tMF | The Movie-Fanatic

I have been waiting for something 'substantially informative' about young British actor Tom Sturridge for sometime now. Finally, a profile of sorts that provides an overview of both his personal and career highlights was recently published by Mail Online, thus, the mystery that is Tom Sturridge is somewhat 'revealed'.

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I just love this part of the article! It gave me some idea how the people close to him are finding the best way to project Tom Sturridge to the moviegoing public - at least this is how they want to portray Tom as a serious and talented actor:

And just as Hugh Grant turned out to be more ill at ease in the public eye than anyone imagined from his floppy-haired beginnings, Tom Sturridge is likewise more complex than you might think. Sturridge's publicist snorts at the very idea of a comparison with Grant, and one of the publicists for his movie is alarmed that anyone might mention the two actors in the same breath because young Tom might get offended.

I have no problem with Hugh Grant. In fact, I find his acting in E.M. Forster's Maurice to be heartfelt and effective. That gay role was quite early in his movie career, and with just a few supporting roles, Grant managed to move up the showbiz ladder and established himself as a credible leading man.

Tom Sturridge's people may 'belittle' Grant's ability to act and the 'rationale' behind the role choices, but the guy proved his box office mettle and also managed to convinced the public that he can deliver decent, realistic portrayals... But we're here to talk about Tom Sturridge...

If you find Tom's PR people to be too confident and too arrogant by employing such an aggressive publicity campaign to jumpstart Tom's acting career, the article took note that Tom, the actor and the man, is not obsessed with fame and stardom:

Sasha Gibson, who is the PR for The Boat That Rocked, insists the young actor is not as grand as he appears. 'He is a very humble, sweet and self-deprecating person,' she says. 'He would be crushed if anyone thought he was arrogant or full of himself.'

Who is Tom Sturridge? Here's a short bio from one of his fansites, Tom Sturridge.com-

Thomas Sidney Jerome Sturridge (Most commonly known as Tom Sturridge) was born in London, England in December, 1985. He was born to parents Charles Sturridge, who is a director, and Phoebe Nicholls, who is an actress. Tom is the oldest of three siblings - he has two younger siblings, Arthur and Matilda.

His first project was as Tom Gulliver in "Gulliver's Travels" in 1996, before moving on to playing Hab in "FairyTale: A True Story". Tom then went on to play Older Georgy Osborne in the 2004 film "Vanity Fair", as well as also playing Roger Gosselyn in the 2004 film "Being Julia." In 2006, Tom starred as Nigel Colbie in the film "Like Minds". After taking a short break, Tom returned to the screen for the 2009 film "The Boat That Rocked" as the youngest cast member, portraying Carl. Up next, is another film slated for a 2009 release titled "Waiting for Forever" with Rachel Bilson.

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The Boat That Rocked: A Notable Role for Tom

"The Boat That Rocked" is an ensemble comedy in which the romance takes place between the young people of the '60s and pop music. It's about a band of rogue DJs that captivated Britain, playing the music that defined a generation and standing up to a government that, incomprehensibly, preferred jazz. The Count, a big, brash, American god of the airwaves; Quentin, the boss of Radio Rock -- a pirate radio station in the middle of the North Sea that's populated by an eclectic crew of rock and roll DJs; Gavin, the greatest DJ in Britain who has just returned from his drug tour of America to reclaim his rightful position; Dave, an ironic, intelligent and cruelly funny co-broadcaster; and a fearsome British government official out for blood against the drug takers and lawbreakers of a once-great nation.

Here's more perspective on Tom's role:

His character Carl - who, like Tom, is a rebellious public school boy - joins a pirate radio team on their tiny boat to get to know his godfather, played by Bill Nighy.

'When Carl arrives on the boat, he is in awe of the DJs,' he says. 'I arrived on set with people like Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans and Nick Frost, and I felt the same awe, excitement, fear and pleasure from being in their company as Carl does in the company of their characters.'

Here's an interview featuring Tom from Empire:

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I would have to say that Tom Sturridge looks charming and gorgeous, but that's not too important at the moment. His ability to transform himself into his roles and convince his audience that he can play a character with authenticity and realism is definitely more important. But Tom seems to relish the challenge, and is not really into the 'celebrity thing'.

Says Tom:

I can not honestly imagine being really famous. I have seen Rob in that and it is not funny to be attacked by paparazzi. I like that I can run though London's streets undetected.

What better way to end this article!