1883 MAGAZINE X CHRISTOPHER CHUNG

Grooming by Mary Ann

There’s a quiet, growing confidence that Australian actor Christopher Chung exudes, and it’s rightly deserved. Having started his acting career after first pursuing music, Chung has spent the last decade and a half as a hardworking, “jobbing” actor. From a tiny role in an episode of Neighbours to a move to the UK and a job as a personal trainer to pay the bills, he’s taken the long road to where he is today. Along the way have been stage roles, screen appearances, voice acting work, and years spent steadily honing his craft.

When Apple TV+’s hit spy thriller Slow Horses landed in 2022 with an ensemble cast including Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Jonathan Pryce, Chung’s talents were introduced on a scale like never before. Many will now know him as the abrasive MI5 tech specialist Roddy Ho, a role that has not only elevated his profile but also earned him praise from fellow actor and former 1883 cover star Benedict Wong.

This opportunity didn’t simply land in Chung’s lap. It’s the result of years spent navigating the highs and lows of the industry, from audition callbacks and near misses to finding the people who believed in him. That confidence has been hard won, and it’s now carrying him into new territory as Harry Beecham in Netflix’s My Brilliant Career, an adaptation of Miles Franklin’s celebrated 1901 novel.

The series follows Sybylla, a young woman determined to become an author, and her romantic entanglement with the charming landowner Harry, a role famously played by the late Sam Neill in the 1979 film adaptation. It’s a significant step for Chung, placing him firmly in leading-man territory and suggesting that even bigger opportunities may still lie ahead.

In conversation with 1883 Magazine, Christopher Chung discusses stepping up for My Brilliant Career, the return of Slow Horses next month, texting Hugo Weaving, and much more.

Christopher, thanks for speaking with 1883. Let’s dive straight into Netflix’s My Brilliant Career. It’s the first time you’ve played a romantic lead. How did you approach the role of Harry and what did you learn from taking on something different compared to your other projects?

Well, it was a pretty huge undertaking, to be honest, becauseSam Neill originated the role in the 1979 film that Jillian Armstrong directed, so it holds such tremendous weight in Australia. Not just with him being so iconic in the role but also the title in and of itself. It’s such a notable piece of literature. So I felt quite a lot of weight to deliver it. I did a lot of research, because I guess the adaptation that we have in this version is different. 

It’s six episodes. It’s not a film, so you have more time to spend with the character and the rest of the characters as well. Getting to do it in such an elongated process, you get to learn more about the character as well. I think for myself, it was really important to do a bit of a deep dive into the historical context of what it meant to be an Asian man within that time period, and the kind of prejudices that he would have faced and the kind of blocks that he would have come up against in society and what was expected of him.

I did a lot of research around those elements and brought them into my performance. Our director, Alyssa McClelland, we had a lot of discussions about playing this archetype of character, being a romantic lead. I guess one of the most poignant things that she said to me is that you don’t have to worry about any of that, because I’m going to light you beautifully, I’m going to frame you beautifully, you’re going to be dressed incredibly well, and you know your hair and makeup is going to be immaculate. So all of those things do a lot of that heavy lifting. As soon as she said that, and that was before the cameras started to roll, a huge amount of thought that I was giving to that just evaporated away.

So that was probably the greatest gift that she could have given to me [laughs], because whenever you’re playing a character within these worlds, as the character, they don’t know that they are that kind of archetype within the story. So if you start playing into it, then I think it just becomes much more 2-D because you’re trying to achieve something that real people don’t aspire to.

One of the things that I learned from it is that I don’t have to worry so much about what kind of archetype it’s trying to portray within the story, I don’t have to play towards that. 

Before we go any further, I almost forgot to ask: how did you find your 1883 shoot with Lee? Sorry I couldn’t be there!

It was wonderful. It was so much fun. I got on a rooftop, got my top off, what more could you ask for? [laughs]. He is an incredible photographer; he is really great.

To follow the late, great Sam Neill, who played Harry in the 1979 adaptation, is quite a task. How did you navigate this, and how much did you pay attention to his take, if at all?

I watched the film. I guess when you’re trying to reimagine a character, there’s certain DNA within the character that you’re both going from, especially when it’s from an original text. There are elements that I think are universal between our Harrys, that they’re quite bound by integrity, society, and all of those kinds of elements. But I guess fundamentally, because of the changes and the things that we brought into the story, they’re very different.

So I didn’t have many touchpoints with Sam and the characterisation in that way, but in terms of the actual character DNA, it was universal between the two of us. 

You’ve been living in the UK for quite some time now, so what was it like to go back home and shoot in Australia for the show?

I left Australia about 14 years ago with no money, one backpack, and a hope that there were better opportunities for me over in the UK. I was a jobbing actor until, I guess, Slow Horses came around, and that really gave me a steady platform to kind of build on and kind of get a bit more international recognition and profile.

I had always hoped that I could use that as currency to be able to come back to Australia and do some work that was of significance to me, because I really felt like that was a rite of passage to be able to work in my home country. So I was very excited at the prospect of being able to do this part. So I really fought for it. Once I had my meeting with Alyssa, who was the set-up director, I gave it about two weeks, and I just started messaging her directly to ask if they had cast it [laughs].

At the time, they were waiting to cast Sybylla, understandably so, but it got to the point where I was being courted by another project, also in Australia, and it was going to be a clash. So I think it kind of forced their hand to make me an offer. 

So I actually got to do a couple of the chemistry reads with the Sybyllas they didn’t end up booking, and Pip [Philippa Northeast, who plays Syblla] is 100% and beyond the best casting, and we actually didn’t do any chemistry reads together. And I still had the best chemistry with her. So that was really great. 

But I guess coming back for the four and a half months that I did do the shoot here, It’s the longest period of time that I’ve spent in Australia since I left in 2012. I couldn’t have come back for a better job. There’s been other things that have floated around in the last kind of five years that have been options to possibly come back and do, but nothing as iconic as My Brilliant Career.

So I’m absolutely gassed that this was the one that I got to really take as my second Australian screen credit, the first being a really, really tiny bit part in Neighbours [laughs].

Did you see any family when back home?

Yeah, so luckily, I had a couple of the shoot periods off. I was in quite a lot on this shoot, so I managed to get back to Melbourne. We shot in Adelaide, and it’s about an hour’s flight back to Melbourne. So I managed to get home maybe two or three times. I brought my parents out to the set. And it was the first time my dad’s been on a filming set. My mom’s come to the UK, so she’s seen me film Slow Horses out there. But that was a really full-circle moment for me to have them come and be a part of that with me.

They’ve been privy to all the phone calls, all the times of me having no money. And so to be able to show them what it was all in service for was really fantastic. Being able to get back to Melbourne for those few months that I did in between was really wonderful, because my grandmother, she passed away at the end of last year, but I managed to spend quite a bit of time with her before she passed. So that was really, really special. I kind of felt like it was this serendipitous thing that happened. 

I’m sorry for your loss; it’s never easy losing a loved one. But it’s wonderful you got to do all that. Just quickly then, what did your dad make of his first set visit?

Do you know it’s really interesting, I think people walk around with so much purpose on a film set, and I guess when you bring people that are not there every day doing that job, they’re just there to observe and to be a part of what you’re doing. But they don’t really have a place. So I think he was trying really hard to stay out of the way of people, and in doing so, was getting in the way of everybody. 

But it was very sweet, I mean he was so excited, wanted to take photos with everything. I gave him a clapboard to do the claps. So he was having a great old time and thrilled with the catering was beside himself that I get fed on set, you know, people bring coffee and all these kinds of things. So I think he really enjoyed it. 

My parents did go back to the trailer and have a nap after a while. Dad was like, ‘oh you, you do this one bit all day?’ Pretty much [laughs].

You’ve been acting professionally on stage and screen for well over 15 years now. If you could go back and meet the Christopher Chung who was just starting out, what do you think would surprise him most about where you are today?

That I did it and I got to where…I was thinking about this the other day, actually. I think when you’re younger, and you’re aspiring to something, for me anyway, and I can only relate it to, I guess, my experience in London, because that’s where all of my career has been.

I remember when I was working pretty much full-time as PT and really budgeting out every single pound and penny that I had, and all excess money that I had from doing an acting job went into my savings so that I could support myself even more when I was out of work. 

In the back of my mind, I was always thinking, ‘it’s just going to take that one job to come in’, this elusive one job that I think every actor has in their mind that’s really going to flip their career on a dime. It’s a dreamer’s way of thinking, and I think a lot of actors come into the profession, and that is the dream that there’s going to be this one big break.

It’s kind of like, when people go on those X Factor shows, someone’s going to see me, notice me, and then it’s straight to the moon, but it doesn’t happen like that. A lot of people think that that’s what happened with Slow Horses, but there was ten years of work that came before that. 

So I think the younger version of me, thinking about where he wanted to be, actually ended up in so many ways exactly where I want to be at this period of my life. And having had all those experiences to be able to navigate this period of my life, if it had come any sooner, I don’t know if I would be as capable as I am now. I think he would be very proud of himself, and I think he would be like, ‘yeah, man, you fucking did it’.

People don’t understand it takes years of graft to become ‘an overnight success’. People don’t understand an actor might have got cast because someone saw them in a play many years ago, it’s all these things that add up. So much work goes into it.

There are so many things that have to fall in your favour for it to happen. You know? I mean, the first being Nina Gold, who casts Slow Horses, had been seeing me for many, many projects before that. But I guess the kind of hint that you get throughout that process is knowing that she’s asking you to retake for different projects all the time, so she sees something in you.

So even if you’re not getting the job, it is a step in the right direction if it’s like a kind of recurring casting director asking for you. When Slow Horses came around, she had asked me to tape for it, the part was right for me. But also in such a huge production, normally. For that size of part, it would have to be some kind of name. 

But we already had Gary Oldman attached, and then we had Kristin Scott Thomas, attached, and then we had Jack [Lowden] attached. So they had a bit more freedom to be able to cast, you know, technically an unknown in that way. Everybody in the industry is looking to find someone that hasn’t really had a moment yet. But all of those things have to be in place for you to be able to get that opportunity. 

And luckily as well, Roddy was very specific in casting too. So being able to use that and fashion that again, as even more currency to take out into the marketplace and be able to be like, ‘hey, I’ve done my due diligence here, and oh maybe now I can go and lead something’, like My Brilliant Career. If Slow Horses hadn’t happened, would this have happened? I don’t know.

Going on a bit of a tangent here, but I get it. When you are starting out, in any industry, no one is going to back yourself as much as you will.

100%. You are your business, you know yourself inside and out. Agents, managers, all the people that are around you, they’re trying to service your career and push you forward.  But you are the constant in your career. Those things change. I’ve had five agents throughout my career to land where I am.

I’ve been very happy, but it’s taken five relationships to get to that point. But the thing that is constant is myself, and what I’ve done. So I bring my CV with me, I bring my experience with me wherever I go. But that’s the thing I have; you have to continue to back yourself throughout.

A few years back when I first spoke with Benedict Wong for an 1883 cover, I asked if there were any ESEA actors he wanted to shout out who deserve more acknowledgement for their work. You were one of the names he brought up. How does it feel to have such support from renowned actors such as Benedict?

I was just talking to Benny yesterday actually, that is so funny [laughs], I mean, the fact that I can say that is bananas. Last year, when we were in Adelaide, filming My Brilliant Career, Jonathan Pryce was actually out in Adelaide at the same time, filming a movie, and he was staying at one of the places that the rest of the cast were staying in.

It was my birthday, and I said, ‘Oh, I’m hosting a lunch for my birthday; if you want, please come along’. So Jonathan came along, and Anna Chancellor was there, and they had worked together previously on a film, so they were having a catch-up. It’s the wildest thing to have the people in my phone book, to be able to message them

To be able to message Hugo Weaving because he was really interested to know about how my horse riding was going, because I caught up with him when I was in Sydney, learning to horse ride for My Brilliant Career. Not just to have them in my phone book, to know that they’re actively supporting me in such a brilliant way…they’re so gracious, and they’re such champions; nothing is just face value with them. 

So it’s really humbling, it’s very special to me, and it’s never taken for granted. I think as much as a younger version of me was dreaming of this kind of moment in my career, I never dreamt of having friendships with actors that I absolutely admired and adored, so it’s incredible. 

Slow Horses returns next month for season six. Roddy finally took more of a central role last season. How would you describe his arc this time round?

Every season of Slow Horses manages to slightly shift the spotlight to each horse in some way or another. I would say season four was very much based around Jack’s character and his relationship with his father. Season three was very much about what happened to Standish being kidnapped. And season two has quite an incredible storyline for Louisa. 

It manages to shift the spotlight every season, just slightly enough that some of the characters can take a little bit more prominence. But ultimately the show is just an ensemble piece, and everyone supports each other’s storyline. Personally. I don’t feel like I had much less to do in that, in that sense. In terms of driving story, and what happens within it, not so much. I would say that most of season six is based a little bit more around Kristen’s character Taverner, but also because for season six, we combined two books together.

So, cracking the story for that to make sure that there were enough elements from both books that they were touchstones for the hardcore fans that really are invested in that element of the show, there was enough for them to grasp on to. I would say that in that sense, the rest of the horses kind of function as the supportive ensemble. 

Undoubtedly, Slow Horses has been one of the biggest roles of your career so far, and you’ve spent the last couple of years working closely with co-stars Gary Oldman, Olivia Cooke, Jack Lowden, Rosalind, Aimee, and more. What would you like to say about working with these castmates and what this project has done for your career?

Working with Gary, working with Kristen, Jonathan, all of these iconic British actors that are staples in pretty much everybody’s home, has probably been the greatest gift that I’ll ever receive in my career. Not only because of I’ve gotten to become friendly with them, and work opposite them, but also to be able to learn from them by osmosis.

You see the way that they carry themselves on set, and how I would like to kind of present myself, when I go into larger roles, and one day be a number one on the call sheet. Gary really holds that set in the palm of his hands, because he leads from such a place of creativity and wanting the best for the show, but also for us as a cast.

At the end of the day, it’s all of our work, and the thing that we put out into the world is for everyone to watch. So there’s no ego attached to anything that he does. It’s very much in service of the show, so that is something that I took on board as I went into My Brilliant Career and made sure that I was the leading man that I have seen presented to me in such a brilliant way. I think It’s given me such great tools to have been able to navigate a larger role in My Brilliant Career. And I’ve learned not to be quiet. I think I spent a lot of my younger years as an actor, trying to appease everybody and trying to be a lot of things that I thought that people wanted.

I thought that my opinion was the wrong opinion, or actually wouldn’t fit into their vision. But watching Gary and Kristin, Saskia [Reeves], fight so hard for their point of view really instilled in me the value of using your voice, knowing what you want to get out of the scene and seeing how you can navigate that with your fellow actors and director and DOP [director of photography].

If you have a difference of opinion, that’s okay; there is a happy medium that you can get to without butting heads, without becoming a diva about things. So I think in that sense, working with them allowed me to have a voice because they valued my voice. 

It’s lovely that you and your wife, Frances, are both in the same industry. What’s it like navigating it together with your nearest and dearest?

It’s really interesting having a partner that’s also a creative. It’s brilliant, and it can be difficult, but I would err on the side of it being more brilliant than anything, because the way that you understand the ups and downs of this industry is so deep and specific. I actually don’t know how if I had someone who worked a nine-to-five job could understand as wholly as Frankie does with me, and as I do with her.

When you’re watching a piece, they can sit back and be way more objective than you can be, but still in a creative sense, understand where you’re coming from, and be honest with you. When I was doing my tape for Slow Horses, the first time I auditioned for it, I think I did two takes and because I wanted the job so badly, I was like, ‘no, we need to go again’. She knew the second tape was the one we would send. 

She was like ‘that one, send that in and you will get a recall for it at least’, and she was right. So they can see things because they have such a trained eye as well. Not only because they’re creatives, they watch with you, they watch with a critical eye, but they also know where your strengths are. 

It’s the same with me for her. We’re not competitive with each other in any way. And it’s been really lovely because Frankie’s career is mostly on stage. She does a lot of musicals, she’s a leading lady in the West End, and in the last few years, we’ve had a very similar rise in profile and the calibre of work we’ve got to do. So to be able to experience that with her has been really wonderful.

It’s just meant that we’ve been able to navigate this period of our careers that seem very similar but different in many ways, in a very unique way, that I think that if my partner wasn’t in the creative industry, it would be very hard.

I’m proud to be the 725th view on your 16-year-old YouTube cover of Sam Sparro’s ‘Black and Gold’. You’ve always been musical, would you ever consider releasing an original music project even just for fun?

[laughs], I need to take that down. You’re the second journalist to bring that up with me. But do you know what, Cameron? I think there’s part of me that kind of loves it being up there because it really does show a journey.

So originally, my first dream, when I was 15/16 was to be a musician, was to be a singer. But I had no capacity to write music.

That was around the period of time when all those  pop stars and Australian Idol and X Factor were around, so I did all of those shows from the ages of 15 and 16.

I then tried again when I was 21 to do X Factor. II don’t know why, I thought that  was going to be my thing. But at around 21 was when I really started taking my acting super seriously. But having said that, my passion project with music is alive. 

I have actually written a short film that has a lot to do with music. It’s about a musician, and the aspects of mental health that industry has on men. I don’t think there’s really a kind of piece out there, that does the thing that my short film does. So I’m in the middle of financing and producing that, which I’ll direct and star in.  So that is the next kind of frontier.

I have a couple of projects that I’m attached to, to executive produce on as well. I’m looking to take more of a hand in the creative side of putting a project together and having more of a voice in the room before all we actually go onto set, but also to star in as a vehicle for me. 

I’m quite excited about that new string to my bow because it’s something that I never really envisioned for myself, but these opportunities have started to come my way, and I’m just going to take them and see if I can do them.

If I’m shit at them, I’ll just go back to saying words on the page.

It’s nice to see throughout your career you’ve done some voice acting work on video game work, and I feel there has been a real shift for actors as they’re seeing how cinematic and story-driven a good game can be. Would you consider more gaming opportunities in the future?

Yeah. A friend of mine was just nominated for a gaming BAFTA for her voice work, that’s really exciting. I think that’s quite a new element in the industry, which obviously should be recognised from day one; it’s a performance. The majority of video games that I’ve done haven’t been quite triple-A games, but I’ve always enjoyed doing them. They’re really taxing. They’re very taxing on your voice. A lot of my video game experience I did when I was doing musicals. 

So it’s not brilliant to do before a two-show day, because you’re screaming in a booth, and then you’re going to sing on stage; that can kind of wreak havoc on you. But I’ve always enjoyed that kind of performance element where you have to get a whole performance across only using your voice. 

More recently, I’ve been doing more animation, so I voice a cartoon character on the CBBC series called Mojo Swoptops, which has done super well; we’re doing the second season at the moment. And I was also in a Disney cartoon called Dragon Slayer, which I recorded over a few years, which just came out, and I really like that kind of voice performance. 

You get put into such crazy scenarios, but you also have, like, a doppelganger of yourself in some way, in some shape, and you’re giving it a voice. So I really like that element of voice performance.

What should book fans of My Brilliant Career expect from this adaptation?

They should expect a bigger world than what Miles Franklin had put down on the page, an expansion of her original ideas and thoughts. I actually did some interviews with Pip yesterday, and we were talking about this. We were discussing how, Miles wrote the novel when she was a teenager, and it was pretty much semi-autobiographical, and she really wrote the world that she could see in front of her. 

So it wasn’t fully realised and fully formed. In the kind of ways that we now understand society to have been back then. So I think you might see more of a fleshed-out world from Miles’ original idea, which is quite exciting, because you get all different kinds of elements that the original text doesn’t give you and adds a lot of colour and texture to the world, that the film also doesn’t cover. 

It’s just an expansion of what’s on the page, really 

Finally, what would you like to manifest for yourself next when it comes to your personal life or career?

I would like one of these projects that I’m exec’ing on to go into production, but I’d also like to lead a film next. It’s interesting how your dreams change as you grow older, because it was definitely a period of contraction for them with me. I think that was happening around the time that Slow Horses happened, but at that period of time, I was thinking about stepping away from the industry for a while, because it wasn’t really getting to where I wanted to be or thought that I would be at that stage.

I was like, maybe it’s okay just to go from job to job to job, and the biggest my dreams ever were, really in my career, was to be a good supporting part. But I never had any great ambition to be a leading man or a leading role, because I didn’t know if I had the facility to do that. And now that I’ve done it in a way with My Brilliant Career, it’s made me hungry to go to that next challenge.

My acting teacher was always a great believer, of if it scares you, you should absolutely do it. And I think I’m definitely at the stage now. In my career where I want to be terrified. 

Well, I’m very glad you didn’t stop acting. It’s nice to see a hard worker succeed. On a different note, I’m very particular about who I interview, as I’ve got a full-time job outside of this. But it’s always a pleasure to speak to really genuine and talented people from time to time. So thanks for spending the time, Chris.

Awh cheers man, I appreciate that. You asked some quite thoughtful questions in a way that others have not. 

So that, as someone being interviewed, is really helpful, as it makes you engage more. It’s very easy sometimes on a circuit to give the same answer, so you got some shit I didn’t give to anyone else [laughs].

My Brilliant Career is streaming on Netflix now.

Interview Cameron Poole

Photography Lee Malone

Styling Andrew Burling

Grooming Mary Ann Barrett

THE RAKE X WILL ANTENBRING

Grooming by Hannah Wynne

Will Antenbring is only four years out of drama school, but he has already taken on the mantle of a national hero. He talks to the rake about his breakthrough performance in Dear England.

There is a certain audacity involved in playing Harry Kane. Not just technically — though Will Antenbring is candid about having spent weeks practising penalties he could never quite execute with Kane’s precision — but psychologically. Kane, the England striker and captain portrayed by Antenbring in the BBC’s adaptation of James Graham’s football-themed play Dear England, is not merely famous, he is a figure freighted with national expectation. To step into the role required Antenbring to understand not just how the man moves but how he carries his burden.

Antenbring trained at Italia Conti and the National Youth Theatre, graduating in 2022. His C.V. is short but impressive: a lead role in Chichester Festival Theatre’s Coram Boy, directed by Anna Ledwich, which transferred to the Lowry in Salford, followed by a T.V. debut opposite Lennie James in the BBC’s Mr. Loverman. Dear England, directed by Rupert Goold and Paul Whittington for Left Bank Pictures and BBC One, was his third screen credit. For an actor barely four years out of drama school, it was a considerable ask.

He approached the challenge with the seriousness it demanded. “You look at interviews and articles about the players,” he says, “but you also need to try and understand, as much as you can, who they are as people.” What struck him was the mental cost of elite sport. “The entire world is lampooning you,” he says of a player’s lowest moments. “The mental fortitude they must have to come back and play again is crazy.” A self-described diehard football fan, Antenbring calls Dear England “the stuff of dreams”. On the evidence of his career so far, he seems to be waking up fast.

Click here to see more

GQ MIDDLE EAST X OMAR MARMOUSH

Grooming by Terri Grisdale

The sun is shining gloriously in Manchester. It’s the first time in what feels like, well, forever. Omar Marmoush, fresh from training and sporting a crisp, grey sweater, lifts his head towards the sky in praise – he’s only half-joking. Such moments rarely pass without thanks in the northwest of England. You never really know when the next one’s coming.

There’s little want for bright spells when it comes to his club, Manchester City, of course. Since the 2008 takeover by Abu Dhabi United Group there have been eight Premier League titles, four FA Cups, nine League Cups, one Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup, and one Fifa Club World Cup. Less a warm spell and more a heatwave, really – one that Europe’s elite has sweated on for the best part of two decades.

Even so, when the Egyptian striker arrived at the club in January 2025, there was an element of whispered transition about the place. Questions swirled regarding the future of epochal manager Pep Guardiola (who recently did confirm a departure from the club), while the likes of Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne – integral fixtures in a side that had won four English top-flight titles in a row – left the team. The season would end as the first without a trophy in almost eight years, the first since Guardiola’s debut season, in fact.

Marmoush was part of a mid-season injection of fresh blood, one of four big-money signings – along with Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis, and Nico González – that, given time and fair opportunity, were there to help the dynasty power up. Part of an occasional, yet, essential changing of the guard. No pressure, then. Literally, as it happens. Marmoush came to play.

“As a kid you dream of being at a club like this,” says the 27-year-old, showing no visible signs of peril from the weight of expectation. “I trained hard to get here, you know? My whole career led up to this point – to compete and play with the best players in the world, trying to win titles. So, when the move came I knew I was ready.”

That quiet assurance feels typical for the man from Cairo. It’s not arrogance or cockiness. It’s confidence. The type developed over time on a route to the top that feels more old school than most. Marmoush wasn’t a big-club starboy, groomed for glory by the age of eight and armed with TikTok reels that made him the talk of a fanbase. Far from it. After starting out at local side Wadi Degla, the rapid forward moved away from home when he was just 18. Egypt to Germany – not just cities or countries but continents. He spent time roughing it in European second strings and on loan spells, making gradual progress. For him, football was the only option.

“My parents told me that I always had a ball with me when I was growing up. Even when I was a baby,” he laughs. “Most kids wanted to watch TV but, as long as I had a ball, I was happy.”

He’s not exactly a football obsessive, it should be said. He didn’t have a team when he was growing up (“I would rather play than watch”), and he wasn’t the type to run around with a football shirt on his back, either (“I wore the shirt of the team I played for”). He’ll watch on TV occasionally and, of course, caught the Champions League quarter-final tie between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Essential sadomasochistic viewing of the team that vanquished his own from Europe’s biggest club competition in this season’s previous round.

“I try to disconnect a little, but I do check some matches,” he says. “Watching [Madrid] the other night was the worst. Just sitting at home knowing that we could have been there was a terrible feeling. But it’s part of the game. You keep learning, and keep moving forward.”

When he was breaking through at Wadi Degla, Marmoush knew that he would have to leave Egypt if he wanted a career at the highest level – keep learning, keep moving forward.

“I was waiting to turn 18 to leave,” he says. “I’d played in the first team already but it was clear, when I started to get older, that I would have to go elsewhere to achieve my dreams. I got an offer from [German side] Wolfsburg and spent two weeks there training. It was a big move… a huge move, I was very young, but I didn’t really think about whether it would be difficult or not. I just went.”

Sometime in the late 1980s, a myth grew around the former Liverpool striker Ian Rush who, after signing for the Italian side Juventus in 1986, subsequently returned home rather sharply after just one year away from the UK. When asked about the experience, football folklore stated the Welshman replied, “I couldn’t settle in Italy… it was like living in a foreign country.” Rush later denied ever saying it, but the story has endured regardless.

Being homesick wasn’t really an issue for Marmoush, at least when he was playing. After all, his parents had travelled with him when he first left (“They brought Egypt with them!”), and he was fully focused on assimilation. “I wanted to learn the language quickly. It helped me get to know my teammates and understand their culture, how they act, how they speak, and what they demand on and off the pitch. It was good that I wasn’t shy. I would just try and speak [German] with them. I got lots of things wrong at first, and my teammates would laugh at me, but I think they appreciated the effort. Now I’m fluent.”

Around the time Manchester City got googly-eyed for the Egyptian, Marmoush made up one-half of a top young striking duo in Germany. Both he and the Frenchman Hugo Ekitike got there the hard way. Ekitike’s big move from Stade de Reims to PSG had failed to ignite, while Marmoush had signed a professional contract with Wolfsburg, and had loan spells first with St Pauli in the second tier, and then at Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. His form had been steady, with moments of the spectacular knitting things together. He eventually joined Eintracht Frankfurt on a free transfer and suddenly everything clicked. A debut season saw 16 goals in 37 games – along with alleged interest from the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, and Newcastle United – before a second season took him into the stratosphere. His partnership with Ekitike, himself in his first full season with the Germans, was defined by dazzling pace and ruthless finishing, by movement and menace. By Christmas Marmoush had hit 15 goals in 17 games, and was second in the goalscoring charts only to Harry Kane. By January he was sat on a plane and heading to Manchester.

“It wasn’t just that one or two years [that secured the transfer],” he points out. “It was much longer. You build confidence over time, you learn your worth. So, when the move happened I knew I was supposed to be there. But still, the change was weird. One day you’re at one club, the next day somewhere completely different with a different atmosphere, and already playing. January transfers always go fast. Not like in the summer when you have a pre-season to acclimatise. Straight away I was playing in a new league, and with a different intensity. But I was confident.”

Just over a full season in and you feel that Marmoush is only getting started at The Etihad. He loves life at City, and in the Premier League. “It has fulfilled all my expectations and more. I would watch it a lot before I arrived, but to play here is different. It’s way more intense in real life.” There have been big moments, too, glistening signs of golden promise, like his Premier League goal of the season against Bournemouth last year – a run and viciously dipping shot into the top corner from around 30 yards.

“He’s a special player,” said Guardiola of Marmoush following a 5-2 win over Crystal Palace in 2025. “He’s not old, not young, and still has a margin to improve,” he continued, after the Egyptian scored the equaliser in a game where his team had, at one point, actually been trailing 2-0.

But acclimatisation takes time, and playing at a club such as Manchester City comes with a high element of jeopardy with regards to a starting place in the side. At Frankfurt, there’s an argument to say that Marmoush could have been forgiven the occasional off day and still been one of the first names on the team sheet the following week. But when a squad is stocked full of stars, decisions on who play are made on the finest of margins. Especially when you’re toiling through the longest football season in Europe.

It’s become dog-eared now, of course, the phrase that football is a squad game. But it’s a truth self-evident for teams such as Manchester City, who generally play three games per week at the highest level for the majority of the season. In 2024/25 that amounted to 60 games, which meant the club needed to safeguard against injury, suspension, dips in form, physical overload, as well as having a tactical flexibility to consistently hunt for trophies across four competitions. That comes in the form of regular squad rotation. But that means frustration for those left out. When we talk about the fact that seven of his 14 goals in England have come against Newcastle United, he insists that there is actually no Geordie vendetta, but rather that he was simply on the pitch from the first whistle.

“Newcastle play in an attacking, aggressive style, which means you can sometimes find space between the lines,” he says. “That’s something that I can exploit when I play. But I’d say that, in these games, I started. That gives you a better chance of scoring goals.”

In November 2025, The Athletic wrote about the concept of ‘Haaland Purgatory’, a reference to the struggle attacking players can find at Manchester City when trying to dislodge superstar striker Erling Haaland as the fulcrum of the team’s attack. The article referenced Julián Alvarez, the Argentine who suffered for game time between 2022 and 2024. Alvarez eventually left for Atlético Madrid and is now considered in that elite bracket of big-game starters. It’s the type of situation built to dent confidence and squash dreams if you’re not careful. But Marmoush isn’t fazed. He simply takes any and all competition as fuel for the fire.

“It’s difficult but at the same time it makes you better, knowing that when you’re on the pitch you have to give your best. You have to perform because the next person is there, waiting to take your spot. Small details are vital. Who is willing to put more effort in? Who is willing to work harder and try to prove himself more? This type of competition only makes you better, because if you don’t play you start to think, OK, what can I do to improve as a player?”

It’s a remarkably even-minded opinion for somebody in a sport that can be fraught with an almost instant pressure to perform. Nowhere more so than across social media which, at its worst, can be a hellscape when it comes to in-game appraisal. It’s something that has led to the likes of Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, and Trent Alexander-Arnold stepping back from platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), and away from negativity that often feeds it. Marmoush feels like he’s got a handle on things.

“I think you just need to know how to use it [social media],” he says. “In life you will always have people that speak negatively or positively about you – no matter what you do. As a footballer I don’t really need people to acknowledge whether I was good or bad. I will know this myself already! But the reach and exposure you get through social media is massive, so it’s great to use that to be a good example, and perhaps inspire other people.”

Pressure has always had a certain resonance when it comes to athletes, of course. But it’s often framed as a challenge rather than a problem to be eradicated. When the game is in the balance, are you able to step away from the stress between success and failure and take control? At Manchester City pressure is injected into the mentality.

“My expectations of myself are always the same, but the demands on the pitch are much different here,” says Marmoush. “Frankfurt is a big club, for example, but occasionally we would really celebrate winning a game, because we put so much work into it and sometimes you’re not expected to win against certain teams. At City it’s not about winning today, or scoring some goals, it’s about winning titles. But football is what I love,” he says shrugging off the idea of pressure. “Being on the pitch makes me happy. And the achievement you get when you’re impactful in the game brings a sense of fulfilment – the hard work I put in is paying off. So, you keep going because you always want more. I think if I ever felt too tired to play it’s a sign that the game is over for me. I should do something else instead.”

It’s mid-May and, until last night, Manchester City were still aiming for three trophies this season. After securing a ninth League Cup and fourth FA Cup all roads seemingly led to a final day shoot out for the title between themselves and long-time leaders, Arsenal. At least until an unexpected away draw for Pep’s men at Bournemouth put paid to City’s hopes.

Thankfully it’s also a World Cup year. That biggest of season-enders, signalling a glorious summer of football ahead. You wonder about that famed fan accusation – “He’s saving himself for the World Cup!” – that fires out from the stands and floats up into the air whenever a player is seen to give anything less than one hundred per cent. But while, to supporters, it might seem impossible not to think about representing your country at the ultimate football tournament, Marmoush prefers to concentrate on what’s in front of him. Well, most of the time at least.

“I do occasionally think about how I’m going to the World Cup,” he admits. “But I’m more focused on what’s happening now. You can think about other things all you want, but at the end of the day we want to win the games we’re playing [at Manchester City]. We have to be fully focused on how we can get better each and every day. That way we’ll be in our best form when the World Cup comes around.”

It’s mid-May and, until last night, Manchester City were still aiming for three trophies this season. After securing a ninth League Cup and fourth FA Cup all roads seemingly led to a final day shoot out for the title between themselves and long-time leaders, Arsenal. At least until an unexpected away draw for Pep’s men at Bournemouth put paid to City’s hopes.

Thankfully it’s also a World Cup year. That biggest of season-enders, signalling a glorious summer of football ahead. You wonder about that famed fan accusation – “He’s saving himself for the World Cup!” – that fires out from the stands and floats up into the air whenever a player is seen to give anything less than one hundred per cent. But while, to supporters, it might seem impossible not to think about representing your country at the ultimate football tournament, Marmoush prefers to concentrate on what’s in front of him. Well, most of the time at least.

“I do occasionally think about how I’m going to the World Cup,” he admits. “But I’m more focused on what’s happening now. You can think about other things all you want, but at the end of the day we want to win the games we’re playing [at Manchester City]. We have to be fully focused on how we can get better each and every day. That way we’ll be in our best form when the World Cup comes around.”

When it comes to mentality, there’s certainly been a shift in thinking when it comes to MENA nations appearing at the World Cup Finals in recent years. The 2016 documentary Lights of Rome recounted how the UAE’s own golden generation of players made it all the way to the World Cup Finals in 1990. In it, the UAE coach Carlos Alberto Parreira – something of a legend, who also spent time as coach of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, as well as Brazil – suggested that qualifying for the World Cup Finals was akin to winning it for a nation like the UAE, such was the disparity in the global football economy. Now, as we await a tournament that features a record nine teams from the MENA region, things have gone way past just making up the numbers.

“I think that the World Cup is a tournament where you can dream to go as far as possible,” says Marmoush with a smile. “We’ve seen recently with Morocco reaching the semifinal in 2022 that anything is possible. After the group stage [Egypt’s includes Belgium, New Zealand, and IR Iran] you just have to take it one game at a time. You have to be realistic, of course. We’re playing against the best national teams in the world, so it’s not easy. But we always dream big. It’s great that we have so many MENA teams at the tournament this year, but it’s not just about the numbers. We want to go there and perform. Here we are, playing on the biggest stage in world football. Let’s show them what we’ve got.”

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BRITISH GQ X TOM GLYNN-CARNEY

Grooming by Joe Mills

Tom Glynn-Carney is in a “state of dissociation,” but he's doing it in Gucci

GQ grabbed five with the actor ahead of the premiere of season three of House of the Dragon to talk archival fits, Mother Nature and red carpet strategy

A few hours before Tom Glynn-Carney is due on the red carpet for season three of House of the Dragon, London is absolutely chucking it down. The forecast has predicted showers all day, and already, puddles are destroying shoes in Tube stations across the city.

But Glynn-Carney’s not having it. “It won’t be [raining], I’ve decided,” he tells me over the phone, as he gets ready. “I’ve told Mother Nature to pack it in. We just had a word before.”

With great power (“well, it’s more manifestation,” he gently corrects) comes great responsibility. And protecting a velvet Gucci suit from the downpour seems as good as any. For the event, Glynn-Carney’s in a polka dot tux from Gucci’s 2022 collection, one of Alessandro Michele’swilder outings. With padded shoulders and a slight kick flare to the trousers, it’s “a bit bolder, a bit braver” than his usual. He subbed out the runway look’s red bowtie for a white tie and some sunnies, adding a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute and a fistful of Emanuele Bicocchi Jewelry rings.

Thankfully, he can count on not being the most overdressed at the function. His fashion killer castmates – Emma D’Arcy (Rhaenyra Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower) and Ewan Mitchell (his murderous little bro Aemond Targaryen) – can be relied on to turn out. “It validates the choices that I've made,” says Glynn-Carney of his castmates, “It's great because I think we all compliment each other.” He shouts out D’Arcy as his number one, though. “I think Emma dresses so well and has a really unique taste and eye for combinations and narrative. I love how Emma dresses.”

But before any of that happens, Glynn-Carney has to actually, you know, get ready. From his suite at Raffles, the actor and his crew are pumping some increasingly hype tunes as his groomer gets to work. “Before, I went down to the spa and I had a few mellowing songs on because I haven't been on my own really today. So I needed to just have a beat by myself just to recalibrate before everyone turned up,” says Glynn-Carney. “And now I'm kind of ramping up the energy to something a little bit more rousing, shall we say.” (His mellow playlist includes the likes of Greta Van Fleet, Bon Iver and The Tallest Man on Earth.)

Once the music’s going and a couple of drinks are had, then the company arrives. “That'll be another injection into the room that is like, ‘Oh, okay, this is happening. I can't avoid this anymore.’ And then I kind of go into a self-preservation mode, where I just become very scatty and adrenaline’s just pumping around and I don't pay attention to anything I'm saying.”

Glynn-Carney doesn’t exactly love going to big events like this, lights flashing and people screaming. “You know what? These kinds of things I just kind of going into a state of disassociation and just do as I'm told,” he says. (So, you’re outside your body right now? I ask “Not currently, but give me 25 minutes and I will be!”)

A nice crowd helps, too. “My strategy is to be surrounded by good people I love and trust. I experience the buzz of all the hard work that everyone's put into a show like this and be able to celebrate with cast and crew and family and friends and just leave the worky side of things behind.”

A great suit, good company, some Bon Iver setting the vibe…And, would you look at that? Blue skies.

ALFIE WILLIAMS X BEHIND THE BLINDS

Grooming by Richard Wynne-Ellis

WITH JUST THE RIGHT BLEND OF INNOCENCE, HEART AND EXPERIENCE, ALFIE WILLIAMS STOLE THE SHOW AS SPIKE, IN THE MOVIE 28 YEARS LATER – THE THIRD INSTALMENT OF DANNY BOYLE’S GAME-CHANGING APOCALYPTIC FRANCHISE. NOW THE 14-YEAR-OLD RISING STAR, FROM NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, IS REPRISING HIS ROLE IN THE FAST SEQUEL, THE BONE TEMPLE. BEFORE THE BRUTAL GORE-FEST STARTS ALL OVER AGAIN, HE FOUND SOME TIME TO TELL US WHY HORROR MOVIES DON'T ACTUALLY FRIGHTEN HIM, AND WHO HE'D LOVE TO SHARE THE BIG SCREEN WITH UP NEXT.

What can you tell us about The Bone Temple? I read that you’re about to have an encounter with Jimmy Crystal, which becomes a nightmare you can’t escape!

Spike is forced to join a gang of psychopaths led by Jack O’Connell’s character, Sir Jimmy Crystal. He must find a way to escape before they hurt someone he loves. It’s a very gory and brutal film, action-packed, great story and lots of interesting characters.

Have you enjoyed being part of the community? The franchise has got such a cult following, and everyone’s already excited for this sequel.

The fans are so great. I get a lot of fan mail from people, and it’s amazing seeing how much these films mean to them. I guess I'm just happy how much people appreciate Spike as a character. I feel a lot of people understand him and are as excited as I am to witness his journey. 

Seeing everything that goes into making these movies, does it make you want to go to the cinema more and experience the action with an audience, as opposed to streaming them online?

Of course it does! It’s always been better to see something in a cinema. You feel more immersed, and it’s a collective experience. Now people just have everything on their TV. It’s not all bad, though, as TV is an incredible medium for certain things, but cinemas have always been better for movies. It’s just a shame not as many people use them these days. You know what they say, use it or lose it! 

Exactly. So, just how does a 15-year-old cinemagoer from Newcastle suddenly find himself hanging out on the big screen, starring alongside Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes and Aaron Taylor-Johnson? 

Yeah, it’s so crazy at times. I don’t know how I deal with it. I think once you know them and realise they’re normal people just like you, the nerves go away a bit. But it’s always there.

You must have loved that it was filmed up in Northumberland! Did you give the cast a "crash course" in Geordie slang while filming?  

I’m lucky it was filmed in Northumberland because on the weekends I could go home and see my family. Also, some of the locations we were filming in were really beautiful. I remember Aaron talking to my dad a lot, as my dad has a very thick accent, so it was a lot of help to him.

These kinds of horror films are not for the faint-hearted. Were you ever genuinely a little scared in some of the scenes you shot, or grossed out, or just super chill? Also, were you allowed to watch horror movies growing up?

I never really felt scared. I found most of it cool rather than scary. Sure, there were times when you felt tense, but that all added to the scene. The scene where Spike is being chased through the train by Samson… that was the most adrenaline-pumping scene for me, but also the most fun. My parents were quite chill with letting me watch horror films, and that’s why I’m desensitised to everything, I guess. I’d say my favourite horror film is John Carpenter's The Thing. It’s such a classic. Kurt Russell is great in it, and the fact that it’s all animatronics and prosthetics makes it so much better. I’m not really a big fan of CGI. It feels kind of empty at times. But hey, at least it’s not AI, now that really sucks! [Laughs]

Well, at least your voice hasn't been used as an AI announcer on the buses yet, which has happened to other actors as of late! Speaking of buses, what was it like seeing your face plastered across them and billboards after the last film was released? Are you secretly excited for the day you finally become an action figure or have a star on the Walk of Fame?

It’s the weirdest thing when your friends send you pictures of you on their local bus. And the billboards are crazy. I never thought that would happen in my life. Having an action figure would be so awesome, but I'm a long way from having a star on the Walk of Fame!! You've got to earn that! I would love to have one someday, but there’s plenty of work to be done yet. 

So, what's the dream role? 

My dream would be to play Billy the Kid in a remake of Young Guns. It's one of my favourite movies, so that would be awesome!

What about actors you admire – aside from your dad, actor Alfie Dobson?

There are plenty of actors I’m inspired by. I’m a huge fan of Bryan Cranston. I’d love to meet him one day. J.K. Simmons is another actor whose work I really admire, and Andrew Garfield too…. he’s brilliant. Fingers crossed, I get to share the screen with one of them someday. 

I’m imagining your life right now is all fancy hotels and premieres. But what normal teenage things are you doing?

Yeah, life’s been quite weird, but when I’m alone and not acting or doing my studies, I spend most of the day playing guitar or video games. 

You’re currently filming the supernatural thriller, Banquet. What can you tell us about that?

I play a character called Callum in Banquet. I can’t say much about it, sadly, but he’s very troubled. I worked on that with the amazing Meghann Fahy and Corey Mylchreest. It’s a horror/ thriller with drama elements. I can’t wait for people to see it, as it’s something very different for me.

SÉAMUS MCLEAN ROSS X MAN ABOUT TOWN

Grooming by Joe Mills

Two Scottish rappers conned the noughties music industry by masquerading as a Californian hip-hop duo. Under debut director James McAvoy, the Scottish actor’s telling the stranger-than-fiction tale on the big screen.

Three words were all it took to capture Séamus McLean Ross’s attention when the self-tape request for California Schemin’ came his way. “I remember it so well: ‘McAvoy, Dundee, rapping,’” the Outlander: Blood of My Blood breakout explains. “I was like, ‘That’s the holy trinity.’”

As a proud Glasgow lad, the allure of bagging a role on the directorial debut of James McAvoy, one of his city’s chief 21st-century screen exports, is self-explanatory. Then there was the plot's roots in Dundee – known historically for jute, jam and journalism, the fourth-largest Scottish city is also home to Dundee United (the 25-year-old’s beloved side), and birthed his dad, Ricky Ross of Deacon Blue, the iconic chart-topping band he’s co-led alongside McLean Ross’s mum, Lorraine McIntosh, since 1985. And rapping? While his parents found fame for poignant pop-rock, rich in narrative and Scottish soul, one could glean that Mclean Ross’s own musical proclivities lean in other directions. For California Schemin’s self-tape – “I learned a song: ‘New Choppa’ by Playboi Carti,” he tells Man About Town on the morning of the film’s release day. “And I [performed] A$AP Rocky’s verse. I went for it. I tried to shoot it like a rap video.”

A willingness to commit to the art of it all wholeheartedly was perhaps top priority for McAvoy when recruiting for the musical drama. California Schemin' does, after all, chart the improbable but very true story of two deft Dundonian rappers, Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd (Samuel Bottomley), who took doing just that to its outer limits in the early 2000s. After being rejected by the London music industry due to their Scottish accents, the pair re-emerged as fabricated Californian rap duo Silibil N' Brains – with stateside pronunciation to boot – clinching a record deal with Sony Music UK, an MTV appearance and a support slot for D12. They lived with their adopted accents for over two years. “It’s one of the maddest stories I’ve ever heard,” McLean Ross says. “The more I think about it, the more interesting it gets.”

Bain and Boyd planned to expose the industry’s exclusionary ways, revealing their true identities in a live TV appearance. However, the ecstasy of the fame they’d long sought would prove too potent to let go, and its associated pitfalls would be as deep as for any green act jettisoned into stardom – let alone one whose success was built on a lie. The tale of audacious youth, Y2K nostalgia and Scottish patriotism descends into darker territory than the film’s jocular poster might suggest, as a vulnerable Gavin experiences the sharp end, unravelling into substance abuse and declining mental health when everything falls apart. McLean Ross's enveloping performance of that process in the film’s final third might just be its centrepiece.

Sitting down with Man About Town, the actor talks meeting McAvoy for the first time, the influence of his creative parents, his hatred of the phrase “regional accents” and his love of both Glasgow’s clubbing and nature offerings.

Congratulations on release day of California Schemin! You were in London for the premiere this week. How was that?

Yeah, I literally got home yesterday. What day is this? Friday? The premiere was on Wednesday night. It was awesome. It felt insane having our movie premiering in Leicester Square. Leading a film and doing all that, and the press and having your name on the poster is special. It’s like a dream-come-true. I know it’s pretty vain to say that, but I’m glad I’m not feeling awful about it. I feel like I deserve to be there.

Going back to the start of the process, what was your first impression of Gavin? And how did you first connect with James?

I was in London. I was living in a digs in Walthamstow, and I was doing a play. I’d booked Outlander. This was the end of 2023. So I was buzzing, and I wanted to smash the self-tape. And I got lucky enough to get a recall and met James for both parts – just me, and [casting director] Kahleen [Crawford]. I was fucking terrified. I was just sitting on the floor with fucking McAvoy. But you just have to turn the charm on and pretend you’re not fucking scared. But you are all the time as an actor.

Then I got a recall with Sam. He was the last guy of the day. There were different Billy pairings, and eventually Sam came in, and James said we didn’t actually click immediately. We kind of cancelled each other out. And I think that’s maybe true. We’ve got such different energies, but I love the guy so much. I think he’s so talented, and he’s got things that I don’t think I could ever do.

Was the rap a requirement of the self-tape?

It actually was to be fair. It would be a cooler answer to say it wasn’t, but it was.

But you did it well and then…

Well, we also had to write our own rap for the final recall. It gave a stimulus of, ‘It’s about Billy. It’s about trying to convince him to come on a night out,’ and then I scribbled something down, and it ended up being in the film. The scene when I’m on the bus, on the phone to Billy – that’s my words. James was like, ‘Do the rap you did in the audition,’ and it stayed in.

You’ve proven yourself as a wordsmith! You and James went for a coffee in Glasgow to discuss the role. Did he say anything that inspired confidence in you that you could tackle it?

I left that meeting feeling pretty daunted, actually. I began to spiral like, ‘He believes in me to do this film and play Gavin?’ He had all of this outline of Gavin, and he knew the script inside out. And he’s at such a different level that I felt a bit insufficient in my minerals. He was just so impressive to chat to. We talked about scripts, we talked about acting, and he was lovely. But I had prepped. I’d worked with an acting coach to go over the script for ages and to get me into Gavin’s head, and also Brains’s head. I feel like they’re two different characters. But the inspiration really happened when we were on set, when he knew we were feeling a bit nervous, because he knows what it feels like to be a young actor. And he would say things like, ‘I wanna see you. You’re enough,’ which was great. That’s what you wanna fucking hear, especially from him. And he’d give you a cuddle, and he’d be with you. It was up to me to get over myself and then do it. But it kind of worked for the character. Gavin was terrified, Gavin wasn’t comfortable in himself, and actually, I don’t think I was prior to shooting as well.

Have you found that people, when they left the film, were surprised with the path it takes? I was familiar with the story, but I went in naively expecting more comedy throughout, and especially in your character’s case, it gets really dark. I was quite devastated for him afterwards.

I think they have had reactions of surprise at the depths that it went to. I think [Gavin and Billy’s experiences] did take a massive toll on [their] mental health. Gavin lived in this American accent for like two years. It’s insane. It is this light idea, but it changes, and that’s down to Gavin and how intensely he believes in it and how fragile he is from the off.

I didn’t realise until I was researching the other day who your mum and dad were. That must have been such a cool, creative environment to grow up in. Do you feel like they influenced your perspective as an actor?

Absolutely. I love my parents and their love of art and how much they’ve taught me about the world. And also, my mum’s theatre shows were huge inspirations for me. Going to see her plays was just pure magic. It just made me fall in love with theatre, and I still do [fall in love with it]. I was at the Citizens [Theatre] the other day. I went by myself, and I’m so happy doing that.

We talk about all things and the priorities of why we do what we do. Not a lot of people know that they’re really quite religious. You can get caught up in these things, ideas of fame and how important you are, but just trying to remain grounded and be a good person and do it for love and good things and joy, that’s really helped me to remain grounded, when sometimes it can feel a bit vacuous.

When you’re not working, what does life in Glasgow look like for you?

It’s great. I just moved to the West End last year. I was in England, and there’s honestly nothing better than the feeling of coming home from London. Every time I get off the train from Edinburgh to Glasgow, I’m glad to be home. I know Glasgow’s not heaven, but to me it still is. It feels like the centre of the universe. But day-to-day life is just trying to stay busy. I feel like I’m much more aligned when I’m working. When I’m doing home life, I can waste a lot of hours doing things I shouldn’t be doing, like doom-scrolling and playing FIFA. I really do live for work, which I’m trying to navigate. So just seeing pals and having a laugh, going to the gym, enjoying the many food spots around here, going for coffees. I love the outdoors as well. The good thing about Glasgow is that Loch Lomond is a 45-minute drive, less than that, from the West End. Also, there’s great clubs. The Berkeley Suite is bangin'.

The film is centred on the way Scottish identity has been overlooked in the arts in London. As a Scottish actor navigating the industry now, what has your experience been like?

All my TV jobs have been in Scotland, luckily enough, which is a good sign. But I’ve always played Scottish people. I went to drama school in London, where the modus operandi was to speak in RP [Received Pronunciation] still. And I did have an amazing teacher, Patsy Rodenburg, she was amazing for me, but she did say, ‘You need to do it in RP. You need to do this monologue in RP, or whatever fucking Shakespeare bollocks we were doing. I love Shakespeare, I’m not dissing Shakespeare here [laughs].

But I think it is a more national thing; it’s not just about Scotland, it’s also about other voices. I fucking hate this [term] ‘regional accents’. That’s just not from London. I was on a Zoom call the other day, and this Oxbridge girl was like, ‘Oh, you’ve got such a thick accent’, and I was like, ‘Would you say that to anyone else?’ I know, of course, I’ve got an accent. We’ve all got an accent. ‘So do you,’ I felt like saying. It still kind of irks me. But I think the more general pressing question is: Why are we pandering for their approval? We have to believe in Scotland for ourselves, and create a country where we believe in our culture and our stories and our voices. I hope a film like this can do that.

Totally, and good on people like James who have used international stardom to come back to Scotland to tell these stories!

Honestly. It kind of feels like philanthropy. It’s amazing to do that. Look at the vibe he’s created up here. It felt like such a positive vibe for Scotland on that premiere night, and that’s all down to him.

California Schemin’ is in UK and Irish cinemas now

DÓNAL FINN X BEHIND THE BLINDS

Grooming by Joe Mills

Subtlety is not insignificance, like noticing someone’s name and making a point to say it. Dónal Finn speaks like a softly spinning record, sinking into each groove, winding slowly inward, each sentence gliding with intention. With equal conviction, he amplifies what is important to others and himself, because for Finn, are they not one and the same? Undoubtedly, every story he carries is safe in his hands. From the Wheel Of Time and Hadestown to his newest role as James Moriarty in Young Sherlock, he confidently accepts that his authenticity, rather than impersonation, is more than enough. While he doesn't make acting about him, it certainly matters that the story is told through him. In front of the skyline, he smiles like he’s opened a door to an imaginary world. We talk of the drum of raining frogs, the roar of car chases, and the rhythm of Sherlock and Moriarty.

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SHAUN THOMAS X HUNGER MAGAZINE

Shaun Thomas’s positive affirmations

From scrap metal collecting to winning a British Independent Film Award, the actor is in awe of what his life has become - achieved with the help of relentless positivity and a little collaborations from the universe.

Grooming by Joe Mills

At first glance, Shaun Thomas doesn’t seem the mystical type. he wriggles in his gaming chair, wearing a plain grey top and black watch, eager to exhibit his dad-style phone case which holds his bank cards. But, to my surprise, in the same breath he tells me about his interest in self-help books, and how that led him to read The Secret. It’s a book whose philosophy asserts that an individual tells the universe what they want, acts as if they already have it, and it is attracted into their life. “I think it’s easier to be negative, isn’t it?” the actor muses in his broad Bradford accent. “I do force myself to stay positive. I started doing that and things started happening, and then I was like, ‘Oh, this kind of does work’. Maybe it doesn’t, but it works for me.” He grins. 

Thomas’s manifestation technique certainly seems to be effective. His credits include the BAFTA-nominated How To Have Sex, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and most recently HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Now 28, he recalls how he never expected to act professionally. As a teenager, he wanted to be a farrier, and his first job was scrap-metal collecting, which he “fell into” at age 12. Intrigued by a young man driving through the estate he grew up on in a horse and cart, Thomas asked if he could join him at work. The stranger agreed. “I loved it,” the actor says frankly, propping his chin up on his fists. “I mean, I didn’t get paid much, but just to get to go out of where you live when you’re younger — it’s like getting your first car.” 

As a self-proclaimed “disruptive” pupil, Thomas would regularly skip school to attend to his new venture. Looking back, he admits he struggled with authority. “I was one of those kids,” he says sheepishly. “I wasn’t really functioning in mainstream school, always messing around and being a class clown.” In a bid to interest him in academia, Tong High School put him onto an alternative learning programme in which Thomas learnt to horse ride in addition to the usual maths, science and English. Shortly afterwards, Clio Bernard and casting director Amy Hubbard contacted the school in search of young actors to star in The Selfish Giant. They’ve formed an integral part of Thomas’s support system ever since. Thomas played co-lead Swifty, and won the Best British Newcomer award at the 2013 London Film Festival for his performance.

Being whisked away from the monotony of school and onto a film set felt like a fantasy, Thomas tells me; which is why the actor counts the project as his “most special” to date. A far cry from the classroom, the creative environment suited him, even though it provided the most concentrated dose of learning he’d ever experienced. “I’m always open to learning now,” he explains. “I try to be a sponge and soak up as much as I can. I speak to as many people as possible and just dig for information.”  

Thomas’s shift in mindset was a necessary one for a career so founded on research. And his commitment has paid off. “I just could have never in my wildest dreams fathomed what I’ve done and the jobs I’ve worked on,” he says. “When is somebody going to wake me up and tell me it’s not real?” Crowning his list of most thrilling moments was receiving a British Independent Film Award in 2023 for his rendition of Badger in How To Have Sex, a film that follows a group of teenagers holidaying in Malia, and grapples with adolescence, consent and friendship. Even the memory of his win leaves him speechless. “That was like, that was a feeling that, that like…” Thomas searches for the right words, gently shaking his head. “Mind blowing. I remember, like, the nerves, like the — just the energy that I had going through my body after I did my speech and stuff. My body was physically buzzing, I was shaking that much,” he continues. “I were proper shocked to just be in the nominations, never mind to win.” It was a milestone that quietened Thomas’s impostor syndrome; proof of his status as a bona fide thespian. “I used to struggle to see myself as an actor,” he confides. “When people would ask me what I do, I’d feel stupid. It gave me a massive confidence boost.” 

His tendency to underestimate himself didn’t disappear entirely, however. Thomas approached his most recent role as Raymun ‘The Reluctant’ Fossoway in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms with considerable self-doubt. The series follows the adventures of a knight and his squire, played by Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell. Assuming responsibility for a character in the much-loved Games of Thrones universe felt like a heavy burden to bear. In order to quell his anxiety, he turned to show runner Ira Parker, who reassured Thomas that he had no cause for worry. “‘These people know what they’re doing, so you wouldn’t be here if you wasn’t able’,” he recalls reminding himself. “The biggest lesson was believing in myself.” To his relief, further fears that the production would be an unfeeling “military operation” because of its scale were banished after shooting just a handful of scenes. “It was the complete opposite,” he says. “Everyone was just so happy and welcoming.” Beaming, Thomas describes the filming process as “one of the best experiences of my life”.  “Every day was fun,” he effuses. “I mean, we’re all dressed up in armour and we’ve got swords!” 

Despite his initial misgivings, Thomas believes that it was the power of his positive thinking that landed him the role. Just after How To Have Sex came out, Don McNicholl, business and legal affairs executive at Film4, asked him what kind of project he’d like to work on next. Thomas specified that he’d like to be on horseback. After just a year, he started working on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which involved weeks of horse riding training. Incidentally, while at the BIFAs last year, Thomas bumped into McNicholl again. “Before I could mention it to him, he mentioned it to me, so he’d been thinking the same,” he laughs. “That was a big moment. I just put that out there and then it happened.”

When I ask Thomas if he has any other jobs on the horizon, he shrugs: “Just waiting to be updated.” It’s this in-between time that tests his dedication to positivity. Rejection is hard to swallow, the actor acknowledges; particularly if he believes the audition went well. “That’s always a little bit of a heartbreaker,” Thomas says, rubbing his chin back and forth along his fingers. Characteristically, though, he handles knock backs with grace, affirming that “what is meant for me won’t pass me by”. Even in the in-between, Thomas moves with purpose. He fills his days with walks on the nearby Yorkshire Dales, watching Liverpool FC’s training videos on YouTube and writing bits of scripts as and when inspiration strikes. “The goal is just to be positive and not get caught up in being down or feeling like I’m not doing enough,” he says. “That’s the main goal: to be happy.” 

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HUNGER MAGAZINE - EDGAR WRIGHT

Grooming by Joe Mills

When Edgar Wright joins our Zoom call on a customarily chilly October morning, his first words come with a charming prelude: he’s ordered a coffee, which should be arriving any minute now. Should he have to dash to get it mid-conversation, he asks for my patience. It’s a perfectly Wrightian entrance - casual, human and with just a hint of impending urgency. For those unfamiliar with the British director’s work, it’s a fitting microcosm of his creative universe: a pulse of sharp wit, a rhythm that never quite settles and a suddenness that keeps you on your toes. Sure enough, just as he begins to unravel a thought, his coffee is ready. Back on screen moments later, Wright settles into that space between director and raconteur, a man whose life seems to be lived in cuts, beats and frames. His words come measured and deliberate, every pause a clip in an unseen edit. There’s warmth behind the precision - an easy charm that draws you in, like a favourite film you never tire of returning to. If there’s one thing immediately clear, it’s this: Edgar Wright is utterly, unabashedly and irrevocably in love with movies.

This affection is contagious. Over the course of our almost hour-long conversation, Wright’s thoughts sparkle with references, a rapid-fire catalogue of filmmakers and cinematic revelations. “I haven’t actually seen that many movies this year,” he confesses when asked about his recent favourites. But then, after taking a moment to reflect, he unleashed a torrent of titles and directors with unabashed enthusiasm: Park Chan-wook’s long-awaited No Other Choice, Harry Lighton’s directorial debut Pillion, Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague, Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another; among many others, each title an example of his deep devotion to the art of filmmaking. Even when discussing the nuts and bolts of his craft - Texas switches, choreography, lighting, inspirations - there’s a palpable boyishness lurking beneath, the echoes of the kid in the South West of England who spent days and nights making short films with a Super 8 camera gifted to him by a family member.

Today, however, the focus is on The Running Man - Wright’s first feature in four years, his inaugural Stephen King adaptation and, by his own measure, the most ambitious project he’s ever undertaken. Set in a near-future dystopia where reality television and bloodsport collide, The Running Man is a propulsive action thriller following Ben Richards (Glen Powell), a working-class man who enters a deadly game show to save his daughter - only to become an unexpected symbol of defiance in a society addicted to spectacle. “It’s a real gift,” he says, reflecting on the opportunity to adapt one of the first Stephen King books he read. “I’m genuinely so proud to have had the opportunity.” This pride isn’t mere vanity from having adapted a King novel. It’s the hunger to inject his signature rhythmic precision and human detail into a narrative charged with spectacle, survival and the merciless gaze of a watching world - one penned by an author whose work Wright get up with.

The director explains that his relationship with King’s work dates back to his early teens. “He was one of the first ‘grown-up authors’ I’d read,” he recalls. The Bachman Books - a collection of short Stephen King novels, including The Running Man, published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman - were, for Wright, an initiation into the terrain of grittier storytelling. But the driving force behind this adaptation was not mere nostalgia. it was a yearning to revisit the story with fresh eyes and offer a vision closer to King’s original text than the iconic but decidedly 1980s film adaptation starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, which strayed from King’s book (to the author’s chagrin). “The idea that there was a different adaptation waiting to be made of that book always stuck with me,” he reflects. “One that was maybe a little more faithful.”

So, the scriptwriting process was a blend of excitement and pressure. For years, Wright had exchanged emails with King - mostly about rock music. The director’s encyclopedic taste in obscure albums had sparked a musical camaraderie with the author. But when Wright’s screenplay, co-written with Michael Bacall, finally reached King’s inbox, the thrill morphed into anxiety. “I was terrified,” Wright admits, recalling how he had been working on the script for at least two years before sharing it with the author whose writing, it would not be an exaggeration to say, has inspired hundreds of films. King pored over the script, reviewing it page by page - but by the fifth, he was completely sold, firing off an email brimming with enthusiasm to Wright. Relief. It was a “blessing and a curse,” the Dorset-born director explains: the blessing being that King loved the script’ the curse that “we still have to make the fucking thing”. But when King finally saw the completed film and declared his approval, contentment washed over Wright.

Filmmaking, for the director of the beloved Cornetto trilogy, is a relentless pursuit of an ever-elusive ideal: the moment when every clement clicks, when rhythm, performance and image coalesce into something transcendent. His obsession with timing is near-mythical, a signature that threads through his entire body of work - be it the razor-sharp opening montages of Hot Fuzz, or the perfervidly choreographed bursts of sound and colour in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. And bringing that to life is exhausting. “It’s been a year of six and seven day weeks,” he says of working on The Running Man. “I had thirty days straight with no day off at one point. But I’m proud of what we pulled off.” That weariness is there, but so is a fierce satisfaction. It’s a devotion that pulses through every frame he crafts. Making movies remains, in Wright’s words, “a mad scramble to do more with less”. And that challenge, that tightrope walk between ambition and limitation, is part of the thrill that keeps him motivated.

Perhaps surprisingly for some, the same director known for kinetic, rapid-fire editing is also captivated by the opposite challenge: slowing down. To linger. To hold a frame in space and time and let it breathe. To keep toiling, striving to find the perfect shot. “The day you say ‘that’ll do’ and move on, even when you don’t think you’ve got it, that’s the dat it’s over,” he says with quiet conviction. Wright’s films may feel effortless, even casual at times, but they are the product of painstaking craft. From the fastidious choreography of Shaun od the Dead’s iconic long takes to the blistering getaway sequences in Baby Driver to the dreamlike nostalgia woven through Last Night in Soho, Wright’s precision creates a unique kind of cinematic pulse. The Running Man promises more of that meticulous magic. He light up as he describes one particular sequence: a traffic-jam shot filmed as the sun was setting. “The last take before we lost the light is the one that’s in the movie,” he jubilates, crediting cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung for making it look “so incredible”. That attention to detail, I realise, is what defines the filmmaker.

But, far from the creative stereotype - even in spite of the director’s rising fame and a growing body of acclaimed work — humility remains a cornerstone of Wright’s identity. “I never want to stop being the audience member,” he says. It’s easy to imagine a director, after years in the spotlight, growing jaded or distant. But Wright’s appetite for discovery remains insatiable. Even as his films become blockbuster events, he still craves the raw thrill of watching a movie as a fan. “I’ve seen people who, once they reach a certain level, stop going to the cinema with the public,” he notes. “I never want that. I still go — whether that’s to sit in a packed house or a half-empty matinee.” He’s got a secret Letterboxd account, too, though he prefers to keep track of the films he’s seen the good old-fashioned way: the Notes app.

The director continues and my hunch about him is confirmed — he is a man whose curiosity extends beyond the frame, driven by a fascination with the world that shapes the stories he tells. When I mention I’m from Pakistan, Wright is inquisitive. “I’d love to go. It’s a country I’ve never had a chance to visit,” he says earnestly, the spontaneity of the moment a reminder that, beneath the success, lies a man wide-eyed and eager to expand his horizons. It’s also that very spirit that drives his much-loved annual playlist of his favourite songs of the year — though he tells me that he sometimes thinks about stopping them “because I don’t want to ever be the sort of fifty-something who’s trying to be down with the kids”. I tell him to keep them coming — we all love them. 

As our conversation draws to a close, Wright paints a final image. His perfect day off after months of relentless prep, shooting and post-production is walking down to the BFI or a local cinema and watching a classic, or two, or three on the big screen. It’s a simple pleasure, and yet one that also feels poetic. The boy from Somerset with a Super 8 camera who loved nothing more than movies, and the auteur orchestrating kinetic explosions of colour and sound are threads of the same fabric. The director and the cinephile are inseparable. Wright wants to keep sitting in the dark and be inspired by other filmmakers’ frames, even as he builds his own frames to shape others. The Running Man is, in many ways, the embodiment of this philosophy: a film forged by someone who still loves to be surprised, who still sees beauty and danger in every shot. For Edgar Wright, every cut, every long take, every risk is part of an ongoing quest — one of retaining, sharing and inspiring the magic of cinema. And as ever, he’ll keep running on what’s most important: an enduring love for storytelling.

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BOYS BY GIRLS - HENRY ROWLEY

Grooming by Richard Wynne-Ellis

Photographer Grace Bristo

Fashion Nathan Henry

Writer Maddie Lainchbury

Fashion Assistant Rachel Allison

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BRITISH VOGUE: BILL NIGHY X JOHN SMEDLEY

“Knees are a private business”: Bill Nighy on good trousers, terrible advice and his love of knitwear

By Olivia Allen

Grooming by Joe Mills

My first introduction to Bill Nighy came via the vaguely lecherous “washed-up pop star” he so expertly plays in the backbone of the British Christmas canon, Love Actually. I was probably (definitely) too young to understand any of the jokes, but since that first fateful viewing, I’ve watched it enough times to recite the script start to finish - a limited-use party trick that’s not particularly enjoyable for whoever’s watching it with me. Despite my repertoire of comfort films diversifying, Nighy has remained a constant: whether I’m hysterically crying through About Time or rewatching Emma and Chalet Girl for the millionth time, his unique breed of British stoicism and understated style is always there.

Beyond his extensive acting credits, Nighy has become quietly famous for his no-nonsense opinions on the machinations of life and regular sightings in and around London cafés. Meanwhile, his penchant for clothes has led to a partnership with heritage knitwear brand, John Smedley. The love story between Nighy and Smedley dates back over five decades, with the actor stepping out of the role of long-time wearer and into the creative collaborator seat to produce a collection of’ 40s-inspired twinsets and long johns, in addition to the merino and cashmere classics.

Dotted with discreet doodles and a “Stay Modern” mantra woven into the collection, Nighy hopes he “hasn’t done anything to disturb the average customer”, adding that “the people who buy John Smedley are pretty committed to the brand, but I’ve committed to crimes”. For anyone in need of more sage soundbites from the star, you’re in luck. Launching on 9th October, Ill-Advised by Bill Nighy is the podcast putting the actor in the hot seat, with listeners free to call in for words of wisdom, no matter how trivial. Getting a head start on proceedings, British Vogue sat down with Nighy to discuss his mod origins, what makes a decent pair of trousers and why it’s never acceptable to be sock-less.

What was your first experience with John Smedley?

When I was young, I aspired to being a mod - but I had difficult hair, which partially disqualified me. One of the essential items back then was a John Smedley three-button leisure polo. They were quite expensive, so I’d save up for them - I had a jam jar on my shelf where I’d put money away each week for a new colour. Part of me, irrational as it is, believes I invented the idea of wearing a John Smedley polo under a jacket.

How did you find collaborating on the collection?

When John Smedley called, I honestly thought it was an April Fool’s joke. It felt beautifully symmetrical - the brand had been part of my life since I was a teenager. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just window dressing, so I asked my agent to tell them I wanted to take four inches off the men’s cardigan - mostly to get their attention. I’ve always thought cardigans were too long - you end up folding them or tugging at the hem.

And then there are the birds. I’ve always doodled birds on my scripts when I’m meant to be learning lines - a way of taking an illegal break from work. They asked if I doodled anything, and I sent them my best ones. They’re now called Peter and George, and they appear subtly at the back of garments. It’s not a logo, just a quiet “hello”. I hope people find it chic rather than alarming.

Is there anything from your wardrobe you’d love to bring back or banish forever?

Years ago, I spent all my money on a dark-blue double-breasted Giorgio Armani suit. I wore it until it fell apart and loved it with all my heart. I’d bring that back, though I might have to reduce the shoulder width to fit through modern doorways.

As for banishing, those shiny black leggings - the rock chic sort that look PVC but aren't. And shorts. I’ve never worn shorts - not since I was a boy. I don’t see why I’d start now. Knees are a private business. I’ve no wish to impose mine on the world.

Speaking of trousers, you’ve mentioned you’re quite particular about them.

Yes, I love trousers. Generous ones that swing and flow - not the kind that grip. When I do period films, I’m always relieved if the story’s set post 1814 so I can avoid breeches. I’ve managed to dodge knickerbockers my whole career.

Are there any historic trousers you’d want to wear - metaphorically or physically?

Metaphorically, I’d quite like to wear the trousers of David Niven. The man had immaculate style and exquisite manners. Physically, perhaps the high-waisted pleated trousers from the 1940s. Wide, elegant, practical. Nobody’s improved on them since.

Does your approach to getting dressed change day to day?

No, I’m quite steadfast. The only real decision is whether to wear a suit or not. I remember reading Andy Warhol describing how he’d go to Bloomingdale's every year and buy a hundred pairs of identical white Y fronts. He’d look at all the psychedelic options, then take the same ones he always bought. I was impressed - both by the commitment and the fact he could afford a hundred pairs. When I was young, my friend John had seven suits - one for every day of the week - and I vowed that if I ever made money, I’d do the same. Eventually, I did.

The photographer Angela Hill does that: she buys seven outfits a season for each day of the week.

That’s an excellent idea. I admire that kind of discipline.

Let’s talk about your podcast. It’s about advice - giving it, receiving it and bad advice. How do you feel about dishing out wisdom?

The idea is that I don’t know the answers - I’m just talking. I try not to sound profound; it’s bad manners to fake wisdom. I mostly answer trivial questions - about socks, plants, things like that. Someone once asked if it’s ever acceptable to go out without socks. Obviously, the answer is no. I’m amazed anyone has to ask.

How about flip-flops?

Flip-flops are fine - they’re honest. but shoes without socks? I just don’t trust you.

What’s the worst bit of advice you’ve ever received?

People don’t give me much advice anymore. That’s the downside of getting older: people start asking you for advice. When people ask me for “advice for the young”, I always say: don’t take drugs and pay your taxes. It sounds flippant, but it’s solid. Advice is risky business. I wish someone had told me that clearly when I was younger.

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ROYEL OTIS - HUNGER MAGAZINE

Grooming by Ky Wilson

ROB BRYDON - TELEGRAPH

Rob Brydon interview: Steve Coogan’s very sure of himself and his opinions. I’m not’

He’s an actor, comedian, presenter, singer and irrepressible raconteur - and now he’s lending his charms to reality TV

Grooming by Joe Mills

Written by Ed Cumming

‘I’ve said no to every sitcom I’ve been offered since Gavin & Stacey because I didn’t think they were good enough’ Credit: Luke Stephenson

“I’ve got a terrible walk,” says Rob Brydon. “I mean, I walk like an ape. I have a very wide gait. Did you notice?”

Truly, everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Watch Brydon, who can act, present, sing and tell jokes with equal grace, and you might get the idea he was comfortable in his skin by now. He can do pathos (Marion and Geoff), loveable eccentricity (Gavin & Stacey), amiable repartee (Would I Lie to you?), a great Michael Caine (The Trip), belt out a tune, interview fellow celebrities on his podcast…He has an MBE, five Bafta nominations (or six if you count the Welsh BAFTA’s, which he probably would), and a cameo in the billion-dollar Barbie film. He is the closest thing Britain has to a light-entertainment Swiss Army knife, a man capable of delivering an almost infinite number of versions of Rob Brydon.

Yet here he is, on the verge of conquering another frontier, reality TV, fretting about the way he walks. Is this anxiety something that has long plagued him?

“I wouldn’t go that far, but I respect your journalistic mind,” he says. “I can see the headline now: Gaitgate.”

His latest role is hosting Destination X, a travel-themed reality series for the BBC, which is an adaptation of a format that has already aired in the US and Belgium. Contestants are taken on a special bus, with the windows blacked out, to an undisclosed location somewhere in Europe; they must work out where they are from whatever clues they can gather. The person whose guess is furthest off is eliminated at the end of each episode.

“Other shows have come my way and I’ve said no,” Brydon says. “But I loved The Traitors, and I loved Claudia Winkleman on The Traitors. I felt about Destination X like I did about Would I Lie to You?, that tonally it was a fit for me. A big part was the scale of it. It was very ambitious. I liked the idea of being part of a big show. In that sense it was more like my experience on some of the films I’ve been in.

“There’s a Traitors element, a race across the World element, a Big brother element, and there’s the most stunning photography of the most wonderful locations,” he continues.

“I’ve never been a big reality television fan,” he adds. “I’ve always been a bit sniffy about reality TV. I was never a Big Brother watcher. I’d watch Celebrity Big Brother and I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, because I found that interesting, to see people with a public persona put under hard conditions. But I found Destination X to be far more creative than I expected. We had about 10 to 12 cameras on the go at once; because it’s reality, the directors have to react in real time.

“So I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and for more reasons than I thought I would.”

We meet at his publicist’s office in west London, where Brydon sits in a conference room in front of an enormous picture of Bill Nighy. Not unlike Nighy, Brydon has achieved borderline national-treasure levels of celebrity, over a long career, without drawing a whisper of scandal or misdemeanour. A few weeks earlier he turned 60, a reflective moment.

I’m the same as everyone else,” he says, eyes widening slightly at the thought. “You can’t believe it. You think, ‘How on earth has this happened?’ Especially when you think back to being a kid. When you heard someone was 60, they were practically dead.”

‘Getting older gives you perspective, having kids gives you perspective’ Credit Luke Stephenson

Trim, in a fitted white shirt, and hair still neatly swept back from the photo shoot, Brydon at 60 looks not only not-dead, but remarkably like the Brydon who became famous in his mid-30s, which he puts down to the obvious methods. “The past 10 years I’ve exercised much more and I’m more careful about what I eat,” he says. “I’ve just done a documentary about country music, so I spent three weeks driving around the Deep South. You’re sitting down all day, eating the food of the region, which is not known for its health benefits. You put the weight on.”

He is entertaining company, breaking into impressions and seasoning his answers with a bit of gentle teasing about the interviewer’s “art”. I wonder if his aversion to reality TV might have been to do with his respect for the traditional skills of performance, having grown up in an era when stars didn't feel the need to advertise every atom of their being.

“Oh, you want to pick at that thread, do you?” he says, with a grin. “I’ve always had a great respect for talent and skill. And also there’s a certain cruelty to Big Brother, which I wasn't comfortable with. But that’s just not for me.”

True to his word, for his performance on Destination X, he says he is channelling the Fringed One’s Traitors mix of bonhomie and camp. “With Jeffrey Dean Morgan [an actor known for The Walking Dead], who presents the American version, the impression I get is that he plays it a bit more like a character. Whereas I can only be me, which is warm and affable, hopefully witty and encouraging.”

That is certainly a version of himself he has cultivated for the past 30 years. Brydon was born in 1965 in Baglan, Glamorgan, to Howard, a car dealer, and Joy, a schoolteacher. He grew up in the village with his younger brother, and always had the gift of entertaining. “I heard an interview with [the American talk-show host and comedian] Jimmy Fallon recently. He said that he was a people pleaser and likes to entertain people, but the key one was that when he was growing up and doing his schtick, people told him he was good and encouraged him. That was my experience.”

After a year and a half at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff, Brydon joined BBC Radio Wales aged 20, working as a DJ, and later picking up the odd screen job where he could. It wasn’t until 2000, at 35, that he had his breakthrough year. He starred in the surreal comedy Human Remains, with Julia Davis, and Marion and Geoff, a touching one man, fixed camera comedy about a man coming to terms with his wife’s affair, produced by his old friend Steve Coogan. They also teamed up on 24 Hour Party People (2002) and A Cock and Bull Story (2005), both directed by Michael Winterbottom. There were many chat and panel shows, to the extent that his Marion and Geoff character, Keith Barret, had his own spoof chat show, beginning in 2004, and Brydon starred in the scandalously underrated comedy Rob Brydon’s Annually Retentive (2006-2007), about a fictional panel show.

His biggest break came in 2007, playing the eccentric but enormous - heated Uncle Bryn in Gavin & Stacey, written by James Corden and Ruth Jones. The sitcom’s success helped complete his journey from darling of the Radio 4 classes to nationwide star. Corden used Gavin & Stacey as a springboard to take on America, via his stint hosting The Late Late Show Brydon says he never had the same ambition.

“One of my favourite sayings is, ‘To what end?’” he explains. “People would ask, ‘Why aren’t you doing such and such? Don’t you want to go to America?’ And I would say, ‘To what end? What for?’ It’s a very common question, especially when James went and indeed conquered it. It seems in a lot of journalists’ minds, the natural progression…I can only assume that if you do America, they ask, ‘What about Neptune and Jupiter?’”

Partly it was down to family, he says. Brydon has been married twice: to Martina Fitchie, with whom he has two daughters and a son, from 1992 to 2000; and since 2006 to Clare Holland, with whom he has two sons. “I have quite the age random 30 down to 14,” he says. “I’m desperate for a lie-in. They all do different things. My eldest is in casting, then chef, teacher, still at school, still at school.

“Getting older gives you perspective, having kids gives you perspective,” he gaffs. “When I was younger, I would have loved to have gone [to the US]. If I had the opportunities I have now when I was younger, before family and stuff, I’d have been there like a shot. But now it’s simply not practical, because I like my family. I think maybe if you’re in an unhappy marriage you jump at the opportunity to travel. And I travel a fair bit - Destination X is a prime example - but if you have a happy life, which thank God I do, you want to enjoy it. I love the simple things in life. I do like going to the garden centre.”

‘A by-product of what I do is people come up to me every day and say nice things’ Credit: Luke Stephenson

Corden’s run in the US ended in 2023. He returned to British screens for the triumphant finale of Gavin & Stacey last Christmas, which had an audience of 12.3 million overnight; by the time it had been streaming for 10 days, that number had risen to more than 19 million. For Brydon, who grew up on terrestrial TV, it was like a window into an earlier era.

“The good thing about 2025 is that someone like me can go and do so many different things,” he says. “People watch what they want to watch. You don’t have to sit and watch something you don’t want to. I was in Barbie and I know there was social-media reaction going, ‘What the hell is he doing there, the guy from Would I Lie to You? The bad side is that it’s hard to get traction on anything. Sometimes you think it would have been lovely to work in those days. I use to talk to Ronnie Corbett about it; he’d know if he went for Sunday lunch to a pub or restaurant, that whatever percentage of the people there have watched The Two Ronnies last night. That’ll never come back.”

Could there be another Gavin & Stacey? “There’s nothing on the horizon. Anything could happen, but as it is at the moment, I can’t see anything else. What a great thrill to be part of that.”

He is hardly short of offers. “I’m very lucky, I’m 60 and people are still asking me to do things. I like doing lots of different things. The downside of that is you don’t get the respect that somebody who focuses on one thing [gets], because one minute I’m hosting, the next I’m acting.”

It’s the closest thing he will offer to a grumble. When we meet, he is about to fly off to film yet another version of himself for a fifth series of The Trip, perhaps his most successful collaboration with Winterbottom and Coogan, in which Brydon and his old mucker play fictionalised takes on themselves who are sent to review restaurants. Improvising around Winterbottom’s plot, the pair bicker, eat wonderful food and compete to do impressions of celebrities: Al Pacino, Michael Caine, Mick Jagger.

The first series, in 2010, took them around the North of England; subsequent outings have been to Spain, Italy and Greece. For the new one, they will go to Scandinavia. It has been five years since the Greek trip, which at the time the three men said would be the last. Why another now?

“Because Michael Winterbottom said, ‘Let’s do another one,” Brydon laughs. “We just turn up.”

Does he have any new impressions lined up? “I wish I did. I have been thinking of a couple of people. Should I tell you? Should I be clever? On the last [series], I thought I was going to do Andy Murray at the end of the meal, you know” - Brydon slips into his Murray impersonation - ‘“I thought I did really well, I tried really hard.’ And I was doing an impression of Richard E Grant a few years ago for my daughter, and it was as if he was in the room, I was just channeling him. I’ve never been able to recapture him, but in that instant, [in Grant’s voice] he was there. The other voice [as Jeff Goldblum] would be hmmm, brrr, Jeff Goldblum, I’m thinking about him

“I wouldn’t say I’ve fallen out of love with impressions, but they don’t interest me like they used to,” Brydon says, sounding like himself again. “Lee Mack is always joking on Would I Lie to You? about me doing people who are dead. There’s a simple explanation: I’m doing people from my childhood, because that’s when I would look at them and go, ‘Oh, I’m gonna sound like them.’ It’s always a love letter. It’s always people I like. That’s fallen away.

“I have an ear that hears the music in a voice. I’ll hear voices that appeal to me: Michael Gove, Nigel Farage, Donald Trump, Jacob Rees-Mogg. All very interesting and appealing voices, but I only do people I like and I’m drawn to. They’re not my cup of tea. I’m not a political satirist.”

On the contrary, Brydon has remained studiously unpolitical, though we might infer he is not a card-carrying Tory. “I’m reminded of Elvis Presley’s press conference in 1972, when he was asked what he thought about war protestors, and whether he’d today refuse to be drafted? He replied, [as Elvis] ‘Honey, I’m just an entertainer, I’d rather keep my views to myself.’ I’ve always felt that way. I don’t have the stomach for it.

In this Brydon couldn’t be more different from his fellow Welsh star Michael Sheen or Coogan, both of whom are endlessly inveighing on behalf of one cause or another. But it is probably part of the reason Brydon has by and large succeeded in keeping himself out of hot water.

“It annoys Steve that I don’t [make political statements],” he says. “In Italy we were in some lovely setting and at one point he just said, [Coogan voice] ‘Why don’t you put your head above the parapet?’ And my only answer was, ‘It’s not me.’ Steve’s got an opinion on everything. He’d have an opinion on where the plug sockets are on this table. He’s very sure of himself and his opinions. I’m not.”

Beyond The Trip, Brydon has been coaxed into another sitcom, set to come out next year. “I’ve said no to every sitcom I’ve been offered since Gavin & Stacey because I didn’t think they were good enough,” he says, adding that most scripts wanted him to play a variation on Uncle Bryn. “I think that’s the norm, for anyone who’s had a hit with something. When you cast people, you naturally think, ‘Oh, they do that thing, I’d love them to do that thing in my show.’”

But Bill’s Included was promising enough to tempt him back. Written by Ben Ashenden and Alex Owen, the comedy duo sometimes known as The Pin, it will star Brydon as a divorced man who takes student lodgers into his spare rooms to help make ends meet. “It was a little bit different, with an interesting dynamic,” he says. “It’ll be exciting to go back into that world.”

The warm, genial Brydon variety show carries on, in other words. His Honky Tonk Road Trip, the series he filmed in the US, will come out in September. If he has any real regrets, or bugbears, or personal beefs, they are staying close to his chest. It is ironic, given how often he has interrogated a version of himself on screen.

“I have a lovely spread [of work],” he says. “I’ve had this amazing life doing something that I love and it’s a cliché but it’s true. I’m never looking at the clock. And a by-product of what I do is people come up to me every day and say nice things.”

He is midway through a story about his fellow “Welsh rat pack” member Matthew Rhys when we run out of time. “I was in New York making a special about Neil Diamond for ITV about 10 years ago,” he says, “and part of it was Neil did a show at his old school in Brooklyn, where he’d been with Barbra Streisand…”

He is interrupted by his taxi arriving. “I’m telling an ANECDOTE,” he declares, in Ronnie Corbett’s voice, returning to his subject.

I don’t believe for a second he’d ever concede to anyone in a Richard Burton competition, but there is no time to interject. He’s off. His walk is absolutely fine.

Destination X launches on Wednesday 30 July on BBC One and iPlayer

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ALEX HASSELL - Tatler

Grooming by Richard Wynne-Ellis

Alex Hassell is back for Rivals season Two! Meet Rupert Campbell-Black, the most handsome man in Britain, as he wined and dined Tatler ahead of the steamy first showing

As filming for Dame Jilly Cooper’s Rivals begins, what happened when Annabel Sampson went to meet the man who made husbands jealous ahead of this riotous remake of Rivals

October, 2024. The most handsome man in all of England walks into Soho House on Dean Street. At the reception desk, heads turn; eyes peer over books and magazines’ eyelashes start to flutter, something primitive - carnal, even - takes hold. In life, as in fiction: Jilly Cooper’s most fancied character Rupert Campbell-Black - or the actor Alex Hassell - has entered the building, moulded as a fictional formulation of real life aristocrats Andrew Parker Bowles, Rupert Lycett-Green and the Earl of Suffolk.

By now, it’s something Hassell, the star of Disney+’s riotous new bonkbuster Rivals, is well used to. So, what was it like to be ogled? ‘It was great,’ he laughs, taking a sip from his decaf American, ‘it was okay…it helps.’ Hassell, 44, is frankly a safety hazard right now, smouldering at 15 meters tall, seven times human height, wrapped around Waterloo’s IMAX as well as the screens above Piccadilly Circus. The situation is worthy of a Diet Coke advert in the nineties: ‘The cast are all told to look at me like I’m the most attractive man in the world,’ he says grinning, leaning back on the roof terrace. ‘Those days would often be intimidating, because I would come in thinking “sh*t, I have to do this” - and actually it’s everyone else. They just look at me in a certain kind of [thoroughly lusty] way, and that helps me go, “great, well I’ll look back at you the same.”

Cast with the glowing approval of Dame Jilly, this Rupert Campbell-Black is tall, dark and devastatingly handsome - albeit a lateral casting choice given RCB (as the die-hard fans call him) is notoriously blue-eyed and fair-haired. Hassell, who was cast from 600 hopefuls, was convinced he wasn’t right for the role: ‘I actually said to my agent, “I shoudln’t bother auditioning,” because I didn’t think I would have a chance of getting the part or would even know how to play it if I did.’ But spoiler alert, Hassell is magnetic. ‘I’m so pleased - otherwise it would have been terribly awkward, wouldn’t it?’ he says, with more than a flash of 007, ‘Someone said that Rupert was the James Bond of erotica or something. And in my mind, there’s definitely more of Roger Moore…he’s got his tongue firmly in his cheek.’

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JAMES BAY - BOYS BY GIRLS

Photographer - Rebecka Slatter

Fashion - Nathan Henry

Writer - Sophia Razvi

Grooming - Joe Mills

Fashion Assistant - Stoyan Chuchuranov

Photographer Assistant - Marika Krapivnitski

In the Boys By Girls timeline, this conversation is the third chapter in the chronicle of James Bay. We met him in 2020, in 2022, and today. It’s a fitting moment. As the wave of his fourth album release, Changes All The Time, climbs to a crest, we find a man confidently striding forward, fuelled by the conviction of all that has come before. There is an appetite for something new in James. If his las album Leap was about edging towards a new type of vulnerability, one that says “I know I can’t do this without you,” his latest offering is an unashamed embrace of everything he doesn't know and all that he hopes to achieve: in music and in life. We connect over our shared British sensibilities as James immediately offers up, guitar in hand, that the bathroom if his LA eco-hotel has filtered tap water (“That’s mental!”). It’s an openness and infectious humanity that eases us into topics like the ordeal of being seen, and how, amid changes all the time, one can hold onto their artistic integrity.

We obviously can’t get enough of James Bay. We especially love him because each time we chat with him he literally plays the guitar and sings through some of his answers throughout the entire conversation. It’s like a little mini-concert except we have to act casual when he does it.

James tells us that while he thinks he comes off particularly vulnerable in his music, he thinks he’s quite a guarded person. He does, however, always bring vulnerability and candour to our conversations even if it’s in the form of admitting that he’s afraid of vulnerability. A bit of a vulnerability inception, no? Okay, we'll stop saying the word “vulnerable” but it is the first word that comes to mind when we think of James throughout the years.

His album is aptly titled, Changes All The Time, as most of our conversation revolves around changes in his becoming a father (lots of nappies as the main change) and maybe more importantly, the changes that come with his filtered tap water LA bathroom. Here is a sneak peek for you:

“I am surprised that we are constantly a work in progress, always. I slightly hate to confess, because it takes a bit of vulnerability, but I’m still a work in progress. I’m sure I always will be. I’m a little bit embarrassed to say it because I’m trying my fucking damnedest to feel all right on this roller coaster journey.”

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WRAPPED IN BURBERRY: FRIENDS & FAMILY

Grooming by Richard Wynne-Ellis for Alex Hassell

The ‘Wrapped in Burberry’ content series celebrates spending the holiday season with loved ones, where the home is at the heart of making memorable festive moments.

The three sets of portraits spotlight couples, friends and families from around the globe wearing Burberry while joyfully celebrating the holiday spirit.

Drs. Herschel and Lilly Stoller, who star in the ‘Wrapped In Burberry’ series, are a Nebraska-based couple who encapsulate Burberry’s timeless appeal: both are long-time clients of the brand whose relationship with Burberry has grown for over 20 years. The stollers coordinate in matching Burberry Check, reflecting their personal style.

‘The end of the year is very busy for us at work, so time off for the holidays is very much welcomed. For us, it’s time to open with family and friends and, of course, lots of gifts to give to share our good fortune and to see smiles and joy. We love having some time to ourselves at home and with family, and shopping at Burberry and seeing our dear friends there, who are our Burberry family. Family is the best. It is our foundation.’

Drs. Hershel and Lilly Stoller

Shot on the London streets of Bloomsbury, a storied hub of art and culture, the campaign also features real-life friends and British icons of the stage and screen, David Tennant and Alex Hassell, co-stars in the recently acclaimed TV series ‘Rivals’. The duo is featured wearing this season’s festive offering of umbrellas and scarves paired with timeless tailoring and heritage rainwear.

Decked out in Burberry Classics, prolific Nigerian-born London-based artist, Slawn, partner Tallula Christie and their two children, Beau and Baby, present wardrobe essentials in time for the festive season. In the third portrait of ‘Wrapped In Burberry’, the couple who run a community café in East London showcase the true meaning of the holiday spirit: spending time together.

‘Most of our time is spent as a family, whether we’re at home, the studio, running errands or working from BeauBeaus. As it gets colder it’s just one more reason to stay cozied up together really. This time of year is all about those sentimental memories, staying in and family. Reminiscing on the best parts of the holiday season is why ‘Wrapped in Burberry’ felt like such a natural fit for us. Nothing says British winter like a classic Burberry scarf.’

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ALEX HASSELL - SQUARE MILE

“I thought about quitting multiple times…” Alex Hassell has big main character energy

Alex Hassell has enjoyed a successful career on stage and screen but his lead role in the hugely anticipated Rivals should turn the actor into a bonafide star. He talks about playing a literary sex god.

Grooming by Richard Wynne- Ellis

Words by Max Williams

Photography by David Reiss

Styling by Olga Timofejeva

Photography Assistant Stefania Carli

Styling Assistant Jannelle Williams

Alex Hassell Grins. “It is quite amusing that the third shot of the entire show is my arse.” The shot comes during a sex scene in a Concorde toilet. Hassell had been prepped. “They told me quite early:' ‘There’s this wide shot of the plane; another shot of the plane; your arse.’ OK-I’ll start doing some squats!”

Thus begins Rivals, the long-awaited and much-hyped adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s blockbuster 1988 novel. Set in the fictional county of Rutshire, the story revolves around the power struggle (or rivalry, if you will) between millionaire media magnet Lord Tony Baddingham and millionaire Tory MP Rupert Campbell-Black, the latter a former Olympic showjumper and one of literature’s great lotharios. Hassell is Campbell-Black, a role that crowns a remarkable few years in which he has risen from respected but largely unknown stage actor to playing the de-facto lead in what will surely be among the biggest TV shows of the year.

We shall return to Rupert, Rutshire and Rivals in due course. For now, let us consider Hassell. We meet in a North London pub - technically, we meet outside a North London coffee shop and relocate to the pub as the coffee shop was too crowded. Were we channelling Cooper, our rendezvous would have taken place at a members’ club, or a Royal Ascot box, but while Hassell does a fine arrogant bastard on screen, the real-life version couldn’t be more self-effacing. Hence why we’re on lime and sodas rather than Bollinger and caviar. (I’m not sure The World’s End serves Bollinger and caviar. It could probably manage Prosecco and pork scratchings.)

An hour with Hassell passes very enjoyable, even if it isn’t fuelled by champagne. He seems younger than his 44 years, a combination of good genetics and a boyish enthusiasm for things and people that is extremely endearing. He laughs often, and talks with disarming equanimity about the triumphs and disasters that inevitably come with his chosen profession. I doubt he answers to ‘No-Hassle Hassell’ but the nickname would fit nicely. Take his response to Rivals opening with a shot of his bottom. “It’s all right, isn’t it? We’ve all got them.”

If you recognise Hassell, it will probably be for The Boys: he played doomed superhero Translucent in the first season. Being exploded in the second episode is unfortunate; spending 90% of your screen-time invisible does feel a bit like salt in the wound. The Boys is now a veritable franchise and, at the time of writing, by far the most likely reason for people to stop Hassell on the street. “Even though it was a small part,” he says, “and I spent most of it wearing a big green condom on my head.” (To CGI the character’s invisibility, not because the costume department had gone insane.)

Recent notable credits include Vicious in the ill-fated, live-action anime Cowboy Bebop, Ross in Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, and Metatron in the final season off His Dark Materials. Before his screen career took off, he did a stint at the Royal Shakespeare Company, playing Hal and Henry V to widespread acclaim. Before the RSC, he co-founded Factory, an experimental theatre group whose guerilla productions included a Hamlet where the cast were randomly assigned their roles each night and a Chekhov in which nobody rehearsed any lines whatsoever.

He didn’t walk out of drama school into a West End show, let alone a TV series or blockbuster film. He spent years eking out a living in his chosen profession. “It’s a hard road and I’ve had to claw myself up,” says Hassell cheerfully. Rivals will surely mark a career summit. “It’s possible, isn’t it?” he says when I mention the imminent spiking of his profile. “I really, really hope that loads of people will see the show. That’s very much my hope. I’d very much like to do more of it, and do it for years and years.”

Touch wood but his wish should be fulfilled. Jilly Cooper has penned 11 Rutshire novels, all of which feature Rupert in some capacity, so the content is most certainly there. So is the platform, with Rivals streaming on Disney+ and enjoying surely the most sexual content of any media released under the Disney umbrella.

“That’s fair,” agrees Hassell. “I haven’t watched everything on their platform but I would imagine it’s up there.” Right up there, assuming The Fox and the Hound isn’t a very different film from what I remember. “There probably are online versions,” says Hassell, laughing. “I really like the idea that there could be a rivals ride at Disneyland.” Considering the buzz around the show, nothing can be ruled out.

Rivals was published in 1988, the second of what became known as the Rutshire Chronicles. While the first novel Riders depicted the world of competitive showjumping, Rivals revolved around an independent television station - I won’t insult your intelligence by revealing the principle subject of Polo. The books are linked by their Cotswold setting, the frequently recurring characters (especially Rupert), and the vast quantities of sex and booze consumed by those characters (primarily in the Cotswolds).

For years, Cooper’s novels were dismissed as ‘bonkbusters’; now her propensity for subplots is compared to “Trollope or Dickens” in the London Review of Books. In a recent Times article on Rivals, the show’s executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins described Cooper as “the Jane Austen of our times.” Her readers are devoted and legion: according to her website, Cooper has sold more than 11m books in the UK alone.

Yet screen adaptations have been strangely scarce. A couple of 1990s TV movies and that’s basically your lot. Rest assured, Rivals more than makes up for lost time. Consider the cast: David Tennant as the scheming Lord Tony Baddingham, Aidan Turner as star TV presenter Declan O’Hara (his moustache deserves its own dressing room), a revelatory Danny Dyer as sweet, self-made millionaire Freddie Jones - and those are just the leading men. Emily Atack, Katherine Parkinson, Bella Maclean add to a veritable murderers’ row of talent that is by no means confined to the names in this paragraph.

Star of the show is Rupert Campbell-Black, and the show isn’t shy about the fact. After his Concorde copulation, Hassell emerges from the bathroom and swaggers down the aisle in slow motion, Robert Palmer’s ‘Addicted to Love’ on the soundtrack, row upon row of women ogling him with naked lust. Other characters discuss him as though he were a combination of Errol Flynn, James Hunt and Mephistopheles. His arrival into most scenes is preceded by someone breathlessly announcing, “Rupert Campbell-Black is here!”

Caitlin Moran wrote the Times article I cited above. The same article describes Rupert as “a hot, posh bastard who, due to a three-book-long redemptive arc, is also one of womankind’s most fancied fictional creations…There are whole pages on Mumsnet dedicated to middle-aged women describing their hottest Rupert Campbell-Black sexual fantasies. I cannot overstate what a sex god he is held to be by Jilly Cooper fans. “RCB”, as he’s referred to, is…vaginally totemic to millions of women.”

No pressure, I say to Hassell after reading him the above quote in the above. “It was a lot of pressure,” he grins. “Luckily the costumes are very good, the makeup’s good and every time I walk into a room, they tell all the supporting artists to swoon over me as if I’m Harry Styles.” A typically modest answer, although he later admits, “It’s quite fun to have moments when I get paid to act as if everyone thinks I’m the most gorgeous person in the room.”

Apparently in a recent interview, he was asked, “how does it feel to play the James Bond of erotica?” Hassell laughs as he tells the story. “It felt pretty good to play the James Bond of erotica!”

He didn't envisage himself as Rupert. He hadn’t read the books but he received a breakdown of the character. “I just thought, there’s no point in me auditioning for this. I’m not going to get this part. He’s blonde, he’s blue eyed. In my mind he’s like Robert Redford.” His agents convinced him otherwise. The audition scene was Rupert’s emergence from the Concorde bathroom. He sent off the tape and forgot all about it.

Months later, he was invited to meet the producers and do another audition. There was a chemistry read with Bella Maclean, the 26-year-old actress who plays Rupert’s love interest Taggie O’Hara. “It was super important that we have a chemistry and the age gap doesn’t seem inappropriate.” Suddenly, the role was his. “I then had to get my head around why on Earth they cast me as opposed to anyone else.”

I assure him that he’s brilliant and he smiles. “Thanks so much. I mean, I feel that I’m capable of offering something as an actor. It was more the weird pressure of having to be the epitome of virility.” The first episode contains a scene, famous within Cooper lore, where Taggie discovers Rupert playing naked tennis with another man’s wife. No, that’s not a euphemism. Hassell stripped off completely and found the character in doing so.

“The first time I believed myself as Rupert was the tennis scene. Until that time, I felt like I was groping…” He checks himself. “No, that’s a terrible phrase! I was feeling around - also a terrible phrase! I was working out whether I was Rupert and how to play Rupert and believe myself as Rupert - and there was something about having to be totally naked; I had nothing to hide behind.” (In every sense.) Filming this scene, he realised, “either people will accept me as Rupert or they wont. That felt like a really important turning point.”

The moment may cause multiple dropped wine glasses across the land but Hassell stresses there was a deeper purpose than titillation. “In every single first episode of any adult, particularly male-oriented TV show, is a pair of boobs and I find that such a cheap way of attempting to signal what kind of show you are, whatever. To make sure there was all sorts of nudity was really important. To show that we are actually exploring something here rather than being gratuitous.”

Although Rupert is the central character, most adverts have placed David Tennant at their forefront. Not wishing to cause offence, I carefully note that Tennant and Turner are slightly higher profile than Hassell at the moment. “Much, much higher profile,” says Hassell immediately. He believes his (extremely relative) anonymity works to the show’s advantage when depicting its enigmatic antihero. “You have little idea about me as a person, so you can just see Rupert.”

What will modern audiences see? The epitome of virility or an extremely problematic man? As Hassell says, “I am literally a Tory gallivanting around this fucking massive house, dripping in privilege.” His love interest is 20 years old, an age difference confronted in the show. “She’s young enough to be your daughter,” one character tells Rupert with barley concealed disgust.

In one pivotal scene, Rupert gropes a female character, an act that is neither expected nor welcomed. Hassell found the moment shocking: “I remember reading it in the script being like, ‘Woah, where do we go from here?’” Yet it rang true for the character. “He’s a white, privileged, powerful man with terrible judgment and ideas about his position and what people want from him. It makes total sense that he would do something like that. Obviously I in no way condone it, but in terms of storytelling, it makes sense,”

I can’t imagine a contemporary character groping someone and still be portrayed as a viable romantic lead… “Definitely not,” says Hassell. In Rivals, the 1980s is practically a character in its own right (playing alcoholic bingo with the soundtrack would get you smashed). A contemporary setting would “eradicate the whole point of doing it. You have to watch it going, ‘What the fuck?’” For Hassell, “it’s a barometer of how far we have or haven’t come in terms of casual racism, casual misogyny, sexism classism. All of those sorts of things.”

He was raised in Essex, the youngest of four siblings. His late father was a “very down to earth Church of England vicar”; Jilly Cooper books were kept on the top shelf of the parental study but Alex never read any. Aged 12, he saw a musical in Chelmsford called Rock Nativity and “was hit by a bolt of lightening.” Fast forward a decade and he’s graduating from the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, ready to take over the world.

Only it didn’t quite work like that. He knew he wanted to be an actor, the kind of work he wanted to do, but the opportunities refused to manifest themselves. “No, I didn’t have a backup plan,” he says. “I thought about quitting multiple times but I never did.” Instead he founded a theatre company with another young actor Tim Evans. “That was my response to the feelings of powerlessness and impatience. Well, fuck you, I’m going to set up my own thing.”

That thing was Factory. Hassell and Evans were determined to focus on the work rather than the finances. There was no theatre. No costumes. The only props were supplied by the audience on the night. Everyone worked for free so turnover among the company with high, nobody was expected to turn down a paying job. As a result, everyone learned a variety of roles- there’s not much point spending weeks rehearsing a Hamlet if said Hamlet promptly leaves for a stint on Eastenders.

The inaugural production of Hamlet saw the audience play rock, paper, scissors every evening to allocate the roles. Anything could happen. A blindfolded Hamlet smashed a mirror against a pillar, sending shards of glass into the audience. Pets and children were often brought to shows, and became participants; Hassell once picked up his four-week old nephew Henry for the “what a piece of work is a man” speech. One performance at a music festival was frequently disturbed by intoxicated revellers in fancy dress and ended at four in the morning.

Perhaps the Factory ethos is best encapsulated by their promotional blurb for Julius Caesar: “We will meet at Barbican Underground station, and have an adventure. We don’t know exactly where we’ll be going. Come and find out with us.” Perhaps it’s director Tim Carroll addressing the audience ahead of a production of The Seagull: “You have all gambled £10 on a show where none of the actors have learned their lines.” Perhaps it’s Hassell himself: “There was a desire for it to be rock’n’roll.”

“I am very attracted to things that are difficult in terms of acting,” he says. “I like a challenge and I want to learn. I want to be as good as I can possibly be. And the best way to get better is to really challenge yourself. Be out of your comfort zone and try things that you are afraid you’re not good enough to do. Playing Hamlet with 30 seconds notice is very difficult.”

Sometimes not playing Hamlet is even more difficult. Factory’s growing renown led to a performance at a sold-out Globe Theatre. The biggest production in their history-and the audience landed Hassell with Fortinbras. He chuckles at the memory. “I was definitely thinking, ‘Why the fuck have I set up a company where I don’t get to play Hamlet all the time? That’s ridiculous!” What would he do now? “Now I would just play Hamlet!”

Signing a contract with the RSC offered his first experience of job security, something he found simultaneously euphoric and overwhelming. Hassell admits to being more than a little addicted to the turbulent life of a jobbing actor, moving between jobs and cities, never knowing where the work might take him. “To have two and a half years in which I knew what I was doing was kind of terrifying.”

He cites Joel Coen’s 2021 film The tragedy of Macbeth as “potentially the most artistically validating experience” of his career. He played Ross, opposite Denzel Washington as Macbeth, Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth and Kathryn Hunter doing typically exceptional work as the three witches. In 1999, Hassell went to the Barbican and saw Hunter in Scenes from an Execution on his very first evening as a drama student. “She blew my fucking mind!” A decade later, she directed him in a RSC production of Othello.)

Macbeth was garlanded with awards and acclaim. Hassell’s other major project of 2021 proved less successful: a live-action Netflix reimagining of the seminal anime Cowboy Bebop in which he played the villainous gangster Vicious. The show was heavily hyped ahead of release but received a tepid reception and was cancelled after a single season. “The whole show suffered from some people thinking it wasn’t enough like the anime and other people thinking it was too much like it,” says Hassell. “Everyone’s trying to make something really good. It’s just that some things hit and some things don’t.”

The failure of Cowboy Bebop has caused an understandable reluctant to ponder how his life may look after the release of Rivals. “I’ve been in a number of other situations where people around me are saying, ‘Woah, fuck! This is it!’ And then it isn’t it. I’m glad to have done all the work I’ve done and I’m enriched by all the experiences I’ve had. But it hurts when you get set up to have an expectation and it doesn’t pay off. So I’d rather keep the powder dry, if that makes sense.”

We’ve spoken for more than an hour. Hassell needs to accept an Instagram collaboration from Disney+ for the official Rivals trailer. He happily acknowledges being rubbish at social media: his Instagram mainly consists of promotional stuff, the occasional photoshoot, and premiers with his wife Emma King. King is also an actress. The pair met at drama school but didn’t get together for years afterwards. “She came to see a Factory show and we both asked for each other’s number off the same person.” They have since worked together on multiple occasion, including at RSC productions and on an episode of Cowboy Bebop.

King is thrilled about Rivals. So is Hassell’s mum: “I hope she can handle watching it!” Preview pieces have been gushing and everyone from journalists to industry insiders expect the show to be a huge hit. Alex Hassell may find himself on billboards but his outlook will not change. “In this game, one has to be quite philosophical about it all,” he says towards the end of our conversation. “Try and make the best decisions you can, but don’t beat yourself up about how things turn out.”

There should be no requirement for self-inflicted beatings. For Alex Hassell, things are turning out very nicely indeed.

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ALEX HASSELL - THE SCOTSMAN

Grooming by Richard Wynne-Ellis

Alex Hassell stars as Rupert Campbell-Black in the Disney+ TV adaptation of the Jilly Cooper novels set in the 1980s. Pic: David Reiss. Stylist: Olga Timofejeva. Grooming: Richard Wynne-Ellis

The Eighties was the decade of excess - big shoulder pads, big hair, big bestselling bonkbuster books by Jilly Cooper detailing the antics of the aristocracy and their loadsa money chums in the newly deregulated world of independent television, and now it’s back in the long awaited TV adaptation of Rivals.

The eight- part series focuses on the second of Cooper’s 11-volume Rutshire Chronicle novels, which follow the scandals and shenanigans of the county’s upper-classes. A lot of work has gone into adapting the contemporary 1980s novel into a period TV show 40 years on, skewering the sexism, racism, homophobia and snobbery of the Thatcher era with irony and a modern take.

Alex Hassell stars as the priapic and picaresque playboy, Rupert Campbell-Black, a former Olympic Champion show jumper turned Tory Minister for sport, along with a star-studded cast that includes David Tennant as his nemesis Lord Tony Baddingham, Aidan Turner as TV star Declan 0’Hara, Nafessa Williams, Lisa McGrillis, Katherine Parkinson, Danny Dyer, Claire Rushbrook and Emily Atack.

Alex Hassell as Rupert Campbell-Black in the Disney+ series adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s Rivals. Pic: Robert Viglasky/Disney+/PA Wire

Born in Essex, Hassell, 44, is the son of a vicar and a nurse and loved acting from an early age, first performing in youth theatre as Bugsy Malone, then training at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

He’s best known for roles in Joel Coen’s The Tragedy or Macbeth, opposite Frances McDormand and Denzel Washington, Netflix series Cowboy Bebop, the BBC One adaptation of The Miniaturist with Anya Taylor-Joy and the action- comedy film Violent Night. He also appeared in Seth Rogen’s dark comedy The Boys and the Coen Brothers’ Suburbicon, directed by George Clooney, and Red Sea Diving Resort, currently streaming on Netflix.

Hassell is married to Scottish actor Emma King, with whom he starred in the 2015 hit-man thriller Two Down, and who is known for Dagr (2024), The Cry (2018) and the Vanishing (2018).

On top of all the rivalries and romping, jodhpurs and glamour, Rivals has a thumping 1980s soundtrack of The Communards, Cyndi Lauper, Erasure and Meat Loaf that will make you want to leap into a leotard and dance around your handbag. So saddle up, take Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s advice and ‘Relax’ as Alex Hassell tells us all about Rivals.

FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN’T READ JILLY COOPER’S BOOKS, TELL US ABOUT RIVALS.

It’s set in Rutshire, a fictional place around The Cotswolds, where Jilly Cooper set her novels. This is the second book, based in 1986/7, in the world of a very rich, privileged, Tory enclave. It’s about my character, Rupert, who is an ex-gold medal-winning Olympic show jumper who is now a Tory MP and Minister for Sport, as well as an international playboy on the front page of all the papers.

He has a rivalry with Lord Tony Baddingham, head of the new Corundum TV franchise who employs a new interviewer, Declan O’Hara, a sort of young and sexy Wogan/Parkinson figure, played by Aidan Turner. Declan and his family integrate themselves in a successful and unsuccessful way, and rivalries, backstabbing, power dynamics and lots of shagging ensues.

It’s bright and colourful and has a wonderful Eighties veneer with soundtrack, costumes and sets, and is brilliantly in that world, but is also using that world to satirise and bring to light what has and hasn’t changed since then in our contemporary culture.

The cast of Rivals with author Jilly Cooper, who wrote the original books on which the Disney+ drama series is based. Pic: (left to right) Aidan Turner, Katherine Parkinson, Emily Atack, David Tennant, Jilly Cooper, Danny Dyer, Alex Hassell, Nafessa Williams, Bella Maclean, Claire Rushbrook and Victoria Smurfit, at the UK special screening of the new series. PA Pic: Lucy North/PA Wire

TELL US ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER, RUPERT CAMPBELL-BLACK?

He was the best show jumper in the world and has had to quit due to an injury so he’s now a Tory MP, Minister for Sport in Margaret Thatcher’s government. He is extremely privileged, estranged from his ex-wife and children and a lothario. He’s a not altogether savoury character but for some reason is adored by thousands of people and is a kind of international playboy in a way that is quite specific to the Eighties.

DO YOU LIKE RUPERT?

He definitely does some very bad things and has lived a life of such extreme privilege and been adored so he’s lost his fame of reference for what being a goof man is, but deep down he begins to realise that so there are parts of what he grows into that I can like.

Alex Hassell and Aidan Turner at the UK special screening of the new Disney+ drama Rivals, London, 2024. Pic: Lucy North/PA Wire

We are very different people and I definitely don’t condone all of his actions, but he’d probably be fun to have a drink with if he wasn’t being his worst version of himself.

ARE THERE ANY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN YOU AND RUPERT?

In very different ways we’re both very driven. To try and make it as an actor you need both a thick skin and a thick skin and to be very determined, unless you’re exceptionally lucky and fall into it very young, which didn't happen for me. I’d say I’m very focused and can be quite single-minded, but unlike Rupert I wouldn’t shit on other people or gamble with other people’s money and happiness in the same way.

HOW DID YOU GET IN THE HEAD SPACE TO PLAY HIM?

It was a real task to be honest. I really loved it. As much as I’m making a clear distinction between Rupert and myself, it’s extremely fun to play him. And it was quite hard because I’m not from a privileged upbringing so it was quite a character part. I had to really think myself into a different frame of reference and physically carry myself through the world in a different way. I was very much helped by the costume and the sets and also how everyone else was told to respond to me.

Obviously the source material books were very useful, and the scripts so brilliantly realised. Jilly said two things about Rupert that were very helpful: that he doesn’t apologise and doesn’t like to show weakness or vulnerability.

Alex Hassell stars as former Olympic champion show jumper turned Tory Minister for Sport Rupert Campbell-Black, along with a cast that includes David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Nafessa Williams, Lisa McGrills, Katherine Parkinson, Danny Dyer, Claire Rushbrook and Emily Atack. Pic: David Reiss. Stylist: Olga Timofejeva. Grooming: Richard Wynne-Ellis.

DID YOU PRACTISE WEARING JODHPURS A LOT AT HOME, TO GET INTO CHARACTER?

I didn't wear jodhpurs at home, no. I’m sure there’s a crass Rupert-based joke in there. But I did have to do lots of riding. I could ride already but not very well and hadn't done it in years, so I had to get up to speed pretty quickly and that was a great pleasure. That helped to try and get into Rupert’s headspace and physicality.

IF YOU COULD BE RUPERT FOR ONE DAY WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Ride a horse around. And play with the dogs. He has six and it was so great acting with them.

RUPERT IS ACCUSTOMED TO PRIVILEGE AND TO PEOPLE HANGING ON HIS EVERY WORD.

Yes, he’s been internationally famous since he was in his twenties so he’s used to it. There’s something of the era of Oliver Reed and Richard Harris, those infamous playboy wild men, and he has this reputation as a great lover. Also he is unafraid to be rebellious and reckless and stick two fingers up to what polite society thinks should be done and I think that’s very appealing. People want to know what he’s going to do next. Jilly describes him as Mecca for most women, which is an interesting thing to try and get your head round playing.

DID JILLY COOPER COME TO THE SET?

Yeah, a few times and was so positive. I was quite intimidated. I met her at the first read through where we had this enormous table read where you’re meeting all the actors for the first time and there were all these people from Disney. It’s intimidating because you’re not even playing the character yet, but she had seen my audition tapes and was immediately very positive, so it was very helpful to have her seal of approval.

She loved being on set, and as she would say over and over, loved being around the men. She loved being in that world again I think. I saw her very recently at screenings and she was doing interviews and continues to be over the moon about it. I’m so pleased that’s her response.

THE EIGHTIES WERE DIFFERENT TIMES WITH DIFFERENT SOCIAL NORMS…

Obviously, one doesn't want to condone or glorify those things, but it wouldn’t be a true depiction of the Eighties without that, in the same ways as the casual sexism, misogyny and racism, prejudice and snobbery, are important to explore. They were such a part of that world, and I’m pleased we haven’t shied away from it.

THE SERIES MANAGES TO SATIRISE THE 1980S WITHOUT KILLING ALL THE FUN AND GLAMOUR.

Yeah, it has its feet ever so slightly off the ground. And what is really keeping it light and fun despite some really knotty subject matter, is that the characters are very witty and quick and intelligent and sharp, and they’re brilliantly cast. They keep the whole thing moving along in such a dynamic and fun way.

WHAT THREE WORDS WOULD YOU USE TO DESCRIBE RUPERT?

Competitive, lustful….searching, even though he wouldn’t want to admit that, it’s in there somewhere.

WHAT THREE WORDS WOULD YOU USE TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF?

Searching, loving, driven.

WOULD YOU LIKE IF, LIKE RUPERT, WHEN YOU WALKED INTO A ROOM PEOPLE STOPPED TALKING AND WAITED FOR YOU TO SPEAK? MAYBE THRY DO?

No, I’ve done lots and lots of work that I’m very proud of, but definitely this is the biggest shot at the idea of being more known so no, that hasn't really happened to me. For every actor there’s a desire on some level to be looked at or witnessed, otherwise you wouldn’t do a forward facing job, but there’s also a notion of that that would terrify me. I am very open but I like to choose who I’m open with, so there’s a degree to which I would both love and find that really complicated.

Often when I was playing him I would realise he was performing to an audience even if he was alone. He couldn't help but amuse himself by looking at his own life and actions whilst doing them. So there’s a very strong performative element to Rupert and what happens through the course of the story is seeing what is underneath.

DO YOU KNOW OR HAVE YOU MET ANYBODY LIKE RUPERT?

I did meet two of the models for Rupert but we were way into shooting by then, and obviously they’re so much older now, and it was just a light conversation. He’s based on real people Jilly knew, one being Andrew Parker Bowles [the former husband of Queen Camilla].

They’re from privileged backgrounds. I’ve never been in those echelons of society, but to play him I did think of people who had a sort of louche ease. They’re very nice people and that in itself is not a negative thing, but yo unconsciously magpie stuff from people. I stole another actor’s walk - but I’m not going to say who.

YOU WERE SIX IN 1986 WHEN RIVALS IS SET. DO YOU REMEMBER ANYTHING OF THAT WORLD OF PHONE BOXES AND NO MOBILE PHONES OR COMPUTERS?

The painstaking effort of all departments made this a fully realised 3D, 360 world, and the attention to detail was amazing. We filmed around the Cotswolds and Bristol and it was a dream because it was such a hot summer and we were in these beautiful, massive houses and there were so many parties and we were just surrounded by the Eighties, with so much colour. It was amazing.

But I do remember the 1980s. I remember dressing as Bugsy Malone and Michael Jackson and walking about and going to church dressed as BA Baracus [Mr T in the 1980s TV show, the A Team].

THIS WOULD BE THE CHURCH WHERE YOUR DAD WAS VICAR?

Yes. My parents were always very supportive. I wasn’t even thinking of being an actor then, I just had that child-like enjoyment of dressing up. And that Christmas my best friend was also dressed as BA Baracus, so there was competition for roles even then.

And I remember the poll tax riots. We lived in Tottenham and they went down our street. I wasn't very conscious of the adult world but I remember Thatcher, definitely.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF MAKING RIVALS?

It honestly was one of the best experiences I’ve had. The producer found people that were perfect for the roles but also nice, funny people and there are so many scenes where the social aspect was a huge part of it. And playing a character so far from myself who is so important through the story was really fun.

In terms of the scenes, one of the times when I started to go deeper into the character was when he appears on Declan’s television show. I completely believed that DECLAN was a real show and Aidan does it so brilliantly. We had a fake live studio audience and set and did 14 minute-long takes.

DO YOU THINK THERE WILL BE ANOTHER SERIES OF RIVALS?

We hope so. Obviously Rupert is in lots more of the books so we hope people would like to see more.

WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?

Every time I do a job it makes me want to explore more characters and different things. I love Shakespeare and would love to go back to that. I’ve done a lot, including Joel Coen’s Macbeth and I’ve love to work with him again. But also I love to just keep pushing out into different areas I’ve not explored.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR SCOTTISH CONNECTIONS?

My wife’s Scottish, from Edinburgh. She did Edinburgh Youth Theatre and all of that. And I’ve worked in The Lyceum in Edinburgh and done the Edinburgh Festival.

DOES IT HELP BEING MARRIED TO ANOTHER ACTOR?

Yes it does. This job can be full of quite weird things you have to do and places you have to go, so definitely. We talk about it all the time and she is my informal acting coach.

WHAT;S YOUR FAVOURITE THING TO DO IN EDINBURGH?

Obviously now I have a very strong emotional connection to Scotland and Edinburgh and we come up to see the family, walk along Portobello promenade and go up Arthur’s seat - I always love that. Last time we were walking around Arthur’s Seat someone was practising the bagpipes but we couldn’t see them. I’d just finished doing Macbeth and it felt so viscerally powerful and wonderful.

IF THERE’S ANOTHER SERIES OF RIVALS, MAYBE THERE COULD BE SOME BAGPIPES - SOME OF RUPERT’S SET MUST OWN SOME OF SCOTLAND…

Ok, I’ll ask Jilly.

JAMES BAY - Songwriter sits down with 1883 for his cover story to discuss his new album, Changes All The Time

Grooming by Joe Mills

Over a decade into his career, singer-songwriter and guitarist James Bay is steadfast in his commitment to constantly pushing his boundaries.

In many ways, English musician James Bay is the quintessential example of a hard-working songwriter done good. In 2013, the artist released his debut EP The Dark of The Morning and within two years, Bay bagged his first BRIT Award in 2015 for Critic’s Choice and released his debut LP, Chaos and the Calm. Undoubtedly, it was a record that smashed sales expectations, earning Bay his first No.1 on the UK charts. More importantly, it introduced him to the mainstream masses. Listeners were drawn in by his soulful tones, passionate lyricism, and melodies that effortlessly traverse indie, pop, blues, rock, and soul. Album tracks like “Hold Back The River” and “Let It Go” have understandably become global hits. From there, the rest is history, he’s earned two top-five records with 2018’s sublime Electric Light and the gorgeous 2021 album, Leap. Bay has sold out many headline shows across the globe and toured with The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and other songwriters he would cite as heroes.

However, no matter the achievement or glitzy accolade, James Bay isn’t willing to rest on his laurels, and that’s easy to understand when you look at his background. From the age of 11 years old, the bright-eyed youngster picked up a guitar, enamoured by songwriting greats like Ray LaMontsgne, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and countless others, hungry to learn the craft. After studying at the altar of these colossal artists and bravely taking his first steps through open mic events in Brighton and London - a rite of passage for most songwriters - James honed his craft over the coming years. As we spoke on a September afternoon, it became abundantly clear that Bay is a humble and self-aware individual who is purely in pursuit of an almost “superhuman” experience when it comes to creating music. An experience which offers connection, growth, and what could only be described as a cathartic release, given how the wordsmith pours every fibre of his being into his work.

Over the years, it may be easy for the uninitiated to pigeonhole the artist as a talent who is known for only penning sad ballads and wearing signature fedora but this is far from the truth. Bay is s multifaceted individual when it comes to his music. With his new record, Changes All The Time, out tomorrow via Mercury Records, James Bay is at a place of unwavering creative freedom born from his years of experience jin the industry. The spirited body of work offers the listener a thrilling journey which conveys the most direct representation of who James Bay is as an artist, musician, writer, and guitar player. The record’s soaring highs are nestled between devastatingly beautiful moments, an emphasis on guitar playing and some of his most introspective lyricism to date. He’s taken his live band members into the studio, worked with The Killers’ Brandon Flowers and artist Holly Humberstone on some of the album material, and co-produced the album alongside Gabe Simon and more.

Now in his early thirties, the 33-year-old, has crafted a record which sees him express himself in the present moment, fulled by a desire to create music that connects on a deep, human level. The end result is his best work to date.

In conversation with 1883 Magazine’s Cameron Poole, James Bay speaks about his new record Changes All The Time, his first and last open mic, getting back into skateboarding after 17 years, his desire to start a supergroup, and more.

Hi James, your fourth studio record Changes All The Time is out tomorrow. With this record being a real confident statement about who you are as a musician and showing your clear passion for the guitar, in the writing process, did it bring up any memories from when you started playing the guitar at age 11? As it has been said, this record is you coming home to the guitar.

Yeah, your question is so lovely. Here’s what we sort of went for me more than ever, I said something around the build-up to this record about reaching a sort of higher sense of musical freedom than I’d ever sort of felt before. That was achieved with the help of my lovely mate and co-producer on this album, Gabe Simon from over in Nashville. He is so heavily invested in what we have done and what we sort of did when we worked together. Lots of producers are invested to different degrees, of course, and Gabe is so all in. He’s only a couple of years older than me, we relate on so many levels. The first time he ever saw me play live, he saw me solo acoustic, in front of about 500 people, and he said his favourite thing about the show was that it was like witnessing a whisper and a hurricane all at once, which I appreciated. It sort of resonated. He knows a fair bit about, you know, the 11-year-old me, the 14-year-old me, in his bedroom, learning riffs, and guitar solos late into the night. And he also said, Where is that guy on your records? And I’ve been asking myself the same question. So he really helped me do this thing, as you put it, come home to the guitar. Before being a lyricist, a singer or even much of a live performer, I was a guitar player in my room, playing with mates and playing guitar myself as well. I would listen to records and learn everything by ear. I wanted to be that in my music, more than ever.

I’ve been on a journey for the last sort of seven years, bringing that side of myself to my live show. When I started playing live professionally and playing to people, I had been playing live for a long time at that point, but it wasn’t as focused and I was focused on translating the chorus to people. Ten years after my first record, it felt like time more than ever to allow myself to have the courage and to allow myself to be the singer, songwriter, the guitar player. As that’s what I’m all about. I think I’ve been more shy about that in the past. A great vocal, great lyric and great chorus reach more people, I think we can all appreciate than a guitar solo might and that’s okay, that’s all right. But there’s a guitar-playing-animal in me that needs to get out now. So I’ve enjoyed with the help of Gabe, really stepping into that, owning it in a bigger way than ever before on this album.

The concept of change is terrifying because whether we like it or not, it’s going to happen for better or worse, and change is the crux of your new record - you’ve said you try and have control over change, how is that as a musician and in your everyday life?

Well, I guess you can be sometimes dictate the kind of pace at which you move towards different sort of junctures in your life. These are hypothetical things, I’d love to sort of give you more realistic sort of scenarios, but I don’t know. For anybody, it might be I need to buy a car, or I need to sell a car, and that will change how I get around. If I’ve moved to a city, do I need a car? Well, I have to face getting up a bit earlier, getting on public transport and that’s okay, that changes the cost of things, that changes the outlook of your life for a moment. And these are all, in their way, sort of uncomfortable and necessary or comfortable and unnecessary. Like, for example, I treat the way I make music a bit like painting in my mind. You have your blank canvas, which is silence, and then you put colours into that blank canvas, and into that silence. You could argue that I could do all of that with one guitar. But I have lots of guitars because they are all represent different sounds, which I liken to colours. It’s a very fortunate situation that I exist in wherein I could dictate for having those more or less and a decision and a consequence, good and bad, comes with every choice or every change. If some change is inevitable, for example, then I might be able to control the speed at which it happens, for example.

Sorry, I feel like I’m rambling, it’s hard to answer your question, because there are some things that I’m never going to tell you about my life that certainly would make for an answer to your question. But here’s the good one. It takes narrowing songs down and deciding 10 or 12 to make a record, typically speaking. But 100 or more will get written. A few have to get cast aside in that process that you fully understand why they did. That all in itself is a change that I can control and will choose to based on the kind of artist I want to come across as. The artist that I come across as means a lot to me. It means a lot to my self-consciousness, my confidence, my anxiety, my vulnerability. I might want to put songs out that have more revealing lyrics that I’m comfortable with, and because I am uncomfortable with the lyrics, I might choose then not to put them out, and that’s my opportunity and my ability to control circumstances about my life.

Last part, my personal life and my professional life exist very close to each other. The line between them is very blurry. That’s very difficult, but thus far, I have had a brilliant, very fortunate, sort of successful experience. So I don’t want to overlook that either. I’m not trying to whinge or moan about my life. It’s unique though, and I can’t share the experience with even some of my oldest, closest friends, because they don’t know what it’s like. What a massively long-winded answer to a very complex question.

I’m sorry I shouldn’t start with such a complex question [laughs], but I appreciate it.

No it’s alright, it’s a very difficult question to answer, but I’ve chosen some pretty heavy subject matter to make an album about [laughs].

Given you’ve spent more time focusing on expressing yourself in the present moment on this record, and thinking less about the aesthetics when compared to previous records, how did that positively manifest inside the studio?

It positively manifested as having my touring band in the room, so frequently having more people in the room made for a really, and we’re always trying to reach this, superhuman experience. We are humans in a room together playing instruments to make a great noise, to make sound, to make music. The result of that we record and it comes back at us through the speakers, we’re looking for that to feel a bit superhuman. That’s why music is referred to as magic. In sharing those days in the studio with more people, people that aren’t just anybody you know, these are the guys that I tour with as well. One of them is Tom, who is my oldest friend since I was three and he plays bass in my band, and this was the first time he’d spent a lot of time in the studio with me. That’s one of the ways that it manifested, by sharing the experience. By the way, in front of other people, I am invited, if not required, to make music more honestly.

I might think this song needs to be fast, rocking and I might look in the eyes of the people around me in the studio and go, they’re not reacting. They’re not finding this magical. This needs to be a ballad. This actually needs to slow down. That was very important to me, and I lent into it more than ever before. So there’s a clarity, purity and honesty, an earnestness and a simplicity to these songs that I was able to achieve as a result of the ingredients I’ve sort of referenced. Just me and my head, I’ll struggle to get to that place. It’ll get very sort of complex, convoluted and confused. And it’s the way that you can hear the air and the space between all the noises that are being made, which is quite a sort of abstract and maybe complex thought, but that really makes this record for me, in many respects. I really lived and embodied the lyrics as well, and that really sort of made it feel more powerful when making it. Even when I listen back and hear it, it feels more powerful as a result. Music, I think, is supposed to be powerful. It’s supposed to move you

I think it speaks to your very humble and self-aware character that you’ve been performing some of the material at open mic events in London before the launch. It’s really beautiful because before you made your name that’s what you did, play open mics. And when someone has got to a certain level, they may think that’s beneath them, but you clearly haven’t forgotten the importance of that live setting. Can you walk me through your first-ever open mic experience and your most recent- how did they differ it at all?

Wow, they differed in many ways, particularly based on experience. My experience is completely different. At the first one, I don’t know if I’d done really any hours of practice and gained many hours of experience. At the most recent one, I well surpassed my sort of supposed 10,000 hours, as they say, of practice and training. In both cases, there was that very healthy, very exciting, very necessary degree, of uncertainty, fear, apprehension and anxiety. These are ingredients that can make for a very engaging, sort of magnetic performance. And that’s what I’m trying to do. I was trying to do that the first time I ever performed at one and I was trying to do it the last time I ever did an open mic. I’m trying to do it every show. But I really respect and appreciate the experience that I’ve gained, and I wear that on my sleeve, and I hold it inside me the most recent one. When I did my first ever one, I can’t tell you too many things about it because it was such a long time ago, and I’ve done so many since. But I can guarantee you that in doing it, I was hoping that one day I would have 10,000 hours of experience doing that and be more than 10 years into a career where performing was my bread and butter.

Why? Because of the therapy and the medicine that live music performance is for me and other people at the same time. I think you’ve asked about differences, one of the sort of similarities that has its own differences compared to my first open mic and my most recent, one of them is connection. That’s the one of the most addictive bits, I love the feeling of singing, the vibrations in my body, literally. I love that. I love playing a guitar and what that takes, and how moving that feels, and how emotional that can be. But the connection, whether I’m standing up there at my first open mic night with my eyes closed the entire time, or whether I’m looking at the whites in people’s eyes at my most recent one, or whatever, it’s that connection. There’s something incredibly unfussy about an open mic night. When I did my most recent open mic night, at some nearly empty bar in Camden on a Tuesday night about three months ago, there was about 15 people in the room, half of them are sat down. I snapped straight back into open mic mode and I had to introduce myself. Part of my ego was concerned that people already recognised me. The rest of me didn’t know or care, because I am still just another one of the millions and millions of people who get up on a little stage and holds a guitar and says I’d like to sing you some of my songs.

All of the best things happened, some people recognised me, some people gasped, some people were walking up the stairs, and when I said, ‘I’m James Bay’, they turned around and came back down. One lady afterwards said hi, and she walked in halfway through the set, sat and listened. She had her phone with her when she came over to me, she had Spotify open. She said, ‘can you tell me? Can I find your music anywhere? Can I listen to you again?’ Perfect. There’s no airs and graces. It’s just connection in a public space, it’s so full of love, and I’ve wondered a bit from what your question is asking, but it’ll always be that for me, it’ll always be the great leveller.

I talked to my mate, Russell Howard, who’s such a fantastic and successful comedian, about ultimately, the power of an open mic and in many respects, unless it’s a big ticketed event. You know, a lot of comedy can feel like an open mic night. Comedy is also born from open mics, ultimately, in the same way that singing and songwriting is. To walk into a space where nobody’s even bought a ticket, and they just want to stand and have a drink in the same room that has a microphone and a PA system in. They just want to talk to their mate and catch up. To try to have the fucking balls to say, ‘I’m going to take your mate, your drink and I’m going to make you more interested in what I’m doing.

It’s a fascinating exchange and a magical one when it works. And it is something to be learned from when it doesn’t, its just as important to fuck it up [laughs], or for it not to go well. There have been so many differences, but many similarities for me between my first ever open mic and the most recent one I did.

Just to pivot somewhere else for a moment but keeping in the spirit of getting back into old hobbies, after 17 years, you returned to skateboarding earlier this year, how is it going, and why was now the right time to get back into skating?

It’s interesting, it’s a good question. It makes me think about how we’re always searching for something else in ourselves, or at least, rather than sort of opening up that wide, I should just say to you that I’m always searching for some other part of myself. I’m always curious to sort of remain multi-dimensional, rather than one-dimensional. I’m publicly a musician with a guitar in my hand and a song to sing, and I love that reality. But I’m so much more than that. By the way, that can be narrowed down even further, to most people, I sing a little delicate ballad and that’s who they know me to be, and that’s what works for them. But I love to play loud, hard, fast, and because I have a desire for adrenaline, and endorphins in a very particular way. Some people get on rollercoasters. Some people take pretty heavy drugs. I like to get my pulse up, get my blood pumping and I like to do that by playing live. I like to do that by running around playing football. I like to do that. I used to love to do that by skateboarding and crashing down onto concrete, grazing my knee, getting up and having another go. I was 15 or 16 when I last sort of did that regularly. I thought, why don’t I do that anymore? Because, okay, lucky me, I’m basically the exact same build that I was when I was 16. Very fortunate, sure. I put that partly down to having a pretty erratic metabolism, for all kinds of reasons, I’m sure, but I just wanted to feel it again.

It’s a very tactile, physical, sensation skateboarding, just like football is, just like music is. This might go over a lot of people’s heads, but when you play a guitar, you can have very soft, thin, white gentle feeling strings, and if you hit them too hard, they will fall out of tune, because they’re not that strong, but they’re guitar strings nonetheless. Or you can have very thick, heavy gage, robust guitar strings. I need those ones because when I go on stage, even if I’m playing a delicate ballad my body is quite tense. There’s a fuck ton of adrenaline coursing through me. I don’t know why, because it means that much, but because the whole thing’s a very physical act. So to pacify and to provide for that part of me that’s navigating so much adrenaline, I took up skateboarding again. It is freeing as well. it’s such a freeing feeling.

The things that I got confident to do again in the first few weeks of skating again was so fun to do. Initially, it was hard to do an ollie, which is to just sort of pop the board in the air. But then I was back to doing all these flip tricks and flying off the ramps and all of this different stuff, going to all different skate parks around where I live. I can do it on my own, and I can do it socially with mates as well. I inspired a mate of mine, who’s only a year younger than me, to get back into it as well, for the first time in about 15 years. So I think I wanted to see if that version of me still exists, or if he still can exist because I don’t ever quite feel sort of settled as one thing that everybody sort of thinks they expect and understand. Not sure why that is, probably a whole therapy session to be done there.

Whether it’s gaining a UK number-one record with Chaos and the Calm, selling out shows, opening for Bruce Springsteen, performing “Beast of Burden” with the stones, or working with Brandon Flowers on “Easy Distraction” - you must have so many highlights over the last eleven years. How have these moments shaped you as an artist, and what did you take away from working with such iconic figures?

They always teach me that there’s always more to strive for, there’s always more to work for. I get a little look behind the curtain and behind the scenes at why my heroes and everybody you’ve listed is a hero to me, they all have a gift, talent, a drive and be great to a kind of superhero like level. Something about Brandon Flowers is like standing in a room with Superman, from his big, charming grin to his abilities…he’s a musical Superman, I think. We would get some chords recorded with a little backbeat and loop them round, have them playing back to the speaker and he would stand up in front of a microphone, open his phone, where he’d sketch down hundreds of different lyric ideas, and he’d sing them all in. They all felt and sounded quite profound. He has a very prolific ability. The way that Mick Jagger is so so constantly. He really lives. Mick Jagger is not a character. He’s a real existing being. What an unbelievably lucky world to have that in. I got to fly so close to that sun, and it felt fucking awesome [laughs].

I will never forget, I opened for the Stones wearing some very bold, exciting and eccentric silver trousers. About 45 minutes or an hour later, after our set, was invited on stage with them. I was still wearing my silver trousers and black T-shirt. Up until then before my song with The Stones, “Beast of Burden”, Mick had been wearing a red jacket an I wonder if it was chance, or if it’s just how tapped into the show he is…But just before he announced me on stage, he stepped off for a second, switched into a silver shirt, which matched my silver trousers. He walked back on and said ‘Ladies and gentleman, we’re going to have James Bay back on’.

You know he coordinated with the guest. I don’t know if it was an accident, part of me felt like it was a little bit intentional, and that was such a wildly particular and genius little insight into one of the absolute pop-rock legends of all time. There was so many nuanced, bold and brash things that I’ve learned, and I continue to sort of look back at pictures of those times and think about the experiences and all sorts of things get picked up again and again. The way we arrive at our own unique style as an artist is in failing, very legitimately, to accurately emulate our heroes. That’s why the reason I’ve written with people and worked with people and they say the way you always do this on a guitar, and where you always sing like this in this way, and your melodies do this thing, those are the things that are so signature about you, that’s real James Bay stuff, which is such a wild thing for me to receive. It’s very flattering. It’s a massive compliment. There’s a little voice inside me that says, you sound those ways James, because you will never be Ray Lamontagne. You will never be Adele, you’ll never be Aretha Franklin. You will never entirely be Keith Richards, but by failing that clearly something signature is coming through as a result that is all my own.

Talk is just an emotional rollercoaster on the record and probably my favourite song on the LP, what’s your current favourite from the album?

It is a tough question to answer, Talk has been the answer to the question and will be again I’m sure. I love Dogfight so much. I really went on a journey with it, I loved writing it with Holly [Humberstone]. Not just with her but with my great mate Phil Plested. They are both artists, and there is something about writing with an artist – as I experienced with Brandon too. That is just even more sort of a concentrated experience of writing. I wrote Dogfight and recorded it a few months before we made this record. I really liked how it felt, but I could never quite get comfortable with it so. We had a different go at it and on the second go, we got what you’ve heard on the album now and there are so many things I love, I just tried to sort of pair it back in its sonics and its delivery to allow the emotions in the words to come through. 

I think I struggle with myself is the truth and that’s where hell, it’s been rough, It’s been a dogfight, really sort of resonates with me, because I think I naturally have to and also choose to work very hard to present myself as best I can to the world, doing the thing that I do. But to differentiate that between who I need to be, have to be or want to be, get to be my personal life, the way of those sort of atmospheres and scenarios interchange, and it’s a lot to deal with. Dogfight was a real kind of mantra type of thing to write.

But the performance in the delivery of it in a studio and in the way that we got it to sound how the band played, fucking hell, an absolute privileged to be anywhere near that, as it was happening. I’ll take credit that I can for doing my bit, but everybody brought their A-game and it’s in the things they didn’t play.

This makes me think of that funny Jazz quote that says it’s about the notes you can’t hear and that you don’t play. Sometimes that really applies and everybody held back and exercised restraint in their performance in the studio for that song. In the most eloquent, 

 and emotional way whilst giving everything to the stuff that they did play. To listen back to it is a wild experience for me. I’ve found it very emotional because it expresses things that I am incredibly uncomfortable talking about. That’s no offence to you. But I’m still glad I’ve put the music out. I am still glad it exists in the world and I will look forward to playing it live because I will want to and need to express and exercise those emotions. I might find it very hard like I did find it very hard to sing it down the studio. 

And yet, for all those extreme emotional reasons, it is the answer to your question. It is my favourite, I’m really proud of it.

You’ve got quite an extensive guitar collection, this may be too difficult, but if you had to give most of them up and only keep one, which would you keep and why?

Ironically, I’m in a room with 20 guitars at home and the one that I would keep I don’t have here. The one I can’t give up is the guitar that played such a huge part in my career, which is a 1966 Epiphone Century. It’s bright red but you can still see the wood grain through the paint. I found it when I went to New York in 2013 to meet my record label, well those that would become my record label.

I went to meet them to maybe sign a record deal. I performed a few songs to them on an acoustic guitar that I’d taken which is also  a special guitar. After I performed, they asked my managers if they would stay in the building and if I would just go off and explore New York, they would try to do a deal right there and then. In sending me off around Manhattan, I went down to the lower east side to Bleecker Street where there used to be a shop called Matt Umanov Guitars which doesn’t exist anymore sadly. I walked in and I picked up and tried this guitar and it felt very special. Also, it felt very difficult to play, and I found that quite aspiring. I had recently at that time listened to Jack White talking about how he liked there t be some kind of struggle in the guitars that he played. He didn’t want it to be soft, silky, easy and accessible, he wanted it to be he wanted somewhere to put his adrenaline, which I could really relate to. So I found this guitar that kind of strung up and felt a little bit like an electric guitar.  But it also had more soft acoustic guitar-styled strings on it and all these different details that made it a bit awkward. I loved it. It was fucking expensive [laughs] and I could not afford it, so I put it back. 

I said to my managers as they joined me in the shop, I said, I’ll come back one day. That’s my plan, that’s my dream to buy that guitar. We had dinner with the label that night and went home the next day and everybody said, hope to see you again. No deals were made or anything. Less than a week later, my managers asked me to come to the office, there was a package for me. I went down and there was a big box, opened it up, a very dusty guitar case inside, there was a note from the guy at the label that said ‘when we went to dinner, you couldn’t stop talking about this guitar. We really want you to have it and of course, we would love to work with you’. I didn’t remember banging on about that guitar but apparently, that’s all I did. I went on and wrote “Hold Back The River”, “Let it Go” on it, and I recorded most of my debut album on it. I have recorded lots on it since but particularly those two songs. It’s very important to me, so I would have to keep it.

Speaking of live shows, with the big headline tour in February which includes a date at London’s OVO Arena Wembley, what’s exciting you about the live aspect for your latest era?

Yeah I’m exited for that and for trying to replicate what we did in the studio lives and also trying to tweak that you don’t want to do exactly the same thing. I’m looking forward to how the new songs can be emphasised or evolve on a stage and in a live environment. That’s a huge excitement for me. The Wembley Arena is my first UK arena, so that’s a big one for me. A lot of the venues outside of that on this UK run, I’ve been to before but not for a long time, they’re a bit bigger and I’m really excited for those because I love them. But the other thing I’m excited about is exploring. I’ve been saying a bit, so I’m going to have to start sticking to my word, but I’d like to find out how I can reinterpret some old songs. I think at about 10 years since the first album, it’s about time. I saw Paolo Nutini live recently, and he does a bit of that, few artists do. 

They deliver a song that you know and love in a different way and I’m inspired enough as a musician, as a musical person to try that. I typically work that kind of stuff out myself and  then in the rehearsal with the band. I love that process. I’d like to surprise fans at shows with those kind of moments because the fans are already incredibly good at singing along, so there’s almost a little bit like let’s have fun with this, let’s see if you can sing along to it like this as well, in a different way.

How has fatherhood changed you as a person and as a music fan, when Ada is old enough, what albums and artists are you excited to show her?

Oh I’m excited to show her everything. I’m excited to say to her, you know, on the one hand here’s the streaming platform, you can find everything in here, but on the other hand, I’m excited, she already likes the dropping of the needle on a record at home. She’s nearly three and she’s excited by how that goes and she loves to sort of put those records on and hear them come through the speakers and dance around the room. It’s hard to answer the first part that a question because I’m not really sure. I’m not really sure how it’s change me but I’m fucking dead certain it has. To become a parent, does change. It changes you forever, it’s like you grow a new limb, but that limb is going to wander off into the garden and have its own existence and its own life, it’s not going to be attached to you forever. I don’t know if you’ve got kids, but it’s only in the very first instance that you really sort of feel this thing, this person, this new human attached to you and all the cliches are true. There’s no question about that. 

The most terrifying and most euphoric feelings come with having a child, and that’s all hitting in a new way as she has been a toddler and she’s starting to become a little kid. It makes me think about my own mortality of course, it makes me think about so much. It’s not an overwhelming question, but it’s an overwhelming thing to think about and yet there’s also such a stunning, beautiful simplicity to a small child and parenthood. We get so complex, busy, for so many ultimately unimportant, peripheral, things in life. 

A kid just wants to hang out, wants to chat, eat sugary stuff which you’ve got to keep an eye on. I think it makes me reach further as a songwriter, and in my work. I want her to have a nice, comfortable, exciting life. I want her to be curious and feel drive, witness her parents being driven people, ambition. I’d love her to get passionate  and hungry about things that she finds and obsesses over in the ways that I did because it is an exciting journey. It’s reignited all of those things in me and how I understand about myself and how they could be possible for her.

As mentioned earlier, On Changes All The Times, you worked with co-producer and friend Gabe Simon, someone you’d like to work with again – what  ideas or sonics would you like to explore next with Gabe in the future?

Good question. There’s a few things that come to mind. On the one hand, I would just like to do what I did Gabe again, because it felt so emotionally, musically, spiritually, nourishing. I’ve made a bunch of records and I’ve had different kinds of experiences, some of them really unbelievable some and some of them less so. But with this record, it stood the line, it was unique. Particularly in how invested Gabe was in the experience as my friend, let alone as a collaborator and a colleague. So that’s one reason, and that’s one thing I’d sort of like to explore. When I say again, on the one hand for the first time my life, I’m realising I would love to go back to RAK the same studio in London and maybe take the same people in with excitement in the new songs. We had such a great process to the way we worked on this record. It was equal parts constantly in the studio around-the-clock, and then also for the first half, we’d give ourselves the weekend and give us some time to ease in.

A separate answer to your question is, with the help of Gabe who’s really helped spearhead the idea, I got to release the first single “Up All Night” in collaboration with Noah Kahan and The Lumineers who are mates of mine and mates with Gabe, they are giant artists in their own right. I would like to manifest some sort of super group, let’s do a record, let’s do a tour. I am the only one saying it at the moment and that’s okay, someone has got to start. I know the lads had a very good time doing it and were happy to be involved. I’ve spoken to them and seen them a bunch since and it was a lot of fun. But they’re busy guys, lots of touring, new releases to come. It’s not just because super groups are a fun thing that sort of existed in the past, I’m a massive Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young fan. I would love to do that, I would love to do a version of that and I think with those lads it would be a lot of fun to do even a small record and a small tour. I think we started something that could be good, so I’m just a guy out  here manifesting that, I would do it with Gabe too.

The possibilities are endless. Is there anyone else you would have in this hypothetical supergroup? 

I’m a big fan of Maggie Rogers, and I think it’s her kind of sonic neighbourhood as well. Her, Feist, my mate Margaret Glaspy as well,  check out her music, she is wonderful, she would be great in it as well. So there is a whole host I’m sure. 

Finally, if your debut EP The Dark of The Morning was a snapshot of the beginning of your journey, what would Changes All The Time say about you at this very moment?

It’s a bit cliché, but it would say I am still a work in progress I am still curious, I’m still hungry. It would say I have learned a few things, it would say check this out, I’ve learned this along the way. The Dark of The Morning was pure naivety, innocence and being such a newbie and saying ‘I know nothing but I want to share this’. But this music would say, ‘I’m a work in progress’ and that feels like the most important thing to express, share, and talk about. 

James, I know you’ve done a ton of interviews and human-to-human right now, I want to emphasise how much I appreciate you taking the time to chat.

No question man, thank you, Cameron. I do hope we can do a little in-person thing one day, that would be fun as well. It’s been wicked, thank you so much.

James Bay’s fourth studio record Changes All The Time is out tomorrow.

Interview Cameron Poole
Photography Garry Jones
Styling Benedict Browne
Grooming Joe Mills
Styling Assistant Alfred Humphries
Production Kelsey Barnes
Production Assistant Issy Dimauro
James Bay Publicist Jannat Choudhury @ JC Publicity
Location CHATEAU DENMARK, London

ALEX HASSELL - YOU MAGAZINE

Grooming by Richard Wynne-Ellis

Photography - @Simonemmettstudio

Creative Director - @Natashatomalinhall

Picture Editor - @Stephbelingardphoto

Styling - @Joanne.m.kennedy

Styling Assistant - @Pernilemv

Grooming - @Richardjwynneellis

Writer - @Sophiamoney-coutts

Location - @Jumeirahcarltontower