00:00We're here at Bridge North Endowed and sir, you are the assistant headteacher?
00:04That's correct, yeah.
00:05What's your name, sir?
00:06It's David Lewis.
00:07But you used to be the drama teacher?
00:08I did indeed, yeah.
00:09So, I was drama teacher here for five years and during that time we had Harry here as
00:18well who came through school, did very well, loved his drama, was involved in our school
00:25shows, Peter Pan, as Peter Pan.
00:29On Flying Around the Stage.
00:30That's proper good special effects for a school, isn't it, for flying ropes?
00:35Yeah, we had to have a surveyor on the roof and got the flying rig up in front of him.
00:40Lewis had a go himself and actually tried to do a backflip and then fell out of it.
00:46That's probably why flying ropes are banned from all schools, from that one.
00:49All my fault.
00:50Yeah, no, it was very good and Harry, yeah, that was your first big school show role?
00:56Yeah, I think so.
00:57And it was the first time I felt like, I guess, the pressure of having such a big thing to
01:02do and it was so fun.
01:03And you'd just started doing GCSE drama then as well, didn't you?
01:06I did, yeah.
01:07And then you did music GCSE as well?
01:08And you and Miss Bradford were my inspirations to keep going, I think.
01:13That's nice to hear, isn't it, sir?
01:14You did your own act as well, didn't you?
01:15Would you like to talk about that a little bit?
01:16Well, no, this isn't about you, Harry.
01:17Well, no, we've got time, so you did a bit about Jimmy Norman Whiston, didn't you?
01:23Yes, yeah, I did a few things before then retraining and being a teacher.
01:29So are you just acting at being an assistant head now?
01:32Do they know that you're not actually qualified?
01:34You can be anything if you're a good actor, can't you?
01:36It doesn't actually work here.
01:38Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:39So, I guess, Harry, you know, Coronation Street, I mean, you know, amazing.
01:45Are you peaking too soon?
01:46Is that the fear?
01:47No, I can't talk too much about it to be honest.
01:50I mean, if people want to know what's going on with your character, basically, tune in
01:54and watch.
01:55Do you know what I mean?
01:56But let's talk a little bit about how you got there.
01:58So where are you from originally?
01:59I'm from Wolverhampton.
02:00Wolverhampton.
02:01So you've got Black Country Shropshire connections there.
02:04That's it.
02:05I am.
02:06And was acting in the family?
02:07Your mum and dad?
02:08Are they into the drama?
02:09No.
02:10They're artistic.
02:11My dad's a graphic designer.
02:12My mum, like, paints and stuff.
02:13Yeah.
02:14But, no, it's just kind of something that I started doing when I was like 12.
02:17Yeah.
02:19So I think it was more of like a bit of fun.
02:21But then when I came here and started doing a review, I think that's when it was like,
02:25oh, I actually want to do this.
02:26Yeah.
02:27You know what?
02:28You see this, don't you?
02:29Sports people and so on.
02:30And they're linked back to teachers that really inspired them and spurred them on.
02:33So it was a bit of that moment going on here on Gathering.
02:36And you were just always so enthusiastic.
02:38A bit too enthusiastic.
02:40Sometimes too enthusiastic.
02:41Bags of energy.
02:42Always wanted to, yeah.
02:43You were the student who always wanted to stick their hand up and want to perform first.
02:46That was it.
02:47And you just carried that enthusiasm, carried that through.
02:50And, you know, that was obviously brilliant because that effort level has led you to this point now.
02:55There we go.
02:56We should mention as well, there's been a couple of theatre groups that have helped you along the way.
02:59What are a couple of the Black Country theatre groups you've been involved with?
03:02Yeah, so Century Youth Theatre.
03:03Yeah.
03:04That was something I started when I was like 12.
03:05That was the thing that kind of got me into it in the first place.
03:07And we were going, like, abroad to, like, Lithuania and stuff.
03:09Wow.
03:10It was just really fun.
03:11And then Bilston Operatic as well, which I did a few shows with before I left.
03:14Yeah.
03:15To go off into London.
03:16What were some of the Bilston Operatic shows you were in?
03:19I did Peter Pan.
03:20Yeah.
03:21Again.
03:22I played a lost boy there.
03:23I did Hairspray.
03:24I did Little Shop of Horrors.
03:26I did Lion Maze.
03:27Wow.
03:29That's good grounding, isn't it?
03:30When you're involved with something like that.
03:32I think people, they see these theatre groups and they think, oh, that would be a nice thing for my kid to do for the summer.
03:37But they don't always appreciate that this is the stepping stones for a career, isn't it?
03:41The people you meet there have become friends for life as well.
03:44So it's always worth doing something like that.
03:46Yeah.
03:47So your experience on Corrie, is it everything, is it living up to what you had hoped it would be?
03:52Oh, it's phenomenal.
03:53It's good fun.
03:54It's, every day still feels a bit surreal and like a dream.
03:58So if we have a magic wand and look forward into the future, you know, 10, 20 years,
04:03what would you like to be doing if everything went your way?
04:08I'd like to be doing my Oscar speech.
04:10Perfect.
04:11David Lewis.
04:13For all of his help, that's what I would like.
04:16So you'd be open to anything, TV, film, theatre, stage, anything?
04:20I love TV and film, a lot.
04:22But I also do love my theatre, so bring the theatre jobs on.
04:26You always just, yeah.
04:27My memory of you is you being involved in such a lot of theatre, I think.
04:30Theatre gives you that grounding as well.
04:32It's just thrilling, isn't it?
04:33Yeah.
04:35So a couple of last questions.
04:37Favourite actor, Harry?
04:38Daniel Day-Lewis.
04:39Yeah?
04:41Yeah, absolutely.
04:42Favourite film then?
04:45There'll Be Blood.
04:46Oh, I've not heard of that.
04:47That's a new one to me.
04:48Daniel Day-Lewis'.
04:50Ah, okay.
04:52Okay, I'll have to check that one out.
04:54Well, great to meet you and it's always nice to have a local lad doing well.
04:58And yeah, all the best in your future, sir.
05:01Well done.
05:02Thank you very much.
05:03And sir, if this Assistant Ed stuff doesn't work out, there's always time.
05:05There's always time.
05:06You can go back to acting, I think.
05:08Get a good word in from Harry.
05:09Yeah, there we go.
05:11What did you do for Thomas Telford?
05:13And then Peter Pan again?
05:15I thought you did.
05:16Did we have a full go of Peter Pan?
05:18After they did Peter Pan?
05:19Yeah, the whole, yeah.
05:20Yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:21And then a lot of those different little things.
05:24I did, like, main styles with Fiverr, actually.
05:27Like, as well.
05:28So, yeah.
05:29Do you like musicals as well?
05:30No, I don't.
05:31I don't listen to musicals.
05:32I don't listen to musicals.
05:33I don't listen to musicals.
05:34I don't listen to musicals.
05:35I don't listen to musicals.
05:36Is there a musical theatre up here?
05:37Say?
05:38There was.
05:39There was, yeah.
05:40There was, yeah.
05:41Yeah.
05:42There was a movie.
05:43So, well, so, how it works differently to how you're in school now, we have clubs that
05:46happen during the day.
05:47Really?
05:48Yeah, so there's lots of clubs that happen, but not just one.
05:51We do pair clubs.
05:52Oh, yeah.
05:53I go from the smaller parts, and then kind of find a foot in the door, make new contacts
05:58with people, and then go home and, yeah.
06:01See what happens.
06:02Contacts are really important, aren't they?
06:03Oh, 100%.
06:04It's not who you know, but it's like, it helps in that situation, I think.
06:09Is anyone here, is anyone here wanting to go on and do, like, drama at university or
06:14whatever?
06:15Hmm?
06:16Are you looking at drama schools?
06:18Yeah, I am looking for drama schools, yeah.
06:22Do you want to do sixth form first?
06:24It's like a, you know, you have the teachers that, like, they won't just be teachers.
06:29Like, they'll, it's more of, like, a friendly environment.
06:32Not this, it's not what I mean.
06:34But, like, they, like, can be your friends and stuff as well, and, like, help you in
06:37the industry as well.
06:38So, I think that's a good, I went off the tangent then.
06:41You asked me something else.
06:42There you go.
06:43That's drama school.
06:44Any other questions?
06:47What got you on to drama?
06:49Erm, well, I did it since a really early age, but I only did it for fun.
06:55But then you forced me to audition for Peter Pan.
07:00Thanks.
07:01Well, you didn't force me.
07:03No, you encouraged me.
07:04Yeah.
07:05I wasn't going to do it.
07:07I remember I did a school show, and then you were like, just audition.
07:12Even if you audition and you don't do it, it's fine.
07:15I remember saying that.
07:16And then I did it.
07:17And then I got into Peter Pan.
07:18I was like, oh, I could do that one.
07:20And then, I think after that, I think it was, like, solidified in me that I wanted to do,
07:24like, acting.
07:25Then, interestingly enough, Guy, we were just talking about, when you were in Year 11,
07:29you did Grease, didn't you?
07:30Mm-hmm.
07:31But what happened on the auditions for Grease?
07:33Talk about what we were just talking about in the dialogue.
07:35What happened on the auditions?
07:36Yeah.
07:37So, when we gave out the parts, who did you get?
07:41Oh, characters like T-Bear, 17 or something.
07:46We did, like, 130 in the show up until those days.
07:51I was a no-name T-Bear.
07:52Yeah.
07:53So, the point is, really, like, well, Harry did really well.
07:58We had loads of people auditioning to get Peter Pan.
08:01It's not plain sailing, is it?
08:03Mm-hmm.
08:04I remember throwing my toys at the pram
08:06because I didn't get Carnegie for, like, a brief moment.
08:09And I was like, that's fine.
08:11So, yeah.
08:12Well, yeah.
08:13You don't have to always get...
08:15And to be fair, that is true.
08:16It is never plain sailing in the acting business.
08:19I think it's a very hard industry, and you need to have resilience with it.
08:23You need to get 1,000 no's before you get a yes with a lot of things that will scare you.
08:28But, you know, out of all the auditions...
08:31I probably did about 100 auditions before I got Coronation Street
08:35or before I got the ones before.
08:37And, like, even then, like, some of the jobs you'll get at first,
08:41there might be smaller roles,
08:43but it's all just experience of being on the set.
08:45And I think the first time you're on a set that's big
08:48is actually the most overwhelming thing ever,
08:50but it's, like, the most exciting thing.
08:52And I think that was the moment I was like, OK, I can do this.
08:56So, yeah.
08:58Any more questions?
09:00Do you prefer, like, improv, or do you prefer script work with drama?
09:05I love improvisation because I think it's more of a raw form of acting
09:10because with script work...
09:12I mean, script work's fun as well,
09:14but you have to do more to make it seem real than with improvisation
09:17because with improvisation, I feel like it's just coming straight to the tongue
09:21as if you were just having a normal conversation like we are now.
09:24Yeah.
09:25So it just feels more real.
09:26It's more fun sometimes when you introduce your role.
09:29Yeah.
09:32So I went to Bryce-Brewford,
09:34and then from there I got an agent,
09:36and then I did bits and bits of jobs here and there,
09:39doctors and stuff,
09:40and now I'm in culinary history.
09:42That's me.
09:43You should really rush that.
09:45But, yeah.
09:46Any questions?
09:47Over to you, guys.
09:50Can I ask quickly?
09:51So, I was reading your little writers there,
09:54so when you were here, you were also a theatre school, weren't you?
09:57Yeah.
09:58I don't know whether you've made that up or not.
10:00No, yeah, I was playing for Central Youth Theatre in Wolverhampton,
10:02which is still a thing right now.
10:04I was interested in that.
10:05I'm still there.
10:06I'm passionate about university.
10:07That's great.
10:10Any questions?
10:11Did you want to play as the villain?
10:13Well, not villain, but as a bad person.
10:15It's fun to play villains,
10:16it's just, to be honest,
10:17I mean, you get the more dramatic storylines.
10:20If you play the nice character,
10:22especially in Coronation Street,
10:24you're just going to be stealing someone's cup of tea.
10:27You're going to do a lot of smashing and punching and stuff like that.
10:30Yeah.
10:31So, you've got some aggressive storylines.
10:32I do have some more aggressive storylines coming up.
10:34OK.
10:35But I can't tell you all of it.
10:37Hang on, this is the DVD extras.
10:40What happened during the Peter Pan flying scene, sir?
10:43So, final song, final big finale part.
10:47Epic moment.
10:48All cast on stage,
10:50we had like 150 people involved on stage,
10:52massively involved across the whole school.
10:55And the final moment was,
10:57as the curtain closed,
10:59Harry rose, pulled up by the flying rig.
11:03With my arms out.
11:04To greet the audience as a final moment.
11:08On the middle night,
11:09so we had students,
11:11whilst everyone was around,
11:12had to hook his harness on,
11:14hooked on back to front.
11:15No way.
11:16So, as he rose up,
11:17he just turned in the air.
11:19The back of Harry.
11:21Facing the curtain.
11:22With my big nappy on as well.
11:25How do you handle a moment like that, Harry, on stage?
11:29I just did that and to be honest,
11:30I just did so much pain already.
11:33I think it was just like a shared moment
11:34that everyone just appreciated.
11:35Yeah.
11:36You know what,
11:37we all love those bits,
11:38those are the bits we see on You've Been Framed
11:40and we all have a giggle at,
11:41you know what I mean.
11:42And it was just pure pain.
11:43Pure pain.
11:44That thing was horrendous.
11:45Yeah.
11:46You put so much padded on me
11:47that I did look like I had a nappy on.
11:50Your costume was like a kind of…
11:51Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
11:53Yeah.
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