Will Thorpe, Star of the Stage, takes time out to visit RHS, Bath

27 Mar 2017

We were delighted to welcome actor Will Thorp into school recently to talk to us about his highly successful career in Film, Theatre and Television. It was fascinating to hear about how his love of theatre inspired him from a very early age to pursue a career in acting, from writing plays as a child to training at the prestigious Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and then going on to appear in a wide range of productions. His list of credits is impressive and he has worked with a range of famous actors and directors.

Offering a glimpse into the ‘behind the scenes’ life of an actor, he told us about experiences such as the rigorous work involved in his role as Toby Zed in Dr Who – including three-hour make-up sessions which started at 5:30 in the morning and the filming of underwater sequences at Pinewood Studios. He also reminded us of how unpredictable the world of acting can be, as, for example, when he was offered just six episodes on Coronation Street and then ended up playing the character for 200 episodes!

As well as offering an extremely interesting insight into the world of acting, he gave some useful advice on how best to approach it as a career – remember that the competition is huge, don’t underestimate that and try to spend time between jobs wisely. He filled his ‘between jobs’ time with other creative projects such as writing, directing or visiting schools. ‘If you’re creative, you need to be creative’.

Will Thorp’s talk and Q and A session was a perfect combination of entertaining anecdotes and very useful information. We look forward to welcoming him back to RHS very soon