We’ve all seen Thomas Brodie-Sangster grow up on the big screen. From Love Actually to Nanny McPhee to The Maze Runner franchise, he’s had quite the career in the spotlight!
The actor, who is now 32 years old, opened up about his career and child acting in an interview with Evening Standard in January 2021.
“It can be very strange, especially as a child… It’s a bit odd to go off and get loads of time off school to go and pretend to be other people,” he explained. “And you’re being paid when your friends are just getting pocket money. Then you go back to school, try and be normal again, but you’re kind of not normal — you’re doing something that’s really weird, but also really exciting. It does alienate you slightly. It’s a little odd. But I quite liked it and managed to survive it. Not everyone does.”
Thomas said that it has kept him “grounded” as he’s continued to move through the industry. “I’m still hungry for it, but I just know how the whole process works, whether it’s a small thing, a BBC thing, a big Hollywood thing … I am a little bit more blasé about it — in a good way, I think.”
Definitely a good way! Along with his role in Maze Runner, he went on to star in the Netflix 2021 hit The Queen’s Gambit. Thomas played a tough, yet indifferent chess-player cowboy named Benny Watts. “Benny is a cocky, confident, arrogant guy, very self-assured,” Thomas told Awards Watch in January 2021. “He knows where he stands, he knows his morals and his talent as well. His cockiness is somewhat justified by his talent. As the series progresses, you realize there is a sensitive side to him.”
“I thought it [The Queen’s Gambit] would be a success within quite a cliquey, small world, and that people who actually managed to see it would really like it. I knew it was going to be quality, but no, I didn’t think it would hit the levels that it has, and that people around the world would really sink within it. It’s lovely – it shows that there’s a really big audience for high-quality drama, which is a really nice thing to be aware of.”
Scroll through our gallery to see Thomas’ impressive transformation from child star to adult actor!
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