It must be so exciting to be part of Stranger Things: The First Shadow! What attracted you to the role of Henry?
Firstly, I'll say it is incredibly exciting to be part of Stranger Things: The first shadow. One, because the franchise is such a giant part in pop culture. Two,I grew up watching the show, so it’s incredibly exciting to be part of the franchise, which is so so loved. And I think what drew me to the role of Henry, originally, was the idea that they were exploring a character that had existed in the series as an adult, but his backstory and his sort of origins, and I really saw it as an opportunity to take a role that, as I said, has been established on the screen in a new direction and bring something new to it that maybe the fans weren't expecting. Of course, in the series, Henry Creel is very much a villain, but this story gives us the opportunity to kind of, I'm not sure redeem Henry is the right word, but explore the hows and whys he got to where he is. And I just think it's such a versatile character with so much room for an actor to kind of play around, it just really jumped off the page at me.
Taking on such a physically demanding role in Stranger Things: The First Shadow requires incredible focus and stamina. How do you mentally prepare for such intense performances night after night? Are there any routines or techniques that help you stay energised?
I think on mental preparation, I would say more so it comes along with the physical preparation. I think the mental side is making sure that you're giving yourself enough time to truly wind down and relax. You know, not doing too much on your days off, and really allowing your brain to try and forget about the show when you're not at the theater, which, of course, is extremely hard. And for me as well, I often come off stage with so much adrenaline that my body will be so tired, but I'll get home and my brain won't let me fall asleep until God knows what time in the morning. So I think each of their own, I mean, for me personally, it's just about trying to leave as much of that work-related energy at work. I'm getting better at it now, but at first, I mean, I was coming off stage and going home, and I was just absolutely bouncing off the walls because I was so excited. To be honest, I'm still finding my feet with the routine of doing a show like this eight times a week. It's hard to feel like it's not consuming most of your life. But I think we also have had help from the most incredible team of movement directors who are constantly giving us new ways to sort of keep on top of how your body's feeling and keep in tune with it. Because as well, when you're doing eight shows a week, it can be quite easy to suppress something. For example, my role is so physical that I might not feel that I've slightly hurt myself until I come off stage, because I'm so full of adrenaline. So it's just about constantly checking in with your body, trying to be as aware as you can of what you are actually doing. Again, all of this is so new to me, personally as a performer, the movement aspect of it. So I'm still learning a lot about my own body, and this job has actually taught me a lot about my body in terms of what it's capable of. But I think to be super blunt with it, it's kind of boring, but it's what everyone will tell you - it's making sure you're finding enough time to stretch. We have the luxury of being offered physio, which I'm using, making sure you're getting enough sleep, making sure you have a decent sleep pattern, and above all eating as well as you can all the time. For me, I'm having to eat a lot more than I usually would, because I'm burning so many calories each show, which I'm definitely not complaining about.
You’ve spent time on both TV and stage. Do you find that your style changes when you're in character versus when you're off-set or off-stage? How do you balance professional and personal styles?
Well, I would say that sometimes playing a character, and how that character dresses can definitely influence your personal style. I mean, I'm not really sure about balancing professional and personal. I'm not a method actor by any means. So I never really feel like I am in, in character when I'm playing somebody else. But I will say that the nature of whatever job I'm doing definitely influences the way I'm dressing like the right now, because most of my time outside of work is spent either relaxing or going to work. I'm going for comfort most of the time at the moment. So I guess the job itself influences how I dress, but I'm not so sure that my style changes when I'm in character. My style changes naturally over time. I'm always someone who's looking for new influences. I quite often go through pretty definitive phases in terms of how I'm dressing. And now that I'm getting to my mid 20s, I kind of flick between a few ways that I've dressed in the past, and sort of just see how I'm feeling. Right now, I'm wearing a lot of sort of loose fitting black and grays. I'm feeling very just like dark at the moment, tonally and I'm not really, I'm not going out there with how I’m dressing right now again, because whenever I'm not at work, I'm either just relaxing at home on my day off, or traveling to work.
What are your favourite items to wear? How would you define your style?
My favorite items to wear, I'm a big lover of smart casual. I wear a lot of very nice, just clean cut, black sweaters. I'm big into gilets at the moment. Again the way I dress shifts so fluidly and so often, like right now, I'm kind of just wearing my girlfriend's wardrobe all the time. But I would say I would define my personal style as classic, relatively chic. I'm not too out there, but always trying to look like I'm trying, but not trying. Which I guess, is what most people who are into fashion try and do anyway. But for me, I very much let the seasons influence how I dress too. Sometimes I'll go through periods where all I want to wear is pastel colors, and I change my hair quite a lot, and mess around with different types of jewelry, but again, just very free. But if I had to choose something I would just say, chic.
When you wear something on stage, it’s more than just clothing—it becomes part of the character. How do you think costumes help shape a character’s identity? Does the costume in Stranger Things: The First Shadow hold specific significance for your role?
Yes, I would say costume for me, personally, is the most important thing when it comes to allowing me to begin to feel like I am truly someone else. It's usually the final step that you take before you go onto set, you get into costume, when I look at myself in the mirror before I go on stage as Henry, it's what really allows me to go out there and be free and know that no one is going to be judging me for who I am as opposed to the character I am playing. So it is so much more than just clothing. it's how the character expresses themselves. So, yeah, I would think the costume massively helps shape the character's identity. And the costumes in Stranger Things do hold significance for my character, because Henry, I guess you could call him an outsider. You know he definitely looks different to the rest of the kids in his school. And I think the way he dresses massively influences that. He is a “nerd”. So I think the costume designers went in a specific direction with how they wanted him to look. They wanted him to stand out. But I think generally, my answer would be yes, costume is one of the most important things for actors to be able to feel like they are truly stepping into the shoes of someone else and not just throwing on a wig and still being them. Costumes are often my most favorite part of the pre-production processes. When you go and have your first costume fittings, you can really start to see yourself playing this person. So yeah, costume is massive for me.
A2Z Fashion Magazine focuses on showcasing fresh trends for the younger generation. How do you think your style aligns with these trends? Are there any current fashion trends you’re particularly excited about?
I think, from what I see generally, from this current younger generation is that idea of fluidity within clothing, not feeling defined by any sort of genre or even, gendered clothing. Personally, I am a straight guy, but I have always, always, always worn women's clothes, and I've often found that women's clothes fit me better, you know, things like a T shirt or a flared jean. And I just think this generation currently are so kind of free in the way that they want to express themselves through clothing. I'm not someone who goes that out there with the way I dress now, but I live in London, and I constantly, every day, see young people wearing clothes that inspire me. I just think that now more than ever, people are using the way they dress to empower and express themselves. And I think that's really, really beautiful. I'm not too sure how my style, personally, aligns with these trends. Again, I like what I like. I never really think too much about what I wear, I often spend more time looking at what other people wear, to be honest. Again, I just think that the pace at which fashion is evolving nowadays. It's like seemingly every week, every month, every few months, there's a shift. And I just think it's so exciting to see. I think young people are becoming so kind of cool and in touch with fashion and what's going on in a way that other generations haven’t been. Maybe that's to do with the internet, but it just seems like fashion is always ever evolving, but especially currently, it seems like we're reaching a point where there's no holds barred anymore. And I absolutely love that especially if you live somewhere like London or New York. You can go out and see people just going to get groceries, wearing the most extravagant outfits you've ever seen. And I just love that. I love how freely this generation are expressing themselves through what they wear. I just think it's really beautiful.
You’ve had a diverse range of roles in TV shows like Emmerdale and Vera. How does it feel to transition from screen to stage? What challenges have you faced along the way?
It was definitely daunting at first. I'd wanted to get back into theater for so long, but the way that you create a play is so so so different to the way you make a show or a film, that even though I had done it before when I was super young, it felt like I was stepping completely back into the unknown. And of course, the rest of the cast, most of them are trained actors, and have all recently been in drama school, so they were very comfortable with, you know, the idea of being in a room full of 30 other actors and playing drama games. You really have to just from day one of rehearsals, be so prepared to be as vulnerable as you can be in that space. It scared me a bit at first, because again, I felt like I was so new to it. But I think once, we started really doing the work. It felt quite natural. It's, of course, so much more exposing being on stage. And that's one of my favorite things about it, is that if you mess up, you gotta keep going. There's no one waiting there to shout cut. There's no one waiting there to save you, if you get your line wrong, everything that you do only exists within that one moment. And that's one of my other favorite things about it, as well as no matter how you come off stage, the best thing is you get to come back the next day and do it all again to a room full of people who've never seen it. So I found that very empowering. It feels incredible to make that transition from screen to stage. As I said, it's something I'd wanted to do for a few years, and I've been auditioning for play after play after play, and for this one to be the one that landed. I feel extremely, extremely grateful.
Do you have any favorite moments from rehearsing the show? Are there any behind-the-scenes stories that particularly stand out to you?
I have so many favorite moments from rehearsing the show. Mainly just rehearsals, so far have been my favorite part, because of the camaraderie You're with the same group of people every day in the same room, all working towards this one collective goal. It's such a young cast just being in that room with so many inspired young actors every day was just the most incredible thing I felt in my career. And then also, coupled that with the fact that we were working with one of the best creative teams that any play in the world has. The whole rehearsal process as a whole, was just this extremely cathartic. It was just this huge collective, all coming together to try and make this crazy play make sense. I miss it already. I think that just generally, was my favorite thing about rehearsals and building those relationships, and all these people are such dear friends to me now. It was just an incredibly nourishing time, and I can't thank the creative team enough for you know, making that rehearsal room have that atmosphere.
You’ve worked alongside so many talented actors and creatives. Has there been a particular mentor or collaborator who has profoundly influenced your growth as an actor?
Both my parents are wonderful actors but even better people. It was always presented to me as something that was attainable. That was such a blessing as a kid, because most people look at this industry and want to go into this industry, and it feels like it's something that is so out of reach. That's the case for most people who want to go into this industry. But for me, it was always just what my mom and dad did, and I am so grateful for them making it feel that way to me, because it meant that I went about trying to become an actor with less fear. So those two without a doubt, my older brother as well. He's in a slightly different field, but he's a performer, and he has been for as long as I can remember, and I think he's done a lot for me. He did a lot for me in the last few years, I was reaching a bit of a point where I felt my career was going a bit stale. I wasn't content necessarily with where I was, you know, having someone as close as a brother, who’d been there and had all those experiences that I was having. So he's been a huge mentor for me. I think someone who I can think of that I have actually worked with. It's probably going to sound like I'm name dropping a bit here, but the first film I did when I was around 16 was called, Sometimes, Always, Never, and we had an incredible cast. Sam Riley, Alice Lowe, Jenny Agutter just to name a few. But then Bill Nye played granddad in that movie, which was absolutely insane. And I think that was an extremely formative time for me. To have one to one scenes and moments on set with someone like Bill, just trying to be a sponge for everything that he was telling me. Of course, I was probably, by the end of it, annoying him, because I was asking him so many questions. But without going into too much detail, I think Bill had a huge impact on me. And just in terms of less of what he told me, and more the way he treated me. He was so warm and friendly and open and I was just a kid who happened to be in this film with him. You know, he didn't need to be bothered. His demeanor and the way he carried himself on set taught me a lot, and I've really tried to carry as much as that with me throughout my career since then, and I will never, ever forget that time.
Looking ahead, what kind of roles or projects are you most excited to explore in the future?
Well, I think I've always wanted to do something in the Sci Fi realm, which I guess I'm already doing in Stranger Things. I've grown an obsession in the last few years with space movies, I mean classics like, 2001 Space Odyssey and Interstellar. For some reason, I just really, really, really see myself wanting to play an astronaut at some point in the future. To be perfectly honest, I think I've never been in a position in my career where I can pick and choose the projects that I want to be a part of. You know, it's always been what you're auditioning for, you're hoping to get. And that's the reality for most actors, and it will always be the reality for most actors, is you don't often have that privilege of being like, oh, I want to do this. I want to do that. Most of the time it's you're auditioning, and you're auditioning and then if you get offered a role, you're going to take that. So I think my career seemingly is starting to transition into something else. And I think I'm really just going to see where it takes me. I would really love to be on stage more. Maybe I'll stay in London and find something else to do on stage, or maybe it might be time to get on a plane and go and see what the US thinks of Louis Healy. Who knows, but I'm very, very, very focused on this right now. I've still got the next year ahead of me. So let's, let's just see where it takes me.
