Writer-director James Price, dubbed ‘the Springburn Scorsese’ for his ink-black short films, cast Conor McCarron as the lead in Dog Days after admiring his performances in NEDS and Catch Me Daddy. Grim criminal underworlds, terrifying hardmen and raw, bare-knuckle violence feature on both men’s CVs: a dark music video that Price made for Michael ‘The Sopranos’ Imperioli’s band Zopa was shown at the 2021 Glasgow Short Film Festival.

Dog Days is a six-part BBC drama showing as a one-hour work at Glasgow Film Festival. It follows busker Zoso as he tries to redeem himself in order to get more time with his toddler daughter, Summer, played by McCarron’s real-life child, Bonnie. McCarron worried that the then two-year-old might ruin one scene by acting too familiar with him, given he was playing an estranged father.

‘She’s quite a daddy’s girl so I was concerned it wouldn’t work. But the house we were filming in was filled with kids’ toys and she was mesmerised. She wriggled immediately off my knee, which was perfect.’

Improvisation shaped much of the production which was shot in Dundee during last summer’s bin strike, a moment that merely added extra layers of squalor. ‘Pricey was so open to me making the role my own,’ says McCarron, whose character sleeps rough, takes a savage kicking from a menacing pimp, goes on a first date and becomes an internet sensation for his busker cover version of ‘Darlin’’, the 1978 hit by Glasgow’s Frankie Miller.

‘He gave me a lot of freedom during filming. Shannon Allan, who plays Zoso’s pal Laura, hadn’t acted before and she was amazing; we went quite off script in those scenes. Mostly because I’m lazy and I hadn’t rehearsed my lines,’ he adds, no doubt with false modesty. As in all Price’s work, toxic masculinity is a dominant and sinister presence, with unresolved fury threatening to sabotage all Zoso’s dreams of a fresh start.

But just as in Price’s debut short Concrete & Flowers, there is a tension between violence and romance, with tender moments pulling Zoso back from the brink of annihilation. A brutal assault featuring weapons hastily purchased from a hardware shop marks a pivotal moment for the character, who must decide whether to seek bloody revenge or take his chances as an unsigned singer-songwriter.

‘I’m actually quite squeamish,’ admits McCarron. ‘I think if the audience is feeling nauseous or uncomfortable at any point, it means you’ve probably done something well. People should feel something. This isn’t Hollywood stuff, it’s much more authentic and natural.’ 

Dog Days screens at GFT, Glasgow, Sunday 5 March; the full series is on BBC iPlayer and BBC Scotland later this year.