Exclusive Q&A’sA very special thanks to Tom for taking the time to answer our questions! Do you have any other talents such as singing, dancing, or playing a musical instrument? I would love to say yes…but unfortunately my singing is best kept inside the house and even more preferably in the confines of the shower. You can judge for yourself my dancing abilities if you get to see The Boat That Rocked! I have always fancied myself as a guitar player (I have two guitars) but I just don’t have the inclination to practice. I did have a few Oboe lessons at school, though. But quickly realised that it wasn’t cool!
Do you like to play any sports, athletics, or physical activity type hobbies? I love sport…watching it, playing it, talking about it! I play football (soccer) and follow Liverpool FC devotedly. I also play golf, tennis, badminton, cricket, snooker…etc. I will always watch sport if it’s on the tele, even the boring ones!
Is there a particular type of role you would like to play? I would love to play a down and dirty rockstar! Along the lines of Midnight Mark but with all the bad stuff thrown in! Something darker than I have done before but still with the leather trousers. I also loved the physical aspect of 300 and would love to do more fighting. I thoroughly enjoyed killing people.
What kind of music do you like and is there a particular artist you love to listen to? My music taste is very much dependent on my mood so is therefore quite eclectic! Since filming The Boat That Rocked I have a huge collection of sixties music on my itunes which I am listening to all the time and we were all given ipods with suggested playlists for each character. Midnight Mark listens only to Motown! I love The Beatles and have all their albums as well as The Kinks, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. Paul McCartney was at the premiere and told me that he enjoyed the film. Unfortunately I was a bit dumbstruck and mumbled a crap “thankyou” and couldn’t think of anything else to say. Still…pretty cool though.
If you didn’t become an actor, what profession do you think you would have went in to? I would have loved to play sport professionally. I chopped and changed schools a lot when I was younger so I didn’t really have the drive back then and the future seemed very distant. Sometimes I dream of making the Masters or The Open as an amateur…but then I wake up and realise just how much talent and dedication that requires!!
Are there any specific actors or actresses you would like to work with in the future? And why? Last year I would have said Philip Seymour Hoffman as I think he is an amazing actor. I would love to work with Helen Mirren as I have always had a crush on her and think that she is a great actress. Jeff Bridges as I think he is one of the most natural actors on screen and The Big Lebowski is one of my favourite films. Daniel Day Lewis is spellbinding in pretty much everything he does – I would love to get the chance to work with him and maybe pick his brain.
What did you enjoy most about working on ‘The Boat That Rocked’? The leather trousers…I miss them. The music …Richard played it inbetween takes and it created such a relaxed/fun atmosphere on set. And to be honest, as Mark hardly speaks, I miss just sitting there, smoking and being entertained by everyone. I have never said so little but laughed so much!
What is it that you enjoy the most about performing in theatre, films, and TV shows respectively? I suppose my first love is theatre. It’s how I got into acting in the first place and it’s given me my favourite and most well rounded parts to play. The rehearsal process is very enjoyable and after doing films it seems like such a luxury. I really enjoy that collaboration between the actor and the director and being totally free to try things out. Performing live in a play is a huge adrenalin rush and much more immediate than film or TV. Film is a huge passion of mine though. My film collection is vast and I love going to the cinema as often as I can. I have films going around in my head throughout the day and one day I hope to make my own. For now though I am delighted to have had the opportunity and luck to work with some great people and am learning all the time.
What do you like to do with your free time when you are not working? Either watching films, watching sport or playing sport! I also love to cook and enjoy scouring through recipe books. I like to read – I have just finished Man on Wire which I highly recommend. (Read book first and then watch the documentary…it’s amazing) and have just started reading Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. There are other pastimes that I enjoy but I can’t list them on here!
Are there any actors you admire? And why? Apart from the other actors I have already mentioned I admire Johnny Depp very much both for his ability and his choice of roles. I also like the fact that he keeps out of the limelight..I think he is pretty classy. I admire Daniel Craig who I have been lucky to work with. Again he is very talented, is always articulate and pulls Bond off with ease whilst carrying all that responsibility. I also admire Mickey Rourke for coming back with a great performance in The Wrestler after everyone had written him off. He says what he thinks and doesn’t stand on cermony which is very refreshing.
Spartans or Trojans? SPARTANS!!!! Mile High Club or Mile High City? Mile High Club of course. Pirate radio or pirate booty? Has to be the music and the girls…Pirate Radio. Dragon slayer or dungeons and dragons? Dragon Slayer. Traveling pants or stay at home pants? Travelling pants mean work….so more travelling pants please. Comments
i’m in love with you tom!!! i wish you all the best in your career:) What a coincidence! I also thoroughly enjoyed you killing people. …and the leather pants. I have very much enjoyed your work over the years. From a photographic eye much of your bone structure would be very well suited to portraying Jimmy P. Page in a biographical film or film like documentary of the artist. Of course, it would required a writer, biographer & director willing to take on such a monumental task; not to mention a blessing from the artist himself! One can only hope of such a project. I really do not know what to say but I hope you are happy that you have another fan. I like your work and noticed how cool you were in the film Pirate Radio (The Boat That Rocked). Aside from being a very handsome and dreamy guy, I wish you the best in all your future films. xx I just saw Pirate Radio and LOVED it. I kept wondering who the Jimmy Page lookalike was and my search led me to this website. Then I read you’d love to play a “down and dirty rock star”, well hey, there you go… they don’t get much dirtier than Led Zep, my friend. Wow Tom, you are so amazing to take time out of your day to answer our questions! It just shows what an amazing person you are. I enjoyed seeing you get killed, but I hope that you never die in a movie ever again! You are too handsome and awesome to die! Wait, ha ha. I didn’t enjoy seeing you get killed, I enjoyed seeing you kill people, but never die again!!!!!! Ha ha I hope you won’t get killed again!! haha I thought your performance in The Lightkeepers was brilliant. Hopefully the good film roles will keep coming for you. |
And I see Kimborama (comment #3) agrees with me! Best of luck with all your future projects.