Pirate Radio’s hottie Tom Sturridge
British actor Tom Sturridge has a habit of working with some of the top acting talents in film today. He first came to filmgoers’ attention with his role as Annette Bening’s gay son, Roger Gosselyn, in Being Julia, beginning this Friday he can be seen in the film release of Pirate Radio.
The film, which also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh and Bill Nighy, chronicles a time in 1966 when free radio was prohibited except for a ship of pirate disc jockeys that broadcast rock music 24/7. Sturridge talked to Edge’s Jim Halterman during his press day for the film and talked about relating to his character on the ship, working with Bening and what is next for this up-and-coming actor.
Getting the acting bug
EDGE: You come from a family of performers and actors so was it inevitable that you become an actor, too?
Tom Sturridge: When I was a teenager, I didn’t know I could do what my parents did and I didn’t do any acting at school at all. It was only when I had the opportunity to meet a film director - I was a big cinema fan when I was younger - and István Szabó was making a film called Being Julia and I had a chance to meet him. It was only when he asked me to do a film that my concept of acting changed.
EDGE: And then the acting bug bit, huh?
TS: Yeah, it did. I was living in Budapest alone for the first time and it was summer and it was a very seductive experience.
EDGE: You were very good in Being Julia as Annette Bening’s son. When you work with someone of that caliber, are you just a sponge soaking up what she had to offer?
TS: Yeah! It was weird because I didn’t have any experience and I remember my first day was a seven-page scene with her and now if I was doing a seven-page scene tomorrow I would be terrified, working out different ideas, going over every word, all the ways to approach it whereas back then I just remember I got know my lines by heart, said them in the way I felt was appropriate... I was kind of fearless because I was so ignorant. Story continues on the following page.
Watch Tom Sturridge and other cast members of Pirate Radio discuss the film.
Playing a gay role
EDGE: In playing a gay role in your first big job, was there any concern in how to approach that aspect of your character?
TS: I don’t think you should be concerned about anything. When you’re playing a part the most important part is to be true to the character. Anyone who has weird opinions about that then that’s their problem.
EDGE: You’re friends with Robert Pattinson so I’m curious what you think of the idea of celebrity and if that gets in the way of the work?
TS: From my point of view, I haven’t encountered any issues so I don’t have to worry about it.
EDGE: Were you familiar with the story of Pirate Radio before the movie came along?
TS: I was completely ignorant and had no idea. I was deeply shocked by the notion of not having any instantaneous access to music is sort of alien to my generation.
EDGE: What drew you to the role of Carl?
TS: I think it was the opportunity to be a part of this group of people. It’s rare where you have eight great actors in the film at the same time and a variety and combination of actors with such different backgrounds. People like Nick Frost and Philip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Nighy... they are all from different aspects of the industry, which is amazing to be a part of.
EDGE: There are a lot of guys in the cast so was it very testosterone-driven during filming?
TS: Yeah, there’s nothing more enjoyable then seeing massive comic egos try to battle out for who can be funniest in a scene.
EDGE: In the film, Carl comes in as the newbie and from what you said about your experience with Being Julia were you able to relate to that part of the role?
TS: Yeah, completely. Much in the way that I was intimidated and nervous about living and working with all these people I admired, it was very much the same as Carl going to live on this boat with his teachers and cultural icons. Story continues on the following page.
Watch this interview with Tom Sturridge on TalkingPicturesTV.
On the water
EDGE: How much time was actually spent on a boat on the water?
TS: Half the filming. It was six weeks on the boat, six weeks in the studio.
EDGE: Is it safe to assume that you are pretty sea-worthy?
TS: Yeah, it was a beautiful English summer so the sea was pretty still and was like going on a boat holiday.
EDGE: Tell me about the play you recently did, Punk Rock, which I read is loosely modeled on Columbine.
TS: We just finished it but hopefully it’s going to run somewhere else. I wouldn’t say it’s modeled on Columbine but it is about a school shooting. I play a boy and through the course of the play you learn there are some sort of mental problems, a mild schizophrenia, and in the end for a variety of different factors that he heard throughout the play he ends up killing his friends. It’s a really amazing story.
EDGE: How was that to play a role like that as an actor?
TS: I had never done a play before so it was completely new and you had to use entirely different tools. It’s like playing music live. It was just totally amazing to feel an audience near you.
EDGE: Since you’ve done film and theater now, is it true that theater is ’where it’s at?’
TS: You know, they’re really entirely different jobs and people like to say ’theater is where it’s at’ because they think it sounds more serious but I think you can get that kind of satisfaction from anything.
EDGE: Waiting for Forever, the film you’re doing with Rachel Bilson, sounds like a more romantic drama. What’s your role in that?
TS: It’s about a famous street performer who has been following this girl (Bilson) for a number of years and in the film he reveals to her that he’s been stalking her and the film is about how they resolve that situation. It’s opening at Sundance.
EDGE: What makes you say yes to taking any role that you do?
TS: It’s a combination of the script and the people involved. I just want to work with people who are better than cleverer than I am, which is almost everyone. With this one I got to work with Bill Nighy and Philip Seymour Hoffman and in Waiting for Forever, I work with Richard Jenkins. Everything I’ve done I’ve done because of the people involved.
Pirate Radio is currently in theaters. For more information on the film, go to www.PirateRadioMovie.com.
Watch Tom Sturridge and Nick Frost on the British game show Celebrity Chicken.
