Joe Cole
stars in
NATGEO
SERIES
A SMALL LIGHT
Photography Rhys Frampton
Fashion Editor Deborah Ferguson
Shirt & Coat: Louis Vuitton
Coat, Trousers, & High Tops: Louis Vuitton, Shirt: Dunhill
Interview Sophie Lin
Joe Cole has won audiences over again in another stunning performance in
the new limited series “A Small Light”, which honors the remarkable story of Miep Gies, a crucial figure in hiding Anne Frank and her family during the Nazi occupation in Amsterdam. From taking on the iconic Michael Caine role in “The Ipcress File” to having starred as John Shelby in the wildly popular series “Peaky Blinders”, Joe Cole has in recent years become a very familiar name.
In “A Small Light”, Cole plays the daring and devoted husband of Miep Gies, Jan Gies, who, along with several other everyday heroes, watched over the Frank, van Pels, and Pfeffer families hiding in the secret annex for two years. Filmed on location in Amsterdam and Prague, “A Small Light” showcases the Gies’ heroic story with a modern touch, highlighting their daily struggles, sacrifices, and the courage it took to protect the lives of others.
With an impressive body of work that showcases his versatility as an actor, Joe Cole brings depth and authenticity to his character in this powerful limited series. Through Cole’s performance, the series reminds us that even ordinary individuals can make a significant difference in the face of darkness and hatred. As the creators and executive producers, Joan Rater and Tony Phelan hope the series leaves a lasting impact on viewers and helps to shed light on the untold stories of the Holocaust and the lessons it continues to teach.
Coat & Shirt: Dunhill, Jeans: Louis Vuitton
Coat & Shirt: Dunhill
You’ve also acted in a number of independent films. What draws you to these types of projects, and how do they differ from larger studio productions?
I think in terms of the work they can be similar. I think sometimes you get a bit more time on a studio film but really in terms of the work it’s the same beat.
Your performances have been praised for their intensity and authenticity. What steps do you take to fully immerse yourself in a character, and how do you maintain that level of focus throughout filming?
I just try to stay relaxed. I just try to be quite free and quiet in the moment and be receptive to the other actors and to the world that I am in. It’s hard to intellectualize what it is [really] but just try to be relaxed really helps.
Coat, Trousers, & High Tops: Louis Vuitton, Shirt: Dunhill
Shirt & Coat: Louis Vuitton
What drew you to the role of Jan Geis in a small light?
It’s such an incredible story and it’s a story that I feel like people think they know and I certainly thought I knew. I read “The Diary of Anne Frank” as a youngster and everybody knows the imagery of Anne Frank or at least most people do. I very quickly realized that I don’t really know. I didn’t even know Jan’s name, I didn’t really know the Geis family. Which is quite extraordinary when it’s such a poignant time in history and also how poignant the book specifically is.
I really wanted to be involved in telling that story and the people involved were incredible. Then I read the scripts. The scripts were so, so vibrant and so fond and effervescent and the characters felt so contemporary and fresh and just felt quite relatable to me, which I think period drama doesn’t always do. You know, sometimes it’s different. Sometimes, there’s a staccato element or there’s a way that they speak which is hard to really relate to. I certainly felt with this, it just felt different.
What was the most challenging part of portraying Jan Geis?
Wearing those glasses and the haircut. [Laughs] Yeah, once I got over that then I think just finding the sort of nuance of how much he’s handling [in] this situation. How much it’s getting to him, how much he’s supporting his wife. The nuances within their relationship. I think just feeling [my] way through that was probably the most challenging for me.
You touched on a little bit about how you had read “The Diary of Anne Frank” when you were younger, how else did you prepare for the role of Jan Geis?
We were given a lot of reading and a documentary [and] stuff, and I mean tons, of research that Tony and Joan and the Dutch researchers got their hands on. And so for me, I delved into that, I read a transcript with Jan and Meip speaking. I mean it was very little, there was very little. Jan never spoke after the war and it was something he didn’t really want to bring up. So there’s actually very little information about Jan, it was all pieced together through different anecdotes and just working with the researchers. And then the other thing I think was [that] I actually watched some more commercial films or, you know, some more recent films like “Schindler’s List” and “The Pianist” and a couple of films like that just to immerse myself in the period and that, the heaviness of the Holocaust era, the weight of that. Things like that, just to try and get into the mindset, and then [I] obviously went to the Anne Frank museum and spent time on the streets of Amsterdam. Looked to a lot of the imagery of Anne and the Franks and whatever we had. For me, that was an important stimulus.
What did you admire the most about Jan Geis?
Think it’s his quiet heroism and the way he supported his wife, you know. He was there as a support for what she was doing. I mean initially, it was [just] her decision to hide the Franks and she had taken on that responsibility, but they’ve been together for many, many decades and they had a very loving and passionate relationship it seemed. For me, [he] was just this, this quiet sort of rock, that was there [and] that was interesting to me.
Was there anything new you learned about the Holocaust and the people who lived through it, while you were working on the show?
Yeah, I mean, every day felt like a lesson, every day felt like a history lesson. It was quite incredible, really. Tony. [Tony Phelan] would come in in the morning and tell us a different story and then a different thing he found out each day. I learned a lot [and] hopefully people will learn a lot from watching it.
Coat & Shirt: Dunhill
Coat & Shirt: Dunhill, Jeans & High Tops: Louis Vuitton
How important do you think it is for stories? Like “A Small Light” to be told and shared with audiences?
It is one of the most horrific massacres of a people, the most horrific massacre of people I think in our history. It also happened only 80 years ago and there’s persecution going on to this day. We have a war in Ukraine right now and [the] persecution of the Jewish community and other communities. So I think it’s essential to tell these stories and show what humanity is capable of and what ordinary people can do. It doesn’t take much just to make the right decision and do the right thing. Hopefully, it will inspire them to do that.
What was it like, filming on location in Amsterdam and Prague?
It was amazing and the Prague crew were great and diligent and hard-working and a fantastic team. We recreated [the] Anne Frank annex and the Frank house to its exact specifications, it felt like [really] walking in there. Then Amsterdam; filming in those streets [where] this was going on and where this happened. Steeped in history and not all good history, you know. Being on those streets and filming outside the Frank house and filming on those canals really hit home. [It was] really about what we were trying to achieve.
You also touched a little bit on this, but how did you approach portraying the relationship between Jan and Meip Geis on screen?
I think bringing honesty and trying to be free and then just being reactive to Bell and trying to bring an element of our own personality into the role. Yeah. All things like that really.
What do you hope viewers? Take away from watching “A Small Light”?
I hope people can feel inspired and want to be better, want to do the right thing. The title of the show is “A Small Light”. Meip quotes, “Anyone could turn on a small light in a dark room” and it’s a reminder that it doesn’t matter who you are, where you are from, or what station you’re at in life, you know, you can always do something for your fellow person. Hopefully, it’s an inspirational story for people to get on board with.
Now that you’ve had a different perspective through the show and what it feels like to be living through and involved in World War 2. Did it change your perception about the war at all?
I think war, in general, is obviously horrific and unnecessary, World War 2 was particularly [an] awful time for so many people. So many lives were wasted. We actually did the premiere in Amsterdam in the theater, I can’t remember the name of it now, a theater that a Jewish architect had built. Is the most beautiful theater and Jan and Meip used to go to watch movies there when they were living in Amsterdam. Then you hear that this architect who built these incredible buildings and had so much talent had been sent to a concentration camp. [It’s] certainly just so…what a waste of life, you know.
Coat, Trousers, & High Tops: Louis Vuitton, Shirt: Dunhill
Shirt & Coat: Louis Vuitton
It feels a lot more personal now just based on that answer. So looking forward, what types of roles or projects would you like to tackle in the future and what goals do you have for your career?
I’ll see what comes. I like to challenge myself. I like variety. It’s an enjoyable challenge to play real people so maybe I’ll find some people that look a bit like me who had interesting lives and try and play them. I’ll just see what happens, I like to subvert opinions and try different things. So yeah, let’s see what’s in store.
And lastly, do you have any passion projects you’re working on or have worked on recently or any hidden talents and interests that you can share?
Well, no, no passion projects as such. I’ve got a couple of things I’m attached to, which are quite exciting. But yeah, as I say, more to come.
Photographer
Creative Director & Fashion Editor
Onset Fashion Assistant
Interview
Grooming
Nadia Altinbas @ The Wall Group
Web Layout
Thank you