In Pillion, which hits theaters stateside on February 6, Harry Melling plays Collin, a doe-eyed, unassuming man who happens to meet Ray (played by Alexander Skarsgård), a member of a gay biker group. During their first encounter in an alleyway on Christmas day, Ray tests Collin's submissiveness and demands he licks his boot, which Collin does but doesn't seem to enjoy.
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While speaking with Out for our March/April issue cover story, the actors, along with the movie's director Harry Lighton, discussed how they prepared for their roles. Melling said that he fully immersed himself in the gay BDSM biker world and went on a pillion ride (the name for the seat behind the motorcyclist and a slang term for a bottom) with a member of the Gay Bikers Motorcycle Club named Paul Tallis, who appears as a pup in the movie. Tallis took Melling to Cambridge Pride, put him on a leash and collar, and guided him around the festivities.
As he immersed himself in the community, he started to understand that it was just that — a community that leaned on one another. While there, he learned the correct way to lick a boot, telling Out, "There’s a specific way to do it," he said seriously. "There are lots of little things to sort of bear in mind when on all fours trying to lick the boot.”
He mentioned that he asked one of the community members what to do if the boots are really dirty, and they replied that it's "not very responsible as a dom" (a dominant) to do to their sub (a submissive). This is somewhat the conceit of the movie: a dom's responsibility towards a sub, and where those lines start and stop — but as audiences will come to find out, it's all about communication.
