TOM TAYLOR ON PLAYING ALBIE IN BBC’s 'US,' ACTING AND MORE

Rising English star TOM TAYLOR plays Albie in the BBC TV miniseries “US” alongside Tom Hollander. The BBC one drama is an adaptation of David Nicholls novel of the same title. The plot follows the poignant and hilarious story of the Petersen’s during their vacation across Europe where the father Douglas (Hollander) tries to win back the love of his wife Connie (Gråbøl) and become reconciled with their son Albie (Taylor).

Tom Taylor was named a 2016 'Screen Star Of Tomorrow' at just 15 years old. Tom, is arguably best known for the role of Tom Foster in Mike Bartlett¹s BAFTA award-winning psychological drama DOCTOR FOSTER. The second series saw Tom¹s character take center stage as the troubled teenage son of Dr Gemma Foster (Suranne Jones).

In this exclusive interview, Taylor spoke about his role as Albie in the BBC TV drama “US,” playing Jack Chambers in THE DARK TOWER, his acting journey, and the best life advice that he received so far.

PHOTOGRAPHER: JOSEPH SINCLAIR

How would you describe Albie’s character evolution throughout the show? 

Throughout the show we see Albie go through a lot. He is a sensitive soul that eventually blossoms into a brave young man. Albie feels constantly undermined by his father and he is much closer with his mother Connie of which they both share an artistic passion, one which Douglas definitely does not have. Albie uses the European tour as a means to find himself, he goes a bit of the rails at some points but eventually after all the craziness and arguments he becomes happy with himself.

What’s the best part about playing him?

The best part about playing Albie was being able to explore the frustration that a lot of teenagers feel when their parents don’t understand them. Albie is artistic, his dad is a scientist, Albie’s loves art, his dad doesn’t understand it. There is always this battle with Albie and his dad where Albie’s just wants some recognition that he doing something good instead of some condescending comment or disregard for Albie’s beliefs. It was really fun being able to play all these little exchanges between the characters because I know a lot of teens feel misunderstood and Albie is certainly one of them.

The show explores the complexity of relationships, it follows a family across Europe where we see relationships fall apart but also get stitched back up. Everyone will relate in some why to the show, from the frustration of Albie towards his dad, to the desperation of Douglas trying to rekindle a dying fire with his relationship with his wife Connie. Watching this will take you across Europe with the family, it will be your holiday from home. As well as the subtle comedy in the show, it truly is a heartfelt story of a family trying to be held together by Douglas which is a joy to watch.

What are the challenges and the highs that you experienced during filming?

The main challenge was probably the time. Sometimes we didn’t have a lot of time to film the scenes, due to the tight schedule which is always the case in the world of television. We had to all be on our A game as there might not have been enough time to do more than one take, so the pressure was on. But we all took it in our stride and I think the pressure is what made us all work together so well and almost became a real family at the end of shooting, with all the crew and cast. The working together with everyone was a big high for me, we were all a team and had a great laugh filming this show. It never felt like work. How can it be when you are in Venice or Amsterdam filming in iconic places? I had never visited the places that we filmed in before so that was an incredible experience for me.

How did you manage to rise above the challenges?

We managed to get over these challenges because we all got on really well. I think if you are in an environment where there is a lot of pressure in the air it helps massively if you can had a laugh occasionally to break the tension.

How was the experience playing Jake Chambers in The Dark Tower?

Playing Jake was completely amazing for me. I had never done a film before, let alone travel to South Africa for 3 months. It was scary at first but the excitement overruled everything. I learnt so much on the job about the film industry which has massively helped me navigate around it today. I loved playing Jake.

How did acting start for you? Was it something that you’ve always wanted to do from a young age?

It was never my intention to be an actor, like most kids, I wanted to be a footballer or business man like my dad. I went to a kind of theatre club on Saturdays for a couple hours in the morning with my other 4 siblings (I think my mum wanted us out the house to have some peace and quiet haha) and at this club an agent came to see the kids. I left the club then 6 months later I did an audition for them, thanks to the dance teacher Racheal Bell saying I should give it a go, and came out in tears because I was so embarrassed. They ended up liking me and got my first few jobs. It was only when I was doing more auditions and getting more comfortable in front of the cameras where I realized wow I absolutely love this!

What’s your dream project?

I would love to do a job where I am a bad guy, a really evil character. I’d love to explore the darker side, how they think and bring it to life on camera for people to think WTF! Anything outrageous is right up my street.

Of all the roles that you’ve portrayed, is there any role/character that resonated with you the most and why?

My first ever big role, where I played Young Uhtred in The Last Kingdom always brings back happy memories. I was so new to the acting world and I was guided by the brilliant Nick Murphy who directed the episode I was in. It was nearing Christmas in Budapest where we were filming and I can still smell the cinnamon in the air of the streets and see the markets lit up buy the Christmas lights. It just brings back so many happy memories. I was running round with a sword in my hand and I believed I was a real Saxon every time I put on my costume. Everything was so weird and wonderful, I just loved it. I felt so lucky that I was able to do this whilst all my mates were stuck at school haha.

Aside from acting, what else keeps you busy?

I do many things to keep busy, recently I’ve been doing a lot of DIY with my dad, from putting in concrete foundations to building a garden bar, I’ve found another thing I really enjoy. However I mostly make music and go by the name of ISAMADNESS, the name speaks for its self haha, I try and make different music. I’m working on U.K. bassline at the moment. I also have a clothing line I’ve been working on called Tomzyard which will be out soon.

Despite the global pandemic, what are you most excited about this year?

I’ve just started working on a new production but I can’t say anything else at this stage.

What’s the best advice that you’ve ever received?

I have received so much advice from so many people, not just in acting but in other aspects of my life too. A piece of advice I live by is “don’t cruise”. It tells me not to do the bare minimum in things and really push myself because I have a tendency to kind of slack off without realizing so I use that advice to keep me trying my best.

If you were a book, what book would you be and why?

If I were a book, I would like to think it would be a best seller but perhaps in reality, a really boring novel, so perhaps better off not reading me.