Interview with BAFTA winning director, Peter Hoar
We had the pleasure of speaking with the winner of this year’s Director: Fiction award at the BAFTA TV Craft Awards, the brilliant Peter Hoar.
This year’s Director: Fiction’ category was once again a competitive pool of talented directors, we’d congratulate them all for what they’ve contributed to a year of fantastic television. You can read about the nominees here.
If you’ve watched the first series of The Last of Us, you’ll remember the stand-out, touching episode 3 ‘Long, Long Time’, which starred Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett or, as you may know them, Bill and Frank. Peter was also nominated for an Emmy for this episode and he’s previously won in the same BAFTA category in 2022 for It’s a Sin.
Read our interview below.
What do you think makes a great director?
Passion Stamina Flexibility – as well as the ability to tell a good story in the simplest way possible. A lot of stories seem convoluted these days and I think it’s our job to allow for complexity but not at the expense of comprehension!
What was your favourite thing about working on ‘The Last of Us’?
It’s a huge show. I was hoping for some of that before I got the script but I ended up with a perfect story of two men falling in love. I wouldn’t change it a bit. I loved that we could call on the might of this huge production to put this on screen – even if mostly we were sat at dinner tables talking about Beaujolais – The Last of Us is at its heart about why we survive- what is it all really for? After the violence and the battles, what do we live for?
“If you want to make it up the ladder, tell people so they can help you. Don’t keep it to yourself.”
What piece of advice would you give to someone wanting to pursue Directing as a career?
Listen. To as many people as possible. So much talent is available to advise you and don’t be pig headed about taking it. No one is alone in making a film or TV show- use all the resources you can. If you want to make it up the ladder, tell people so they can help you. Don’t keep it to yourself. One short film can change everything. Keep going to get it made. If you can’t afford it, make it cheaper – the hardest part of filmmaking is to get it made at all so rewrite to make it possible.
“It took nearly 30 years to get my first BAFTA so there’s no such thing as overnight success!”
What was your biggest challenge on your journey to success?
I didn’t think of challenges. They were just my next steps. I wanted to work hard and impress people with it so I enjoyed every job. Of course there were tough times but ultimately I loved what I did so I kept going. It took nearly 30 years to get my first BAFTA so there’s no such thing as overnight success!
What drew you to this particular narrative and compelled you to bring it to life on screen?
I am a huge fan of the game so when first approached I said I’ll do it regardless of the script! Luckily the script was incredible. I found the game compelling but also uncomfortable and deeply moving. I’d never played a game like it. Computer games never seemed to create such rounded and interesting characters – and then to watch them suffer was sometimes unbearable. It took me a few goes to fully complete it as I was often bereft from the experience. So when I saw that HBO were making the adaptation I knew it would be good as they are masters at telling these deep great character based stories.
Thank you to Peter Hoar for taking the time to answer our questions and to BAFTA for facilitating! 3 Mills Studios is a proud continued sponsor of the BAFTA TV Craft Director: Fiction award.
If you’re curious about the ceremony, you can read about our night at the BAFTA TV Crafts Awards here.
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- on May 20, 2024