Josh Duhamel was happy enjoying some downtime. After making his directorial debut with 2019’s Buddy Games – about six friends who reunite to compete for a $150,000 prize – the Transformers, Life As We Know It, and New Year’s Eve actor was waiting for the right project to find him before stepping back behind the camera.

“I wasn’t looking for a script until I read this,” Duhamel says of his new film Preschool, which follows two fathers who become embroiled in a tense and increasingly violent battle to enrol their children in a coveted private London preschool. “When I read it I thought, ‘I haven’t seen that before. That’s really fun.’ Plus I loved that it was for the masses and not just dudes who love hardcore comedy.”

Growing up in Minot, North Dakota, a small city of just over 48,000, few and far between were the battles over school places. It wasn’t until Duhamel arrived in Los Angeles, made it as an actor and had his own child with the singer Fergie, that Duhamel first became aware of the allure of going private.

“It’s a vortex, you get sucked into it. You think you’re not going to fall for it. You think you’ll be like, ‘My kid is going to be fine going to public school.’ Then you start projecting your insecurities and ego onto your kid. You think you’re a bad parent if you’re not trying to give them this opportunity. Plus you realise that there are 400 people trying to get seven slots in a school and you have to figure out how to separate yourself from them.”

The more Duhamel read the script for Preschool, written by Richard D’ovidio, the more he found it incredible that a story like this had never been told before; “It was such a simple and obvious story that was ripe with opportunity.” Having previously made two comedies, Duhamel saw Preschool as a perfect fit for his sense of humour and wanted to push that as far as possible.

“I want it to feel uncomfortable. That to me is the best kind of comedy,” insists Duhamel. In Preschool, this discomfort comes at the hands of the absurd lengths and desperate measures Brian (Michael Socha) and Alan (Duhamel) will go to to get their children, who aren’t yet four, into a nursery they believe will set them up for future glory.

And, while much silliness and slapstick comedy ensues, the premise also sets up the necessary backdrop for an effective examination of classism, wealth divides and the pressures placed on modern parents to be ‘always on’.

London, then, makes the obvious setting for this clash between private and public school and exploration of class rivalry but, Duhamel says, Preschool was originally scripted for Malibu. “But California is too expensive to shoot in. So we had to find the best economic route. Weirdly London was the best option, so we shifted the script from this new age preschool to a 400-year-old institution, which actually suited it better.”

Duhamel, though, was never concerned about the change in location, believing the story had universal appeal. “People are dealing with this whether they’re in New York, California, or London. Even though it shouldn’t be, the public versus private school [debate] is a real point of stress for parents.”

Spending three months in London for shooting, Duhamel’s ambition was to make something people could relate to, and which swung between grounded and outrageous at the right times. “I wanted to embrace both British and American comedy,” he says. “I love how dry the likes of Monty Python and Ricky Gervais in The Office are. British comedy doesn’t try as hard. There’s a restraint there. American comedy is a little bigger and glossier. I think this is a good mix of the two.”

Being in the UK also gave Duhamel access to a “giant pool of amazing actors”, allowing him to round out the cast with beloved theatre actor Fenella Woolgar, and Braveheart and Game of Thrones star James Cosmo. Chosen for his everyman, gritty qualities, on the first day of shooting, Duhamel was so impressed by the strength of Socha’s performance in the opening scene that he became conscious of making sure his own acting work was on point, and not impacted by his directing duties.

Duhamel has long been used to proving himself as an actor, though. “For the longest time I had imposter syndrome. Like, I was just a kid from North Dakota pretending to be an actor, I’d somehow pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes, and once they’d find out they’d kick me out.”

Ultimately, after working steadily in Hollywood for half his lifetime, Duhamel became a bit more selective with his roles. He would look for the projects audiences expected, then do something they didn’t. “Tom Cruise says he always wants to give audiences something new every time. I love that. I love to do comedy and drama, play good guys and bad guys. That’s why I got into this business.”

Directing was something he’d always had an interest in but it wasn’t until producer Michael Luisi told Duhamel he’d be overseeing Buddy Games that he finally got a chance to take the step up. “I didn’t know if I could do it but, having done this as an actor for so long, I knew enough to know that I didn’t have to know everything. I just surrounded myself with good people. That’s the beauty of making film and TV, it's truly a team effort, and you hope you can make something that connects.”

When it comes to Preschool, Duhamel’s hope is that viewers relate to its “honest, vulnerable look at parenting, which maybe we don't want to admit we all have.” He adds, “The truth is, I would do anything for my kids. If I can somehow give them a leg up, I will. I'm not proud of that, but it's the truth. It may not even be the best thing for the kid. Hopefully the film allows people to see and reflect upon that.”

Preschool is available to buy or rent from 2 April 2026.

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