The Fight: An interview with writer-director Jessica Hynes

Decades after making a name for herself in hit sitcom Spaced opposite Simon Pegg, and since having been a prolific presence across our screens and theatre stages, actress and writer Jessica Hynes has finally turned her hand to filmmaking.

The resulting debut feature is The Fight, sparked by a visit to a local boxing gym in her hometown of Folkstone. It tells the story of one woman’s desire to vent her frustrations via boxing, with Hynes in the starring role as care-home nurse and mother-of-three Tina, and who along the way must also confront her past and exorcise her demons.

The lovingly made film and compelling performance by Hynes is complemented by an excellent cast with Anita Dobson and Christopher Fairbank taking on the role of her parents, who are facing old age and a disintegrating marriage, Shaun Parkes who shares an brilliant on-screen rapport with Hynes as her partner Mick, young Sennia Nanua as her daughter and Liv Hill, the school bully, plus Rhona Mitra as Tina’s childhood nemesis and Cathy Tyson as her no-bullshit boxing coach.

We sat down with Jessica Hynes ahead of the movie’s release to hear about what inspired her to write, direct and star in her first film, what sparked the idea for the story and her experience of making a “female Rocky”.

Sarah Bradbury
Video: Filippo L’Astorina

The Fight is released in select cinemas on 15^th March 2019. Read our review here.

Watch the trailer for The Fight here: