In a recent Zoom conversation that took place between Los Angeles and Milan, I had the pleasure of speaking with Matthew Broome, one of the rising stars in the entertainment industry and the lead actor in the new Prime Video film “My Fault: London”. Matthew’s authenticity, enthusiasm, and passion for both his job and life itself were immediately palpable and, I’d say, even contagious.

In our chat, he opened up about his journey to this moment, from his early fascination with the cinema, both as a place of collective entertainment and a form of art, to his recent experiences diving deep into complex, multifaceted characters. Whether sharing behind-the-scenes stories or reflecting on the emotional resonance of his roles, Matthew’s energy was so inspiring.

In this interview, an insightful look into the heart of a young actor who’s just getting started, his genuine kindness and humility shine through, making it clear that his success is driven not only by talent but by an attitude that will undoubtedly take him far in his career and in life.

What’s your first cinema memory?

When I was younger, maybe when I was seven or eight, my birthday parties weren’t very creative – I’d take my friends to McDonald’s, and then we would go to the cinema. I remember the films I chose were always to do with animals. I used to love animals, and I remember once we watched a film called “Underdog”, which is about a superhero dog [laughs]

Then I have another memory of probably the next year, doing another birthday party like that, where we watched “Hotel For Dogs”.

Dog movies! It’s a recurrent topic.

Yeah! [laughs] Anything with animals.

Speaking of movies… What makes you say yes to a project, in general, and what made you say yes to “My Fault: London”?

I think, first of all, reading the script of “My Fault: London” and seeing how wild the journey the characters go on I thought was going to mean that I, as an actor, was going to get to do loads of things that I’ve never done before, like fight, race, driving fast cars – my dream when I was a kid! Partly just getting to also be a lead in a movie was a dream of mine since I was 14, so that was a massive opportunity to make that dream become a reality. Then, specifically, the directors, Dani Girdwood and Charlotte Fassler, their vision for what they wanted to do with this film, their mood board and what they pitched: I thought they were so cool and that the project was in safe hands and that they would have been amazing to work with, which they were, for sure.

What was your first thought when you “met” your character, Nick, especially considering the complex dynamics he has with his stepsister, but also, and most importantly, with his past?

I immediately saw past the sort of base shallow layer of a stereotypical bad boy. He’s in so many circles that he’s got so many opinions on him: he’s a young, rich, successful entrepreneur, he street fights, he races, he does all these different things that people will have an opinion on. So, I immediately saw through past that, and I could feel there was something deeper burning in him. I felt like that is what was drawing me in and exciting me, seeing how I could make a stereotype to some degree have depth. Luckily, the character is so well written that the depth is already there.

You know, what I love about acting is finding out what is the cause, what’s at the center.

“I could feel there was something deeper burning in him”

This is a British adaptation of the Spanish film also based on a novel. Did you watch the film, and if so, has Spanish Nick influenced your Nick in any way? How close to the original did you decide to stay?

Luckily, I didn’t know about the books or the film while I was auditioning. I knew about the Spanish film towards the end of my audition process, when Asha, my co-star, started to tell me about its success and how big it had gotten. I think I remember turning it on for maybe a couple of minutes and then thinking, “I’m not going to watch this, this is going to be unhelpful”.

But having the book was amazing because when you read a book, you make your own interpretation, your own imagination, while when you watch something, it’s a visual representation of a story and a character, and it can influence you in maybe not a very helpful way. That’s why I definitely focused on the book.

Speaking of Nick, it’s interesting because you can’t but ask yourself until the end, “Who is he?”.

Yeah, I’ve seen the film, and I still don’t know how to answer this question. I’m not sure I can trust him!

Yeah, exactly. My interpretation compared to the Spanish actor’s interpretation is completely different, anyway, and that’s because we, as actors, are two completely different people and the story is set in a completely different place, and I think that all influences; we’re both drawing from the same thing, but because it’s channeling through us, it will be completely different. However, there are things in the story that stay the same and you have a sort of similar foundation that you’re building from because you definitely want to stay true to that in many ways.

“It’s channeling through us”

You’ve mentioned your scene partner, Asha Banks. How did you work together to build the chemistry between your characters?

Luckily, me and Asha got on like a house on fire, immediately. We were both at the same point in our career, and we could share that excitement, passion and vision and how we both really wanted to take care of it and make it the best possible thing we could possibly make.

We had so much time to hang out before filming: we would meet up and rehearse and talk through the script together. When we went to shoot at Tenerife for the first two weeks of filming, we had four days at the beginning where we weren’t working, so we were just hanging by the pool, getting to know each other, and so we had a little mini holiday together beforehand, and very quickly you’re getting to know each other as actors, as people and it all helps and informs each other. That way, by the time we were on set, we already felt comfortable with each other – we had a language. We were cool because we were playing two characters who were meeting for the first time and getting to know each other and then getting closer and closer and closer, and we as actors were also meeting for the first time and getting to know each other, getting closer and closer and closer. That definitely helps once you get on the camera.

I hope you didn’t hate each other when you first met, though!

[Laughs] No, we definitely didn’t hate each other when we first met. But it was funny because by the time you get to the end of filming, you know each other so well and you have your little bickers and everything, and then the characters are doing the same and it was all fun.

Were there any particular scenes or moments during filming that were especially challenging or memorable for you?

For sure, the fight scene. That was challenging because it was physically so tough. Me and Sam Buchanan who plays Ronnie had to literally run this fight all day with hundreds of extras screaming and shouting around us. The stakes felt so high, and it felt real and quite scary… It was one of the most real moments I’ve had during any acting thing that I’ve done. Your brain suddenly can’t differentiate what’s real and what’s not, but it was equally the most fun I’ve ever had. Sometimes, I tend to start to smile through fear, or I look like I can’t believe what’s happening, but I’m not meant to be smiling in this scene, I’m meant to be serious and scary. In the first take, when Ronnie is walking towards me into the ring, I’m literally having to hold my mouth to not smile [laughs]: that was one of the most memorable days. It was also the day before my birthday and in the story, it was Nick’s birthday as well, so it was like they both melded together – I realized I was spending my 23rd birthday shooting a movie and beating a guy up!

“It was one of the most real moments I’ve had during any acting thing that I’ve done.”

No animal movies for you this time!

[Laughs] Yeah, no, not anymore.

There’s a sort of recurring theme in the movie which is the question of happy endings. Do you believe in happy endings?

Do I believe in happy endings? Yeah, I think I do believe in happy endings. I suppose it’s completely unique to whatever you want and whatever you’re doing with your life, and I think it’s more about the journey than the ending. So, it’s a happy ending if you feel like you’ve gone on a journey and you’ve enjoyed the process, I think.

You’re also one of the protagonists of the Apple TV+ period drama “The Buccaneers”. Your character might have some things in common with Nick: he is a complex character, a young man navigating societal expectations and personal desires. How did you approach developing this character, and what aspects of Guy’s personality did you find most challenging or rewarding to portray?

I think similarly to Nick, like you said, he has a complex relationship with his mother. Guy’ mother has just died, and he’s now got the pressure to find a suitor and marry rich, pretty much to bring in money to save his family from going under, or his father. He’s got that pressure and he’s dealing with the grief of his mother, and then he falls in love with the woman he plans on marrying rich. So, just like for Nick, all these different elements from Guy’s environment inform who he is and how he is the decisions that he makes.

I think the most challenging thing was the fact that it is a period piece, so you want to stay true to the time, and you must work out which parts of yourself are helpful and unhelpful for the role. That’s because naturally, I think, in every role you do, there’s going to be parts of yourself that shine through, even if you’re unaware they are. So, for example, there are probably going to be similarities between Nick and Guy because, obviously I’m playing them, but some parts of Nick would be completely unhelpful for Guy because they’re obviously in completely different time periods.

 Luckily, though, “The Buccaneers” is a very contemporary feeling piece, and I think that was always the plan, so that didn’t consume our thoughts too much. But you definitely want to stay true to the time without locking yourself up.

“Naturally, I think, in every role you do, there’s going to be parts of yourself that shine through, even if you’re unaware they are.”

And there’s going to be a season two, but we don’t know much about it. Is there anything you can tell us?  How would you describe it in one word? 

Bigger [laughs].

Okay, okay, that’ll do [laughs].

And when you approach a new role, do you tend to be more rational or maybe more emotional or instinctive?

I think every time I read something for the first time, it’s for sure an emotional response, instinct, that’s however it’s speaking to me. But when I come to approach a script in terms of when I begin my preparation, I usually always start from a more rational and structured approach. I like to do some sort of base layers before I start delving into the emotional side of it and how it speaks to me. Anyway, I always keep that first pure reading, the emotional memory of when I read it the first time, locked in my brain because they’re usually the right thing.

You’ve got to trust your instincts, and sometimes you can lose sight of that if you sit at a desk with a pen and paper for too long.

Do you have a favorite movie genre to act in? And a favorite one to watch?

I love a psychological thriller, I love a good twist, I love to watch things that are uncomfortable, something that literally has me on the edge of my seat and my heart is pounding and I’m like “I can’t believe what I’m seeing”. When I’m in the cinema, because my favorite place to watch films is obviously in the cinema, and when the audience is having visceral reactions, I think that’s amazing.

To act in, I suppose I like something with really good writing and character-driven. But because I’m at the beginning of my career, anything and everything that is good writing and character-driven and that is going to be fun to do is something I’d like to act in.

You, actors, have the chance to get to know yourselves in depth also thanks to the many lives you live. What’s the latest thing you discovered about yourself thanks to your job?

I think curiosity for sure. As I’m getting older and the more jobs I do, the more I’m looking at a character and therefore looking at aspects of myself, the more curious I’m getting about the world and life and myself and how I fit into the world and my opinions.

You know, I went straight from school to drama school for three years and then straight into “The Buccaneers”, so, in a way, until “The Buccaneers” season one ended, it felt like I hadn’t been out in the real world. I was like in an institution all my life, and “The Buccaneers” felt like another one. And then suddenly the jobs ended, and I thought, “Ok, now I have to be an adult and figure out how to live my life and be independent” [laughs]. So, in a way, I still feel like I am a baby and I’m learning so much, and that’s nice, and that is only good, I’m like a sponge as I’m learning about acting and life and finding out they’re just one and the same and they’re going to keep going. For sure I’ve learned that I’m so much more of a nerd and curious than I previously thought, and I love the fact that it never ends. For example, with acting, I love the fact that I truly believe that you never get to the bottom of it and that it’s constantly going to be a journey and an exploration. I’m quite content with the fact that there’s no end goal, it’s just “How far and deep can you go and how much can you discover about the world and yourself?”.

Taking this path and being an actor is one of the things I’m so glad that I’ve done because it’s taught me so much about myself, empathy, and the human experience, and it’s made me appreciate and love life.

And is there a role you haven’t played yet that you’d really like to play?

Yeah. I’d love to be in a war epic. I’d like to be in a big special effects war epic with explosions and me running across [laughs]. Like I’m on set and there’s explosions and I’m like, “What the hell is my life?”.  I’d love to do that!

An epic fail on set?

There’s a scene in season one of “The Buccaneers” with Nan where she drops a shoe in the cake and we’re looking over the balcony. After she drops the shoe in the cake, we duck, and I’m in a tuxedo, and in pretty much the second take, I duck, and my suit trousers rip up the middle [laughs]. The costume department has got no other things for me to change in, so, for all the takes I do, I have my boxers hanging out at the back… My bum’s out, I’m doing all those scenes with Nan with my arse hanging out because they ripped, they were too tight! [laughs]

That must have been fun and embarrassing at the same time! [laughs]

Yeah, right! When I re-watch that scene, I go, “No one knows that my arse is out in this” [laughs].

There’s an Easter egg at that point!

Yeah, it’s an Easter egg [laughs].

What is your must-have on set?

AirPods for music. That’s a must, a good way to pass the time and also to take yourself away and get in the zone.

Was there anything in particular you were listening to while playing Nick?

Yes, there was a song by Dave and Jack Harlow called “Stop Giving Me Advice”. That song was on repeat, I think it actually ended up in my Spotify Wrapped 2020 as one of my most played songs! Even the title fits perfectly with Nick, who is so on the top of his game at most things.

Yeah.

I don’t know if you’re a binge-watcher. Are you? 

It really depends. There are some shows I can binge.

What was the latest one?

My latest binge-watch was “The Penguin” and “The Menendez Brothers”.

Is there a movie or a performance that made you want to become an actor or study drama? 

You know what? There is actually one. I remember going to the cinema to see it with my mom, and it was one of the first times I was enjoying a movie specifically for the acting and not as a sort of escape. Not because it was a bad movie but because the acting in it was so phenomenal, and I was analyzing it from the point of view of an actor. That’s when I suddenly thought, “Oh, I think this is what I want to do”.

The film was “Hacksaw Ridge” with Andrew Garfield. I remember I wanted to see it because it was a war epic, but the whole scale of the war scenes wasn’t the thing that I was transfixed on, it was Andrew’s performance.

And what is it that makes you laugh the most?

My friends. You know, we just had the movie premiere, and all my friends were there together, and I was watching them have the most fun, and they looked hilarious to me.

What pisses you off the most, instead? 

People playing their TikTok reels out loud on a tube without headphones on, and me having to sit there listening to every single flick of their thumb [laughs]. The worst part is that they don’t care; everyone else has got their headphones on, minding their own business, but they’re just playing it out loud. That pisses me off.

And what was your most remarkable act of rebellion?

I think getting over what people thought of me at school for wanting to do drama, and thinking, “Okay, I don’t care anymore. I’m doing this”. I’m so thankful that I did.

And what’s your biggest fear?

I have a really specific one. I live alone, and I have a fear of choking and having no one to save me and having to run through the streets to find someone to take the thing out of my throat! Or, even worse, laughing with my mates and choking, but they’re finding it funny because they think I’m dying of laughter while I’m actually choking, but nobody knows that I’m choking, and I can’t convince them that I really am! [laughs]

I feel you, one of my biggest fears is choking on my pills!

Yeah, exactly!

What does it mean to you to feel comfortable in your own skin?

I think it means to be accepting of the little parts of yourself that you don’t like, even your insecurities. Even when you’re trying to better yourself, improving and learning from your mistakes, it’s important to be okay with the fact that you’re not perfect. It’s okay to be insecure, everyone is to some degree, and I think it’s natural.

What’s your happy place?

It’s a place in Suffolk, England, an Airbnb that can fit seven or eight people in, where me and my drama school friends go. There’s a bonfire outside where we burn logs, sit around and each plays a song. There, we just talk about life and listen to music, sitting in the dark by the fire all night, for usually four days straight. We’ve all realized that we want to do this every year, at least for the rest of our lives.

No matter what is going on in life, we come to that moment and the only thing that matters is what’s happening in that moment and the new music we’re all sharing while chatting about everything. That’s it, that’s my happy place.

Photos & Video by Johnny Carrano.

Grooming by Scarlett Burton.

Styling by Holly White.

Thanks to Track Publicity.