Dylan Nicholson on being an assistant director trainee

Dylan has only been in the film and TV industry for a few years, but thanks to ScreenSkills’ Trainee Finder programme, has worked his way from runner to third assistant director on a variety of projects, including Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso and HBO’s Avenue Five.

“I am indebted to ScreenSkills because the assistant director programme gave me the opportunity to work on some interesting projects and meet great people who I’ve learned a lot from and who’ve set me up with continuous work,” says Dylan.

He graduated from the Northern Film School within Leeds Beckett University in 2018, and was googling how to be a runner when the Trainee Finder programme popped up. He asked one of his lecturers who said it was well worth going for. He applied for a place in the assistant director department.

Dylan’s only experience at that point was as a runner on the ITV series Victoria during film school. “So, I turned to Stuart Williams, an assistant director on that series, for a reference, and applied,” he explains.

After an initial induction from ScreenSkills, Dylan was placed as a runner on his first production, First World War film The War Below, which shot in Ipswich with a small team and low budget. “I was on set all of the time, and they gave me a lot of responsibility, including managing 30 extras on my first day! It was an incredible opportunity and steep learning curve,” enthuses Dylan, who was even given the chance to star in the film as an extra who gets blown up in a tunnel with a dirt cannon.

He says managing the supporting artists was like the BBC TV show Extras. “They’ve all met Tom Cruise and are best friends with TV stars,” he laughs. “But it’s great because you get to provide creative input and tell a bit of the story, even if it’s just the background.”

One of the producers of that film, Alexandra Breede, then introduced Dylan to assistant directors, Jeroen Bogaert and Zak Harney, who became very important people in his life as his regular work team for the next 18 months.

The first project they did together was Aleem Khan’s After Love, which recently dominated the British Independent Film Awards, including best director for Khan and best actress for Joanna Scanlan for her role as a recently widowed woman coming to terms with a shocking secret about her husband’s life. The film is now hoping to repeat the success after being nominated for this year’s BAFTAs.

“Again, it was a small crew, which meant I had to muck in as a floor runner. I got to see how all the different teams worked close-up, especially when we were filming on the ferry from the white cliffs of Dover to France,” Dylan says. “I learned a lot from Zak and Jeroen who whipped me into shape as we went along.”

The successful triumvirate also worked together on Reggie Yates’ comedy film Pirates, which was the last of the projects Dylan did as part of the ScreenSkills programme, just before the first lockdown in March 2020.

“That first year working on those three projects was absolutely amazing,” says Dylan. “The ScreenSkills programme and team were incredibly important in my development. The whole time I had an assigned mentor, Max Goldberg, who was always there if I had any general questions, while Zak and Jeroen were my direct (unofficial) mentors on set. Plus, Tom Holmes – the [then] lead on ScreenSkills’ Film Trainee Finder – was great, always available for advice, and regularly checked in to make sure I was happy.”

Dylan continued working with Zak and Jeroen on a few more projects, including the horror Censor and romantic comedy Boxing Day, testing the water as a third AD and crowd third, specifically dressing extras.

He then moved onto the Channel 4 comedy We are Lady Parts as an official crowd third, which again proved to be a useful experience, not only to hone his skills, but because the assistant director on that project got him a job working on the hugely popular Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso in January 2021.

“I was working in the production base at West London Film Studios, but also got to go out on location around Richmond and Kingston,” explains Dylan. “It was great to be a part of a big show, but tough because it was so fast-paced. One of the highlights was walking around Wembley when there was no one in it.”

He then moved to another high-profile show, HBO’s sci-fi series Avenue Five, working as a third AD on the second season, which has been shooting at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden.

“I’ve been looking after the cast, making sure they get to set on time in the right costumes with the correct lines, and I have four runners that I manage,” says Dylan. “I also make sure the other assistant directors are supported.

“It’s been an incredible three-year journey from graduation to where I am now, and I am hugely grateful to ScreenSkills for putting me on this path,” concludes Dylan, who is hoping to next work on the third season of Ted Lasso.