{"id":548673,"date":"2026-04-24T17:51:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/548673\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T17:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:51:08","slug":"i-swear-director-on-robert-aramayos-baftas-speech-and-n-word-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/548673\/","title":{"rendered":"I Swear Director on Robert Aramayo’s BAFTAs Speech and N-Word Scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tMore than six months after \u201cI Swear<\/a>\u201d released in the U.K., audiences in the U.S. are now finally getting to see the British indie film that\u2019s been at the center of a whole lot of noise from across the Atlantic.<\/p>\n

\n\tLanding in cinemas nationwide via Sony Pictures Classics, the feature, written and directed by Kirk Jones<\/a>, tells the deeply moving, often hilarious and frequently tear-jerking story of John Davidson<\/a>, the Scottish Tourette Syndrome campaigner who has suffered from the neurological disorder\u00a0since a teenager. <\/p>\n

\n\tBut \u201cI Swear\u201d arrives in the U.S. with the sort momentum behind it that most low-budget British movies could only dream of. <\/p>\n

\n\tHaving broken records as the highest-rated feature on record in the U.K. (beating \u201cBohemian Rhapsody,\u201d \u201cTop Gun Maverick\u201d and \u201cParasite\u201d), it went on to take an astonishing $8.3 million for Studiocanal on home soil, an unthinkable result for a film of its size. But the unthinkable continued into awards season, with the film landing 5 BAFTA nominations. winning best casting and, in what will likely go down in BAFTA history,\u00a0leading actor for Robert Aramayo<\/a>, who beat Leonardo DiCaprio and Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet (and then delivered a speech many people have had on repeat since). <\/p>\n

\n\tJones, previously best known for directing \u201cNanny McPhee\u201d and \u201cWaking Ned,\u201d knew there was something very special about the film, to the extent he sold his family home to entirely finance its roughly $3.8 million budget. It was an admittedly bold move, but one that meant he could put the sort of swearing into \u201cI Swear\u201d that it needed \u2014\u00a0and cast Aramayo rather than someone with more star power. As he notes, the BAFTAs would appear to have proved him right (although he still hasn\u2019t got the money back). <\/p>\n

\n\tBut the BAFTAs also brought with it major controversy. Davidson, in at attendance as a special guest, involuntarily shouted the N-word while Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo were presenting on stage. It was, of course, part of his Tourette\u2019s condition, but the eruption of anger that followed saw the incident come to overshadow the event and spark headlines for weeks after<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\n\tDavidson, Jones notes, was \u201cincredibly upset\u201d about what happened, but told him afterwards that it\u2019s been part of his life since he was 14, although nowhere near on such a global scale. <\/p>\n

\n\tSpeaking to Variety, the director discusses how \u201cI Swear\u201d might have look had he not put his house on the line, why he hopes the film will increase understanding of Tourette\u2019s, how Aramayo\u2019s deeply \u201cgenuine\u201d BAFTA speech is up there among the great film awards moments of all time and his next feature \u2014\u00a0an adaptation of beloved British children\u2019s TV classic, \u201cMr. Benn.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\tIt\u2019s obviously been a while since \u2018I Swear\u2019 came out in the U.K., but it did phenomenally well. And then there were the BAFTA wins. This is a low-budget British indie film \u2014 it\u2019s such a rarity for a film like that to have that sort of success. Was any of it at all anticipated?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt wasn\u2019t expected. Nothing is ever expected. But I\u2019ve been making films for 25 years, and my instinct was that at every level \u2014 script, cast, just going up to Scotland and starting to prep, and then starting to shoot, was a good one. I just had a good feeling about it, and that\u2019s about as good as it gets. But there was a detail about the financing. It was financed in a very unusual way, which meant that I had complete and total control creatively over the script, the casting, everything. And I think that made a huge difference and it turned this into the best experience I have ever had on a film set.<\/p>\n

\t\tCan you explain the financing? And what do you think would have happened had you not had final say?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tEffectively, I ended up putting my house and everything on the line to finance the film 100%. So what that meant was I didn\u2019t have to take out any swearing, which was suggested very early on when we had a meeting with a financier. I\u2019d promised John I would tell a truthful and honest story of his life and of Tourette\u2019s and I\u2019d also promised myself.<\/p>\n

\n\tI don\u2019t disagree with the fact that if someone is investing what is often millions of dollars, then they should have a say. But by putting everything on the line and borrowing more money to get this film made, no one commented on the script, and it ended up being nominated for a BAFTA. No one interfered with my relationship with the casting director and we were able to cast this film properly, with actors who deserve to be playing these roles. And coincidentally the casting director won a BAFTA. I would never, ever have been able to cast Robert Aramayo in the lead, because financiers, I guarantee you, would have said: \u2018He looks great, but he\u2019s not as well known in America as other people. He\u2019s not had a lead role and carried a film. You need to go and find someone else.\u2019 No one said that, so I cast Robert Aramayo, and coincidentally, Robert Aramayo won the best actor award.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo what I\u2019m saying is that maybe this was a huge coincidence, or maybe now and again, if a group of really experienced and responsible and creative people are just left alone to make a film, maybe they can deliver something which is fresher, more interesting and engaging for the audience than it would be if it\u2019s working through a filtration system of notes.<\/p>\n

\t\tPutting your house on the line is a very bold move!\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd I\u2019ve not got it back yet. None of that has changed. I think it\u2019ll be OK, but it\u2019s yet to be seen.<\/p>\n

\t\tHow has Sony Pictures Classics been taking the success of \u2018I Swear\u2019 in the U.K and trying to keep that momentum going into the U.S.?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tJust like every other territory that we\u2019ve sold it to, it\u2019s being based on audience reaction. So it\u2019s been: screen it, screen it, screen it. In the U.K. it scored higher than any film in the history of the U.K. with Studiocanal, and they\u2019ve had big movies like \u2018Paddington\u2019 and \u2018Bridget Jones\u2019. It was scoring 98% with audiences. It\u2019s been tested in America and getting almost identical scoring. What they\u2019re saying, in a good old-fashioned way, is that this doesn\u2019t need to have a marketing campaign which pretends it\u2019s something that it\u2019s not. Just let people see it, try and get word of mouth going, and it should find its own position.<\/p>\n

\t\tHave people in the U.S been OK with the accents?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tNo, I haven\u2019t heard one comment relating to the accent in the U.S. I was careful, even with someone like Peter Mullen. I remember saying to him, \u2018Look, I want it to be Scottish. I want you to be Scottish. But there\u2019s Scottish that you need subtitles for and there\u2019s Scottish which is clear and crisp. So everyone paid a lot of attention to that and it looks as if that\u2019s paid off.<\/p>\n

\t\tFrom what I\u2019ve seen, the level of understand about Tourette syndrome seems to be lower than in the U.S. than the U.K. Do you agree? What have you noticed?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s more understanding in the U.S. than people think. There is a really popular show called \u2018Baylan Out Loud,\u2019 and it\u2019s about a young woman who has Tourette\u2019s, and that\u2019s proved to be very popular. But I agree that the work that John Davidson has done over the years with his documentaries has helped educate people. But when I made the film, it wasn\u2019t as if everyone in the U.K. knew who John Davidson was. But, of course, what we\u2019re really hoping is that when people see the film, not only will they be entertained and they\u2019ll laugh and they\u2019ll cry, but they\u2019ll come away feeling uplifted with a level of understanding that they might not have had before.<\/p>\n

\t\tYou\u2019ve helped turn Robert Aramayo into a BAFTA-winning leading man. I\u2019ve been covering the BAFTAs for many years, but that moment when he won was absolutely magical and one of the best feelings I\u2019ve felt in the room.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThe win was was deserved, but I don\u2019t think you could argue with the fact that it was a surprise. You could almost feel a wind pass you by as people took an intake of breath. And so many people came up to me afterwards and said: \u2018I voted for Rob, I just wasn\u2019t sure whether everyone else was going to do the same.\u2019 And of course, they did. But the speech. I mean, it\u2019s Rob, he\u2019s so genuine, he\u2019s an adorable young man. And the thing with Ethan Hawke \u2014 the emotion that was so present. But if there was a compilation of classic acceptance speeches, things like Roberto Bellini walking over the seats, I think Rob\u2019s would be up there.<\/p>\n

\t\tDid you have a hunch he might win? Many of us thought there was a chance.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tExactly the same. Nothing\u2019s confident. Even the Rising Star award, which he won just before that, was so unpredictable, because it was voted for by the general public. And in this day and age, it can be quite easy to influence the public via social media. But everyone felt that he deserved the Rising Star. But it was still an unknown. So we got that one out the way, and then we were fortunate enough to win best casting. So that was all great. We had two under our belt. And then, of course, it came to best actor, and, literally, it was as if it was my own nomination. When she said, \u2018The winner is\u2026\u2019 I would estimate that that pause was about three minutes. All I\u2019m thinking is, I want to hear the name Rob Aramayo, I want to hear it. And it came and it was unbelievable. It was so deserved, so genuine, and that was unexpected for this level of low-budget project.<\/p>\n

\t\tBefore Rob won, there was the incident involving John Davidson and the N-word. You were sat near him. How did you feel when it happened?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThe irony is, that is why we made the film. That is Tourette\u2019s. And I think in the past, people like to think that it\u2019s some kind of sweet condition, where people swear and it\u2019s quite funny sometimes, but it can be really dangerous. I mean, Tourette\u2019s itself is spiteful. It\u2019s nasty. And I hope that as many people as possible see this film, not because it\u2019s my film, but genuinely because I do not believe they can come out the other side of watching it without a level of education, almost accidentally without knowing it, that will allow them to understand so much about the condition, how it manifests itself, how it\u2019s impossible to control. So that was the greatest irony. That night was that that this is the reason why we made the film.<\/p>\n

\t\tSome of the uproar afterwards underlined that lack of understand, especially when people claimed that he meant what he said\u2026\t<\/p>\n

\n\tNearly all the scenes in the film are true and based on what John has told me. The day that he muttered the word \u2018slut\u2019 to a girl as she walked by. She goes home, she speaks to her boyfriend and even though John apologized and explained himself at the time, the boyfriend had no interest, and John was beaten to within an inch of his life. And that\u2019s how life has been for John since he was 14 years old.<\/p>\n

\t\tDid you keep in touch with John in the days that followed the BAFTAs?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI did. And he was incredibly upset. I remember saying, are you okay? And he literally said: \u2018You know, this is how my life has been since I was 14 years old.\u2019 Not that scale, not all over social media, but that\u2019s how it\u2019s been \u2014 that level of upset and anger towards him. And the irony is, John is the sweetest, kindest, gentlest man, yeah, you could ever hope to meet.<\/p>\n

\t\tNow that things have died down, how\u2019s he doing?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tHe\u2019s good. He\u2019s great. He\u2019s actually gone back to work. He had a heart condition. People were quite concerned about him, but he\u2019s in good shape now, and he\u2019s actually started back at work. I think he\u2019s a working class hero. I think he feels more comfortable knocking around the community center and sweeping the floors and putting the tables and chairs out than probably has done at any of these parties.<\/p>\n

\t\tWas there no talk about bringing him over to the U.S. to help with the release?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tHe can\u2019t fly. You can imagine the issues in an airport and it\u2019s dangerous. It really is a security risk. There\u2019s no question. He won\u2019t even fly down to London from Scotland. That\u2019s too much for him. He comes down on the train.<\/p>\n

\t\tOnto something very different, you\u2019re now working on a \u2018Mr. Benn\u2019 film\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI am working on Mr. Benn, which is as much a surprise to me as anyone else in the world. I was 100% sure that I was going to do exactly the same as I did with \u2018I Swear,\u2019 which was: find an idea, develop it, write it, direct it, produce it. Because I had such an incredible experience. And my office email has been inundated with projects and offers. We\u2019ve had to put an auto response, basically saying we cannot accept any more. We\u2019ve had to fend everyone off!<\/p>\n

\n\tBut Mr. Benn slipped through the net. I remember it as a child. But my take on it, and this might help people understand why I\u2019m starting to write it, is essentially that Mr. Benn is a good, kind, gentle, if not a little boring man. When he goes into the fancy dress shop, he goes to historical scenes, fantasy scenes and he often goes into a situation with an unsurmountable problem, a problem which looks like it\u2019s going to be very hard to solve, but with common sense, kindness, understanding and decency. He brings people together, he sorts them out, he solves a problem, and then, as if by magic, he goes back into the changing room. And I feel there are a number of problems in the world at the moment which can be solved with kindness and common sense. And that is why I think it\u2019s time for Mr. Benn to come out of retirement. But I haven\u2019t written it yet.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat type of problems are you talking about? The major problems in the world at the moment feel a little insurmountable? Are they the ones that Mr. Benn can take on?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, I think so. You know, people warring over boundary lines. Those are the sorts of things I\u2019ve got in mind. But it will be set in modern times, but with a slight fantasy twist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More than six months after \u201cI Swear\u201d released in the U.K., audiences in the U.S. are now finally…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122016,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[96,58085,160400,58086,2839,58087,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-548673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-i-swear","tag-john-davidson","tag-kirk-jones","tag-movies","tag-robert-aramayo","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}