Emrhys Cooper
Brit actor Emrhys Cooper kicked off his career in the theatre before making the transition to TV and the big screen.
The young actor has a couple of movies in the pipeline over the next few months as his career begins to gather momentum.
I caught up with him to talk about, Walk A Mile In My Pradas & I Want To Get Married as well as his producing work and what lies ahead.
- Walk a Mile in My Pradas is your new movie so can you tell me a little bit about that?
Well it’s a switching body movie, a little bit like Freaky Friday, where two men switch, one is a gay man and one is a straight man. It’s a gross out comedy with Tom Arnold and quite a lot of Saturday Night Live cast and funny people.
I play one of the love interests who is quite a fun, over the top and very overly dramatic character - he is an American which is cool because I got to play something that was so different from myself. And being a Brit playing an American was quite a challenge.
I got to work with some really amazing and funny actors and they kept making me a laugh and it was just a lot of fun. Tom Arnold is just an amazing actor who is always on his toes and making up jokes on set.
So it was great for me to work with this type of cast as I have never done anything that has been purely comedy. So yeah it’s fun movie.
- You take on the role of Michael in the movie so what was it about the character and the script that drew you to the project?
When I read the script I just felt that it had a really good message - it’s about acceptance - and I think in the day and age that we live in this message really drew me to the movie. I thought it would be fun to play a character who is extreme - I got to play around and be more over the top and I got to say things that I don’t get to say as Emrhys Cooper.
I think as an actor you have to pick roles… would I want to play a character like this again? Not necessarily straight away. But as an actor you always want to challenge yourself and portray something that is not you.
I wanted to play it as real as possible so I spoke to friends about how to play this guy, a gay guy, and my acting coach told me to go to bars - so I really did me research. Overall I think that it is believable in what is, hopefully, a moving and funny film.
- As you say it was your first foray into comedy so how did you find that - it is a genre that many actors don’t always feel comfortable with?
You are totally right and I had been scared to do comedy because I thought that I wouldn’t be funny. I feel as an actor that it’s good to keep doing these things - if you just do the same roles that you are not necessarily going to grow.
This is my first comedy and now I kind of like it - I see myself more of a dramatic actor I wouldn’t say that comedy is my forte.
It really helped to be working with veteran actors who know what they are doing - they don’t take you along but you get to watch them.
I was working with Tom Arnold and he was telling me that I really reminded him of Hugh Grant, Nine Months, and he was like ‘Don’t turn into Hugh Grant because I was with him the night he got busted with a hooker’ and then someone shouted ‘action’ - so he made this stupid remarks and that sort of calmed me down and stopped me worrying about the script.
When you go from comedy to doing a drama the atmosphere on set is so different - when you are doing a drama or something harrowing you are quite in a sombre mood; if I am doing something quite disturbing I like to take myself away from the rest of the cast and prepare. When you are doing a comedy you notice that the whole environment on set is a bit lighter which I enjoyed.
- It was the first feature film for filmmaker Joey Sylvester so how did you find him as a filmmaker?
Joey was good and I think that he is going to be a successful director. For me he was good and quite nurturing, because he is young too.
He is also an actor so he spoke to me well, some directors are not very tactful and some are from a visual perspective rather than an acting perspective.
For someone who was doing his first feature I think he did a great job, he had done other things before; I enjoyed his directing I thought it was great.
- You kicked off you career in theatre in the West End so how did you find the transition from stage to screen?
It was actually pretty scary to be honest with you because you go from, I have done theatre in the West End and out here… you have to make it slightly bigger because the audience 300 seats back have to be able to read it.
So as soon as I got to LA they were like ‘why are you moving you hands?’ You have to keep yourself in the shot and not be distracting so I had to readjust myself to the screen. So it did take a lot of time of watching myself back in classes - after a while you d get use to it.
- How much did your theatre background, I know you said you had to retrain yourself, but did it any way prepare you for the work that you have done in TV & movies?
Yes I do. I trained as a dancer and I trained in musicals so I think that having training, stability and putting in the work is a real help. From a young age I was in classes and you are constantly training yourself - having that training and that backbone to take on new things means that you are always going to be learning, I don’t ever want to stop learning.
So I completely believe that theatre… and I love going back to the theatre because you are never more alive when you are on stage because you only get that one take - my favourite thing is being on stage. Film is a wonderful thing because you can share it with a larger audience but being on stage as an actor is an ultimate.
- You were born here in the UK but now live in the States so how have you found the move to America?
It was really challenging (laughs) it has been a rollercoaster if I am honest with you. The first two years I had so many strange experiences - there are a lot of people here with dreams that probably won’t come true.
So one you realise that that is part and parcel of LA you just have to get over that. But I really miss the UK, I came out here to really make things happen and now they are happening more I really hope that I can come back to the UK and do some more work there. My ideal situation would be to be based between the two.
- I Want To Get Married is another movie that you have in the pipeline so can you tell me a little bit about that?
It’s coming out in the U.S. in December and I play Terry who is a very career driven, arrogant, money on the mind will do anything to get ahead kind of guy - so I can relate to him (laughs). But the movie has a real character arc for him as he realises that all of the things that he has been doing are wrong.
It is a coming of age movie and it has got an amazing cast. I think that my character has a really good moral storyline and I can relate to him and I think people will also relate to him.
- Recently you have moved between TV, shorts and film so are you looking for anything in particular when you are selecting your roles?
I would like to say I am choosey but right now, as an actor, you just have to go with what is given to you. Luckily I am getting more offers and I have reclined some offers because I thought that they were just not the direction that I wanted to go in. I get excited from a few things; working with a really great director is important, working with a great script is equally as important, and I always want to grow and be happy.
- Well you have touched on my next question really - your film career really is just kicking off are there any actors or directors in particular that you would like to work with?
People like Leonardo DiCaprio; I would really like to work with him. There are a lot of TV people and TV show; I would really like to work on True Blood. There are a lot of opportunities that I am definitely going for - there is a chance for me to possibly do a TV show next year. Director wise there are so many good ones it’s hard to choose (film).
- You have already stepped into a producing role with Walk a Mile in My Pradas and you are set to do again with Isolation so how much is what goes on behind the camera something that interests you - any plans to write or direct?
Basically I set up a production company two years ago because I have always found that I am very creative and I am good at connecting people - I know a lot of talented writers as well as a vast amount of really good actors and directors.
Being a producer is a connecting thing really and so I set up this production company with another business partner and we have now produced two movies, one of them was called The Harrowing which has just been chanced to The Lucifer Effect - we shot it in the UK in January and we got locked in this mental asylum.
We have got two other things going on. I sometimes feel that you lose the power as an actor because you are at the mercy of the producers or whatever. But as a producer you have a bit more creativity - I am creative person and I love reading a script and making it happen.
Right now I am not the best writer, I will put my hand up to that, but one day I would love to direct. Directing is something that I will eventually do but I sometimes feel that people do spread themselves a bit too think so I am just concentrating on the acting right now.
- The stage is where you began so have you any plans to return?
I did a play earlier this year in Los Angles called Entertaining Mr Sloane and I was very honoured to win Best Lead Actor In A Play - it was probably one of the best days of my life.
We are actually going to New York with the play next year we will be heading to Broadway in April. It’s going to be my first time on Broadway so I am excited but really nervous. I have never performed in New York so I am really looking forward to that.
- Finally what's next for you?
There are a couple of opportunities coming my way, one being this TV series, and the other being a musical movie sort of based around Cinderella, I will be playing a Prince Charming character.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Brit actor Emrhys Cooper kicked off his career in the theatre before making the transition to TV and the big screen.
The young actor has a couple of movies in the pipeline over the next few months as his career begins to gather momentum.
I caught up with him to talk about, Walk A Mile In My Pradas & I Want To Get Married as well as his producing work and what lies ahead.
- Walk a Mile in My Pradas is your new movie so can you tell me a little bit about that?
Well it’s a switching body movie, a little bit like Freaky Friday, where two men switch, one is a gay man and one is a straight man. It’s a gross out comedy with Tom Arnold and quite a lot of Saturday Night Live cast and funny people.
I play one of the love interests who is quite a fun, over the top and very overly dramatic character - he is an American which is cool because I got to play something that was so different from myself. And being a Brit playing an American was quite a challenge.
I got to work with some really amazing and funny actors and they kept making me a laugh and it was just a lot of fun. Tom Arnold is just an amazing actor who is always on his toes and making up jokes on set.
So it was great for me to work with this type of cast as I have never done anything that has been purely comedy. So yeah it’s fun movie.
- You take on the role of Michael in the movie so what was it about the character and the script that drew you to the project?
When I read the script I just felt that it had a really good message - it’s about acceptance - and I think in the day and age that we live in this message really drew me to the movie. I thought it would be fun to play a character who is extreme - I got to play around and be more over the top and I got to say things that I don’t get to say as Emrhys Cooper.
I think as an actor you have to pick roles… would I want to play a character like this again? Not necessarily straight away. But as an actor you always want to challenge yourself and portray something that is not you.
I wanted to play it as real as possible so I spoke to friends about how to play this guy, a gay guy, and my acting coach told me to go to bars - so I really did me research. Overall I think that it is believable in what is, hopefully, a moving and funny film.
- As you say it was your first foray into comedy so how did you find that - it is a genre that many actors don’t always feel comfortable with?
You are totally right and I had been scared to do comedy because I thought that I wouldn’t be funny. I feel as an actor that it’s good to keep doing these things - if you just do the same roles that you are not necessarily going to grow.
This is my first comedy and now I kind of like it - I see myself more of a dramatic actor I wouldn’t say that comedy is my forte.
It really helped to be working with veteran actors who know what they are doing - they don’t take you along but you get to watch them.
I was working with Tom Arnold and he was telling me that I really reminded him of Hugh Grant, Nine Months, and he was like ‘Don’t turn into Hugh Grant because I was with him the night he got busted with a hooker’ and then someone shouted ‘action’ - so he made this stupid remarks and that sort of calmed me down and stopped me worrying about the script.
When you go from comedy to doing a drama the atmosphere on set is so different - when you are doing a drama or something harrowing you are quite in a sombre mood; if I am doing something quite disturbing I like to take myself away from the rest of the cast and prepare. When you are doing a comedy you notice that the whole environment on set is a bit lighter which I enjoyed.
- It was the first feature film for filmmaker Joey Sylvester so how did you find him as a filmmaker?
Joey was good and I think that he is going to be a successful director. For me he was good and quite nurturing, because he is young too.