Sebastian Croft plays ‘opposite’ roles in Heartstopper and new film How To Date Billy Walsh. (Netflix/Prime Video)
Sebastian Croft has voiced his joy at playing the total “opposite” to his Heartstopper character Ben Hope in new teen film How To Date BIlly Walsh.
Croft plays Archie, an eccentric and confident teen with a secret, in Prime Video’s teen rom-com How To Date Billy Walsh.
Archie is deeply in love with Amelia (Bridgerton’s Charithra Chandran) and is about to come clean when handsome newcomer Bill (Cobra Kai star Tanner Buchanan) rocks up and begins to woo her.
Pretending to be a love-life expert, Archie tries to prevent Amelia falling in love, but things don’t go to plan.
The character is a far cry from his turn as Ben Hope, the unpleasant and borderline-abusive boyfriend of Charlie Spring in Heartstopper, and Croft, who won’t be returning in the third season of Netflix’s adaptation of Alice Oseman’s graphic novels, has reflected on the vast difference between the two characters.
“It’s an actor’s dream to dive into something very different,” he tells PinkNews in an exclusive interview.
“Funnily enough, we wrapped on a Saturday, and on Monday I started filming Heartstopper season two, even though it came out before. So, that was quite a gear change.” It’s “so nice” to play a character who doesn’t have dark undertones as Ben did, he added.
“[Archie] is quirky and larger than life. I looked at lots of things, from Charlie Chaplin to Quentin Blake’s drawing in [Roald Dahl’s] Matilda, and how they’re big and expressive and exploring the physicality which was the opposite with Ben in Heartstopper.“
He adds: “Archie feels fun and accessible. I was excited for people to see a warmer character.”
Croft, who also played a young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones, wishes that when he was younger, he had been a little more like Archie.
“Even though he hasn’t got his love life sorted out, Archie has a strong sense of who he is from the beginning, and, almost obnoxiously, doesn’t care what other people think.”
Now 22, the star adds: “When I was growing up, I wish I had a bit more of that. It was something I grew to appreciate and strive for but at school, being yourself and finding out who you are, is quite hard, so seeing Archie’s confidence is a good lesson.”
While he might be focused on his current role, he’s also looking ahead – and would “100 per cent” play the lead in a queer rom-com.
“It’s exciting to see so many cool projects that have queer stories in the middle of them. I’m definitely excited about [it]. It’s nice to jump between characters and a variety of stories.”
How To Date Billy Walsh is streaming on Prime Video now.