Andrew Koji is no stranger to the bullets and bloodshed of action-packed thrillers, so it's only right for him to star in one of the most violent gangland dramas around: the Sky Original, Gangs of London season 3.
Koji previously starred in Netflix's hit spy thriller Black Doves, crime drama Warrior and the action blockbuster Bullet Train. But in Gangs of London season 3, the actor and martial artist is showing off his brutal brawling skills as mysterious assassin, Zeek.
The third season of the show sees former undercover cop Elliot Carter (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) replace Sean Wallace (Joe Cole) as the drug kingpin of London after sending him to prison. However, life at the top becomes far more dangerous when a batch of cocaine is spiked and kills hundreds of people.
Not only does this trigger a war on drugs for the Mayor of London Simone Thearle (T'Nia Miller), but it also sparks catastrophic conflict between rival gangs as they try to expose which one of them is responsible for the spiking. This is where Koji's moody hitman character comes in to shake up the battle for London, as he mercilessly slaughters gang members left, right and centre.
Zeek operates as a lone wolf and has no loyalties to anyone, with his murderous actions having a huge impact on the top dogs of the criminal enterprises. Speaking exclusively to TechRadar, Koji described Zeek as "the human Terminator" who unleashes turmoil on the gangs.
He told me: "He gets thrown in like a hand grenade or the human Terminator. He enters the world of Gangs of London, he's thrown into the mix and his arrival causes all sorts of chaos. He doesn't have any true allegiances to anyone."
Although, his connections to the gangs may run deeper than we think, as he added: "He's a man who seems to come from nowhere, although throughout the show we will find out who or who he may not be connected to and what his motivations are."
Wince-inducing fight scenes
Gangs of London is known for its savage punch-ups and chaotic shootouts, with jaw-dropping fight scenes that genuinely make you wince. Gangs of London season 3 certainly doesn't shy away from the gore-fest as Zeek and Elliot come to blows in an epic fight for survival.
"I got to do a pretty intense fight scene with Ṣọpẹ́. Elliot and Zeek do come clashing head to head and I get to dance with Ṣọpẹ́, who's a very gifted physical actor, but also a thinking actor. We got to punch the s**t out of each other for three, four days straight," Koji said of their fight sequence together.
Not only do the crazy fight scenes serve as bloodbath entertainment, there's also motivation and a reason behind the sheer violence. "I think with Ṣọpẹ́ being a smart actor we make sure the motivation and the intention of the fight is there and that the emotions are there. Obviously for Elliot, it's very high stakes.
"He's like a wild animal coming out the gates full of rage. He thinks that Zeek's killed his family, whereas Zeek is playing a very different thing. He's more of a strategist and he's more on the defensive, so to get to do that fight scene was very fun," he said.
These choreographed scenes do come with its challenges though as Koji found himself in a battle against the camera equipment (which he won by the way). "The Gangs of London camera style is very up close and personal, especially when it comes to the fights.
"Whereas sometimes I'm more used to wider shots and all that stuff, but this is very up close and one time I did smack a lens hood which went flying. It got obliterated. So we were doing a fight with Ṣọpẹ́, it got really up close and I turned around and the camera was right there and boom, the camera lens hood went flying into pieces," he shared.
Koji "jumped at the chance" to play Zeek as he hadn't seen anyone of his ethnicity play a character like that when he first started out in acting at a younger age.
"To play a character like Zeek, who's interesting, nuanced, bit different but it's got these layers to him," Koji revealed about what appealed to him most about the role. "Andrew that's half my age, just starting out in acting, at the time I don't think I saw an actor of my ethnicity playing a role like this on TV that's integrated and woven into the story in such a way, so I jumped at that chance."
Gangs of London vs Black Doves
Before starring as the bloodthirsty Zeek in Gangs of London, Zoki appeared in the hugely popular Netflix spy thriller Black Doves alongside Keira Knightley. In it, he plays Jason Davies, a Ministry of Justice civil servant and secret lover of Knightley's spy character Helen Webb. When Jason is assassinated, Helen uncovers a government conspiracy as she goes on a mission to find out who killed him.
Koji told me how being in Gangs of London compared to being in Black Doves and how he filmed them both at the same time.
"It’s a different job, slightly different genre. One’s a spy thriller, this one is obviously an action crime drama. I was shooting them both at the same time actually. Sometimes I would come from the Gangs of London set straight to the Black Doves set at night, so I was shooting them side by side and having to hopefully channel different characters," he said.
"Gangs of London is a ground-breaking action thriller show mixed with brutal action mixed with the gripping family drama set in this London setting. They're both set in London, but this one's got more of a heightened stylized London I'd say. It's the character as well, which is hopefully different, so I guess there's some similarities, some differences."
All eight episodes of Gangs of London 3 launched as a box set on Sky Atlantic and the streaming service NOW on March 20 in the UK and Stan in Australia. While season 3 is currently unavailable to stream in the US, Gangs of London seasons 1-2 are available to stream on Netflix in the US.
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