“I’ve always felt a bit like an outsider myself”: Lewis Gribben on starring in Somewhere Boy

Somewhere Boy is new Channel 4 series following 18-year-old Danny (Lewis Gribben) who, after the sudden death of his father (Rory Keenan), discovers he’s been living a distorted reality, convinced by him that he couldn’t leave his home since he was a child. Creator Pete Jackson, who came to writing relatively late in life after recovering from alcohol addiction, weaves a unique and unexpectedly affecting story that has elements of family drama and dark thriller, as well as moments of humour, despite its core subject matter tackling abuse and trauma.

Through the eyes of Danny, we see the world afresh. We watch as he attempts to reconcile his worldview, as created by his father, and their shared love of 1940s and 50s film and music, with the real world – he doesn’t realise blokes his age usually order pints in the pub, not martinis. Counterintuitively, though, he strangely emerges as often the more instinctively perceptive about human behaviour, particularly when calling out his cousin Aaron’s (a perfectly uncomfortable-in-his-teenage-skin Samuel Bottomley) dire attempts to fit in by adopting toxic masculine culture through insulting his friends online or watching porn videos. 

The Upcoming had the pleasure of chatting to Gribben about starring in the series. He shared what stood out to him about Jackson’s script, how he prepared to play the character of Danny and how the series has playful moments of levity amongst its dark undercurrents. We discussed what the story has to say about everyday life for young men in the contemporary era, whether terrible actions done out of love can ever be justified and the takeaway of always being yourself. He also spoke about his own career so far and his aspirations to one day be in a Bond or Star Wars film.

 

Sarah Bradbury

Somewhere Boy is released on 16^th October 2022 on All 4.

Watch the trailer for Somewhere Boy here: