Steve Coogan, Shepherds and Butchers

Since the Oscar nominated Philomena, Britain's Steve Coogan has been segueing to serious fare in Oliver Schmitz’s first English-language feature Shepherds and Butchers, which premiered at the 66th Berlin Film Festival. In the film, Coogan plays a human rights lawyer in the South African apartheid era who takes on the case of a white prison guard accused of killing seven black soccer players.

On a break from filming another drama in Manhattan, Coogan spoke by phone about his "creative casting" as well as the political and racial issues raised about crime and punishment and why they remain relevant today.

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