As a fan of action movies, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to interview the talented actor Stuart Martin and gain insights into his exciting new project. Stuart, best known for his roles in Babylon, Jamestown, Medici: Masters of Florence and recently Miss Scarlet and The Duke, shared details about his upcoming endeavour that left me even more intrigued.
In this exclusive interview, I had the pleasure of delving into Stuart Martin’s journey as an actor and discovering the exciting developments in his career. Join me as we explore the captivating world of Stuart Martin and get a glimpse into his highly anticipated new project. , the 35-year-old from Ayr is starring in the much-anticipated Army of Thieves, now available on Netflix.
Photography Claudio Harris © LEWIS MAGAZINE. All Rights Reserved.
Despite being in the middle of shooting, the actor, took time out of his busy schedule to tell us a little about himself.
SD – Stuart, I read that you studied drama at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Was acting for you a childhood dream?
SM – I grew up loving cinema and films. It was my favourite place to be, getting lost in a big American film at Odeon where I grew up. It was unquestionably a dream but would have been a very unreachable or distant one. I didn’t know anyone who did that or anything like that as a job or worked in the industry. So it was a bit of trial and error in my late teens to work out how you get into it as a job. I feel very fortunate to be doing what I love and dreamed of doing as a kid.
SD – You have been a screen regular for a while, Medici, Crossing Lines, Babylon, Jamestown; out of so many significant roles you have performed, which one was your favourite and why?
SM – It may sound like the easy answer, but they’ve really all been favourites. I’ve loved them all for different reasons. Each one comes along at the right time after the last gig to challenge me. They’ve all felt very different and have all terrified me a bit when I’ve done them. I always think that’s a good feeling to have about a part or character that you’re not sure if you are doing it or going to do it right. That’s what keeps me passionate and excited about it. I think when you lose that, it becomes boring, and you’re just going through the motions.
Photography Claudio Harris © LEWIS MAGAZINE. All Rights Reserved.
SD – Every industry, including the entertainment industry, is full of competition; what do you do to stand out amidst the competition?
SM – As you say, every industry is competitive. And many more than ours. You are either suitable for the part, or you are not and the quicker you learn that you are more likely not to get jobs than you are to get them, the happier you’ll be as an actor. All you can do is give it all you’ve got when the time comes, and if that’s right for the part, happy days, if not, on to the next. Which will probably be better than the one you didn’t get anyway. At least that’s what I tell myself…
SD – You have a movie coming out soon, Army of Thieves, the wildly anticipated prequel to The Army of the Dead. How does it feel to enter the fantasy world of Zack Snyder?
SM – I grew up watching Zacks films in the cinema. He’s a god of cinema to me. Watching something like 300, something we’d never seen before at that time. To now get to work with him blows my mind. I’ve pinched myself a lot over the last year for sure. He is a master.
SD – Tell me, what attracted you to the Brad Cage character?
SM – Brad is great. He’s been written in this brilliant way that shows you his background from being bullied at school as the scrawny kid. You get to see this persona he’s made for himself, based on these 90s action stars he’s grown up watching. He’s created himself in that image. He is not your straight-up action guy, there’s a lot of comedy there, and we get to take the piss out of him. That was a lot of fun to play. The humour of this guy who thinks he’s the muscle. Matthias was brilliant at bringing that out.
Photography Claudio Harris © LEWIS MAGAZINE. All Rights Reserved.
SD – Was an action-packed movie more challenging than the other roles you have played so far?
SM – It was so much fun! We got to do some really cool stuff with some of the heists. And we got to do it all ourselves. Matthias and Matt Rugetti, our stunt director, had Nat and me doing crazy stuff, jumping into the back of moving vans with the camera. It was a lot of fun and looks pretty cool.
SD – You are starring alongside Matthias Schweighöfer, Nathalie Emmanuel, Guz Khan, to name a few; how was it to work with such a diverse group of people?
SM – They’re all just brilliant—a team of fantastic people at the top of their game. Then there was me… but seriously, Matthias is such a brilliant actor. Having him there as director was one of the best experiences I’ve had working with a director. I can say he is the best and indeed challenged me. He knows how actors tick, our insecurities and our strengths, the places we feel confident. I think it will play out with Brad and makes him a genuinely layered character. I am truly proud of the work we all did together. We were a family out there in Prague filming while the rest of the world was locked down.
SD – What can the audience expect from Brad Cage?
SM – They’re either going to love him or hate him: Hopefully, a bit of both.
Photography Claudio Harris © LEWIS MAGAZINE. All Rights Reserved.
SD – Miss Scarlet and The Duke is categorised as a PBS masterpiece; how does it feel to be part of such a well-received TV show?
SM – It’s a lovely thing. We have such incredible loyal fans of Miss Scarlet and the Duke. When you’ve worked on something, spent so long filming it and put so much into it, it is a fantastic feeling when people love it as much as you do. I’m excited we’re working on another season in Serbia as we speak, which will be out very soon.
SD – How do you balance fame and family?
SM – I’m not sure I’ll ever have to worry about the fame part, but balancing work and family in our job has its challenges, but also its brilliant, brilliant payoffs. You’re often in different parts of the world, juggling flights and babies and each other jobs. And with the current issues, you’re not on a flight home every weekend like it was pre-2020. That’s why you have to enjoy and cherish that time you have off and at Home. And also, take the opportunity to go together whatever location you might be in and be excited about discovering what that place has to bring. I’ve got an amazing inspirational wife, so that makes it easier.
SD – Which of the fictional characters you played; would you be excited to meet in real life?
SM – I would like to meet Brad cage and be part of his “heisting gang”. I don’t think I would make it very far and end up in jail or dead pretty quickly, but it would be a fun ride.
SD – Anything in the works that you can talk about? Where can we expect to see you next?
SM – I’m excited to be working with Zack again on a project for Netflix that is going to be really cool and we are currently filming another season of Scarlet, which will be out early next year. Then the film adaptation of the graphic novel Dampyr at some point next year.
