We sat down for an interview with South West-based actor and writer Tom Mackean who is taking the theatre community by storm. From summer schooling with The Egg Theatre, training with RADA, and playing two beloved characters in The West End's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Tom has now written and performed his own play ‘Green Man’ and presented it at The Egg Theatre's Elevate Festival. It's clear to us here at VoiceBox that his creativity and self-expression knows no bounds. With his work exploring themes of the queer experience, mythology and sense of belonging, we knew that Tom's voice should be heard!

Interview conducted by VoiceBox's Lauren Louisha

Hey Tom, thank you for joining us for an interview! We’re really looking forward to learning more about your acting and your writing. What inspired you to pursue acting? And how long have you been writing for? 

My journey with performing has been a long one. One Saturday when I was really young, my mum took me to the drama club in my hometown. I cried and cried and refused to join in. It was my sister who really took to it, and I only eased in eventually with her as an anchor to cling onto. My confidence grew there, and those few hours on a Saturday morning quickly became the highlight of my week. Chantelle who ran the group showed us how to spin what we had in our imaginations into stories, and have so much fun doing it. Drama became something I loved at school too, and again there I had amazing teachers who encouraged me to grow my skills and first introduced me to the idea of drama school. When I got to sixth form I began to hear about things happening in other cities and went to some amazing workshops at the National Theatre in London, which often included a free ticket to see one of their shows, and also at the Bristol Old Vic. That building became a big part of my life when I went on to study on their year-long ‘Made in Bristol’ theatre-making course. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the brilliant people in their engagement departments. As for writing, it’s something I’ve been doing both forever, and something I feel quite new to! I’ve kept a diary quite religiously since I was young, but it’s only recently that I’ve been catapulted into the feeling of shakily, furtively, quietly saying, yes I am a writer.

How did your training at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) shape you as an actor today?

The training at RADA was intense. Not only because of the long hours and heavy workload but also because a huge part of it is learning what you look like on the inside. Not in the vein of ‘breaking you down to build you back up’, but going deep to find what comes easy, the sticky bits that need a little more encouragement, and what those things you resist are so you can gently push yourself towards them. And all alongside some of the best friends you’ll ever make. I became a part of such a wide circle of people who I’m drawing on constantly - whether to cry down the phone to, to ask advice from, or to bring on board with something exciting and fulfilling. And then after three years (only somewhat marred - clarified, maybe? - by Covid!), you’re released like a rubber band into this crazy industry - this crazy world! - and things you don’t even remember learning come tumbling out into your headspace while you’re steaming milk at the coffee shop. It’s a bit of a Room of Requirement - don’t ask me where to find it, you just hope the right bit of knowledge will spurt out when it’s needed. 

You played both James Potter and Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which must have been exciting but a lot to juggle!  How did you approach these two distinct characters? 

Absolutely, it’s a mammoth show. There was often the feeling that once it started it sort of just swept you along. James and Cedric were wonderful bundles of energy, and having spent my training honing my expressions of anguish and hoping I might squeeze out a tear, it was a challenge in itself to give into the show’s energy and just run on, take my moment, swoosh with my cloak and run off. My job was also made very easy by the incredible creative team working on that show. The wigs, props and costumes are so fully realised that putting on Cedric’s costume and wig and taking up his wand made for wonderful rituals to help me just go out there and keep playing. And I always found myself saying a little thank you and goodbye to Cedric every night.

Before attending RADA you were involved in The Egg’s summer schools, how did it feel to go back with your self-written work and perform a one-man show?

Coming back to The Egg this year has been wonderful. The building is one of the few places I know that has its whole focus on young people. It’s such a wonderful space that has done a brilliant job of nurturing young artists, myself included. I’ll admit I felt a little bit exposed to go and perform something that is based quite closely on my life, with a few important skewings, to people who had known me as the teenager I was writing about. That feeling melted away once I performed, and I have felt so supported. “Green Man” is steeped in the South West, and it felt like the perfect place for the show to have its first outing. I’m also currently performing in The Egg’s Christmas show, a re-imagined Robin Hood, so the full circle just keeps on circling! 

How do you balance your work as an actor with your writing?  

Thankfully, they seem to feed each other. They are both creative pursuits, and preparing for a role and preparing to write something both require the same drawing together of disparate things; of keeping your antenna up and following the white rabbit. There was no real writing element of the course at RADA, either, but being exposed to a wide range of texts helps to give you an ear for dialogue and rhythm. It was at drama school that I was also exposed to the idea of having a creative diet - trying to see as many films and TV shows, read as many books, looking at photos and paintings, all works of art, to fill your creative well and give you something to draw on. 

We checked out your poetry and really loved it, particularly ‘I bet Loyle Carner has loads of mates’. The way you mix humour with the theme of loneliness really resonated with us. You mentioned it as a "Trojan horse"—is using humour to address tough subjects something you often do in your work?

Thank you so much for taking a look. It’s not news to anyone that loneliness is pretty endemic in city life, but of course, the cruel irony of loneliness is that you feel all alone in it - everyone else must be out there having a totally marvellous time. So when I tell friends how I feel, or express it in a poem, it still manages to surprise me that other people feel this way too. Humour can be great for papering over the cracks - so long as everyone’s laughing, you can put the yawning abyss square out of mind, right? And while I think it really works for this poem, I suppose I am gently pushing myself to not always be filling the space with jokes! To trust in quietness and, sometimes, say how I really feel. 

Are there any upcoming projects or roles that you're particularly excited about?

I’m really looking forward to getting back together with my director and dramaturg, Eli, to look at the feedback from “Green Man”, and to see what further life this piece could have. Otherwise, I’ve written a short story that I’d like to get out somewhere soon, and I can feel something else germinating too! I’ve really enjoyed spending time in Bath and Bristol this winter - I’ve had my nose in Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, and I’d like to write something along those lines soon. And in the acting world, I’d love to do some telly or other screen work soon - there’s so much brilliant stuff out there, I’m dying to get involved! 

Thank you for taking part in our Gen Z Trailblazer series, it's been a pleasure to have you! Before we finish, do you have any advice for your aspiring actors?

Notice what you notice. It’s something I always go back to from Verlyn Klinkenborg’s brilliant book for writers - and frankly, all creative people - Several short sentences about writing. The pressure to have something blindingly original to say can be stultifying - speaking with your authentic voice is always enough. Have a good rummage around in your head to try to get close to that voice, and use whatever warped, misshapen tools you find there. And give yourself time off, give your brain room to breathe because the road is long. The process of growth is not linear, but spiral. Notice what interests you, and follow it down the rabbit hole.