Harry Potter star leads comedy workshops at BIMM University Berlin
We were delighted to welcome renowned British actor Mark Williams to BIMM University Berlin for a day of masterclasses with our acting and filmmaking students.
Beyond playing Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter franchise, Mark has starred in dozens of projects across film and TV including 101 Dalmatians, The Fast Show, Doctor Who, Father Brown and many more.
With an emphasis on the practical elements of acting and filmmaking, students enjoyed two hands-on workshops exploring the comedy genre. The day concluded with a Q&A session led by Dasha Kostina (Filmmaking, Year 2), which delved into Mark’s career.
Acting for comedy with Mark Williams
The first masterclass of the day was exclusively available to our BA (Hons) Acting for Stage, Screen and Digital Media students. This intimate two-hour workshop saw them run through a scene taken from hit US sitcom, Parks & Recreation.
Split into two groups, each student was assigned a character to focus on, giving them the opportunity to spend time exploring how to best portray their assigned role on screen.
As Mark shot to notoriety as part of the BBC sketch show The Fast Show, this in-depth workshop provided an incredible opportunity to explore comedy with one of the genre’s standout figures.
Following the actors’ session, students on our BA (Hons) Filmmaking programme later joined them for a collaborative masterclass on directing comedic scenes.
Tasked with capturing the scene that our acting students had previously run through, our filmmakers had the opportunity to examine the technical aspects of shooting comedy. Through a series of test shoots, the filmmakers experimented with angles, shot types and camera movement to effectively portray the scene’s desired effect.
Student-led Q&A session
Following a short break, students headed into the screening room at Molecule Studios for an exclusive Q&A session with Mark.
This masterclass honed in on Mark’s knowledge from his three-decade acting career. It also gave students the opportunity to get advice for starting out in the film and TV industry.
“The reason why I have done so many things […] is because I never wanted to just be one [type of actor]. When I started, there was a lot of snobbery about actors who would only do film or only do theatre and would never do advertising. But when I started, I did a lot of advertising […] which taught me to work to the second.”
Mark Williams
On behalf of the lecturers at team at BIMM University, we would like to thank Mark for joining us in Berlin and offering students a truly unforgettable experience.
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