The inspiring story of Merthyr Tydfil-born boxer Howard Winstone comes to DVD this month in Risen: The Howard Winstone Story. Winstone’s promising career almost ended prematurely when he lost three of his fingertips in an industrial accident, but determined to succeed at the sport he loved, Howard persevered and went on to become the World Feather Weight Champion in 1968. Stuart Brennan, who plays Howard recently won the Best Actor award at the Welsh Baftas for his performance.
Ahead of its DVD release I got the chance to ask Stuart Brennan, producer, writer and lead actor about how the film first came about.
“We were on the way to Cannes with another short film we’d produced, and it occurred to me that I’d never asked Neil (Jones, the film’s director) what film he’d like to make. He then mentioned the story of Howard Winstone and said that was the film he’d like to make. I’m in to boxing but I didn’t know the story. There and then on the way to Cannes we decided that we had to get the story out there to honour Howard’s incredible life.”
The boys decided they would first make a short film chronicling his life, but funding wasn’t easy to come by:
“We applied for a grant to make the short. We didn’t get it, but by that point we’d put so much time and effort into a script that we couldn’t not do it, so we decided to put everything on our credit cards and ended up producing a nice 15 minute short. It was then so well received by the people of Merthyr and people we showed it to at Cannes that we thought ‘let’s make a full production of it’. It’s taken five years to turn it into that film, but it’s definitely been a worthwhile journey.
Seen as a worthwhile journey now, but the production was hindered by many funding issues which halted filming for two years and put the future of the film in serious doubt. Then, two years ago, they were handed another chance:
“We were very lucky. At the end of 2009 Temple Hart Films came in to help raise the rest of the finance we needed. Not long after that the World Boxing Council came on board and backed our project. We suddenly had two massive endorsements and no problem getting the funds to finish the film. We were also given access to the who’s who of boxers from around the world because the council sanctions so many around the world fights. That helped us to bring on the Mexican boxer Eric Morales.”
To create as believable a boxing film as possible Stuart shared the ring with a number of professional fighters, most notably Erik Morales who played Vincente Salvidar, Howard’s most frequent opponent. Was he worried about trading blows with a professional?
“Absolutely, but not only is Erik an amazing man in his own right, he’s also a phenomenal athlete in the ring. It was a lot of fun, but nerve wracking. Neil (Jones) and I went for dinner with him the night before we started filming and were joking about the fight scenes. He wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to knock my head off. He said it jokingly but I was sort of laughing outside whilst crying inside when he said it. He’s such a gentleman and very aware of his power, strength and abilities in the ring, so much so that he didn’t want to hit me. I’d trained for five years by this point and was in shape and ready to be hit. I had to encourage him to actually let the blows land at first because he was quite anxious, but after I caught him a couple of times he stopped holding back.”
Stuart would have perhaps been more nervous about his fight scenes had he not had such an experienced trainer at his disposal. Howard Winstone’s friend and sparring partner Don James was on hand as a trainer and advisor for the films entire five year process, not only getting Stuart into shape but also giving him an insight into who Howard was outside of the ring.
“I first trained for ten months with Don and then continued the training for the next five years; which was just an incredible honour and the best time of my life. He knows boxing inside out and really knows how to fight. He taught me everything I know about boxing. He made it possible for me to get into the ring and not look out of place as a world champion. I don’t think it would have been possible to do the film justice his involvement. He gave me a tremendous insight into Howard’s psyche, his family life and his career. He’d been in the ring and sparred with Howard so he could explain exactly what he was like and how he changed when he entered the ring. Those details really help to colour the character.”
All of the hard work during filming paid off when the World Boxing Council surprised Stuart during the film’s premiere.
“They honoured me with a World Champion belt for my commitment to the role. It was incredible. We had joked at the start of the project that it would be funny if I got a belt, but when I actually did I was absolutely astounded.”
So what does he think sets the film apart from other films in its genre?
“The biggest difference in Risen is that the punches land. I’m boxing with actual professional fighters and they’re hitting me in the face, repeatedly sometimes. I trained for five years so I could get into that ring and not look out of place as a world champion. The realism of the film is there because it was real.”
Risen is out now DVD