For some, working with their family would cause chaos at the dinner table, but for Baz Ashawmy, it's second nature.
Baz recently finished filming the second season of Faithless, and along with the stars of season one, like Suzie Seweify and Amir El-Masry, Baz brought on some new faces for the second series, like Jane Wisener, Jamie Lee O’Donnell, and, of course, his own children.
Chatting to EVOKE, Baz gave a tell-all of what is to come, including some new family dynamics and a potential new love interest.
Keeping it in the family, Baz thoroughly enjoyed working with his kids, but warned that it is not for the weak. 'I wouldn't have a problem working with them. They're hard to manage, your kids, you want to have a bit of control on set, and your kids are just like, "it's just him!",' Baz said before joking: 'Next thing everyone's ignoring you and asking you for money, so I would [work with them], but I wouldn’t advise it!'
Baz’s daughter, Amelia, stars in season two and, like any other budding actress, performed her audition in front of the executives, including her dad. But to avoid any bias, Baz kept his lips sealed as to what relation he held to her.
‘I went to the audition, I didn’t tell people at the table that she was reading for, I didn’t tell them that she was my daughter’. ‘So they were like, “where will you be coming from? If you were to get it?" And she was like "[yeah] right"'. And they were like "she was a bit rude at the end when I asked her where she would come from?" And I was like “no, I should explain. She lives in my house".
‘But getting her on set and writing these scenes, that for me was a big kick. And for her to be really good and be proud of what she did, that was great.'
The show seemed to be a whole familiar affair, as Baz’s younger kids even make a brief cameo in season two, but unfortunately, the budget was not big enough to bring on mammy Nancy!
‘The notions this woman has. But listen, anything I can do with Nancy, I would have loved to have got her back in there, but just the way it worked out, there was none of that happening,' Baz said.
Baz said that although the show is not based on his own life, he definitely pulls from his experiences growing up with such a large family.
That's not to say his family will recognise every situation on screen, and he assures them the show is not based fully on their life experiences, but that he uses them as inspiration.
And ever his greatest critics, season two of Faithless has seemed to have gotten the stamp of approval from his kids, and even his partner Tanja giving it the green light.
'They're a great barometer you know? They actually love Faithless. And as much as there’s bits of it robbed from them, its not really about them you know?
'Because I'd be quite nervous. I have that feeling where I want people to see it and I want people to like it. I do get a good feeling when I see them watching it because some of them are teens and they really like it. And even Tania would be a harsh critic of things, and she likes it as well.'
Season two picks up right where they left off, with new characters like Sam’s uncle and brother-in-law, Corm, moving into the already tightly packed house to lend a helping hand.
Sam also has a potential new love interest this season and Derry Girls star Jamie Lee O'Donnell stars as 'a powerhouse young executive' who is strong-minded but ruthless. Jane Wisener will be playing Nancy's new school teacher, who is determined to get Sam and her together.
Season two of Faithless will be streamed on Virgin Media, and much like season one, the show will be dealing with serious issues like grief, love, and social issues, all with a bit of Irish humour thrown into it!
With such a huge success from season one, Baz is eager for all to see what the public think of season two, but we know we can't wait!
Faithless season two will be streamed on Virgin Media.
