LEWIS Magazine x Actor Will Merrick: From Skins to the High-Speed World of Warner Bros’ F1
Actor Will Merrick first burst onto screens as Alo in the groundbreaking series Skins, an experience he credits as formative both professionally and personally. “Skins was unexpected,” Merrick recalls. Initially approaching the audition merely for drama school experience, the role dramatically altered his trajectory. “It completely opened my mind,” he says, highlighting the diverse environment that shaped his early worldview.
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1-You first rose to fame as Alo in Skins, a role that earned you critical acclaim early in your career. Looking back, how do you think that experience shaped you as both an actor and a person?
Skins was unexpected. I’d found acting through theatre and was doing as much as I could, starting to think that maybe I could do this for a job. I went to the open auditions of Skins mainly to get experience for drama school auditions. And then eight rounds later, it’s happening. I didn’t know what to do. So I just buried myself in as much prep as I possibly could. But it was all very ‘thinky’ work. I look back on that first ep now and I see a lot of overacting and heavily planned out, predetermined choices. I guess that job showed me that there is just as much work that begins when you walk on set; to be in the moment and responsive. The work goes beyond backstory and packed folders filled with notes.
It completely opened my mind as a person. I grew up in a very rural area, beautiful place but pretty limited in terms of diversity and walks of life. Skins pulls together kids from all over the country, different backgrounds, cultures, stories. It was the best thing that could have happened to me at that point in my life. It broadened me.
2- You’re starring as Nickleby in the upcoming F1 film alongside Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem — quite the star-studded lineup. What can you tell us about Nickleby’s role in the story, and how did you prepare for playing a tech advisor in such a high-octane environment?
Hugh Nickleby is a relatively green race engineer, working in a struggling F1 team hanging around the bottom of the leaderboard. He’s intelligent, shy and self-deprecating, with little self-belief and even less vision for what he is capable of. This is where Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) comes in and inspires him and the rest of the team to believe that they can be winners. He’s nervous of Sonny at first – Sonny is wild, reckless, unpredictable – everything that Nickleby isn’t. But as he begins to trust Sonny, he sees that it’s about focus and belief. And he finds his fight.
As soon as I was cast, production flew the race team actors out to a Grand Prix, where we were able to speak to race engineers, mechanics, strategists. I had never seen an F1 car on a track before this. It really hits you the first time you see it. How they stick to the track in these high-speed turns is mind blowing. I listened, asked questions and read as much as I could before we started. I mean, the mathematics and science involved is way beyond anything I could ever fully understand – these are extremely intelligent people building these cars. It’s all aerodynamics. It’s actually similar to building planes, only the opposite: planes are designed to lift off the ground and F1 cars to stick to it. But we had fantastic experts involved during filming who guided us through the science and the strategy of car racing. Shout out to Bernie Collins for never getting tired of our endless quizzing. Red flags, yellow flags, DNF’s. There was a lot to learn pretty quick.
3- Your role in Apple TV+’s Silo brings you back to a dystopian world full of secrets and rebellion. What excites you most about returning as Danny, and how has the character evolved in Season 3?
Silo is such an immersive world. The sets are stunning; they’ve built a small city in this studio just north of London. It’s so easy to lose yourself in there – it’s pure joy to work in that environment. Danny is this sassy, sarcastic energy in quite a serious setting which is so much fun to play. The show is full of mystery and plot, so it’s always fun to cut through that with a one liner.
In Series 3, Danny is spinning from seeing the video at the end of series 1- that it’s actually safe outside and that the display is a lie. He’s something of a rebel now, on the run. Can’t say too much, but he isn’t quite as a sparky as he once was. He’s hardened. He’s even more cynical. But he’s definitely changed since we last saw him, he’s not the same person.
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4- You’ve moved seamlessly between genres, from the dark humour of Dead Pixels to the epic romance of About Time and even to the sun-soaked plastic world of Barbie. Is there a particular genre you feel most at home in — or do you thrive on that variety?
I feel enormously blessed to work with that kind of variety. I have definitely always wanted there to be transformation in my work – so jumping around in genre means flexing different muscles and I feel like you learn more and get better when you push yourself into new shapes.
I’m writing a lot at the minute and find a lot of the work I’m producing to be genre blending stuff. It’s a tightrope making sure the genre’s complement each other and don’t hinder. But when it works, it’s thrilling. I think I’d like to work a lot more in genre-mash projects. Moving from comedy to tragedy and back seamlessly – it’s a great challenge.
5- You’ve worked with some incredible talents — from Margot Robbie to Stephen Graham to Rebecca Ferguson. Has there been a particular moment on set or a piece of advice that’s stuck with you along the way?
When filming About Time, I was struggling one day on set. It was the sequence of the best man speeches and my speech was going to be sandwiched in between Tom Hollander and Bill Nighy, with all the leading cast including Lyndsey Duncan and Rachel McAdams, sat on the front row…watching. I couldn’t have been more than 19/ 20 years old. I don’t wanna say I was drowning, but I was definitely under water.
Bill must have noticed as he found me after lunch. I felt an arm appear round my shoulder and he took me for a walk. He told me how he would double up with sickness before shooting when he started – he said it took nearly a decade to get a handle on the nerves. And to keep going, trust yourself. It was advice that was as crucial to getting me through that day as it was moving forward into the next few years. Bill is like a kind rockstar.
6- As someone who has worked across theatre, television, and film, how do those different environments challenge or reward you creatively? Do you have a preference for the stage or screen?
I always thought I was going to be a theatre actor. Screen work never occurred to me – I thought it was something that happened to American actors, or very pretty people. It was never in my headspace that I would work so much on screen. But I’ve loved learning about the technicality of screen work. You can tell stories through real stillness and quiet nuance, where you may not be able to be quite as delicate on stage. It’s always an interesting challenge for someone who tends to be very expressive when trying to get a point across. Someone told me I make a lot of shapes with my hands when I’m explaining myself.
But stage probably still wins for me. It’s the old cliché but the live element is just so addictive. It’s a conversation with the whole audience. Especially comedy. Still the best feeling, still get the rush. Still exhilarating. I do it every opportunity I get.
7- With such a diverse body of work already under your belt, what kind of roles or stories are you eager to explore next?
I want to continue to push myself out of my comfort zone. I would love to work in more stylised genres, more heightened, physical characters. I like the idea of playing in more extreme physicality or voice. Maybe some kind of fantasy or magical realism. This is what I find myself writing a lot. Magical realism is a playground where you can push the boat out. I have a couple of projects that I may play a role in, which will be a whole new experience: writing my own dialogue and character. It’s going to be a new adventure and I look forward to tackling it.
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Credits:
Photographer: Barley Nimmo
Styling: Nathan Henry
Grooming: Charlie Cullen
Styling assistant: Diego Tarabal
