I stalked EastEnders legend Danny Dyer until he agreed to star in my film – his response was absolute class
NOAH CAPLAN didn’t have much chance of landing a star for his new film.
He was 15, with zero connections in the industry and absolutely no cash for a budget.
But against all odds, the schoolboy director managed to get former EastEnders actor Danny Dyer, thanks to his determination not to give up and clever use of social media.
Noah “stalked” Danny’s Instagram in a bid to speak to the soap fave.
He began contacting strangers from the actor’s list of followers, begging them to ask him to be in his short flick, Stepping Stone, which is in aid of mental health charities.
Eventually, Noah stumbled across a woman who did yoga with Danny’s wife, Joanne Mas, who agreed to pass on his pitch.
The long shot paid off when Danny, 45, called two days later and agreed to take part — for free.
Noah, of Epping, Essex, said: “I was a bit worried he might get a restraining order out on me.”
The film-maker, who is now 19, admitted he first thought the call from Danny was a pal’s prank.
Noah, who was inspired to write his film script following a family trauma, recalled: “When he called, I was at a friend’s house after school.
“It came up as ‘no caller ID’. He said, ‘It’s Danny Dyer here’, and I thought it was one of my friends playing a prank.
“He said he loved the script. He told me how he has been in the industry for years, how it tears you down.
“He talked about the importance of looking after yourself, or ‘taking care of your nut’ as he says.
“He’s this A-lister talking to a 15-year-old studying for his GCSEs about why he thought it was important to make this film and speak about mental health.
“He was totally up for it and said, ‘Don’t worry about payment’. He ended the call with, ‘Let’s get on the saddle’.”
Noah wrote Stepping Stone after his little sister Valentina, then nine, suffered a near-fatal fall through bannisters, plunging 30ft head-first on to a marble floor in 2019.
He was the one who found his sister, who was given a ten per cent chance of survival.
Thankfully, after brain surgery and six months in hospital, she made a full recovery.
But the horror left a lasting effect on the family.
Noah said: “If I’d not seen Valentina that day, she wouldn’t have survived. What I saw triggered PTSD.
“Every time I heard a bang, I’d sprint out of the room. It became an anxiety thing.”
Her miraculous recovery inspired Noah to “give back” and make the 30-minute film, in aid of Campaign Against Living Miserably and other mental health charities.
He said: “If I can get just £10 for charity, and that could be a life saved through the work Calm does, that’s good enough for me.
“That’s what drove me.”
The film follows four characters from different walks of life who suffer from issues including domestic abuse, alcoholism and living with anxiety.
It will be released on ITVX on Monday as part of Mental Health Awareness Week.
Danny, whose character Dom is a businessman seeking help from a counsellor, said: “The power of this thing, the mind, is a mad old thing, so we’ve got to look after it.”
And he added of Noah: “I was very impressed.
“The fact he’s got his s**t together and pulled this all together is pretty amazing.
“I really enjoyed myself. It was a pleasure.”
Noah said his mum, a beauty therapist, and dad, an entrepreneur, taught him “not to take no for an answer”.
They supported his dream of becoming a film-maker from the age of seven, when he wrote his first script, Daniel Brand, “a kid James Bond”.
The teen has never been to film school and mastered his craft watching YouTube tutorials.
And from a young age, he began emailing agents and celebrities asking for help to get his big break.
He said: “My theory is, if I email 100 people, five are likely to reply and at least one should respond with an answer I want to hear.
“I used this tactic when trying to get to Danny Dyer.”
But Noah admits he never expected to hear back from Danny, who is set to star in the Disney+ adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s racy novel Rivals alongside David Tennant and Aidan Turner.
Even when he did, potential investors doubted him.
He said: “The big problem was many didn’t believe a 15-year-old saying he had cast Danny Dyer.
“Eventually, Jackie Green, an executive producer, responded.
“She was passionate about the cause and campaign.
“She put £5,000 in and got her friend, Monique Blake, also an executive producer, to match it.
“With that, I made a film which should have cost £250,000 by securing all the on-screen talent for free, bargaining down huge names to work for a fraction of their usual rate and shot the entire film in one location in Streatham, South London, in three days to cut costs.
“And I convinced my mum to do her pasta salad for the catering.”
Down-to-earth Danny had time for everyone on set.
Noah said: “After the first scene, he went missing and I thought, ‘I’ve blown it, he hates me’.
“I went outside where he was having a cigarette and chatting to the runner and make-up artist.”
Noah also produced, directed and even had a part in the film. And Valentina, now 13, has a cameo playing his on-screen sister.
He said: “I think she’s got a future in Hollywood. She was a one-take wonder.”
Noah, who now runs his company, Chance 43 Productions, added: “As for breaking into the industry, I’d be reluctant to say I’m anywhere close.
“However, this is a giant stepping stone for me.”
- Stepping Stone is available on ITVX from May 15. Text SAVEDOMFIVE to 70085 to donate £5. Texts will cost the donation amount plus one standard network rate message. Donations will be split equally between Calm, Mind and the Samaritans.