What is charisma — that makes someone watchable on screen? It is hard to define and cannot be taught or acquired but when a person has it, it is instantly recognisable. The young British actor, Douglas Booth, must have been born under a lucky star because he has that unusual package of good looks, talent and charisma that has top film agents reaching for their phones. Our meeting takes place in the office of his London agent, Curtis Brown; he has just finished filming in New York and Iceland for Darren Aronofsky’s “Noah” alongside a star-studded cast of Russell Crowe, Emma Watson, Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Hopkins and Ray Winstone. Booth plays the part of Shem, Noah’s (Crowe’s) eldest son.
He has also recently starred as Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet” directed by Carlo Carlei and adapted by Julian Fellowes (of “Downton Abbey” fame). Both films have yet to hit our screens but when they do he looks set to join the exclusive club of actors instantly recognisable around the globe.
He comes across as someone who really loves his work, has a clear-headed view of what he wants his career to be and a mature attitude to the perils of fame and money. This might seem a bit odd in someone so young but in fact he has already had a good grounding in his craft. His love of acting started at school; from the age of 13 he attended classes every Saturday at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music & Drama and was a member of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. He pays tribute to his “wonderful” drama coach, Lonnie Christophers, who prepared him for his LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) exams.
He started working professionally as a 16-year-old and won rave reviews for his performance as Boy George in the BBC TV drama “Worried About the Boy” and for his role as Pip in the BBC’s 2011 adaptation of Charles Dickens’s “Great Expectations”.
Speaking of Pip, he says: “What caught my attention straight away was the journey this character goes on, from having very little but having a lot of love to having everything but not having much love.” He sees similarities between Pip’s story and the lives of some actors or celebrities who almost overnight find fame and all the trappings that go with the high life. “In this industry a lot of people I meet suddenly come into a lot of money. It’s very interesting to see how different people react and that’s what I found quite fascinating,” he says.
In “Great Expectations” he enjoyed working alongside American actress Gillian Anderson, perhaps best known for her role as Special Agent Dana Scully in the TV series “The X-Files”. She gave a truly chilling performance as the jilted bride, Miss Havisham. He is also full of praise for the actor Ray Winstone who played the terrifying yet pitiful escaped convict, Abel Magwitch. He was delighted to work with Winstone again on “Noah”. “Ray is one of the top-most actors I’ve worked with and he’s the most fun. He’s a dear friend — and so down-to-earth”, he says.
He is very glad to have so much rich experience already under his belt rather than just graduating from drama school like so many of his contemporaries who now have to set about making their mark in the fiercely competitive industry. “It’s very hard to break out at that stage with everyone graduating at the same time,” he says. When he visits Los Angeles he sees the quest for fame and recognition at its most intense. “You sit there in these fancy restaurants and members clubs in LA and almost all the staff are budding actors. You sit down in a café and everyone is writing a script. It’s almost too much”, he says. Having seen this first hand he adds a caution to actors just setting out in their careers: “LA is the heart of the movie industry and it is a complete necessity to go there — but I would never go to LA unless I was invited.”
He has had his agent in the United States since his performance as Boy George made people sit up and notice. “I have an amazing team over there and my career wouldn’t be where it is now without them or without my London agents here at Curtis Brown. It’s very much a collaborative effort”, he says.
He intends to buy a property in Los Angeles but would not like to live there permanently. “I have a huge love for the place but I always find with LA that after you’ve been there for a month, you’re ready to come home ... but then you want to go back again! I’ll definitely have a house there as well as having a house in the UK because then when you go over there you don’t have to stay in a hotel,” he says.
He is keen to steer clear of work that he doesn’t find fulfilling. “There are the big movies, the big franchises such as those mimicking ‘Twilight’ or ‘The Hunger Games’ that get laid before you occasionally,” he says. “I had the experience recently where something was within my reach which could have made me a multimillionaire by the age of 22 but I’m not one to ever take anything for the money — whatever the consequences.”
Asked which actor he most admires, he doesn’t hesitate in naming Leonardo DiCaprio. “His career is so varied and he’s made very interesting choices. As well as being a fantastic actor he’s got the perfect balance between being commercially successful and having integrity in doing what he wants, while keeping his private life out of the public eye as much as possible,” he says.
He recognises that overexposure can be damaging for an actor and makes it harder to be credible on screen. A little bit of mystery helps.
At the moment Booth finds the attention he gets from members of the public quite manageable but that could well change as his career develops. He describes how sometimes while doing his shopping at the supermarket he will be trailed by giggling girls who will finally, after about 20 minutes or so, pluck up the courage to ask him for a photo or autograph. Fans of “Great Expectations” also sometimes stop to discuss the work and express their appreciation of his portrayal of Pip. He is already wary about protecting his private life as he dislikes seeing gossip in the papers about who he is rumoured to be dating.
He also knows that sometimes when playing a role it is hard to shake off the character when the camera stops rolling or the play ends. “I definitely notice it with my friends and people I’m close to who are actors. They drive me mad sometimes, especially when they’re doing plays that go on for months.” He admits that “I really struggled and was quite homesick” while living in New York filming “Noah”.
His latest project has been confirmed as “Jupiter Ascending”, directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski, in which he will be starring alongside Mila Kunis, Sean Bean, Channing Tatum and Eddie Redmayne. He is clearly relishing the prospect of starting work on the film. “It’s great to work with such talented and visionary directors — it’s the most rewarding thing you could ever imagine”, he says.
Another bonus is that the film will be shot in the United Kingdom, where he has his London base. It is a city whose rich history and character he clearly loves, noting, “You can walk down the streets that Charles Dickens walked down.”
On the evidence to date it looks like, whatever the role, Douglas Booth is an actor well worth watching.
Denise Marray is an independent writer based in London.
