'I had no acting experience, but I gave it a go'

An upholstery expert who swapped fabrics for film acting has said "nobody can take away" the feeling of seeing yourself on the big screen, as filming wrapped on an upcoming horror movie.

Ian Hodson, 63, who runs an upholstery business in Dronfield, met Sheffield-based film-maker Jordan-Kane Lewis at a boxing class just before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hodson soon got the acting bug, and vampire thriller All You Do Is Bleed, filmed in Sheffield, marks his third collaboration with Lewis.

Hodson said: "To actually see yourself on the big screen, it's something in life that nobody can take away from you."

Filming for the independent horror flick was completed on Thursday.

Hodson appears as the father of a teenager who returns from a school trip as a vampire, "setting in motion a chain of events that will forever leave a scar on a town".

Lewis invited Hodson to take part in his first feature film, A Touch Of Vengeance, which he was making in 2020 while studying at Sheffield Hallam University.

Hodson said he had no previous acting experience and initially dismissed the idea, but Lewis persuaded him to get involved.

"I was a bit nervous, a bit 'oh, I can't do that', but Jordan's given me the confidence and guidance to have a go," he said.

Lewis said up-and-coming actors "need to start somewhere", and independent film was the ideal stepping stone.

"We're all creating our own opportunities, when there might not necessarily be as many opportunities as other areas," he said.

Lewis has already won awards for his work, with A Touch of Vengeance named best low-budget film at the Romford Film Festival - but said All You Do Is Bleed was his most ambitious project so far.

Naturally, scenes involving blood played a big part in the production - a task which fell to trainee hair and make-up artist Tori Breese, 23.

She admitted the industry had "not been easy" to get into, but she had already worked with the likes of the BBC and Channel 4 since graduating from university.

She said: "If you persevere and you keep with it, you'll get with it."

Lead actress Isobel Skinner, 21, is still studying at Sheffield Hallam, and said she wanted to pursue acting as a full-time career.

"I just love acting - any form of acting, if I connect with the story," she explained.

The film has taken two years to shoot, with a budget of £2,000.

It will premiere at the Showroom Cinema in Sheffield, with release aimed for October this year - just in time for Halloween.

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