Somers Town - Thomas Turgoose interview
Interview by Rob Carnevale
THOMAS Turgoose, the young star of This Is England, talks about reuniting with director Shane Meadows for new film Somers Town, getting more confident as an actor and coping with fame.
He also talks about some of his future film projects, including upcoming “hoodie horror” Eden Lake (showing at the FrightFest weekend) and landing another plumb leading role….
Q. What was it like working with Shane Meadows again?
Thomas Turgoose: It was definitely a less nervy experience and I was excited about working with him again.
Q. Do you find that you’ve developed a short-hand?
Thomas Turgoose: It was a lot more simple because I knew what I was doing this time, I knew what was what. Shane still helped me a lot because this is a really, really different type of film but I felt more confident in my own ability.
Q. Did the fact that it was a comedy also help?
Thomas Turgoose: Definitely. I found it a lot easier to do a comedy about friendship.
Q. What appealed to you about the character?
Thomas Turgoose: I’m not sure really. Shane had said he wanted to use me and after I read the script, I really, really liked the character. He’s exactly like me in a lot of ways, so I immediately wanted to play him.
Q. And you get to dress up in some pretty odd clothes at times?
Thomas Turgoose: Well, I did have to ask Shane if I really needed to wear a woman’s blouse at one point. But it was quite funny to see myself dressed as a woman.
Q. How long did you have to work on building such a believable chemistry with your co-star, Piotr Jagiello?
Thomas Turgoose: I’d only known him for about two days because Shane didn’t really want us to be best mates. He wanted our relationship to be natural on-screen, as though we were just becoming new friends. So we didn’t spend that much time together beforehand – although we got along really well after we met.
Q. You’ve said that you’re learning things all the time about acting, so what did you learn from the Somers Town experience?
Thomas Turgoose: I learned a different side to acting. I learned that comedy is really fun and I really enjoyed the experience of doing something other than drama. It was really cool to do and a great experience because I want to try and tackle as many different roles as possible. I want to continue acting for as long as I can.
Q. How has life changed for you since This Is England?
Thomas Turgoose: Completely… my routine is completely changed. My old routine was basically being at home with my mum [now deceased], getting up at 4pm, and spending most of the day in bed, just doing nothing. Now, I’m used to getting up for school and being on film sets. I really, really enjoy being on a film set. And I credit Shane for helping to decide my future.
Q. How are you coping with the newfound celebrity?
Thomas Turgoose: I don’t tend to think of myself as a celebrity, to be honest. I never consider myself as famous. I’m not the kind of person who would walk up to someone and say: “Do you know who I am?” I just get on with it. I don’t brag, I’ve never been a bragger. It’s like when I’m on a film set, that’s work, and when I’m at home I have a laugh with my mates and go around on my moped.
Q. You continue to have a busy slate coming up… next is the “hoodie horror” Eden Lake…
Thomas Turgoose: Yeah, that was a really good experience.
Q. But one that’s likely to be controversial given its resonance with youth violence?
Thomas Turgoose: It’s gonna be a film that people either love or hate. I can appreciate that people will get touchy about the subject matter but it’s all real and people must realise that it’s actually going on in the world…
Q. Are you expecting some tough questions about it?
Thomas Turgoose: Oh yeah, but I think I’ll be OK. It was really good to have the experience of doing something different, though. It was very tough but we got through it and I quite enjoyed working with all the blood and stuff. And I think it should do well.
And you’ve just been cast in The Scouting Book For Boys… your first leading role without Shane Meadows…
Thomas Turgoose: I hadn’t thought of that [laughs]. I was actually cast a little while ago but I’m really looking forward to doing it. Again, it’s a different kind of movie [about a troubled teenager who finds himself in deep water when he helps a young girl run away from home] and it’s really good to work with other directors. It’ll be a new challenge for me.
Read our review of Somers Town
Here’s hoping that young Tommo can stay as level headed as this interview seems to suggest he is. Can’t wait to see him in Eden Lake and Scouting Bk for Boys.
Jane Aug 26 #