London Star Matthew Broome on Sequel, The Buccaneers, More

[This story contains spoilers for Prime Video‘s Your Fault: London.]

I’m not sure if it’s his charming smile, curly locks or English accent, but it’s hard not to fall for Matthew Broome, especially in Your Fault: London.

The 25-year-old actor plays Nick in the newly released sequel to Prime Video’s hit film My Fault: London, based on the bestselling Culpables trilogy by author Mercedes Ron. The second installment continues the forbidden love story between Noah (Asha Banks) and her stepbrother, Nick, as they face challenges with new relationships, secrets and career paths.

Broome has also captured hearts with his role as Guy Thwarte in the Apple TV series The Buccaneers. However, he nearly didn’t grace screens with his presence.

“I got told by my drama teachers that I was good at it and that I should do it, but I was a bit unsure because it wasn’t quite cool to do in school back then,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter with a laugh. “And I cared about that when I was a kid.”

He initially chose to pursue computing because he liked video games. Thankfully, he had an epiphany. “I was like, ‘What am I doing? Go do drama.’ So I ran back to school, literally, and after the cutoff date and I was like, ‘Change it to drama,’” he recalls. “And then I kind of never looked back.”

Below, Broome opens up about reuniting with Banks for the second and third installments of the Prime Video franchise, playing a less toxic version of Nick, those F1 driver Lando Norris comparisons, The Buccaneers season three, his goals of returning to the stage and more.

Knowing that the My Fault: London films are based on author Mercedes Ron’s bestselling trilogy, and that there’s also the successful Spanish film franchise, did you feel any pressure taking on the London adaptation?  

Luckily, I wasn’t that aware. I wasn’t that cued in to know that that was going on. Then it was actually my co-star, Asha, who really started to tell me about the scale of how successful it was. And I literally remember we were in the car in Tenerife [Spain] on the way to our hotel where we were going to be based while we were filming out there. And I was like, “Wait, what? There’s that many fans.” I’m like, “What? What am I signed up for?” Then the more I researched, I was like, “Oh, holy shit.” So then it did get a little daunting, but I actually think we did quite a good job of shutting that out and just being excited knowing there are already people out there who love this story.

You and Asha Banks have such great chemistry on screen. How was it reuniting with her again for the last two films, and did you feel even more comfortable this time around?

Amazing! We get along so well and we’ve formed such a lovely friendship and we both equally care about it so much. We’re each other’s person through the whole process and because she’s at the same place in her career — this is her first big film — we held each other’s hands through it and it was at a point where we were having such a great time. We were like, “We don’t want to go home. Let’s just stay on set. This is amazing.” And I think that energy was quite infectious. Everyone joining in, it was just a great big family.

In the books, Nick is portrayed as this really toxic guy, but I feel like that’s scaled back quite a bit in the London adaptation. Can you talk about finding your own version of Nick and what you wanted to bring to the character? 

I never approached it with the idea of, “Oh, I’m playing someone who’s toxic and this male toxicity.” That’s not helpful to think about or play. You can’t play that. You just play each moment to moment and what is going on inside him. So it was just about making it make sense in me and what that could look like in the world that we are creating and this character set in London at this time; how does that filter through me as an actor was the main way in. Because some things in a book won’t translate into a modern-day screen. So you have to stitch your own version and root it in something that is real and people recognize and is human. Not to say that the source material isn’t, but sometimes in that genre, you can fall away from that.

The films are obviously known for their romance, but there’s also quite a bit of action as well with the cars and racing. What’s it like filming those scenes? 

Especially in the first one, I love the fight stuff. The racing scenes are actually some of the toughest stuff because you are in a studio in a car and that’s where you have to really act and imagine what you’re doing. And when it’s not cut together and you’re just doing one take, you’re like, “Is this the worst thing I’ve ever done? Am I being awful right now?” And then when I watch the film, I’m almost most blown away by that section because we don’t see all the stunt unit doing all the car stuff. … And then our actions in the car make so much more sense because they’re cutting it together and it’s like, “You just made me look awesome because on the day I didn’t feel it.”

Speaking of racing, I know some F1 fans have compared your character Nick to McLaren driver Lando Norris. What was your reaction to that? 

I saw it a couple of times, but I’ve been more aware of it recently because I went to the F1 [race] in Miami and I’ve suddenly got really into F1, hence this hat right here (Laughs). So then I’m so cued in to what Lando Norris is doing. I really like him as a driver, but I’m seeing it more in my algorithm, the comparison. Oh, it’s pretty cool (Laughs)! I see it. Yeah, I see it.

You’ve also already filmed the third movie, Our Fault: London, so can you talk about your experience filming those back to back?

I suppose in a way it was similar to shooting a TV show in that regard. The third film we had a different team, so a different director, different cinematographer. And that was a shift because we’d done two with Dani [Girdwood] and Charlotte [Fassler] and then we did one with Chanya [Button], but she just took it on herself and slotted in perfectly and it was kind of seamless.

What’s weird about doing that is you haven’t seen the second film before you’re shooting the third. And the process of filming these films, the scripts are evolving and adapting as we’re filming as well. We are realizing some things need to go, move, change, whatever. So what we start with isn’t what we end with. So that was tough going into the third film and thinking, is this still a massive thread in the second? Is this happening? Or this has changed, so now we need to change this in the third. That was difficult because usually you get to see the second and go, “OK, now we need to make the third.” But other than that, it was nice to just steam straight through.

Young adult romance films and shows are having such a moment with audiences, and I know Prime Video is especially leaning into them more. Why do you think the genre is seeing so much success right now, and how does it feel to be a part of it? 

It’s booming, isn’t it? Even I feel that. I’m like, wow, there’s so much being made and there’s so much content now for fans of that genre. There’s something definitely to do with TikTok and that they really pop off on those platforms. And the young audience who are watching them are all on those platforms; they’re just one and the same. And everyone just loves to watch people fall in love and fuck it up and then get back together (Laughs). Everyone loves to sit there, even though it’s not happening to them, be like, “Ah, I love this.” Or it is happening to them and they’re like, “Oh God, that’s me.” (Laughs.) And they’re not very taxing to watch. I don’t mean that negatively, but you can turn them on and just have a great time and you can be moved and you can go through all the emotions, but it’s not like you don’t come out … I watched Obsession the other day. I came out of that cinema like, “Oh my God, I need to fucking go to therapy now.” (Laughs) You’re not getting out with this genre and that’s great. … But to be fair, you might after the second film (Laughs).

On the note of romance, you also star in the hit Apple TV+ series The Buccaneers. In this current TV-streaming era where there are so many cancellations happening, how exciting was it to get a season three renewal and return as your character Guy Thwarte? 

I feel like the luckiest person ever. I signed on for three when I did the first one. So just to get two was like, “Oh my God, please get two.” And then get a third as well, it’s just nice to be able to see something through and also be able to watch a character evolve as you as an actor evolve. When I look at season one, I’m like, “Wow, I was such a boy, but I was.” And then I’m growing up and I’ll look at season three and go, “Oh my God, I was a kid.” But you are growing as a man and as an actor and then you see your character do the same.

Can you tease anything for fans about the third season that’s currently?

I can tease that there’s a new guy in town and he shakes some things up (Laughs).

Outside of film and TV, you also worked in theater early in your career. Do you see yourself returning to the stage in the future, and is Broadway a big goal of yours?

Yeah, I’d love to do Broadway. I’d love to do West End. There’s so many theaters in London that I’d love to work at. I find after this stretch of doing the TV show and the films, I have a craving for it almost. I watched Robert Icke’s Romeo & Juliet with Sadie Sink and Noah Jupe the other day and it was amazing and I was like, “Oh, I really want to do that.” There’s something about it that feels a little like I need to lock myself in a rehearsal room for six weeks and be put to work on a whole other level (Laughs). Don’t get me wrong, fucking filming is hard work and we put in the work, but they’re so different and they demand something different. And I’m getting that feeling inside me where I’m like, I need to go back to that for a bit.

What does your perfect day off from work look like? 

Do you know what? Today was pretty perfect. I mean, I had to go for a fitting in the morning, but that was great for the premiere and stuff. After that, I was all the way on the other side of London and I realized, because it’s boiling here right now, I was like, I don’t want to get on a hot Tube right now. I love lime bikes and I just biked an hour across London, and then I called my mate to meet him in Victoria Park and we just went to Victoria Park on our bikes, got an ice cream, sat in the sun and just chilled out. And then to come back to an apartment, put something great on the TV, order in some food and just chill out and just chat shit (Laughs).

I was discovering parts of London today that I’d never seen. I was in an area where I was like, “This place looks like Venice. What the fuck?” And then I looked on the map and it was called Little Venice and I was like, “I’ve never been here. It’s amazing!”

If you had to describe what makes Matthew Broome, Matthew Broome, what would you say?

I love life. That’s just a fact of me. I’m at my happiest when I’m having to figure shit out and fucking organize my life. … My flat’s [apartment] a mess constantly and I’m trying to clean it constantly. And then I want to fucking work hard, but then I also want to go sit in a park all day and do nothing, and then I want to eat healthy, but then I always want to eat shit. (Laughs.) I kind of love this constant battle that’s going on over here. … I need plates spinning constantly because I’m thriving in the fact that I’m struggling through it (Laughs).