"Certain art forms won't ever die"
What do Michael Caine, Ray Winstone and Idris Elba have in common with Bob Hoskins, Tim Roth and Tilda Swinton? The answer is no formal acting training. Bradford-born Sam Bottomley has been following in their footsteps for fifteen years now. Cast in Paddy Considine’s BAFTA-winning drama Tyrannosaur at the age of nine, Sam showed such a raw talent that Considine — himself emerging from outside the drama school system — explicitly advised against overtraining. After a stint in youth TV and BBC drama, Sam earned a BAFTA nod in his own right for Somewhere Boy, then nominations from BIFA and the London Critics' Circle for a devastating turn in UK clubbing drama How to have Sex. Having just appeared in James McAvoy’s directorial debut California Schemin’, Sam spoke to us about learning on the job, playing troubled characters, and the West Yorkshire Workshop, his community programme for aspiring acting talent in the north.
Let’s talk about your early acting days. Could you tell us a bit about how you got started? What was your first role and how did it come about?
Acting’s the only job I’ve ever had. I started really, really young. I was going to a drama group in the church hall opposite my school. I’d only been once or twice when an open casting call sheet turned up for Paddy Considine’s debut Tyrannosaur. I took it home then kind of forgot about it. A while later I spotted it when I was doing my hair in the mirror. I always remember it as me getting ready for school. My mum swears it was the weekend and we were doing something else. I asked her what it was. She said ‘Oh, it’s that acting thing.’ We looked at the time — the audition was that day so we ended up going for it. I was given something to read by the casting director Des Hamilton. I said to him, ‘I’ve not come here to read.’ I’m dyslexic so the idea of reading in front of other people, especially at that age, didn’t appeal. They must have liked me because they asked me to come back and have it learned, so I did.
Tyrannosaur must have been a really formative experience. What was it like getting used to the acting life?
It was weird. Tyrannosaur has an 18 certificate— and it’s quite a graphic film. A lot of it I was too young to see. But everyone involved in it was just really lovely. It was the first time I’d acted. The crew explained everything; Paddy Considine would come up to me and say, ‘How would you feel here?’ Or he’d go, ‘I want you to do this, and imagine that this is this, and this is that.’ It was a really relaxed first experience.
After it wrapped, the producer and another actor wrote to a couple of agents and said, there’s a lad in this film who wants to carry on acting. Would you take a meeting with him? Before I knew it, my dad was taking me for a day of jumping around London. I must have had meetings with four different agents. In the end I met one who told me something had landed on her desk that she thought I’d be good for. Whether I chose to go for it was up to me, but she thought I’d be a good fit. I followed her advice and got the part. It was for a film called Private Peaceful based on a book by Michael Morpurgo. I played a kid called Tommy. Tommy as an adult was played by George Mackay. Hero Fiennes played my brother. Jack O’Connell played the older him. From there the ball was rolling.
So that must have been your education, right — learning on the job? What came next on the journey?
I was really, really lucky in that I went straight into acting. I learned how to act on set rather than going through drama school. After those first two films I was auditioning for loads of stuff. I’d get one job then work on it during the summer holidays. I did BBC and CBBC dramas for two years earning my stripes. Usually I’d be with my parents or my grandma who did a lot of chaperoning, because you can’t be on set without a chaperone. It brought me a lot closer to my gran, even though we’d fight like cat and dog sometimes because I never used to wake up on time. We’d drive all over the country going to places like Wales, getting lost and arriving late on set and stuff. Honestly it was it was like the blind leading the blind, us two.
I will say that I had lots of great experiences working with kids my age, and working with adults from a young age I think has made me who I am. When you’re working with adults at that age every day for however long, putting in the hours, it gives you a bit of social awareness. It did me a load of good.
You’ve worked with some highly respected British actors. Tim Roth, Olivia Coleman, Samantha Morton, Peter Mullan, Daniel Day-Lewis. How did your experience of collaborating with them lead you to where you are now as an actor?
I often think about that. It’s an amalgamation of working with really talented people who know what they’re doing, and that’s not just actors, it’s crew, DoPs, picking people’s brains on set. You’ve got to be curious and ask questions. I always felt like I could ask questions - which was massive, having that dialogue.
It’s also down to people like my mum and dad, my family and friends. They’re the ones who’ve shaped me into who I am and what I’ve got. But you’re right that I’ve been lucky to work with some really great actors. I don’t know how it would have been if I didn’t do that, because this is how it’s gone. You don’t really realise you’re learning things until you come away, then a year later you’ll do something, and you’ll be like, that’s very much something that Sean Bean would have done. I’ve picked up his lingo along the way.
Looking through your filmography, from the outset you’ve explored some brave subjects. In Tyrannosaur, How to Have Sex and Ackley Bridge you explored domestic violence, bullying and sexual assault. Ladhood and Somewhere Boy you played young men struggling to fit into their own skins. What was it like playing these roles? Where have they taken you as an actor and a person?
I’m a young man working in TV and film so I’m going to come across these sorts of issues. They’re what people make dramas and comedies about — real life stuff that actually happens.
As an actor taking on these issues, I have a responsibility to do them justice — especially in films like How to have Sex that dealt with important topics. There are really, really difficult places to take myself to. On Ackley Bridge I was a cool character that didn’t give a fuck; he was a bit of a bad boy or whatever. But you can’t just play cool guys all your life. And you don’t want to. You’ve got to go to places you might not like very much. But as a performer, it’s a privilege to take yourself there. It’s things people need to know. How to have Sex was played in schools. If the films we make are going to prevent bad things from happening because young people are aware of certain dangers before they come anywhere near those situations in real life, it’s worth it. It’s massive. You wouldn’t always think acting could help people in that way, but my eyes have been opened to the fact it can.
Could you talk to us about how you prepare for a role, getting into the headspace of a lived experience you might not have had? Is there any prep you do before you come to a part?
It really depends on what a role needs. You’ve got to do it justice. You’ve got to fill your days with it. You’ve got to fill your time. In a film called Last Right I played an Irish kid with autism. I went to an autism centre in Dublin; it was one of the top centres in the country. I sat down with autistic people and just chatted.
YouTube and music’s a big help. I’ll make playlists that my characters would listen to. Films from the setting or the place. I’m playing a young gangster at the moment, so I’ve given myself a note to watch the Long Good Friday. I’ve got a folder on my Instagram. Whenever I see something close to a character I’m playing, I’ll bang it in there. I’ll come out with a collage of inspiration to build a character.
What makes a good actor? How do you define quality in what you do?
Every actor has a different technique for getting to where they need to be. Overall I think good acting is giving a believable performance where people look at what you’re doing and believe it’s true. Making people feel something is hugely important. Those two things are what I consider a good actor to be. Finding the truth and making it real in order to tell the stories we need to tell.
Acting is an ancient craft, dating back thousands of years. Why does it matter so much? Why is drama and storytelling still important?
Acting is an artform, isn’t it. Certain artforms won’t ever die. Especially when you can indulge in them and lose yourself in them like you can with theatre and film. It’s escapism. It will take you to another place for however long it plays. It’s escaping the everyday. Which people need and want and always have done. Acting is escapism for me too. I escape to where I go, and that means a lot.
What do you like most about what you do? I always wonder about the relationships between co-stars and directors. You guys share some amazing life experiences. How was it shooting California Schemin’, for example?
I enjoy feeling like I’ve done good, but it’s very, very rare that I feel like that. I always come out of a scene thinking, oh, was that alright?
One of the things I enjoy most is the simple act of knowing my lines, when the other person knows their lines too. We’re firing on all cylinders. Things are free and flowing and we’re in a state where we’re locked in and doing good work. I love that feeling. I also love the people I meet. In acting you meet brilliant, beautiful people from all walks of life, from all different classes and cultures. They come together to make something together. Yes they walk away and you might not see them again for years or ever again, but you’ll always have that thing you made. It’s there forever, it lasts forever. I think that’s very special.
Aside from that, you’ve got fucking amazing places you get to go to. I went to South Africa a couple of years ago to do a film. I was out in South Africa for like a month in a beautiful apartment in a beautiful country. I’ve travelled a lot of the world. I’ve definitely travelled the country. In California Schemin’ I was stagediving and making songs before I even started filming so they could be played in my scenes. There’s so many different aspects to life, things I’d never get to experience if I wasn’t acting. I imagine at some point I’ll be riding a horse in something, do you know what I mean? It’s mad.
I’ve got to ask you about your West Yorkshire Workshop project. What made you start it? How has it been going? Maybe you could describe what it means to you?
I started the acting workshop about a year ago and it’s going really well. We have a steady group who come and do some really good work. I’ve got great kids, and there’s an adult workshop too, which is a weekend thing. The workshop gets me on Saturdays alongside another person. Sometimes they’ll be someone I’ve worked with, someone from the industry. We’ve had a casting director in called Claire Bleasdale, for example. It’s really fulfilling. It’s good to do something with people from my area, you know?
We run it in Bradford and the people that come are usually from somewhere around here or up north. They get a lot of use out of it. I always wanted to create a hub for young actors, give them somewhere where they could make connections, not only personal connections, but connections in the industry. Free environments where they could workshop their ideas without pressure and get opportunities they might otherwise not have had. Some people there don’t have agents, some do. Some might not have had an audition for a while, so they need a place where they can come to keep them on their toes and meet a new director or casting director. It’s nice man. As a person I get massive bouts of anxiety beforehand, then massive relief when it’s worked out. When it finishes and everyone’s happy and feeling like they’ve done good work. That’s a really nice feeling.
This last part is where we ask you to send some cultural inspiration out into the world, recommending 5 Good Things and the reasons why you chose them.
A restaurant or cafe you like in your local area.
Chibden Mill Inn. It’s a lovely old travellers rest not too far from where I live. It’s quiet outside and they do nice food.
A film everyone should watch.
I’m going to go for True Romance starring Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette.
A book everyone should read.
City of Thieves by David Benioff who was behind the Game of Thrones TV series. It’s about a Russian kid in the Second World War in the siege of Stalingrad. He gets thrown into the cells with an army deserter, and they get a task of finding a dozen eggs in a city of starving people. It’s really good.
A musical album or artist who means something to you.
Stone Roses by Stone Roses. They’re just unbelievable. Every song they’ve done, I love. They changed my life.
Where you’d send someone if they were visiting your city or hometown for the first time.
Haworth, where the Brontë sisters were from. It’s beautiful up there.
California Schemin’ will be available to buy and rent from digital platforms on 25th May, and available to own on Blu-ray and DVD from 6th July 2026.
Sam wore our 3001 Ripstop overshirt, 5021 Painter pants and 7023 B-boy T-shirt.
5 Good Things - Sam Bottomley - Halifax, UK
"Certain art forms won't ever die"
What do Michael Caine, Ray Winstone and Idris Elba have in common with Bob Hoskins, Tim Roth and Tilda Swinton? The answer is no formal acting training. Bradford-born Sam Bottomley has been following in their footsteps for fifteen years now. Cast in Paddy Considine’s BAFTA-winning drama Tyrannosaur at the age of nine, Sam showed such a raw talent that Considine — himself emerging from outside the drama school system — explicitly advised against overtraining. After a stint in youth TV and BBC drama, Sam earned a BAFTA nod in his own right for Somewhere Boy, then nominations from BIFA and the London Critics' Circle for a devastating turn in UK clubbing drama How to have Sex. Having just appeared in James McAvoy’s directorial debut California Schemin’, Sam spoke to us about learning on the job, playing troubled characters, and the West Yorkshire Workshop, his community programme for aspiring acting talent in the north.
Let’s talk about your early acting days. Could you tell us a bit about how you got started? What was your first role and how did it come about?
Acting’s the only job I’ve ever had. I started really, really young. I was going to a drama group in the church hall opposite my school. I’d only been once or twice when an open casting call sheet turned up for Paddy Considine’s debut Tyrannosaur. I took it home then kind of forgot about it. A while later I spotted it when I was doing my hair in the mirror. I always remember it as me getting ready for school. My mum swears it was the weekend and we were doing something else. I asked her what it was. She said ‘Oh, it’s that acting thing.’ We looked at the time — the audition was that day so we ended up going for it. I was given something to read by the casting director Des Hamilton. I said to him, ‘I’ve not come here to read.’ I’m dyslexic so the idea of reading in front of other people, especially at that age, didn’t appeal. They must have liked me because they asked me to come back and have it learned, so I did.
Tyrannosaur must have been a really formative experience. What was it like getting used to the acting life?
It was weird. Tyrannosaur has an 18 certificate— and it’s quite a graphic film. A lot of it I was too young to see. But everyone involved in it was just really lovely. It was the first time I’d acted. The crew explained everything; Paddy Considine would come up to me and say, ‘How would you feel here?’ Or he’d go, ‘I want you to do this, and imagine that this is this, and this is that.’ It was a really relaxed first experience.
After it wrapped, the producer and another actor wrote to a couple of agents and said, there’s a lad in this film who wants to carry on acting. Would you take a meeting with him? Before I knew it, my dad was taking me for a day of jumping around London. I must have had meetings with four different agents. In the end I met one who told me something had landed on her desk that she thought I’d be good for. Whether I chose to go for it was up to me, but she thought I’d be a good fit. I followed her advice and got the part. It was for a film called Private Peaceful based on a book by Michael Morpurgo. I played a kid called Tommy. Tommy as an adult was played by George Mackay. Hero Fiennes played my brother. Jack O’Connell played the older him. From there the ball was rolling.
So that must have been your education, right — learning on the job? What came next on the journey?
I was really, really lucky in that I went straight into acting. I learned how to act on set rather than going through drama school. After those first two films I was auditioning for loads of stuff. I’d get one job then work on it during the summer holidays. I did BBC and CBBC dramas for two years earning my stripes. Usually I’d be with my parents or my grandma who did a lot of chaperoning, because you can’t be on set without a chaperone. It brought me a lot closer to my gran, even though we’d fight like cat and dog sometimes because I never used to wake up on time. We’d drive all over the country going to places like Wales, getting lost and arriving late on set and stuff. Honestly it was it was like the blind leading the blind, us two.
I will say that I had lots of great experiences working with kids my age, and working with adults from a young age I think has made me who I am. When you’re working with adults at that age every day for however long, putting in the hours, it gives you a bit of social awareness. It did me a load of good.
You’ve worked with some highly respected British actors. Tim Roth, Olivia Coleman, Samantha Morton, Peter Mullan, Daniel Day-Lewis. How did your experience of collaborating with them lead you to where you are now as an actor?
I often think about that. It’s an amalgamation of working with really talented people who know what they’re doing, and that’s not just actors, it’s crew, DoPs, picking people’s brains on set. You’ve got to be curious and ask questions. I always felt like I could ask questions - which was massive, having that dialogue.
It’s also down to people like my mum and dad, my family and friends. They’re the ones who’ve shaped me into who I am and what I’ve got. But you’re right that I’ve been lucky to work with some really great actors. I don’t know how it would have been if I didn’t do that, because this is how it’s gone. You don’t really realise you’re learning things until you come away, then a year later you’ll do something, and you’ll be like, that’s very much something that Sean Bean would have done. I’ve picked up his lingo along the way.
Looking through your filmography, from the outset you’ve explored some brave subjects. In Tyrannosaur, How to Have Sex and Ackley Bridge you explored domestic violence, bullying and sexual assault. Ladhood and Somewhere Boy you played young men struggling to fit into their own skins. What was it like playing these roles? Where have they taken you as an actor and a person?
I’m a young man working in TV and film so I’m going to come across these sorts of issues. They’re what people make dramas and comedies about — real life stuff that actually happens.
As an actor taking on these issues, I have a responsibility to do them justice — especially in films like How to have Sex that dealt with important topics. There are really, really difficult places to take myself to. On Ackley Bridge I was a cool character that didn’t give a fuck; he was a bit of a bad boy or whatever. But you can’t just play cool guys all your life. And you don’t want to. You’ve got to go to places you might not like very much. But as a performer, it’s a privilege to take yourself there. It’s things people need to know. How to have Sex was played in schools. If the films we make are going to prevent bad things from happening because young people are aware of certain dangers before they come anywhere near those situations in real life, it’s worth it. It’s massive. You wouldn’t always think acting could help people in that way, but my eyes have been opened to the fact it can.
Could you talk to us about how you prepare for a role, getting into the headspace of a lived experience you might not have had? Is there any prep you do before you come to a part?
It really depends on what a role needs. You’ve got to do it justice. You’ve got to fill your days with it. You’ve got to fill your time. In a film called Last Right I played an Irish kid with autism. I went to an autism centre in Dublin; it was one of the top centres in the country. I sat down with autistic people and just chatted.
YouTube and music’s a big help. I’ll make playlists that my characters would listen to. Films from the setting or the place. I’m playing a young gangster at the moment, so I’ve given myself a note to watch the Long Good Friday. I’ve got a folder on my Instagram. Whenever I see something close to a character I’m playing, I’ll bang it in there. I’ll come out with a collage of inspiration to build a character.
Every actor has a different technique for getting to where they need to be. Overall I think good acting is giving a believable performance where people look at what you’re doing and believe it’s true. Making people feel something is hugely important. Those two things are what I consider a good actor to be. Finding the truth and making it real in order to tell the stories we need to tell.
Acting is an ancient craft, dating back thousands of years. Why does it matter so much? Why is drama and storytelling still important?
Acting is an artform, isn’t it. Certain artforms won’t ever die. Especially when you can indulge in them and lose yourself in them like you can with theatre and film. It’s escapism. It will take you to another place for however long it plays. It’s escaping the everyday. Which people need and want and always have done. Acting is escapism for me too. I escape to where I go, and that means a lot.
What do you like most about what you do? I always wonder about the relationships between co-stars and directors. You guys share some amazing life experiences. How was it shooting California Schemin’, for example?
I enjoy feeling like I’ve done good, but it’s very, very rare that I feel like that. I always come out of a scene thinking, oh, was that alright?
One of the things I enjoy most is the simple act of knowing my lines, when the other person knows their lines too. We’re firing on all cylinders. Things are free and flowing and we’re in a state where we’re locked in and doing good work. I love that feeling. I also love the people I meet. In acting you meet brilliant, beautiful people from all walks of life, from all different classes and cultures. They come together to make something together. Yes they walk away and you might not see them again for years or ever again, but you’ll always have that thing you made. It’s there forever, it lasts forever. I think that’s very special.
Aside from that, you’ve got fucking amazing places you get to go to. I went to South Africa a couple of years ago to do a film. I was out in South Africa for like a month in a beautiful apartment in a beautiful country. I’ve travelled a lot of the world. I’ve definitely travelled the country. In California Schemin’ I was stagediving and making songs before I even started filming so they could be played in my scenes. There’s so many different aspects to life, things I’d never get to experience if I wasn’t acting. I imagine at some point I’ll be riding a horse in something, do you know what I mean? It’s mad.
I started the acting workshop about a year ago and it’s going really well. We have a steady group who come and do some really good work. I’ve got great kids, and there’s an adult workshop too, which is a weekend thing. The workshop gets me on Saturdays alongside another person. Sometimes they’ll be someone I’ve worked with, someone from the industry. We’ve had a casting director in called Claire Bleasdale, for example. It’s really fulfilling. It’s good to do something with people from my area, you know?
We run it in Bradford and the people that come are usually from somewhere around here or up north. They get a lot of use out of it. I always wanted to create a hub for young actors, give them somewhere where they could make connections, not only personal connections, but connections in the industry. Free environments where they could workshop their ideas without pressure and get opportunities they might otherwise not have had. Some people there don’t have agents, some do. Some might not have had an audition for a while, so they need a place where they can come to keep them on their toes and meet a new director or casting director. It’s nice man. As a person I get massive bouts of anxiety beforehand, then massive relief when it’s worked out. When it finishes and everyone’s happy and feeling like they’ve done good work. That’s a really nice feeling.
A restaurant or cafe you like in your local area.
Chibden Mill Inn. It’s a lovely old travellers rest not too far from where I live. It’s quiet outside and they do nice food.
A film everyone should watch.
I’m going to go for True Romance starring Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette.
A book everyone should read.
City of Thieves by David Benioff who was behind the Game of Thrones TV series. It’s about a Russian kid in the Second World War in the siege of Stalingrad. He gets thrown into the cells with an army deserter, and they get a task of finding a dozen eggs in a city of starving people. It’s really good.
A musical album or artist who means something to you.
Stone Roses by Stone Roses. They’re just unbelievable. Every song they’ve done, I love. They changed my life.
Where you’d send someone if they were visiting your city or hometown for the first time.
Haworth, where the Brontë sisters were from. It’s beautiful up there.
California Schemin’ will be available to buy and rent from digital platforms on 25th May, and available to own on Blu-ray and DVD from 6th July 2026.
Sam wore our 3001 Ripstop overshirt, 5021 Painter pants and 7023 B-boy T-shirt.