with something. I know when he was genuine. And I can see that. And that’s just the thing that feeds you, because we’re just trying to make his vision come to life. So every time I saw that look in his eye. There was a couple of times where I saw him cry or Pat [Scola] cry, and you’re like, wow. You feel so proud to be bringing somebody’s vision to life, and to be making them proud and moving them. But you know, you don’t get that every time. Not every director is like that.

ZF: I’d be like, ‘I wonder if he liked that.’ And then, he’d come in with both arms up. Walking like an inflatable wacky tube man, like he can’t even walk correct.

AM: ‘It’s the best thing I’ve ever seen. It’s the best movie I’ve ever seen.’

ZF: Alex Russell lifts you up and kisses you on the mouth like Bugs Bunny did Michael Jordan in Space Jam when he likes a shot, just a big old smooch right on the face. 

AM: He’s gonna read that and be like, ‘Bro, people are gonna actually think I do that.’

ZF: ‘Bro, you can’t say I give Looney Tunes kisses, man.’ Everything you’re saying, I resonate with that. There were so many moments like that on Lurker, where I had that little sliver of feeling like you helped people just have a good time. Did you have a favorite moment?

AM: The things that I really remember are at the very beginning of the process, before we started shooting. I went to Paris with Alex to do this chemistry test with Theo [Pellerin]. And we just did basically all of our most intimate scenes in Theo’s apartment in Paris. We hung out and we got breakfast together, and we did some scenes, and then we played Fortnite, and then we went for lunch, and then we ordered a bottle of wine, and we got a bit tipsy, then we did some more scenes, and we just did all these things together and we really were just finding the dynamic so quickly. And I remember at the end of us doing these scenes, Alex kind of screamed, ‘Let’s make a movie!’ And I thought to myself, ‘I guess that’s him telling me I got the part.’ We were sitting in this restaurant, and he looked at me and Theo and he said, ‘I want to say something. There are so many things that I’m not gonna know. I’m gonna have to ask you so many questions, and I’m gonna have to lean on you guys so much, but I’ve never been more ready to do something ever in my life.’ That was the moment when I thought, ‘I really want to do this film, and I really want to make this man’s vision come to life.’ I remember telling Alex that at Sundance. I was like, ‘Do you remember when you said this to me?’ And he started to cry. It was so lovely. We were having just a big hug in the house, but it was just such a special moment, because he knew so much more than he knew that he did. He was so ready 1,000 times over to make this film. But I think back to that moment of entering the unknown. I just feel so immensely proud of what we were able to do for him, and what he did. I’ll remember that forever. It’s ingrained into my mind. 

But the filming itself had so many great moments. It was so fun. Filming is never smooth. This was smooth. Every day, it didn’t feel like being at work. It was truly like everyone just wanted to be chilling on the Lurker set, which was great, because it just bled into the world that we were creating on screen. It actually felt so useful to have you and Wale [Onayemi] and just all these people that it was their world. It was your world, and all your homies just infused that world with so much reality for me. So it was so useful to have you guys just chilling and kicking it and making jokes and freestyling every 10 seconds. [Laughs] And it just made so much sense. I’m curious, is that day-to-day for you—freestyling every 10 seconds? Was that particular to that set? Or is that every day?

ZF: We making albums every day that just go straight up into the ether. That was some of my favorite set energy of all time. You got your first producer credit on this film. Did Alex initiate or push that conversation forward? Or how did that happen? 

AM: It just started happening very organically. That conversation that I just spoke about in the restaurant opened the doors to this very organic way of working. I just love to work collaboratively anyway. That is my preference. There are some films where you just give yourself completely to the story and to somebody else’s vision. And then there are some times where you want to be in it and a part of it, and inside the DNA of it. And this kind of just felt like one of those things where it’s all hands on deck, try to make it the best it can be. It was also an education for me. It just felt exciting. It was such an honor, and I feel so proud that this is my first credit, because it’s truly something that I love. It’s not like I’ve just slapped my name on something random. Every breath of this movie, I was really inside it with Alex. It felt like such a privilege to be a part of. 

ZF: Now having your first actual credit, is there retroactively a film or a TV series that you’re like, ‘Dang, I wish I produced that, I could have made that so different or so much something else from what it was’? Not even that it was good or bad.

AM: I’m not gonna—[Laughs]—slag off another director or their movie. But I’ll caveat the question to say, there are certain films that it’s made me be like, ‘Wow, that was so impressive that they were able to pull off what they pulled off.’ For example, something like Xavier Dolan’s Mommy, he was so young when he made that film. He was in his early 20s when he made that. In style, in story, in performance, to be that young and that confident and create something and have your producers completely trust your vision. It’s so impressive that they were able to pull that off. The thing I walked away from was that I was really impressed and moved by Alex Orlovsky and the rest of the producers—their trust in Alex’s vision. And you know you have to be able to trust young filmmakers and their visions, and support their visions, and help their visions come to life. I just saw my friend Harris Dickinson’s film Urchin at Cannes. And again, I read the script for that really early on. I know that Harris had so much support in creating what he then was able to create, because that film is so impressive. He’s a really incredible filmmaker. He’s a young actor, and it really just takes trust in this young person’s vision and this young person’s mind to be able to aid that thing come to life. I just left with a newfound respect for seasoned producers and their championing of young artists and realizing and remembering how important it is.

ZF: Yeah, yeah, yeah, man, that’s beautiful… I think if I were a producer on anything, I would have been a producer on The Idol.

AM: No comment. You can do the talking.

ZF: I can talk about it? Okay, so here’s where I think the problem is. They should have made me a producer so that I could have hired either Nathan Fielder or Tim Heidecker to have final cut on the edit. Make this bad boy a comedy. We need to get this to the funny boys. Give it to the funny dude. Give it to Mr. Fielder. Let him edit this down. We’re gonna call this a comedy, and we’re gonna whoop the Emmys when we pop out with that comedy. The Bear, who? What is The Bear? What is Abbott Elementary? I work on that show. If they had just made The Idol a comedy, just make it a hard comedy. Edit it down like Eastbound and Down. Edit it like Tim and Eric or The Eric Andre Show. People were like, ‘Oh, The Weeknd, he this, that, and the third. He can’t act.’ Well, I can name 13 motherfuckers that act exactly how he acts in The Idol. That shit was spot on to me. I’m not slagging off. I don’t slag off. 

AM: I know you would never.

ZF: Watch how I glue this together. Watch how I pull this interview magic. So The Weeknd, he is a musician that be acting. Who’s the actor that be doing music stuff in their acting?

AM: That was almost a smooth transition.

ZF: But I mean, the question rings true. You did the karaoke scene in Saltburn. You played a pop star in Lurker. Have you ever had passion for music? Do you see that in your future? Because, I mean all the stuff in Lurker slaps. The other day, I was literally singing some of the music.

AM: Well thank you for saying that. I love music. And there’s another universe where you say, ‘God, it would have been so fun to be a musician.’ And I felt like Lurker, I got to live out that fantasy for a second. And it’s definitely addictive. But also, I went into that with the promise that I wasn’t going to be making any music for the film. [Laughs] As we were getting closer and closer to shooting, I just kept saying to Alex, ‘Have you thought about the music? I want to start practicing or thinking about it, if I’m going to be singing in this film.’ He’d say, ‘No, no, no, no, no, there’s no singing in this film. This is all behind the scenes. We’re not going to use any tracks.’ 

Cut to, I make a full EP, and I’m doing live shows for hundreds of people. And it was just a complete flip reversal. It was so terrifying, but that was so exciting. The exciting thing about our job is when we get these completely new things that we’ve never done before that really terrify us. And this was so exposing in such a different way, to stand on stage. Because also when we did the concert for Oliver, for the film, they weren’t extras. This was under the guise of a Zack Fox show. Then I jumped on stage and was like, ‘Hey, we’re just gonna film something. I hope everyone’s cool with that.’ And so everyone’s watching me, like, ‘Who’s this?’ And then sometimes were like, ‘Oh my god, is that the guy from Saltburn?’ No one knew what we were doing. And so there’s this other level of anxiety, where I assumed everyone was just going to go to the smoking area and be like, ‘Let’s just come back when Zack Fox is playing again.’ And it was so intoxicating to have people screaming and enjoying the music. It really helped me find that character in such an exciting way. We shot on film, and we just had one take of everything. So the adrenaline was high, and it felt very exciting. But I don’t know if I’m ever going to do music. It’s not in the 10-year plan.

ZF: When you talk about the intoxication of it happening in the real-life sense, I’m interested to see what happens with the intoxication levels when people actually see the film. Because, boy, the stuff is good that you’re doing. 

AM: It was a dream. It’s not always as easy as working with Kenny Beats and having someone make you sound amazing. I would just say, out of nowhere, ‘Maybe we could have horns on this.’ He’s like, ‘You want horns?’ And here’s a whole trumpet section pulling up in 10 minutes. You have an idea, and he’s done it in five minutes. He’s a genius. If I sound great, it’s because of how great he is and how great it was to work with him. 

ZF: Fair enough. Is there something you’re really excited about right now? In the immediate?

AM: I’m mainly excited about Lurker, for people to see that. And I’m genuinely, really excited for Theo. I think he’s so incredible in this film, and I just can’t wait for the world to see his performance. I just love him so much, and I just think he’s so special. 

ZF: Yeah, man. Watching y’all on set was extremely inspirational. There’s this moment that I keep coming back to, when we were doing that scene by the pool…

AM: I loved that scene. 

ZF: I love that scene so much. And when Theo was in the pool, he showed us how he could swim with his legs out of the pool, in the air.

AM: That was so strange. Like a synchronized swimmer.

ZF: The thing we haven’t talked about, like how Alex got that strange whimsy, I think Theo got that too. They got that strange whimsy. That Theo cat… that was dark. That was the darkest thing I have ever seen somebody do on set. It let me know that this dude got a capacity for darkness that none of us could fathom right here. I saw it. 

AM: He really was fucking with the power in that moment. And then to do something like that was, I know what you’re saying. That didn’t even make the cut, though.

ZF: Because it’s too scary. And we’re not making that kind of movie. If I was a producer on Lurker…

AM: That would have made the cut?

ZF: That’s the whole movie. That’s the whole thing. ‘This cat’s crazy.’ Cut.

AM: You are unhinged. And also let me just say how brilliant you are in the film Zack. You make so much more of that character than was on the page. And that’s just because of how—

[Zack turns off his Zoom screen]

He turned himself off. He can’t hear it. But it’s just because of how incredibly talented you are at what you do. It is such a God-given talent to be able to improvise and—

[Zack types “stfu” into the Zoom chat]

—create comedic tension in the way that you do in this film. And it makes the film so much better. It makes the film genreless, honestly, the comedy that you bring to it. It takes it out of the space of intense tension that me and Theo are constantly doing, and it brings it into this place that makes it so original and like nothing I’ve ever seen. And so I hope that you get your flowers for that, because you are truly a one-off talent, man. 

ZF: That means a lot coming from a cat like you. You got a body of work that really shines. And I was a fan of you long before we ever met. I was just honestly bouncing off of y’all. You and Theo made it possible. And Alex made it possible. The script made it possible for everybody to get this generous feedback loop of moments being created. You know, Wale of Paris, Texas. First-time actor.

AM: He is just incredible. Truly. Shout out to Wale. Because it was his first time ever, and his improvisational skills again, I was really in awe. I don’t know where he was pulling from, but both of you really brought something so special. So thank you. I can’t wait for them to see it.

ZF: Hey, if you see Kobe running and putting up 80, just mop the floor and make sure that man don’t slip and break his ankle. I’m out here making sure there ain’t no moisture on the floor. I make sure they ain’t deflating the balls and doing weird cheating tactics. But hey, thank you, man. I really appreciate that. I’m super hyped. Can’t wait for you to get more flowers for being the incredible talent that you are. Damn, I don’t know what happens after, though.

AM: We never see each other ever again.

ZF: Yeah, that is what happens. We kiss each other on the lips, and then we just go our separate ways. 

[Both laugh]

AM: And then we go our separate ways. That’s show biz, baby.

ZF: That’s what my momma used to say, man.

AM: Love. Thank you for this.

ZF: I’m so bad at actor-on-actor interviews. You let a sleep-deprived, ADHD dude with no pants on run the interview. Make sure you add that Idol thing, bruh.

This cover story appears in the pages of VMAN 55: now available for purchase!

Photography Alvaro Beamud Cortés (Interlude Project)

Fashion Marti Serra

Creative Director / Editor-in-Chief Stephen Gan

Interview Zack Fox

Editor Charlie Kolbrener

Grooming Nadia Altinbas using Shark Beauty, Sisley, & Living Proof 

Props Stylist Charlotte Cook

Production Rosco Production

Digital Technician Sam Robbins

Location Loft Studios

Photo Assistants Simone Triacca, Lucy Rooney

Fashion Assistant Inês Bizarro 

Production Assistant Giulia Brescianini