Damian Hurley's directorial debut was inspired by his grief over the suicides of his father and close friend.
Damian Hurley's directorial debut inspired by grief over father's suicide
The 22-year-old son of actress Elizabeth Hurley and the late producer Steve Bing revealed that the idea for new thriller 'Strictly Confidential' - about the struggles of loved ones to deal with the death of a young woman - came to him as he dealt with his own grief over the suicides in 2019 and 2020.
Damian told PEOPLE: "For me and most of my friends it was really the first big personal loss we’d ever known.
“And I was really moved by seeing some of my friends who had this very strange reaction that I couldn’t really understand at the time. They just refused to accept that it happened at all.
"My own biological father took his own life, and suddenly I understood those few people incredibly well."
When asked if he felt a connection to his father while working on the film, Damian said: "I didn’t really have any time to sit and reflect and think about anything. I was chasing costume trunks."
Following Steve's death in 2020, Damian wrote on Instagram: "Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone that has reached out following the devastating news. I’m trying to reply to as many of you as I can, but please know I will always remember your kindness. This is a very strange and confusing time and I’m immensely grateful to be surrounded by my phenomenal family and friends.”
Elizabeth wrote: "I am saddened beyond belief that my ex Steve is no longer with us. It is a terrible end.
"In the past year, we had become close again. We last spoke on our son’s 18th birthday. This is devastating news and I thank everyone for their lovely messages."