In a new interview with The Stage, Harry Melling talks about his acting career and figuring how how to go from  being a “child actor” to an “actor”.

Tell me about your role  in The Angry Brigade.
I play lots of different  people, which is something I’ve never done before. It’s something that terrified me because I liked the idea of hanging on to one person and making sure that story is charted throughout. If you’re playing lots of different people, you’re juggling a lot of different balls. Sometimes, I feel that when you watch that style of acting, you see the skill of the actor as opposed to  the character, so in that respect it’s a very interesting challenge to try to make each character as defined as the others.

Has doing film work as  a child actor influenced the way you work now?
It influenced me in terms of watching older people be on set. It confirmed it was something I wanted to do, but it must have influenced me in other ways I can’t tell you how or why. But I always felt very comfortable on stage, and when I was at drama school there was a heavy emphasis on stagecraft, which has been really useful for me.

What made you undertake formal training?
I really wanted to bridge that gap between being a child actor and an actor. I’m not saying drama school is always the way to do that, but it made sense for me. I always wanted to be as good as I could be, and I think drama school teaches you how to fall on your arse, which is exactly what I needed.

 

The Angry Brigade runs at Warwick Arts Centre until October 17, and then at Watford Palace Theatre from October 21-25. Visit this website for more information.