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Tag: Freddie Fox

All the latest breaking news on the actor Freddie Fox. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on Freddie Fox.

  • INTERVIEW | Cucumber’s Freddie Fox

    INTERVIEW | Cucumber’s Freddie Fox

    Hammersmith born Freddie Fox is making his mark on his own terms, despite being part of the much talked about Fox dynasty. The Fox family are high profile media players, with generations of actors and agents. Freddie is the youngest of this prolific family, born in 1989. He refuses to define his sexuality as straight and isn’t afraid of getting his kit off (if the script demands it). In 2014 he starred alongside acting royalty in the blockbuster landmark film Pride and the critically acclaimed The Riot Club. We speak to Freddie about his latest role in Channel 4’s Cucumber and Banana.

    CREDIT: Channel 4

    This interview was taken from Issue 9 of THEGAYUK

    TGUK: Can you explain a bit about Cucumber and Banana, and who you play?
    FF: I play Freddie Baxter, who lives with Dean in the warehouse, and he also works at the insurance company that Henry and Dean work at, but in the canteen. He is 25, incredibly sexually confident, sexually powerful, and is an object of desire for Henry throughout the story. Initially there’s a very hostile dynamic between Freddie and Henry.

    TGUK: What was it that attracted you to the role?
    FF: Yeah, simply put, the scripts are so good and the stories are so interesting, the characters are so layered, and they all go on such incredible journeys. When I initially heard about the project, and the part I was up for playing, I was a bit ambivalent about it, because it sounded quite similar to parts I’d played recently. But then when I read the scripts and I realised there was no- one like this man, and there would never be anyone like this man on TV ever again. I realised I had to go for it.

    TGUK: Freddie, your character’s a little cool and heartless, is that fair to say?
    FF: In certain respects, he is heartless about certain things, but ultimately, no he’s not. He has got a heart, and a big one, but he just protects himself with an armour of sex and outward expressions of beauty. That’s so he can control other people, but that’s only there because it’s hiding aspects of his life that he simply will not show. As the friendship between Freddie and Dean and Henry grows, and they become more cemented together by their proximity at the warehouse, you see a much more humane and sensitive Freddie emerge. That’s why it’s such a layered, interesting character.

    TGUK: You’ve described him somewhere as a nymphomaniac who gets his entire validation from sex. Is that right?
    FF: More or less, yeah. He’s been sexualised from a young age – long before most of us are – and he happens to be very good at it. So he uses it as a way to protect himself and as a weapon, and also, because he’s good at it, as a way to validate his position in the world.

    TGUK: Is it fun to play a character like that?
    FF: What do you think?! [Laughs]

    TGUK: The shoot involved living in Manchester for five months. Was that fun, and did you get to know the place a bit?
    FF: Speaking as a non-Mancunian I was probably the one doing the most investigating, as Fis knows it like the back of his hand. I got to know it intimately and I love it. We saw Stockport, the suburbs, Didsbury where my character is from, so it’s great to hear the accent there. We went out a bit and had some fun.

    credit: channel 4

    TGUK: Did you go out and check out the gay scene in Manchester? What else did you do in the way of research?
    FF: Yeah, we didn’t do as much of that as I’d expected. The first time I went to Manchester it was for a show about Boy George and we went out a bit then. For this we shot a lot on Canal Street and the atmosphere kind of pervades, even if you’re not there on a night out. There’s still a buzz there which Russell really wanted to convey. It’s very, very magnetic, and you can feel what it’s about without having to experience it.

    TGUK: Freddie, is it true that you stayed in accent throughout the entire shoot?
    FF: Yes I did. The accent’s really important for me. I’d never taken it as far as I did with this thought “I’m not going to get this wrong.” I stayed in voice the whole time, even when I was at home with my parents. They didn’t like it at all, but they are actors so they understood!

    TGUK: What was it like working with the older actors?
    FF: We learned a lot from the older actors. I’d like to point out they’re not old, just older than we are! They have more experience, and all of them also had a bedrock in the theatre, which was great because Fis and I have that too, so we had a sort of shorthand.

    TGUK : You’re still young. Do you still feel like you’re learning your craft?
    FF: Definitely, that really was one of the most special things on this job. The atmosphere created by Vincent and Russell on set was such that you really, really wanted to come in to work every day. As actors, we have the best job in the world, but occasionally it can be made difficult by ego and by not listening to each other and lack of communication. And on this job, it was just brilliant, and as a result, I think we all felt like we were doing our best work.

     

    TGUK: Have you seen Queer as Folk?
    FF: I hadn’t seen it before this job started, but I have now. I loved it. It was a brilliant piece of drama, and the writing was  Vwhip-sharp.

    TGUK: It was quite controversial when it first went out on Channel 4 15 years ago. Do you think some of the more risqué elements of Cucumber and Banana might cause a kerfuffle this time around?
    FF: There should be, as well. Anything that moves public consciousness and public morality forward, which one hopes this show will do, has got to cause a stir otherwise it’s not done its job properly.

    TGUK: Do you think Queer as Folk changed the nature of TV, or what was considered acceptable in a TV drama?
    FF: I do yes. Everybody who I’ve spoken to who was conscious when Queer as Folk went out says it was a complete game- changer. It completely changed people’s perception of young, gay men especially. Suddenly they were successful, cool, sexy, out there, fun people you wanted to spend time with – not a stereotype. Obviously that was massive when it came out.

     

    Cucumber is available to buy on DVD from Amazon

  • THEATRE REVIEW: Romeo + Juliet – The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

    For this production starring Freddie Fox, the story of Romeo and Juliet needs very little introduction, being Shakespeare’s classic tale of two young lovers from rival families who see beyond their family’s feud, and secretly marry. ★★★

    But when Romeo kills a member of Juliet’s family, the tragedy looks set to tear them apart.

    Whilst retaining the original text, the events are loosely set in the north of England, with northern accents aplenty and bold characters, some of whom have a slight hint of “Jeremy Kyle fodder” bolshiness about them. The costumes provided an overarching 70’s visual style, made up of a plethora of man-made fibres, bold patterns, skimpy trunks and jumpsuits. An empty set constructed of corrugated steel sheets and pressed wood flooring served to focus the audience on the performances of the cast and the use of only two contrasting materials reflected the two conflicting families of the story.

    But with so little on set, the performances were left to carry the production. There were two performances which stood out from the ensemble cast. Firstly Rachel Lumberg as Nurse, who was the epitome of the northern “salt of the Earth” working class mother figure. Secondly was a quirky, camp and awkward version of Peter, played by Joshua Miles. Skulking around like the lovechild of Alan Bennet and Jarvis Cocker, his scene stealing turn was rewarded with the majority of the audience’s laughter and affection.

    But the draw here is Freddie Fox, last seen by most people in “Cucumber”, “Banana” and “Pride”. Fox made for an interesting choice, with his youthful, almost androgynous and pale features, which worked surprisingly well. Fox’s performance was better than one would perhaps anticipate, demonstrating his versatility. His diction was clear and precise and he did hold a real stage presence, drawing the eye and teasing the audience with frequent flashes of his washboard abs and his toned biceps. You could easily believe that he was a young, somewhat naïve love-struck teenager, and his wide-eyed performance conveyed Romeo’s first realisation of true love over and above his romantic ideations that had come before it. The supporting cast was also filled with a slew of very handsome young men, in particular Scott Arthur, Joshua Miles and Simon Manyonda who all performed as well as they looked.

    Staging a new production of Romeo + Juliet can be tricky. As one of Shakespeare’s best-known plays and given its presence in popular culture, any company has to walk a fine line. If you make the production too modern, it draws the risk of being criticised as a pale imitation of the Baz Lurhman film starring Leonardo Di Caprio; too traditional and it becomes a bland and unimaginative re-tread which has all been seen before. But thankfully Sheffield Theatres manages to walk a line which means that there production doesn’t falls into either category, with a production that put me in mind of a Shane Meadow’s “This Is England 90” chav culture.
    The first act of the play picked out the comedy elements of the piece nicely and was engaging and entertaining, although the second act did seem to lose some of the momentum which had built up in the first act and there were occasions throughout when some of the diction was lost at times by some of the cast members. But that said; it was an interesting take on a classic and one which did just about enough to make it stand apart from versions which has come before it.
    Romeo + Juliet is at The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield until 17th October 2015. Tickets can be bought online at www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk or by calling the box office on 0114 249 6000.

  • Cast announced for new Russell T Davies drama series

    VINCENT FRANKLIN, CYRIL NRI, JULIE HESMONDHALGH, FREDDIE FOX, FISAYO AKINADE, CON O`NEILL, JAMES MURRAY and CEALLACH SPELLMAN confirmed to star in CUCUMBER and BANANA on CHANNEL 4 and E4

    Star of The Thick of It and Twenty Twelve, VINCENT FRANKLIN will join Coronation Street’s JULIE HESMONDHALGH in the cast of new Channel 4 drama series Cucumber, from the multi BAFTA award-winning writer of Queer As Folk and Doctor Who, Russell T Davies.

    Filming in Manchester has begun on Cucumber (8 x 60’) for broadcast on Channel 4 in 2015, with E4 series Banana (8 x 30’) to start production next month. The cast also includes; CYRIL NRI (The Bill), FREDDIE FOX (Parade’s End), FISAYO AKINADE (Fresh Meat), CON O`NEILL (Uncle), JAMES MURRAY (Primeval) and CEALLACH SPELLMAN (Waterloo Road).

    Life for 46 year old Henry (Vincent Franklin) and his boyfriend Lance (Cyril Nri) is comfortable and settled. But after the most disastrous date night in history – involving a threesome, two police cars, and Boney M – Henry’s old life shatters, and his new life begins.

    While Lance gets to know the mysterious Daniel (James Murray), Henry soon finds himself with unexpected companions. 24 year old Freddie (Freddie Fox) and 19 year old Dean (Fisayo Akinade) have only been passing strangers, until now. But when they all find themselves under the same roof, they need to work out; are they friends or enemies? Can men from such different generations ever get on?

    Henry’s sister Cleo (Julie Hesmondhalgh) is busy, professional, and a little chaotic. But coping with her three kids is easy compared to helping her brother. And as Henry’s life heads in extraordinary new directions, helped by his nephew Adam (Ceallach Spellman), it becomes clear that Cleo’s hiding one or two secrets of her own…

    With the same ferocious wit, startling honesty and heartfelt warmth that made Queer As Folk a landmark Channel 4 series, Cucumber will explore the passions and pitfalls of 21st century gay life for Henry, Lance and co, while on E4, Banana will follow the individual lives of characters orbiting around Henry’s world. On 4oD, Tofu will be an anarchic and entertaining factual series about sex – from gay to straight, and anything in between – inspired by the dramas each week.

    Cucumber, Banana and Tofu were commissioned by Channel 4 Head of Drama Piers Wenger and will be made by RED Production Company with Executive Producers Nicola Shindler, Julie Gardner and Russell T Davies. Tofu will be made by Benjamin Cook (Becoming YouTube).

    Cucumber is written by Russell T Davies and produced by Matt Strevens, with directors; David Evans, Alice Troughton and Euros Lyn.