eventually won by A24<\/a>. All of a sudden, this teenage actor from just outside Oxford, who\u2019s grown up on Despicable Me and Swashbuckle, found himself as close to Hollywood acclaim as anyone. Harry Potter who?<\/p>\n\n\tHere, in this room at Claridge\u2019s Hotel on a dry and sunny day in London, he\u2019s still pinching himself. \u201cI was so excited to go there, and then when I got there, I thought, \u2018What if people don\u2019t like it?’\u201d Absolom reflects on his trip to the world\u2019s glitziest film festival. \u201cI got a bit nervous, but when I watched it, people were laughing. And the standing ovation at the end, if you rewatch it, you can see I\u2019m trying to hold back tears the whole time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tJordan Firstman and Reggie Absolom at the Cannes photocall for \u2018Club Kid.\u2019<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty<\/p>\n
\n\tEvery critic was in agreement: Part of Club Kid\u2018s undeniable charm is the maturity and authenticity with which Absolom embodies Arlo. A lost child whose dysfunctional upbringing makes his doe-eyed attachment to Peter even more painful, the role lived and died on the chemistry between Absolom and Firstman. It\u2019s no surprise, then, that Firstman spent his birthday a couple of years ago walking around a London park with the child, his mother, and an ice cream cone. \u201cWe had such a good, flowing conversation,\u201d Absolom remembers. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t small talk [or] icebreaker stuff. It just felt like talking to someone I had known for years already.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe two immediately bonded over their love of music, and Firstman actually made a Spotify playlist for the kids auditioning for the role. \u201cI took some photos of the songs that I liked because I wanted to get a gauge. You can\u2019t play Arlo if you haven\u2019t got good music taste,\u201d says Absolom, referencing his character\u2019s DJ aspirations. Two bands in particular have left a lasting impression, tying him to Firstman forever: Massive Attack and the Cocteau Twins. \u201cI\u2019m still thankful for that because I love the Cocteau Twins. They\u2019re my favorite band,\u201d he beams.<\/p>\n
\n\tWith this crucial bit of prep in his arsenal, Absolom, backdropped by his bathroom \u2014 \u201cThat\u2019s where we do all our self-tapes; it\u2019s the best place in our house\u201d \u2014\u00a0got on a Zoom call with Firstman, Bevan and producer Alex Coco. He\u2019d landed the job. \u201cI knew I had a chance because everyone does,\u201d he explains, \u201cbut I never really expected to get it, and it was such a shock. I was genuinely speechless. Just staring at the screen [with] a blank face, and then: \u2018Oh my god, I\u2019ve just landed the biggest role of my life so far.’\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tIt must be said that the shoot sounds like any teenager\u2019s dream: Six weeks in New York with two days off a week, where Absolom went with his family to all of the obligatory tourist stops, like the Flat Iron and Empire State Buildings and the Statue of Liberty. The only sizeable sets he\u2019d been on until this point was the BBC and BritBox\u2019s The Other Bennet Sister, in which he plays a small role as son to the Gardiners, Apple TV\u2019s Silo, as well as films FLY! and Dressed to the Nines. But Club Kid, even as an indie, felt much larger.<\/p>\n
\n\tFor a kid with a handful of credits (a John Lewis Home Insurance ad among them), the difference was initially slightly jarring. \u201cThere was more people,\u201d Absolom concedes, \u201cbut I just felt like I knew all of them.\u201d Being thrust into a room with real-life drag queens, trans people and queer performers was as vibrant, inviting, and as deliciously fun as you\u2019d expect. \u201cThey were all so nice to me,\u201d he continues. \u201cAnd Jordan, even though he had so much on his plate \u2014 he had to think about directing, did a bit of producing, and obviously having to remember his lines and all \u2014 made me feel so welcome whilst doing all of that. He also helped me out acting-wise by teaching me that you can improv and you can suggest to change a line or do something a different way. You don\u2019t have to be scared to talk to the director like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tIn fact, one of the film\u2019s best scenes is injected with a shot of real sentiment. \u201cAfter I come out of the club for the first time, and we\u2019re in the car on the way back to [Peter\u2019s] apartment, and we\u2019re celebrating because everyone was so happy about it.\u201d There weren\u2019t any set lines \u2014\u00a0Firstman had told Absolom to be amazed: \u201c\u2018It\u2019s the best day of your life ever,’\u201d he remembers his director saying. This unsuspecting tidbit makes the onscreen conversation that unfolds between them even more tenderhearted.<\/p>\n
\n\tWe talk about Arlo\u2019s future \u2014\u00a0a sequel, Absolom jokes, where he\u2019s pursuing a career on the DJ decks stateside. When asked if there was any part of the shoot that he may have found difficult, he sheepishly tells THR: \u201cProbably the most challenging bit was having no other kids on set, and also no other British people.\u201d (He did, thankfully, have the opportunity to teach his driver some British insults \u2014\u00a0like calling someone a \u201cmug\u201d or a \u201cmelt.\u201d Love Island U.K. viewers, this is your time to shine.)<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tAbsolom says Jordan Firstman (left) taught him not to be scared to talk to a director.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA24\/Everett<\/p>\n
\n\tAnd Absolom has so far managed to balance the jet-setting life of a celebrated actor with, well, being a kid. \u201cFilm festivals are normally on the weekends anyway, so I really only miss two days of the week,\u201d he says. When I suggest that a statement like that must have his friends thoroughly envious, he replies: \u201cI have two friend groups. [\u2026] And I think the ones I have out of school are more interested in it. When it comes out in the U.K., they\u2019ll be old enough to watch it. I won\u2019t!\u201d (The film, in British theaters on Jan. 8, is rated 15 here, so you\u2019ve got to be 15 or over to watch \u2014\u00a0Absolom\u2019s first slice of industry irony.)<\/p>\n
\n\tHe finds himself in some pretty extraordinary company, with British child stars like Owen Cooper of Adolescence fame and 28 Years Later\u2018s Alfie Williams among his peers. But another sharp display of wisdom comes in Absolom\u2019s pragmatism about what the next few years might hold. \u201cI\u2019m at a trickier age,\u201d he tells THR. \u201cThe voice can go, and you don\u2019t want to be halfway through filming and then the voice goes. So it\u2019s gonna be, maybe, a gray area for a year or two.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAfter that? Anything is possible if Hollywood\u2019s big, sweaty embrace of Club Kid is anything to go by. Absolom\u2019s dream role would be working with Christopher Nolan \u2014 he had his mind blown by Interstellar earlier this year \u2014 or Ryan Gosling, whom he loved watching in Project Hail Mary. He is, in part, still processing the last wild few months, which peaked when his mother came into his room recently and showed Absolom\u2019s name in the 30th spot on Variety\u2018s early projection for the top 30 supporting actors at the Oscars. \u201cA nomination is out of the picture right now,\u201d says Absolom \u2014 that celebrity humility creeping in already \u2014 \u201cbut just being on the list is mental. I\u2019d be happy with a nomination for anything. Winning is just a crazy, extra bonus.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While in the running for the titular role in HBO\u2019s upcoming Harry Potter adaptation, British star Reggie Absolom…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":677465,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[15608,321,195632,93,61,1042,60,195633,303],"class_list":["post-677464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-a24","tag-celebrities","tag-club-kid","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-international","tag-ireland","tag-jordan-firstman","tag-united-kingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}