Heartstopper's Sebastian Croft on "terrifying aspect" of new romcom
How to Date Billy Walsh is now available to stream on Prime Video.
Best known for his role as Ben Hope in Heartstopper, Sebastian Croft is now one of the leads in the much-anticipated Prime Video romcom How to Date Billy Walsh.
Playing Archie in the new film, Croft stars opposite Bridgerton's Charithra Chandran as Amelia, and while the major film role itself is enough to leave anyone jittery with nerves, Croft admits that it was actually a specific format of filming that was most "terrifying".
Chatting exclusively to RadioTimes.com about the new movie, Croft admitted: "I was very nervous about that [doing Fleabag style asides to camera].
"I think that was probably the most exciting, but also most terrifying, bit of the film, because it's something I've never done before.
"And it's something that, if it's done right, it's great. But if it's done badly, it really feels jarring."
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He continued: "So, me and Alex [Pillai], the director, spent a lot of time talking about who is the character of the camera, who am I actually talking to, and I have my version of who it is in my head.
"Then also, just with the shots – like, on the first few days, we tried a few different things and figured out that actually, like, being quite tight felt intimate.
"And it felt much better than having [...] like, we did a few that were wide, and it just, it felt weird. Then I started to get comfortable, and now probably when I'm on set, I'll end up looking at the camera!"
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The Fleabag style of the film is just one notable feature of the romcom, which sees Croft's Archie living secretly in love with childhood friend Amelia.
But when new American student Billy Walsh (Cobra Kai’s Tanner Buchanan) comes along, Amelia is immediately smitten, thwarting Archie's attempts to reveal his true feelings to her.
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As the official synopsis reads: "Archie has always been there to fight Amelia’s battles, laugh at her jokes, whilst constantly striving for her love and affection. Archie has been in love with his best friend for as long as he can remember.
"Just when he builds up the courage to declare his feelings, Amelia falls head over heels for Billy Walsh, the new American transfer student.
"Heartbroken Archie goes to great lengths to try and keep Amelia and Billy away from each other, but ends up pushing them closer together - and risks losing his best friend at the same time."
Additional reporting done by Patrick Cremona.
How to Date Billy Walsh will premiere on Prime Video on Friday 5th April 2024.
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