Exclusive Interview: Tom Prior Chats Firebird and How He Hopes the Film Inspires Audiences to Love More Courageously

Actor, producer, and writer Tom Prior is known for the compelling narratives and characters he’s brought to life on the stage and screen. His past credits include projects like The Theory of Everything, Kingsman: The Secret Service, and most recently Firebird.

Based on a true story during the Cold War, Firebird is a passionate love story set against the backdrop of an Air Force base in occupied Estonia during late 1970’s Communist rule. Sergey (Tom Prior), a soulful, young soldier who dreams of becoming an actor in Moscow, is counting the days until his military service ends. His life is turned upside down when he locks eyes with Roman (Oleg Zagorodnii), an enigmatic ace fighter pilot newly assigned to his base. Driven by their undeniable attraction, Sergey and Roman navigate the precarious line between love and friendship at a time when Soviet men in uniform caught having a sexual affair was met with the severest punishment. As their friendship grows into love, the men risk their freedom and their lives to be together in the face of an all-seeing Communist regime.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Tom about Firebird, the seven-year process of creating the film, and how he hopes it encourages audiences to love more courageously.

PC: To start, could you introduce us to Firebird?
Tom: Firebird is a forbidden love story set in the Soviet Air Force during the height of the Cold War. It follows the character Sergey who falls in love with a fighter pilot. It’s the story of how they struggle to be together and risk their lives and their freedom for love.

PC: During the development of this film, you actually met with Sergey. How did that influence the way that you approached this character and project? Did that bring a different weight to it?
Tom: It was an invaluable experience to meet the real Sergey. It really helped inform me how I wanted to play him in the film. I instinctively wanted to play him as a light, sunny character with a very positive outlook. I was pleasantly reassured when I met the real Sergey that that’s actually how he was. He was amazingly courageous. He followed his heart at a time when it was illegal to do so. I brought those qualities into how I decided to play him. It was an extraordinarily valuable thing. I’m so grateful to have gotten to meet him.

PC: One of the messages that you’ve amplified throughout your career is encouraging others to embrace and express how they feel out in the world, which gives permission for others to do the same. Was that one of the reasons why you were attracted to this project?
Tom: There were a number of things that drew me to this project. That certainly was one of them. I’ve always loved the Cold War era. It’s such a fascinating point in history. I’ve always been fascinated by the Soviet Union—those propaganda posters, the imagery and everything that goes with it, and the uniforms. I have this really strong aesthetic and historical interest in it. The line between friendship and something more is also something that I’ve been fascinated by and got to explore in this film. It was the combination of all those things coming together.

As you said very well, I’m a great believer in demonstrating the behaviors of change. By creating and showing audiences a film such as this, where somebody’s courageously following their heart at all cost, I found that so inspiring. In turn, I’ve put more of that into my life. I really hope that other people can do the same after seeing the film.

PC: Can you talk a bit about the collaboration working with Oleg [Zagorodnii] who plays your counterpart and how the language barrier that the two of you faced lent itself to the film?
Tom: It was pretty scary at first because we couldn’t have a conversation like this. Even today, we still can’t because I don’t really speak Russian and he doesn’t really speak English. That meant that a lot of the communication that we had to do was about becoming physically aware of each other’s presence and the space between us while we were interacting. It’s fascinating to take language out of a scene and play it without words. That’s really what we had to do for a lot of the film, a lot of the rehearsal, and in getting to know each other.

It’s interesting…when Peeter Rebane (the director and my co-writer) was figuring out how on Earth to write these scenes because there is no language to scale this relationship, which lent itself amazingly well to the fact that Oleg and I couldn’t actually have those conversations either. It became a lot more about building chemistry through physical communication.

PC: You’ve also said in previous interviews that as a filmmaker, one of your goals is to create things that you’ve never seen before and do so in extraordinary ways, which this film undoubtedly does. Is there a scene in particular that you’re really excited for audiences to see?
Tom: Personally, my favorite scene in the film is the accident sequence when there’s a lot of action. I really love action. That is my preferred genre. That scene has this sense of heightened stakes, and it’s really about love. It’s about love and loss. Then also, is he going to land the plane or not? That’s my favorite scene.

PC: Not only are you starring in the film, you’re also a producer, a writer, music supervisor…the list goes on and on. How challenging was it to wear all those different hats? How has your experience behind the scenes impacted your work on camera and vice versa?
Tom: It was a lot. Honestly, if you’d said to me at the beginning of the process that I would do all of those things, I’d probably be like, “No way.” But it happened quite organically. I signed on to play the lead in the film. I started going through the writing process with Peeter. We collaborated over a couple of years. We heavily researched and got to the final script. Then we started finding financing.

When we started shooting, we had to be quite clear and specific. We were like, “We’re having a writers’ conversation right now.” We’d go away and look like we were having this awful argument, but it wasn’t. [laughs] We were trying to figure out what to do or what to shoot in what order because suddenly a location wasn’t available or we had to shift something.

It was definitely very stressful at times. But also, we had to be very adaptable. That was really great. But during the period in which we were shooting, I stepped back a bit from the producing side so I was able to concentrate on the acting. Once the acting was all done, producing took over.

I fell into being the music supervisor. I would sit in post-production with our editor. They would be like, “Oh God. We can’t find a piece of tenor music for this part. Do you have any ideas? ” I went away and would listen to music and find something that worked for the scene. Then I would be like, “Okay, now I have to look for music for this part of the film.”

It was honestly a real joy, and I fell into it not ever knowing that would happen. I love the medium of film. It’s such a collaborative expression where so many things come together at once.

PC: This has been a seven-year process from page to the screen. What has it meant to you to have it finally come out internationally? What do you hope audiences take away after they see it?
Tom: It’s certainly a pretty grand finale to a long period of my life. I hope that people feel inspired to love a bit more courageously, follow their hearts a bit more, and live a little bit more. Instead of asking, “Should I or shouldn’t I?” go, “Yes, I should.”

Audiences will follow this relationship during a time where it was illegal and could have led to a death sentence. I hope people can realize what freedoms we have in today’s society. But also ask themselves how they can be more accepting of others and demonstrate behaviors of change.

PC: Besides Firebird, where can fans see you next?
Tom: That’s a really good question. I am working on one other film I just started writing together with another director and that’s all very much under wraps right now. But to give you a little hint, it may be a little bit like a James Bond/Jason Bourne story with a slightly pansexual vibe. I want to see more representation on screen, particularly in the action genre.

One other thing that I know Peeter Rebane and I are going to write together is a refugee story that is set at the end of the second World War. It’s an amazing story of people overcoming a very hostile environment and giving it all for freedom.

To keep up with Tom, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Firebird in select theaters today.

Photo Credit: Herkki-Erich Merila Roadside Attractions, LLC / The Factory