No./14

“I met Sir Alan in 1983. I was just one of hundreds of actors vying for a role in his next film, Birdy. Parker was kind, soft-spoken. He had a handheld video-camera and moved about my chair as I auditioned. Sometimes, he would be just inches from my face and eyes. It was like a physical examination by a doctor who was searching for something. What that was, only Parker knew.

“Months later, I received a call from Parker. ‘Congratulations! You’re going to be in my movie.’ I was thrilled. ‘You’re going to play Birdy.’ ‘What?!’ I said, ‘No. That’s impossible. I auditioned for Al. I’m not right for that.’ He replied: ‘You’re going to be great. Can’t wait to see you get started.’

“Once we began filming, Parker became quite a different person from the soft-spoken man I’d met at my audition. While Parker sometimes used blunt force on the artists he was collaborating with, we knew his impatience only came from his desire to make a great film, his passion for excellence.

“The film transformed my life. I consider Parker one of the top directors of all time. It was my honour to have worked alongside my dear friend, the working-class kid who rose to the pinnacle of his profession.”

“I first met Alan when I was nine years old. I remember filming the wonderful scene as Baby Face [in Bugsy Malone]. I distinctly remember Alan saying to me after one take, ‘Okay, do it again, but this time say: “I’m going to be a big movie star!” and look right at the camera as you say it.’ As a child actor, it’s drilled into you to never look at the camera because of course, kids have a terrible habit of doing that. Only Alan had the power and the imagination to break the fourth wall with a group of children.

“He obviously knew how to get the best out of children because I’ve done it myself as a director and it’s really difficult. He did that so successfully because there’s not a single bad performance in the film. I don’t think people give him enough credit for how hard that must have been.

“Parker was the Holy Grail in terms of making films that were artistic, had a message, were commercially viable, won awards and were films that audiences almost always loved. Those filmmakers are very few and far between.”

“I attended three auditions for The Commitments and met Alan at the second. His presence was extraordinary. When I got the part, it was just pure joy to be on set with him. He always had laser focus because of his extensive experience, talent and knowledge of this business. He was a master filmmaker. He always knew exactly what he was doing every morning when he walked on that set.

“He rehearsed with the actors before he even turned a camera on, which was such a luxury. He was like a wise owl on set, very economical,