I think one of the most interesting casting decisions was for the young boy and we found him in a school in Hackney - he had never acted before. We auditioned a load of children in this school, which was set up by our casting directors, we went down and videoed them all and we chose him.
He was absolutely brilliant, considering that he had never acted before, he came on the set and he was brilliant - I was very pleased to get him.
* Is there any particular message that you wanted to convey about taking care of ex-service men when they return home?
I think, in my own sense, it's good that we have been given an opportunity to touch upon this subject matter and bring awareness about what these soldiers go through when they come home - I think that it's very important.
Obviously ours doesn't have a particularly happy ending but it does show that you can get help and there are charities out there to help.
So I think it's just to bring about an awareness of the problem, the worse thing is to suffer in silence and they do not have to do that. Some of the statistics, on average, it takes thirteen or fourteen years to come to grips with it and seek help and for a lot of them it's too late and some of them are ending up in prison or homeless.
* This is only the second feature film for you so how have you found the transition from shorts?
(Laughs) It's just bigger. On my first film I was slightly overwhelmed because you don't realise the amount of stuff that has to be shot. On the Veteran I knew on day one that it's just a process and you got through it one day at a time and you have a plan.
That's the most important thing and you have the team around you - I had a brilliant DOP, designer and editor and we all made it together. You have to stick to the plan and execute it.
* You shot on location around London so what challenges did that pose?
I like shooting on location I like the excitement of it and the unpredictability of it - I think it adds a kind of realness to the film.
You are dealing with the general public and you are dealing with cars, one of our Ad's ran into the road to stop the traffic so we could get a shot (laughs).
You face all different kind of challenges really but it's fun and exciting because you don't have control of the environment even though you are trying to control the environment.
* This is an independent production so what with all the trouble with the likes of the British Film Council recently how difficult a project was this to get off the ground and get made?
The investor, Dawn, came in and read the script and liked the subject matter because her background is something similar - she's from the car industry.
So she responded to that and agreed to part with her money so we were very fortunate. We made it last year and it was sold last year, which is fantastic. It's such a testament to Dawn's faith in us.
* How delighted have you been with the response to the film?
I don't read the reviews I don't think it's healthy for a filmmaker to read reviews of his own film. But from what I have been told I'm really delighted I hope that audiences like it and respond to it as well.
*Finally what's next for you?
I don't know yet (laughs). I'm writing some stuff at the moment - it will be in the same genre as The Veteran.
The Veteran is released 29th April.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw