Graeme Thomas King: 'What is most important is getting to the truth of the character'

((Photo: Michael Wharley))

Graeme Thomas King became an actor thanks to the number 11 London bus. A chance meeting with a young filmmaker sitting next to him on the way to Liverpool Street led to him auditioning for the short film she was making. "The whole idea of bumping into someone by chance and it turning into something else really appealed to me," he said. "I’d been shy when I was younger but this seemed like something that was meant to happen, though I still have no idea why I said yes. The process, working with great pieces of drama, brilliant, diverse sets of people and the thought of actually creating a piece of art are all important to me. This was all pretty recent, too."

From here, he applied to William Esper Studio, an acting school in New York, studying there for two years. "Acting school was very useful for me personally as I had never acted formally before, so it essentially gave me a platform to experience it," he explains. "I went to a school that taught a specific technique.” This was the Meisner technique, which focuses more on the other actor as opposed to one's internal thoughts or feelings. It’s not the same as the Method, the acting taught by Lee Strasberg, but both were developed from teachings of the father of naturalism, the Russian actor and director Constantin Stanislavski.

"That in itself was fascinating," King says. "Nothing can prepare you for the real world though. Like any educational or training experience, the real learning starts when you’re out in the field. Absolutely nothing can prepare you for the rejection and toil that comes with it. You can intellectually understand it but until you feel it and experience it first-hand you just won’t know.”

Not every actor goes to drama school, but for King it proved invaluable. “The whole drama school issue I think is a case by case basis. Many actors have succeeded without any formal training. I do believe in technique though, and the actors who truly have successful careers have that under their belts. That technique must come from somewhere however, if it’s formal drama school I’m not sure. I have learnt many wonderful things simply from reading. I think acting gets a bit mystified sometimes and becomes this cryptic thing. It was for me when I first started out, but I quickly realised that acting was a something that can be learnt, but you must be willing to listen and be open to be taught. Ego must go.”

After drama school, he returned to London and now resides in LA. In that time, he also managed to squeeze in the movies No More Lonely People and The Widow, the latter directed by Neil Jordan.

King, 26 and born in Portsmouth, found working with Jordan a nourishing experience. “The real thing I found out doing this movie is there is no right or wrong answer. Working with Neil was astonishing and I learned from him that it’s right to question things as you go along, not just agree to everything the director says. It can be intimidating being a cog in a such a big wheel it’s easy to acquiesce when you should be standing your ground. Neil respected that.”

Even after drama school, there’s room for improvement. At the end of his time in New York, King met Dee Cannon, a celebrated acting coach who has worked with actors from Tom Hiddleston to James Norton, Juliet Rylance to Daniel Mays.

"Dee has really taken me to that next level of professionalism that I think is required once you enter the industry," King says. "It was certainly what I needed. Whenever we work together what is most important is getting to the truth of the character and connecting to the circumstances they find themselves in. The choices I make in a script directly come from Dee’s tutelage. When I’m complimented by casting directors for making interesting choices, this is thanks to her. Through working with Dee, I’m able to give a truthful performance."

The Neil Jordan movie was an auspicious start but now, under the cloak of secrecy, he’s tipped to appear in the pilot for a TV series made by Warner Bros.