Gangs of London Season 3 slugs its way onto screens, promising more violence and betrayal than ever before. For Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, who plays Elliot Carter on the show, he appreciates a past fight scene that most fans dub the series’ best.
Many people forget that Gangs of London is based on a 2006 video game for the PlayStation Portable, but it’s safe to say the show takes bedlam to a whole new level. It shouldn’t be surprising, considering that The Raid director Gareth Evans is a co-creator of the series along with Matt Flannery. In the latest season, Elliot gets his knuckles bloodied on more than a few occasions, looking like a DLC character from Mortal Kombat 1, and Dìrísù reflected on some of his character’s most memorable melees.
The Escapist asked Dìrísù which is his favorite action scene in Gangs of London. The British actor thought about his answer before stating that there’s one from the first season that stands out because of the process and timing of it. “I’ll never forget when we were shooting the doss-house sequence, which is when [Elliot’s] fighting the large traveler with the machetes, wearing nothing but pants because he’s been cutting up a body,” Dìrísù said.
“It was my first experience of watching Gareth [Evans] knit a performance together. He works with the previz where he’s shot it with the stunt guys beforehand, and then when we’re shooting on the day, he’ll just like drag and drop what we’ve shot straight into the previz, almost like a jigsaw puzzle, and we can see how we’re progressing with shooting the sequence.”
Related: “Culminates In a Very Satisfying Way”: White Lotus Exec Producer Talks About THAT Controversial Kiss
Dìrísù explained how he appreciated doing a specific part of the action sequence and then heading to the monitors to see what it looked like in real-time. “It was my first time,” he said. “And there’s something about the first season and the beginnings of things that will always stay in my mind, or in most people’s minds. So, yeah, I think that was the first fight sequence that we shot as well – almost like day one. Yeah, that’ll always live long in my memory.”
In terms of his character, Dìrísù believes Gangs of London Season 3 offers Elliot a chance to rediscover who he is. “I think he knew who he was at the beginning of Season 1. He didn’t necessarily like who that person was, but he knew who he was,” Dìrísù said. “And I think over the three seasons, there have been lots of twists and turns, and he’s rediscovering who he is now.”
The actor added that Elliot never handled his grief well – often punishing himself – but this has changed in Gangs of London Season 3. “He’s taken to turning the punishment that he was turning inwards to himself outwards to the world and with very dangerous and violent consequences,” Dìrísù said. “So it’ll be interesting for our audiences to see how he chooses to punish himself and the others around him in Season 3.”
Published: Mar 17, 2025 1:51 PM UTC