Five performers tell us about the roles and people who made their careers.
Every role an actor plays gives them the opportunity to showcase their skills and make their mark on the industry, but some roles are so well-received, so pivotal, that they can catapult your career to new heights and audiences.
At the CDG Awards 2024, we asked a variety of successful actors about the role that changed their career and the casting directors who gave them these opportunities. As you journey towards your own breakthrough role, gain inspiration from the experiences of those who have walked this path before you. Your own career-changing role may be just around the corner!
Here’s what they shared:
‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’
For Anthony Boyle (Masters of the Air, Shardlake), his big break came from an obscure play you may have heard of called Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Not only was he the original ‘Scorpius Malfoy’ in the West End and Broadway versions of the show, but he also won the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2017 and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 2018.
“My mother would say [the role that changed my career] was playing one of the three bears in The Teddy Bears Come to Picnic,” Anthony says. “But what actually happened was I was at drama school, and I left to do Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”
“It opened up a lot of doors for me and a lot of people saw it,” he continues. “It was an absolute blessing to get that coming out of college.”
Performing in Los Angeles
Luke Millington-Drake (The Cuphead Show, Loot) gained popularity thanks to his comedic impressions of public figures (such as Keira Knightley) on Instagram and TikTok and his work at the Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles.
“I was performing at the Groundlings Theatre in Los Angeles,” he explains. “Doing insane human beings in crazy wigs, a lot of times double-stacked wigs, being an idiot on stage. And that’s how I got my start. And also being insane on the internet as well.”
‘Billy Elliot’
Layton Williams (Bad Education, Cabaret) was the original ‘Jamie New’ in the West End run of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, but it was a different leading role in a musical that provided the pivotal moment of his career.
“I actually got my first big break in a musical called Billy Elliot,” Layton says. “I was cast by Jessica Ronane.”
Layton was the second person of colour and the first mixed-heritage performer to play the lead role of ‘Billy Elliot’, and has since gone on to star in various shows, films and TV shows – including being a finalist on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.
‘Matilda: The Musical’
Sindhu Vee (Sex Education, What’s Love Got to Do with It?) has flourished as an award-winning comedian and writer, with her career-changing acting role coming fairly recently in Netflix’s film adaptation of Matilda the Matilda, where she played ‘Mrs. Phelps’.
“In acting, my major career change was when I was cast in Matilda: The Musical on Netflix. And that was thanks to a number of different people – the director, Matthew Warchus, but also I cannot deny it had a lot to do with Lucy Bevan, who saw me and was like, “I think she would be great.” So yeah, that was the big one.”
Championed by Casting Directors
For Tanya Moodie (Motherland, A Discovery of Witches), there is no one pivotal role that stands out as the turning point of her career.
“I think there’s been lots of different life-changing things that have helped me hang around for over 30 years,” she says. “I mentioned two different casting directors: Doreen Jones and Maggie Lunn. And to be honest, it was actually them that brought me into rooms that I wouldn’t normally have been able to get into at that time. It was starting to get into those rooms, people like that who just had faith in me, and so then I could build my confidence and just keep at it.”
Thank you Anthony, Luke, Layton, Sindhu and Tanya for telling us about your career-changing roles!
Take a look at our website for more interviews with actors, agents and casting directors.
