Its take two for an aspiring film maker as he follows up his successful directional debut with his first feature length movie.

Louis Findlay, is an award winning actor from Dartford looking to convert his passion for storytelling into a big screen adaptation.

His debut short film, Days To Come and its message on mental health earned him awards and plaudits as far away as Los Angeles.

The 29-year-old actor drew inspiration for the flick from his own struggles with anxiety, something he was not aware of until he consulted doctors after trembling on the way to auditions.

Now the film maker is in the processing of putting the final touches on his first feature length, an emotional take on the Rocky boxing genre.

No Mercy tells the story of a boxer named Reece Mercy as he attempts to overcome his own personal demons to follow in his father's footsteps and become a champion.

He said: "My character Reece has always grown up looking up to his boxing father and now he wants a slice of the action."

However, family tragedy strikes and the title character is no longer able to go ahead without the help and support of his coach.

What follows next is a tale about drawing on your inner strengths and those around you as the film's tagline suggests "The hardest fight is fought outside the ring".

The former Leigh City Technology College pupil began acting at the age of 16 at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford.

Over the course of three years he performed in a series of shows including Sweeney Todd and A Street Car Named Desire.

The inspiration for his latest role came from a previous setback.

Louis was taking boxing lessons to prepare for his role in 2015's short film Way Out when he broke his rib during training.

The actor is no stranger to injuries as he currently cradles a broken arm and was forced into retiring from free running after a knee injury.

But he is determined not to let anything, including the delaying of the film due to Covid-19, hold him back.

"I said to myself i'm going to make my own film and show people what I can do," he said.

The majority was filmed at different locations around Dartford prior to lockdown with sparring scenes shot at the Tree Estate Boxing Club in Princes Road.

He describes the cast as a "tight-knit bunch" and a mix ensemble of professional actors and close personal friends.

Sharon Lawrence, whose acting credits include Eastenders and horror comedy Are We Dead Yet? stars as Louis's on screen mum.

"She has done lots of stuff – it really brings a level of depth to her character and really opened my eyes," he said.

Other members of the cast stepped foot on set with little to no acting experience.

Louis described his dilemma when trying to cast his on-screen dad who he wanted to feel like a real "family man".

He asked close personal friend, Richie Lamb, who he has kept in touch with from his days working at UPS in Dartford but was initially told to "jog on".

Thankfully his wife talked him round, something Louis is greatful for as he says he ended up being perfect for the role.

"The next day we went to Costa with the script and I explained what I wanted from him," he said.

"I could've just cast an actor but I knew no one would portray the role like Richie.

"The result was so much more realistic – we were ad libbing most of the time."

Filming was brought to a halt by the outbreak of Covid-19 but Louis says he has been thankful for the extra time in some ways.

He added: "The good thing about this lockdown is it has given me more time to have a second glance."

Louis hopes filming can start up again soon when it is safe to do so.

Watch the trailer for No Mercy here.

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