Topics 1. About his career 2. About his roles 3. About mental health 4. About working out 5. About being vegan 6. About his accent 7. About social issues 8. About football 9. About his style 10. Miscellaneous

About his career

My dream career was constantly changing. I wanted to own a construction company. I wanted to be a football player. I wanted to be a chef. I wanted to own hotels. It was just like week by week. It was month by month. It was just changing from kind of one industry to a completely different one with no real discernible link between them. But I always was performing in some sense, right? Like even if it was plays at school or if it was just kind of liking to be the louder one and the center of attention when I was growing up. I have one brother who's a little older than me, but certainly my experience was a lot more reserved. And I was the kind of like, I'm the younger brother and I'm here. So I think I was kind of used to being on a stage, whether, as I say, it be at school or just in my own little head.
I appeared in a famous short film and that kind of sparked it in me a little bit. It grew from there, so there was no one big moment, I don’t think. It was just a gradual progression into it.
There wasn’t one defining moment. It was more of a slow progression. If I had to say specifically I would have to give a lot of credit to an old teacher of mine, the late Mr. Mackellar. He sadly passed away last year. But he was someone who really made me believe in this career as a possibility and gave me the confidence to give it a go.
Yeah, for me right now it’s about making intelligent choices. … It’s becoming more and more important to be a part of projects that are important socially and sending the right message. And yes, for me it’s about being intelligent in that choice and ending up in something that is good for the world.
For me, the hardest part is the lack of job security even when you have the job. You never know what could happen to the character. It’s something I used to be very insecure about, but I’m a lot better and calmer about that part of the job now.
The inability to escape my own head at times because there is always that voice back there that in a room full of great actors will ask “do I deserve to be here?” I think it’s something that everyone struggles.

About his roles

Dylan - It was the main kind of draw for me is that it was a group of misfits, essentially, who were kind of leading this charge into intellectual, furthering themselves intellectually. And yeah, people who necessarily wouldn't necessarily have a big group of friends around them but they'd found each other and that is kind of why they were able to pursue what they were. So yeah I really liked the characters more than anything and then the science was just a kind of unique added bonus.
Ryder - I think it is that the Badlands is a very physical world and very early on in life he was, physically, not living up to what Quinn wanted him to be. He was always a disappointment in Quinn's eyes, and I think it just snowballed from there. If you have your father, one of the most important people in your life, telling you that you aren't good enough, you can develop quite a complex out of that.
Ryder - He is very impulsive; he doesn't think things through before acting. I don't like that about him because it gets him into trouble. However, on the other hand, I also like that about him because it reflects his ambition, his desire to impress others, and it allows him to grow as a person. So, his ambition is both a good and a bad thing.
Ryder - I liked how dark of a character he was. Immediately, I recognized him as a sort of tortured soul who’s really been through a lot growing up in the Badlands. I really liked the idea of playing this character that has this sort of darkness behind him and how that would affect someone moving forward.
Ryder - He’s a very relatable character. He’s constantly trying to find his way and discover who he is. He begins to find his own voice and meaning.
Ryder - He loves him as much as he hates him. But really more than anything he just wants his approval. He’s just gone so long without it that he doesn’t know what that would be anymore.
Ryder - I think you see Ryder’s strengths in that moment and in the conclave he’s good with his words. He can play that game and in that moment with Quinn it’s like, “You know what? Take everything else away and in this moment I’ve got you. You made the mistake. I know this and you don’t.” It’s one last hurrah of power before it’s all taken away.
Ryder - The potential is there. It’s a case more of growing into himself and calming down a little, not being so desperate and having this almost voracious need to prove himself. If you keep on pushing someone, eventually you push them too far, I think Quinn has never given him the approval that he craves. His mother has now turned her back. He’s dumped by his lover. I feel like there’s nothing left for him in The Fort. And then it simply becomes a case of "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".
Ryder - He had a lot of internalized pain and trauma—and Buck does have a lot of that as well—but I don’t think he was necessarily aware of it when we started the show. It was much more of a subconscious thing, Buck is a much more outgoing character, so it was really actually quite fun for me to transition [to playing Buck] because, as far as I’m concerned, it’s just me exploring different parts of myself and getting to bring different parts of myself to those characters.
Evan, Ryder - My favorite thing about [Buck] is that he is tough and brave, yet he has a little bit of charm to him and as you go on you will see that he's really emotional, vulnerable and he's okay with that [too]. It's nice to get to play someone who is tough and cool, but then cries even though he still tough and cool. Those things aren't often mutually exclusive.
Evan - He’s struggling with finding who he is and where he fits in.
Evan - I don’t think I have ever played a good guy before, or even smiled on television so genuinely. I didn’t realise it at first, but I was enjoying playing the good guy for a change.
I think in a big part, it's down to how open and vulnerable he is. He really wears his heart on his sleeve. And I think the only thing that we can really connect to, is his vulnerability.
Evan - I found my own value as an actor and understood what I bring to the table and my own worth at the same time that the same thing is happening with Buck. I really believe we're on this journey together.
Evan - Listen to those around you and calm down a little bit. It's going to be okay, and you're going to find yourself, and it's okay to not be there yet.
Evan - It is refreshing to see such a storyline on television because it’s not explored enough. But it is a relationship that does happen in real life. The fact that we’ve gone down that route and it’s not felt forced is great. It’s nice how people have responded to it. This question wouldn’t be asked if the man happened to be older than the woman.
It's something that has always, for whatever reason, brought a tear to my eye. When I see somebody living openly and proudly as who they are, it has always really affected me. So, to get to now go through this storyline and hopefully help people feel more seen, that really means a lot to me.
Evan - They've been through a lot of things, and have kind of shown up for each other in different ways over the years, and I think that speaks to what people want in life. You want somebody that is going to be there for you when it's good, but also when it's tough.

About mental health

I think most creative people in creative fields have that (impostor syndrome) to some degree. Right? And I don’t know if it’s, certainly, for myself, something that ever completely goes away, but I’ve definitely got better at mitigating it and understanding what it is and understanding that because I feel something doesn’t mean it’s true. I can quiet that voice much easier now because I’ve built up some years of experience. It’s always gonna be there, but, you know, that doesn’t mean you have to listen to it, or that doesn’t mean you have to let it affect your decisions or the way that you approach things. I think there’s a vulnerability that is actually quite helpful that comes from it, but not letting it sit in the driver’s seat.
Growing up as a young man you're often told, 'You shouldn't cry,' and 'Emotions are weakness.' I think that's so damaging and I genuinely think that if we raised young boys better we wouldn't have such a need for feminism. If you're told to 'Man up,' you're essentially being told that being feminine is lesser. I think if we took away that toxic masculinity then the world would be a much better place. So, to be a part of a TV show that lends itself towards that and supports those ideas, it has been a real honor for me. I'm very happy to be a part of that.
It’s not until you start accepting who you are that you can really find success, or more importantly, happiness. All the quirks you’ve spent years trying to hide, they are actually your superpowers; they’re what set you apart. They don’t make you better. They don’t make you worse. They make you you, and only you can be that.
So if you watch movies from even, well, maybe 20 years ago, say, or maybe even 15, right? And because I think this is the thing that we speak about media representation of women's bodies a lot, and obviously how damaging that can be to young girls and the whole thing, if you know, even the girl in the magazine doesn't look like the girl in the magazine. The men in movies used to look like real people and then like superhero movies came out and and suddenly right there everybody was starting to look like marvel superheroes and now it's gone so far that even the normal people look like they could be marvel superheroes right and seven - eight of those 10 people, they're probably having some chemical help to look like that, which I understand to some extent. Like if you've got to play a god, you kind of need to look like a god. Like it's not an easy thing to do. And then through social media as well, right? Like you have these Instagram models that have these incredible physiques and not many of them are very honest about how they achieve it. And then so you end up comparing yourself to it. And I'm somebody that has always struggled with not feeling big enough.
I wish that I had committed more to nurturing friendships. Like I know a lot of people in my life, but I don't know how many like-minded friends I have. I don't know if I put myself out there enough to keep friendships alive and thriving. And so I know a lot of people, but I don't know how many people, you know, maybe not more than I could count on my fingers, could I like really go to with stuff. So I think there was one thing that I could do differently about the last I don't know, ten years of my life. It would be to focus more on building friendships, and I think anybody that's kind of in the early to mid-twenties, I think, yeah, focus on that because those are the people that you're really going to want to have around you and be able to lean on.
I'm totally emotional and I cry about stuff and I'm totally okay with that. “I feel like as a young man growing up often you are told you shouldn’t be okay with that and there's a kind of toxic masculinity that comes from that; so I love being able to push the fact that it's okay to care about stuff. Often as a young man growing up, you are told it's much cooler to not [care].
I think so many of the problems we find ourselves in as a community are about people not knowing how to express themselves or being afraid of their own vulnerabilities, which I understand, it is passed down through generations. For me, it is important to teach children, however we can, whether through media or education, to be okay with expressing themselves and being sensitive. I think it's one of the most healthy things we can do for the sake of the world.
I think a thing that was very present for me when I was younger was this idea that men are quite or should be quite solitary. And, you know, I know that the saying is no man is an island. But actually, I think that often what we think when we're younger is that manliness is about being an island. And I tell you, over the last couple of weeks, driving up and down and all around and meeting a bunch of people has really reminded me of the importance and how healthy it can be to be part of a community and meet new people and open up and be vulnerable with new people.
For me, it’s about having good people around you. It’s about appreciating the little things, the little yeses, and the steps in the right direction. It’s about trying to take a step back and look at it as the bigger picture, rather than the day-to-day—this is a good day, this is a bad day—because that’s very draining. I try and look at it as an overall journey.
Certainly my earlier years, I really struggled mentally, especially when I had a partner at the time and she was much more successful than I was, right? And actually she wasn't even that successful, but she was having more opportunities possibly come her way. For example, she would have way more auditions than me, right? And I, as a young man in my kind of late teens, early twenties, I really struggled with that because, not because I wasn't happy for her, but because it like shined a light on my lack of success. And that took a lot of growing and understanding and being able to pull myself out of the situation to just be happy for somebody that, you know, was a loved one.
I think being okay with vulnerability and being able to ask people, are they okay? And if that question comes back in your direction, you know, taking the time to check in with each other and I mean, it is difficult, right, because where do you meet people as an adult?
We are not looking at nature; we are nature. And we are part of the makeup of the nature around us. So by taking care of it, we're taking care of ourselves. And by taking care of ourselves, we're taking care of it.
I know it’s quite a cliché answer and most people will say it, but it’s true, “You’re okay as you are. You’re going to find yourself. You’re enough.” Then again, not knowing that at a younger age is part of the discovery process, so maybe I’d whisper it and then quickly run away. [laughs]
One of the things, like, working on the environment around me is something that really kind of centers me and helps me feel a little bit better about things in my life. I would say curating my experience with the internet is something that is very important to my mental health. Obviously these social media apps curate and through their algorithms what they want you to see so it's like unavoidable to see stuff about you. You click on something about yourself once and then it's like every time I check it I would read something that didn't make me feel good about myself so part of my experience now is that I just I just don't look. I'm not saying nobody should be on social media, obviously. But I do think, you know, muting accounts that don't make you feel good about yourself and or that show you things that are upsetting to you. Not that we should always avoid the upsetting things, but upsetting for the wrong reasons. So yeah, I think being deliberate in the content that we consume. So for me that meant completely pulling away from it, but I don't think that would be everybody's step.
Listen to those around you and calm down a little bit. It's going to be okay, and you're going to find yourself, and it's okay to not be there yet.
You have to be able to help people from a place of, you know, you have to be in a somewhat good place yourself to be able to help others. So if you just consume doom and gloom and you bring yourself down with that, then are you not in a position to then amplify or help anybody else.

About working out

I play a firefighter, and I feel like there is a pressure to honor the athleticism of real-world firefighters. It makes my [dietary] choices a lot easier to stick to.
And that's the key to fitness, right? It's whatever gets you through it, finding the things that make it doable. And another huge, for me, mental benefit of it, sense of achievement, right? That I couldn't lift that a month ago, now I can lift that weight. So there are these little goals, these little barriers that you can smash through. And once you do that in a little way, I think they start adding up and they start translating to other areas of your life as well. You go, well, I was able to push through and get this thing in my fitness aspect. So why in this aspect of my life can't I do the same?
For me, fitness has become as much a mental battle as it has a physical one. It's something I've found myself leaning on since last March, as it's really providing the only semblance of structure when there isn't any else to be found. I've been lucky enough to have the capabilities and space to throw myself into it – which I'm aware not everyone did – but it's given me a reason to get up some mornings, which, on other days, was hard to find.
What is the gym equipment you can't live without? I think kettlebells. I don't think there's any better tool that kind of has muscle building capability, but also can benefit you when it comes to total body athleticism. What's your advice for someone starting their fitness journey? Try lots of different things. Find the thing that you enjoy. It can all work. It all has the potential to get you fitter. Key being consistency, and you're much more likely to be consistent at something that you enjoy. That would really be the key for me.
Somebody put it really well to me before the pandemic, when I was trying to be really strict with my eating. Every time I'm craving bad food I say, “My body doesn't want it. My body is never craving the rubbish; your mind is.”.
I'm about halfway through a 12-week cut. I'm trying to drop body fat and retain muscle. So the way that I go about that is I track everything. I track my workouts. I track my steps. I weigh myself every day, and I take a weekly average to kind of account for daily fluctuations on the scale. And then I set my calories to make sure that I losing weight at a sustainable rate. The idea being to minimise muscle loss and maximise fat loss.
What is the gym equipment you can't live without? I think kettlebells. I don't think there's any better tool that kind of has muscle building capability, but also can benefit you when it comes to total body athleticism. What's your advice for someone starting their fitness journey? Try lots of different things. Find the thing that you enjoy. It can all work. It all has the potential to get you fitter. Key being consistency, and you're much more likely to be consistent at something that you enjoy. That would really be the key for me.

About being vegan

It was for ethical reasons. I was a huge meat eater, but there came a turning point where I was like, actually I don’t think I want to do this anymore. I’m a big animal lover. And I just thought, let me give it a go. It wasn’t with health or anything in mind, and then I learned about health benefits afterwards.
I went vegan for ethical reasons. I like animals. I didn’t necessarily want to eat them... It’s just become my lifestyle now. I don’t have to think twice about it.
I had moved to the US and was living temporarily with my partner. She was vegetarian at the time, so I decided to eat that way to respect her lifestyle while I was there. I found that it wasn’t as limiting as I’d expected—in fact, I didn’t really feel limited by it at all. She showed me some documentaries [on] the ethical and environmental impact of meat consumption, and I was sold! I was vegetarian for the first few months and then graduated to full vegan status.
And I've been doing it two times during those nine years where I've stepped away from it for a short period because I was doing it for ethical reasons and I wasn't sure if it was the healthiest way and I had some doubts over that. And so I stepped away once for about six months.

Weirdly, the thing that really cemented me coming back was a squirrel. Obviously, I don't eat squirrels. I was driving and there was a dead squirrel on the road and there was another squirrel like stood over it. And that, for some reason, that image hit me so hard because I was like, it's grieving. It's clearly like, oh, my squirrel friend is dead. I can't eat these, not squirrels, but animals in general. It just reminded me of, like, these are the things that you believe in. And it set me back on the right path again.

About his accent

It’s something that I have to consciously think about and work on. Some days it’s easier than others when we’re actually working. It’s not something that I really put into practice between seasons, but then, kind of as we start ramping up to start work again and then a couple of weeks before we start shooting, I go into panic mode like, “Oh my goodness, I don’t think I can do it anymore.” So I’ll start working on it more and more, and then hope that by the time we start it was still in there and I was just talking myself out of it.
It’s the third time I’ve done an American accent, so it’s becoming easier. And I’ve lived in America for three years, so it’s getting to the point where it’s maybe something of second nature. However, some days I just forget how to do it. There might be a phrase that I struggle with. All that means is that I’ll annoy everyone in my personal life because I’ll spend the two or three days before shooting just repeating it over and over again just to get my mouth used to it. But for the most part it’s kind of become second nature, because I don’t want to be thinking too much about it. I want to be thinking about what the scene is.
That’s always one of the biggest compliments that I get, because it was something that I was very worried about. There’s sometimes an accent on TV and it’s like ‘are you American?’, because I can kind of pick up on it a little bit and I never want to be in that position. It’s something that I work hard on, so when people don’t know, it’s something that I take as a huge compliment.

About social issues

For me, it (feminism) is about opportunities being evenly distributed. So, everybody has the ability and the path ahead of them to rise. And anything I can do to help that… I want to put myself there and do my best. For me, it is very important. Because if you are lucky enough to be in the job that gives you some kind of platform (to speak up), I think you should use that platform for what you believe in. I count myself as a feminist. I’m a vegan, so I believe in animal rights. I stand behind the Black Lives Matter here in the US. I want to help wherever I can. The most important thing is to be fully educated on it before you speak out. Because you cannot just say things out. I think if it is something an actor believes in and has an opinion on it, then there is no better way to use that platform.
I think if we raised young men and young boys better in the sense of like it's okay to be in and in fact it's a great thing to be in touch with that emotional side of yourself, I think the world would be a much safer place for women.
People are becoming braver and are speaking up. They see that there is a community around them who will support them and power is being taken away from those who are against that movement.
British white people, isn't there a real culture there? Do you know what I mean? So there's no real community, because I think that community comes out of shared culture and shared values. And it's not something that I really associate with white British people or white American people, maybe. So I think that a lot of them, that's why then we move into the world of cultural appropriation, because people try and take these things from these other cultures because they want to feel a part of it. And actually, you just kind of have to appreciate it for what it is and not try and take ownership of that.
The shows which have strong female characters are long overdue. I think there should be more and I am glad to see that there are more. There are fantastic female and diverse actors all around the world. I am glad to see that they are getting more recognition and being pushed into light more and more.
The #MeToo movement has been huge. The #OscarsSoWhite movement a few years ago seems to have had some impact. We have shows like “Pose” being broadcast now, giving a voice to incredibly talented transgender actors. Things seem to be moving in the right direction and I hope it continues … and speeds up.
When I talk about white privilege, they say exactly that. They say, oh, you have no idea what I've been through. And it's like, no, I'm not saying that you've not been through anything that's hard. Like I'm sure you have. Like everybody's been through something, but what I'm saying is that the reason is not the color of your skin.
Obviously there's a, as a straight white male, there's a whole load of privilege that comes with that, where now I can sit back and be like, Oh yeah, it's been so hard. Like, come on. Like I know exactly how lucky I've been and the doors that have opened for me that wouldn't necessarily open for other people. So, you know, I have to be extremely conscious of that and, and acknowledge that and be aware of it, I think at all times, because otherwise you lose sight of that.
I mean, right now, I don’t actively do too much apart from, you know, share people’s voices who maybe I have slightly more of a platform at the moment so I want to be retweeting certain things that amplify the voices of those who don’t necessarily have that platform. I think it’s just about educating or trying to educate those around you and listening to the people around you and trying to understand people’s plights that are different. More than anything, I am just someone who wants everybody to be nice to each other. The two that are on my Twitter are huge concerns in the world right now and I think are things that need to be sorted out and, hopefully, if we could get to that point, positivity would influence a lot of things.
Being part of representation for the kind of queer community and it's been an honour really and the reaction to it has truly blown me away. You know, it feels almost like, I wasn't really worried about it, going into it, right? And people will tell me, like, which I think is silly, but, you know, you were brave to do this or whatever with this character. And I didn't really have that fear. Like, you know, I was really proud to get to be a part of telling this story because I think it's, you know, it's representative of the world that we live in. And to get to play this character who was, you know, all right, so if we go back, I don't know, 20 years ago, it was like, quote, unquote, very macho, right? He's a hero. He runs into the fire. He does all these things. And so, you know, it's not necessarily revolutionary to be showing this now that you can do that. And you can, and that isn't affected by your sexuality, but I do think to be doing on a network TV show and to take an established character and do it was you know a big step for the show. The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive and I've loved getting thus far to tell the story and you know we have another season ahead so to continue telling that story and hopefully br able to provide some really positive not just diversity, but representation for that community.

About football

I am a massive soccer fan—and it hurts my soul to call it soccer; it’s football! But, I’m a massive soccer fan; I always have been, and I try to get to a match whenever I can.
Of course, the best player in the world, Leo Messi. I'm a huge soccer fan and was lucky enough to have met him. During the World Cup, I was working that summer, and every night, I watched Argentina make their way to the final. .
I love soccer. That’s a big source of joy (and pain) in my life. But, I’m a simple individual who just likes quiet family time more than anything.

About his style

That’s such a thing for me to hear. I don’t often I hear that. I’ve been trying recently to not be so ‘safe' and I tell myself that I was dressing ‘classic' but I think I was just being a bit ‘safe'. So, I’m trying to introduce some colour and some patterns into what I wear and just have a little bit more fun with clothing, I suppose.
I dress simply. Comfortably. It’s not about trends. But wardrobe in acting matters. Buck’s clothes say a lot — if he’s in a hoodie, you know he’s relaxed. If he’s tidier, he’s trying to project something. The boots always ground me.

Miscellaneous

I loved doing Casualty. I remember feeling very welcomed by the regular cast. And as you say, it was my first TV job. I was really excited, but I was also really nervous. And I remember them being really, really welcoming, and that settled me down.
Everybody has different experiences. Everybody from different backgrounds, whatever your story is has led you to be who you are. That means that the more diverse a cast and crew that you bring to something brings along a multitude of different experiences that can influence the work. That allows it to speak to so many more people and you’re handcuffing yourself if you don’t try to add that to your project.
The biggest shock was for my body to deal with the humidity. I had an amazing time there. I guess the biggest difference as far as culture was that good old southern charm and hospitality. In London you don’t really make eye contact with strangers, let alone talk. So it was really refreshing to find people who were so friendly and willing to engage with someone they didn’t know.
I think being able to take the time to slow down. Shooting can feel very hectic and go, go, go. Luxury for me is about being able to withdraw, disappear into nature, and remind myself of what is truly important.
I think everyone should embrace whatever color makes them feel like their favorite self!
I have here on my left shoulder, I have a flower, I have a couple on my right shoulder as well. I embrace softness and being gentle and I chase vulnerability and that's kind of what the flowers represent to me. I think it's the balance of the hard and the pushing myself in here and the being open and delicate in the rest of the world that really feels like peace to me.
Time was infinite and as aging came to challenge me I felt fresh and ready to outrun it. Would I have a family one day? Maybe, there’s plenty of time. Would I get married? Maybe, there’s plenty of time. Would I own a house? Maybe, there’s plenty of time. But time is sneaky. Time doesn’t take pause to concern itself with the opinions of others. The clock doesn’t care if you’re watching as its hands tick by. Time works on its own and if you’re not careful, it will work in silence. It will tip-toe away behind your back and slip out into the night never to be seen again. We all felt this, I’m sure, during the pandemic years. 2 years that crept out in the darkness never to return. Time is not infinite. It is the most finite resource we have.
Like I was a very, very skinny kid. And then in my like need to, or desire to be bigger and stronger, then I got like, I was never like fat, but I started to put on unhealthy weight because I just wanted to feel bigger. And now I'm kind of trying to find myself to a comfortable place. But it is, it's something that I've always got in the back of my head. Like my first fitting for 9-1-1, I remember putting on the uniform and being like, they're gonna see me and they're gonna be like, you don't look like a firefighter. I thought I was going to get fired. I genuinely thought after my first fitting I was going to get fired. I looked too skinny in the costume.
I don't want to sound ungrateful when I say this, but I was one of these people that when I was growing up, there was always a like, whatever you do, you're going to be great. Like, oh, whatever industry, whatever job you decide to do, you're going to be good. And I think because of that, there's this odd pressure that comes with that.

I never specialized in anything. I never went, oh, this is my thing, I'm going to do it. I kind of went, apparently I'm just going to be all right. So I didn't become the great athlete. I didn't become the amazing singer. I didn't have this path that I was like, I'm going to master this.

And it's kind of that jack of all trades, master of none thing, which is what I felt like for a long time. And then actually I started looking back and going, well, maybe there are people who are across the board, less capable, but they went, this is my thing. And they became experts in it and they became masters of it. And suddenly they are the people that I aspire to be like.
I would like the patience of Nelson Mandela, the intelligence of Einstein and a musical gift.