San Francisco Frontiers - Britain's Harris Dickinson on John Lennon, directing and news overload

The modest Londoner, who turns 30 later this year, has had a whirlwind year that has seen his stock rise further as an actor who can straddle both art house cinema and more commercial TV and film work.

But the "Babygirl" star and upcoming on-screen John Lennon insists he won't be swapping Hollywood for his beloved home in the British capital -- now or ever.

"It feels like I'm grounded by London, east London specifically. It feels like a very important place," he told AFP in an interview.

"I have my people. I have my family. I have my own little community there," he added.

The city is the backdrop to "Urchin", his first film as a director which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last May and which includes a cameo from his mum.

- 'Stay on track' -

The premiere in Cannes, where he starred in 2022 prize-winner "Triangle of Sadness" by Ruben Ostlund, was so stressful Dickinson felt sick before the screening.

But his film, about a homeless man struggling after his release from prison, won over critics with the strength of the acting and directing, as well as its wry humour.

Dickinson sees it as containing an important message about community: the importance of it, as well as the dangers for drug users of "exhausting (their) support networks".

"It's very common, even for people with good family setups, or friends and family, they get to a point where no one wants to help them anymore," he said.

Keeping destructive behaviour at bay is a battle he relates to, having seen the ravages of alcohol in his family -- but also as a member of the notoriously addiction-prone entertainment industry.

"Ultimately no one's safety or path is guaranteed. You have to do a certain amount of work in order to stay on track, especially if you've got addictive tendencies or destructive tendencies," he explained.

- 'Get obsessed' -

Dickinson is currently in the middle of an exhausting filming schedule for four biographical films about "The Beatles" from "American Beauty" and James Bond director Mendes.

Each one is shot from the perspective of one of the Fab Four, with Dickinson landing what is arguably the plum role as Lennon.

Paul Mescal ("Hamnet", "Gladiator II") plays Paul McCartney.

"I'm getting up at 4:45 am every day, and I'm getting home at 8:00 pm," Dickinson explained.

Working with Mendes has made a big impression -- "he's a big canvas director" -- but one of the hardest things is pulling himself out of the daily news doom cycle and his research into the 1960s.

"I do go through periods where I tune out from news a little bit because I can get obsessed with it. I go deep, and I get very troubled by it," Dickinson explained.

"I don't think our brains and our systems are designed to be that tuned into injustice and tragedy and darkness."

The troubled post-war era "doesn't feel any different to what we're going through today, that's the alarming thing really," he added.

"The Beatles" is a long-term job that will keep him busy until December.

After that?

"I'm quite interested in anything apocalyptic, anything dystopian, or a survival film," he explained.

"I'm interested in the idea of what happens when society falls, what happens when we are left with nothing or we're stripped of everything."

Q.Nelson--SFF