NEW FILM FROM LOCAL ACTOR PAIGE HUDSON

By Luke Warford

From front of house to London Independent film festival, Paige Hudson is a rising Kent actor with many links to Dartford, including family and the very early parts of her career.

New film, Doglike, where she stars as Laura, in what she describes as a “thought provoking, thrilling story between two contrasting characters” (the other played by El Anthony, directed and written by Elias Avramides), heads to Genesis Cinema in Mile End on the 15th April for it’s first public screening, as part of the London Independent Film Festival, where herself and the crew will be in attendance.

She always knew she wanted to be a performer of some kind - as a child, participating within local Mick Jagger Centre gigs, joining local choirs and drama groups.

Leading up to this, she also performed at the Orchard Theatre to audiences of 900+, and occasionally spends time there helping out within the front of house team. She says being there and being able to have conversations with audiences about theatre is a really important thing for her, but says at this current time, screen acting especially holds a huge place in her heart.

Paige has done other projects throughout the years, one of them being a music video (directed by Emma Pitt) for Dave Sutherland’s Yorkshire Grey - two people she’s very fond of.

She has very vivid memories of putting on performances in her living room for her family whilst growing up in her childhood Dartford home.

She grew up an only child, and says growing up with Cerebral Palsy was particularly challenging. She often felt as though she was seen as a bit of an alien to the rest of her peers - and often felt somewhat alone, but felt less alone when she turned to performing - which is something that her family always supported, many of them also with local roots in Dartford.

Although she has felt tremendous love and support from the entirety of her family, partner and friends, she believes she gets a lot of her creative spark from her dad, who is an emerging author.

Another person that’s always been a bit of a hero for her is that of actor Taron Egerton (Kingsman, Rocketman), who inspires and helps to motivate her daily, who she says encourages her to even further better her craft. Right from early on, she enjoyed watching him grow more and more within each project, and can only hope and strive to do the same.

Paige also strives for more accurate disability representation on screen, and thinks that although opportunities for disabled actors are slowly rising - there’s still work to do. And wants to encourage people of not just Dartford but anywhere, any age, regardless of their abilities, to pursue any creative goals that they have.

Paige is proud of Doglike, the whole team, and cannot wait to share it. She remains incredibly thankful to the crew and to those who continue to help her grow.