Daniel Ings

There’s more to Daniel Ings than comedy-or is there? Known to us as a dedicated actor, Daniel’s love for the film industry began at a young age, stemming from one fervent desire… “attention”. 

This desire grew as Daniel navigated the challenges of growing up in a separated household, using comedy to cope with the weight of his emotions. The upheaval, lack of routine and all the uncomfortable changes that came with his teenage years were alleviated by his quick wit and cheeky demeanour. He shared, “To me, comedy sort of lives on one end of the spectrum, and then very extreme emotions of rage, impulsivity, and all of those things sit on the other end.” 

He added, “It became a space where everybody had to just sit and listen to me, and I could take them on a journey. I could make them cry, or I could make them laugh.”

Years later, Daniel is far beyond coping, yet his comedic foundation remains intact. In the early days of his career, he often auditioned for dashing, romantic leads such as Mr. Darcy in “Pride and Prejudice.” However, it was discordant as he didn’t naturally gravitate to those guises.

He admitted, “A truly earnest performance is more where I struggle if I’m completely honest. I couldn’t quite take myself seriously doing that.”

Moving forward, Daniel now sticks to what he knows best. So, when it came to his latest project, ‘The Gentlemen’, it was a no-brainer. It’s witty and satirical yet covers some pretty heavy topics – a balancing act between intense emotions. He explained, “I think those sort of more extreme reactions were the things that I was looking for. ‘The Gentleman’ lends itself to that level of exuberance and chaos,” 

The script, character and Guy Ritchie’s distinct working style were in harmony with Daniel’s nature, giving him the freedom and creative license that he craved and actively sought out in his career.

He revealed, “In this case, there was a lot of improvising and a lot of ad-libbing. A good proportion was guided by Guy Ritchie specifically setting the stage for us to be able to do that, But, it’s still slightly seat-of-your-pants stuff, because [Ritchie] can very much throw the entire scene out the window and give you complete free rein and there’s nothing scarier than a blank page.”

To strike that perfect balance, Daniel determines his creative latitude promptly. He smiled and said, “Part of my process is to quite early on, assess how much I’ll get away with throwing in my bullshit. Sometimes, that even starts with an audition tape.”

Some directors are very precise with their dialogue which leaves little room to play around, while others are open to adaptations. In support of the latter, Daniel sees modifications as enhancements rather than criticism. He explained, “If I look at a script, and I think like me, I see it as a compliment to a writer, script and character. If it suddenly gives me loads of ideas like, ‘What if I change this line?’, or ‘If I did a bit of this, that could be funny.’” 

He added, chuckling. “I like to try and make people aware early doors, that that’s how I would work in an ideal world, so that people have the opportunity to not hire me if they think it’s shit.”

In addition to the vast freedom on the set of ‘The Gentlemen’, Daniel was surrounded by an impressive cast. He mentioned, “Chanel Cresswell, who plays my wife, comes from the Shane Meadows school of acting – that troupe of amazing actors up from Nottingham.” 

He added, “Kya Scodelario has been in the business for a long time and is very, very skilled at what she does and also loads of fun. I feel like with the company of actors that we had, we were lucky. We’d all go and stay in these hotels in Wiltshire, where we were filming and everyone would have dinner and drinks.” 

Arriving to set and seeing Theo James there, Daniel felt pretty comfortable and confident that they were going to have a good rapport and build a strong connection. He highlighted, “It was really clear, very quickly, that he’s super smart. He knows his stuff and is very interested in the overarching storyline and what other characters are doing,”

When pried about the iconic, chicken suit scene, to my surprise, Daniel welcomed the conversation with open arms. He was more than happy to discuss what might have seemed a satiated subject and he lit up and chuckled as he explained, “I have been asked about it a lot, but what I’ve realised is, that to some degree, it cut through. I felt like it became a lightning rod for conversation. I am proud of it even though I look like a complete fucking idiot.”

“Part of my process is to quite early on, assess how much I’ll get away with throwing in my bullshit.”

Echoing his journey with comedy, Daniel revealed that his eyes were set on the profession at 10-years-old. His favourite movie was ‘Goodfellas’, and long-form comedy was a staple in his upbringing. 

Daniel recounted, “I think comedy became a kind of currency in my household. My dad’s a very funny guy, he’s one of those people who can, as they say on Curb Your Enthusiasm, ‘middle at a dinner party’. He’s a very clever guy – he has a sharp wit,” 

From his video shop ritual, where he would spend hours browsing through DVDs with his dad to theatre shows with his mum, Daniel was never short of loving support. He recalled, “I did loads of school plays in my teens and youth theatre and I became quite obsessive about trying to collect those experiences and I think it served me well. My mum took me at my word and would schlep through, driving in the rain to take me to youth theatre once a week. They came and saw all of the plays.”

He added with a smile, “I was lucky that my folks never discouraged me.” 

Touching on his current reality with his own family, Daniel openly shares a candid statement. He revealed, “I love doing what I do but it can be quite disruptive to the rhythm and routine of family life.” 

He admitted, “It can be a weird existence to some degree because I can be around at home a lot, and then suddenly, I’m off for three or four months. But I feel like we have a pretty good rhythm with it now. We’ve been super lucky that I’ve had lots of time at home with my kids – seeing them grow and spending time with them. We’ve been on all kinds of adventures together, travelling to different countries to film.” 

With such experiences, it wouldn’t be surprising if Daniel’s kids followed along in his footsteps. He shared, “I just want them to connect with whatever feels right and support that. I don’t want to push them into it because there are other cool things too.”

Switching from actor to dad mode isn’t always easy and when asked about how he unwinds, Daniel admitted, “We have three kids so sometimes the time on set is the fun easy part.” 

All jokes aside, he enjoys checking into an Airbnb, putting on a podcast and going on country walks to regroup, he added, “I’m a country bumpkin at heart.”

For Daniel, London is home; however, newness continues to captivate him. He revealed, “Growing up, we moved a lot, so I have this weird habit of needing to move every five years, like clockwork. We’ve been here for three, so it’s already really time,” 

He added, “I always had my sights set on London because when I started out, you had to live here to be an actor. But, now you don’t, so we toy with the idea of living in Europe somewhere,” he says.

“There’s nothing scarier than a blank page.”  

“I am proud of it even though I look like a complete fucking idiot.”

Wherever he ends up, Daniel is eager to continue filming. With a desire to delve deeper into the world of movies, he reiterates his admiration for long-form projects He said, “I think there is something sacred in that ability to unveil those depths and tell that story within 90, 100 or 180 minutes. There’s a real skill there. But, I don’t think I have a preference. I’m happy being a TV guy too.”

When asked if he’s ever considered getting behind the camera, Daniel admitted, “I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t crossed my mind. There have been a few times when I’ve reached out to an author and discussed optioning a book. I would be interested in the creative side of producing. I might be okay directing, but there are a lot of good directors out there. It would be one of those things where someone insisted that they wanted me to do it. I don’t know if I would be brazen enough otherwise.”

He continued, “I do a fair bit of writing. There’s one script that I wrote a couple of years ago that people seem to quite like. Occasionally I’ll send it to an actor and see what they think.”

He laughed and said, “But on the flip side of that, I went through a phase of pitching quite a few things, ideas or scripts and I realised that being an actor you are presented with rejection quite a lot of the time and to open up another avenue where there is the possibility of rejection…” 

He added, “So it’s definitely something that I’m tiptoeing towards, but I’m not in a hurry, There are a lot of really talented writers producers and directors out there. I don’t know if the world needs another, but in the back of my mind, I would be interested.”

Daniel’s journey from a young boy seeking attention, to a respected actor and creative force in the industry is a testament to his dedication, talent, and the power of finding humour in every situation. The journey’s just begun and if his past is any indication, the best is yet to come.

Photographer 

Arved Colvin-Smith 

Stylist 

Sophie Paxton at Eighteen Management

Grooming 

Nohelia Reyes using Clé de Peau Beauté and Colour WOW

Retouch 

Lewis Hughes at Surface Retouch 

Stylist Assistant

Belle Nowak