Drama, comedy, horror, thriller and sci-fi. Television director Omar Madha thrives on switching things up, rather than limiting himself to one genre. The London-based director has called the shots on everything from “Grimm” to “Gossip Girl,””Alphas” to “Covert Affairs,” “Big Love” to “Hellcats” and “666 Park Avenue” to NBC’s upcoming “Do No Harm.”
Those are just a few of the television credits that Madha has amassed since he began his career in the UK and made a name for himself there with programs including “Law & Order UK,” “Burn Up,” “Spooks,” “Love My Way” and “Clocking Off.”
“The more varied it is the better, from ominous camera moves and various angles to depicting nuances of character, or the use of humor,” says Madha, who started his career as a production assistant on a film set. “I like to keep my interest piqued.”
He says one of his favorite parts of the profession is working with actors in the creative process. The long list of those he’s directed includes Blake Lively, Penn Badgley, Vanessa Williams, Bill Paxton, Ginnifer Goodwin, Chloe Sevigny, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Ed Westwick, Chace Crawford, Matthew Settle, Kelly Rutherford, Dave Annable, Terry O’Quinn, Kristen Bell, Piper Perabo, Peter Gallagher, Ashley Tisdale and Natasha Henstridge.
With the styles of his shows so varied, one of the talents Madha brings to each production is the ability to wrap his head around what the showrunner wants.
“They may want the camera to help tell the story, or to be very quiet, “he says. “For some, they want to be quite conservative, getting jittery about style taking over content if directors go too far. Some I’ve worked with have been known to ban tracking shots for that reason.”
TV directors like Madha arrive from the outside, but are expected to lead the cast and crew. “You’re expected to drive, but there is always a support network around,” he says, noting that professional camaraderie happens more quickly in the States than it does in England.
One of his biggest challenges is keeping the production crews motivated, especially on shows that have been on the air for awhile. Different programs have various working atmospheres, he’s found.
“It’s a challenge is to keep the crews excited and bringing out a big stick doesn’t work,” he says. “It’s rewarding to get them engaged. It’s a really cool moment on the set when things really click, one of my favorite things.”
Madha also enjoys directing stunts, something he’s called upon to do often, including what he calls an “insanely ambitious” one for Syfy’s “Alphas.” “I knew a stunt sequence was required and I came up with a big one: two people falling that needed to look like 27 stories as one leaps off and one catches the other,” he recalls. “It turned out as to be as exciting as dreaming it up—and hugely satisfying.”
He likes to come up with ideas and concepts in conjunction with the showrunner and to collaborate with the actors on their performances. “Sometimes when a scene falls flat or lacks definition, what is the most rewarding thing by far is having a chat with an actor and then the scene pops in a way it hasn’t before,” he says. “It’s almost always the performance that makes people excited, and a good performance can make it killingly poignant.”
It’s inevitable that some of the shows he’s worked on come to an end, either by plan or by abrupt cancellation. Such was the case for “666 Park” on ABC, a drama with supernatural elements which struggled to find a large audience in its first season.
“It’s such a shame because it’s such a good show and I love what I did,” says Madha. “We got the cancellation news in the middle of my shooting day. It’s very hard, but we’ve got a job to do, and you just stagger on. In a strange way, it was kind of liberating and more motivating and we ended up with a really strong episode.”
Working on “Gossip Girl,” which is heading toward its series finale on the CW, Madha brought an outsider’s viewpoint to some of the show’s typical New York City street scenes. His directing entailed much location work, which he enjoys more than being on a soundstage.
“I love working on locations, as it is much more exciting,” he says. “In New York, I did a shot with Penn walking across street with an angle they hadn’t used before. I love those shots straight down Park Ave. because there are always visual treats to be had. I enjoy the adrenaline of the possibility of rain or it being too crowded, and to see what’s going to happen. It means you have to be on your A-game all day.”
