INYIM Media Fashion Pride 2022: Actor Tom Prior Stars On The Gay Cold War Romance Firebird.
“I was approached to play the lead in “Firebird” back in 2014. I had no idea it would have such life-changing consequences for my life.
It was a story that ticked all the boxes for me. I grew up infatuated by the stories of James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Tintin. “Firebird” was a Cold War era story, playing a soldier amongst the heat and intensity of a real airforce base defending the Soviet Union, but with the twist of adventure – not saving the world, but following love and truth. Embarking on a clandestine forbidden love affair was the mission at hand! It was a true hybrid of a romance and a thriller, and I was sold.
After I was offered the role, I gave Director Peter Rebane some suggestions on how I believed the script could be improved, and while we shot a few scenes to ‘prove the concept’ of making the film and raising the financing, he graciously took the feedback and this lead to us co-writing together for two and a half years; diving deep into the political and social context of the time. And that took me to Russia to meet the real man behind the story…
