Hello. Hi. How's it going? Yeah, good. How are you? Good. Is it where are you right now?

Um, I'm in Los Angeles.

Okay, so it's morning for you too, early start.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, welcome to Young Hollywood.

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

We have to talk about the tweet. We'll bring we'll bring in Katie, the mastermind behind the tweet. I love I why am I why am I imagining this? Hi Katie. What's up? Madam. People went crazy. That tweet our tweet, your tweet blew up. People could not get enough of it.

Well, I I yeah, I've been noticing that um that that sort of like trend which obviously you were king into of that. Sir. And but it but it it struck me it was such a British thing to be like, madam. It's better when I say it than when I type it.

I I heard it, I heard your voice in my head. Okay, good. when I read it, so it's all good. And I have to just point out real quick before I out all over.

Yeah yeah.

that this interview is happening on the 11th at 11:00. Oh. In meaning in eight minutes, we can

You have to wait.

do this. Just had to point that out 11:11. All right. There we go. Shout out Katie though, because Katie does the whole tweet. She did everything.

Yeah yeah, for sure. Yes.

All right. Okay, so speaking of 11:11, how do you feel it hit 1 million streams?

You know what, it's very exciting. I have no experience in this, so I have no metric as to whether that's good or not. I don't know whether like all songs get a million streams or whether that's like Adele staggering. I don't know. I I I have no idea. And then um I mentioned that actually to my dad the other day, and he went why are you measuring it by anyone else's standards? It's a million people have heard your song, isn't that amazing? And I was like, yeah, that's a really good point, that's all that matters.

Yeah, cuz you put say you put a million people in front of you.

Yeah.

Yeah, each one of them listened to the song, you know?

Yeah, that would feel Yeah, that would be a lot. That would be overwhelming. That would be a lot of people. But I tell you what, to me that the numbers and the things is not at all what it was sort of I remember when I started out doing films and stuff and and and you the film would come out and they would say, "Oh, it's made, you know, 456 million in the box office." And you'd be like you would you would sort of have some you would have you would put some stake in that. You would have some flesh in the game with it and worry about it then going forwards whether comparably that was good and it just it just doesn't matter if it's someone's favorite film, what does it matter? And for me, like just seeing all these little like tweets and Instagram videos. Um there was there was one video right like the day after it came out of this like girl, young woman dancing in her kitchen with this big smile on her face to to the song. And I was like, "You can't buy that." That's not like like I I wrote a song at my piano and now this person that I don't know, have never met, will is is dancing to it

Yeah.

in her kitchen with this broad beaming smile on her face. And uh you know, that that that's about as great award as you could ever get. And now people are doing like pole dancing routines and like ice skating ice skating choreography and singing covers of it and stuff. And that that to me is like better than any other sorts of compensation I could ever get for for for doing it.

And that's so cool because this is kind of like your you're just getting into music and you're not really sure like what comes from it and everything because of your acting background. So it's like this is a new world, so it's fun as it's happening for you.

Yeah, it's really fun. I I I obviously have it it sort of signed up to music things about 20 years ago. And I really wanted to kind of make a go of it in terms of doing some some big band jazz or some, you know, I wasn't quite sure, pop bands, I wasn't quite sure what it was that I what it was that I wanted to do with it. Um but I knew I wanted kind of music in my life. And I've been really lucky in that a lot of the films that I've done have had music you know, twists to them. And yeah, exactly. I've been able to sing on soundtracks, but it was always kind of doing an impression of somebody. It was always kind of singing in someone else's voice. Even even when I was at school and stuff, I would do these Sinatra tribute concerts and Stevie Wonder Soul nights. And I would always be singing doing impressions of people and obviously in my acting life, I I I I'm sort of trying to spread little pieces and inject little pieces of myself into characters that I'm playing, but I'm pretending to be someone else. Whereas this is it's the first thing that I've done that is really just me and from me and you know, it was just it was just it was almost like essential for me actually. It just I reached a point in my life where I was like, I have to make something honest. I have to make something from me, not pretending to be anyone else and just like stick it out into the world. Do you know what I mean?

Yeah. Just put it out. That's so good. And for you, what is the meaning behind 11:11? What inspired that song?

Um I think uh you know, I I I mean, in terms of the 11:11 of it, it's um you know, I'm not a particularly kind of spiritual person, not particularly like uh I would say superstitious or or anything like that. But but I think I believe in this sort of like you know, that syndrome of where you where someone tells you about something and then you can't then you see it everywhere. Literally everywhere. You see, you know, someone tells you you try a new drink and suddenly there's billboards for it everywhere. And you just, I've never even heard of that before. Um And it was a little bit like that. And I you know, as soon as someone tells you that, oh 11:11 is like a mirror number and you should make a wish. It seems to be it seems to be 11:11 more than twice a day after someone tells you about it. And um and I just got into this little habit of like making a wish for somebody. Um You know, just for whoever I would be thinking of if I had a friend that was struggling or or or whatever it might be. And uh I just got I kind of got into the habit of it because I wasn't raised in a particularly religious way. I don't pray, I don't you know, whatever. But but it was it was just a sort of sweet thing I got into I sort of started doing when I noticed it. Um but I think that I like songs which are general in terms of thematically that people can relate to something in their life um and in this case, obviously it's a song about um you know, loving someone to the point of even if you can't sort of be with them, you're still you're still kind of sending all your you know, all your positivity and and and and um all of your hopefulness in their direction. Um But I also like it when songs have very specific details to them because you never know who that might connect with. And I also think that good storytelling is just like specific. So so I was kind of you know, you take little details from your own life and then you sew them into themes that feel a bit broader and a bit bigger and like, you know, I don't know what any of my favorite songs in the world. I don't know who they're about, what they're about, who they're written for. Um but I know what they mean to me and I know what I relate them to in my life. And that's why it's so exciting to see uh that young woman dancing in her kitchen because she's smiling because there's something in it that's making

She's doing the same that you were.

her feel some way about about herself. Yeah. Yeah.

For 11:11, okay, so say you see when you do see it during or throughout the day, do you make wish? Like do you make wishes? Do you make a wish?

Yeah, if I see if I see it's 11:11, I'll like shut my eyes for a second. But you have to notice it. You can't like wait, you can't like say it's 11:08 and then like wait. you just you just you have to notice it.

Has any of your wish wishes that you wished on 11:11 before in your life, you think came true, maybe in a way? You don't have to tell us what the wish was because then that ruins it.

It's not that it's it's more that I wish like, oh uh you know, I'll I'll I won't I wish for small things. I'll wish for like, well, I I I hope that person doesn't worry about that problem too much or I hope you know, that that kind of thing. Yeah. So yeah. They come true a lot because because there's a sort of a bit of a theme stitching through the the EP that I've got coming out on Friday, which is you know, oh, it's 11:11.

Really? Make it very good.

Um there there's a sort of theme stitching through about about about hopefulness and about and about kind of that that those things will always kind of be be all right in the end.

I've got a song called Not the End, which which which references this John Lennon quote, which is it it'll be it'll be okay in the end and if it's not okay, it's not the end. Not the end. Yeah. And I love that quote, so I stitched that into the song and it's a song about sort of like cliché life advice. Um but it boils down to just that one thing. And I think that's that hopefulness is kind of very much who I am as a person. Like I I I I'm not necessarily like an optimist, but I am kind of a hopeless hopeful romantic human. And and and so so that's kind of stitched into all of the all of the songs um sort of thematically.

Yeah. And speaking of the EP, do you have a favorite on there? Or do you I mean, you probably love them all. But do you have like a favorite that you're ready for people to listen to?

Well, I've never really understood it until now, but it it it does feel like your baby like my my my little baby birds that I that I that they become my favorite. There were a couple I'd say there were two or three of the five that were that I always felt sure about. And then there was a couple that I that that needed to go through different transitions. And I needed to like add strings to or add like horns to or like one of them was a really slow song and it didn't work until we like doubled the tempo of it and like gave gave it like this Sam Paul and the Broken Bones like horns and drums and like, I was like, "Oh, no, this is a fun song. I thought it was a sappy song because I think everything's like you're your feels like that. But but it's not. This is this is like this is a this is this is a head banging. This is a groover, this one. Can I say groover? How old do I sound when I say the word groover?

Pretty pretty old, maybe. Yeah. You're like it's like a young old. Yeah. Like you're like a good old.

Like I feel like there was this joke on my there was this joke on my the show that I do on Netflix called Shadow and Bone. It has like a quite young cast and they're twenties. You're like in the sad like. And I'm and I'm 40 now. And and I felt like when I turned up, I felt there's this there's this like GIF, GIF, see I still don't know. Um of Steve Buscemi. Yeah. And he's got he's like in his 40s and he's got a skateboard and a backwards hat. And he's got a T-shirt that says, "Hello, fellow kids." And I feel like that quite a lot of quite like venturing into music for the first time and doing interviews like, you know, in a way you feel so comf I feel so settled in who I am and talking about this stuff, but then I try to relate it to like anything suddenly I'm completely out of my depth and drowning in in in Twitter terminology. There you go.

I mean, you're learning as you go though. So that's good.

Uh yeah, yeah, I'm trying. I've got lots of I've got lots of like good people in my life, like my Shadow and Bone kids that will that will always keep me facing the right direction. So that's good.

There you go. Shout out them. Honestly.

Yes, exactly. Thank you, Jessie. Um okay, we're going to play a game too. You ready for the game?

Okay, great. I'm not going to. So it's it's this or that. So there's two options and then you'll pick.

If this isn't like Squid Game or anything, I'm not going to like just die horribly in this macabre awful grim way if I like lose the game.

Speaking of Squid Game, do you like it? Do you like that like the hype?

I I just finished it and it's it reminds me of a quite a lot of you know, Battle Battle Royale and you know, those sort of like Hunger Games-y things. A little bit the end of the end of Spartacus that's sort of cathartic playing people off against each other. I don't know. I I've seen a lot of it before, but I think the aesthetic of it is amazing. And I just love that this like so carefully crafted Korean show is like the going to be the most watched show. I love that. And I love um Yeah, I I I really like shows that. And I like how like strong the metaphor is in terms of like representation of its country and what it what it wants to say. Um and it's also it's also got riveting and amazing acting. So yeah, I'm I'm down with it. Down with it. See, there's another one. Can I say that? I don't know.

It's good. It's good. The fact that you have to that you sit there and you're young Hollywood, young Hollywood. Luckily, you've cropped out the word young just for me. It just says Hollywood.

No, no. See, yeah. Yes. And uh yeah, but the fact that you have to explain to me what's that good say proves that I'm yeah. Anyways.

You heard bet? Like bet. No. Okay, so basically terminology like all my friends, like if you're like, okay, I'll be there in five. Bet. Oh, do you want to go to the game? Bet. Like sure. Yeah. If you show up to the like the set whenever you Shadow and Bone or who literally talk to them, if you reply bet they'll love you.

To what question?

They're like, "Oh, like you want to go like, are you going to be here soon?" Yeah, like bet. I'll be there in five.

But what's wrong with the word yes?

Cuz it's cooler to say bet. Yes. Or no cap. Like no cap is like I'm not lying. So it's like, no, I literally got attacked by bears. No cap.

No capital letters. No cap. CAP cap. Meaning no capital letters, meaning all lower case. I'll I'll get that wrong and they'll be like, yeah, that really happened. All lower case. No, just no cap. You can't you can't say No, I don't want to become I don't I know I'm pushing this agenda myself, but I don't want to become well known for being the like uncle who's like not like trying to be really hard. I I that's a bad that's not a good rap. That's not a good rap.

Okay, well we'll move on from that. But just in case you wanted to.

to myself. I've done it to myself. This is my end.

I was just helping. You're on Young Hollywood. We're keeping you young.

This is fair. Okay, this or that. Back to the game.

Okay, I'm ready. Stay in or go out?

Uh stay in.

Okay. It's Friday night, you're staying in.

Well, I haven't finished Squid Game. Yeah, super staying in.

Okay. Sleep in or wake up early?

Wake up early and then sleep in.

Okay. Bet. You would say bet there. Yes.

You know what I mean? Like you wake up because the best, the coziest sleep is always you wake up because Yeah. And then go back to sleep. You can't like feel the pillow if you're asleep, asleep, but it's like that half sleep. Yeah.

Shadow and Bone or Westworld?

Oh, that's unfair in every single possible way. See this is like a Squid Game. This is impossible.

We're going to break both. We'll give you a third option just for your struggles today.

Um I'm going I'm going to go uh uh Shadow and Bone because I'm going to make more of that.

Good. Spend money or save money?

Um uh These are all both questions and you know that. Uh Um uh save some of the money and and spend some of the money. I found a loop hole in your game here.

Okay, well, you're canceled.

No, don't cancel me. Um save money. God, I'm boring.

What would you buy right now if you got a million dollars?

Um What would I buy? A house. Actually, a car. That's a good Yeah, an electric car.

Oh, not like a Lambo, an electric car.

No, something electric. Yeah, I think that's good.

Uh music or acting? Katie Katie came up with that one.

Um, uh, music for the joy. I like that.

Um, okay, so what are you going to do when your EP drops? That was the game. What are you get Are you going to celebrate? Are you going to go out to dinner? Are you going to stay in?

What am I going to do? I'm Well, I was just I was shooting um a horror When when 11:11 came out, I was shooting a night shoot in a graveyard uh in the rain. So that's how I celebrated my first song coming out. So, hopefully something different from that. Yeah, I'd like I actually I'd like I would it would be it would be pretty I it's a bit like birthdays, isn't it? It's it's Yeah. You sort of anticipate it and there's a sort of certain hype to it. And sometimes it really lives up to it. But a lot of the time it doesn't. And I don't know exactly how I feel. But I would like to celebrate in some way. So yeah, maybe I would like to do like a little dinner or you know, have some some people come and acknowledge it. I think that's important that stuff.

You're going to have to. It's a huge day for you. You're dropping an EP.

Yeah, okay, yeah. I'm going to go out and rage. Is that am I allowed that?

You you learn you did you're doing so well. Yes. That's good. That's so good.

I'm going to go rage. You know what you should do? Young Hollywood should have like a thing where you get like you get like little ding ding ding things in the corner whenever you say something that isn't young Hollywood, whenever you say anything that's like we're past. Then you get like And if you get five, if you get five like the interview just stops.

cuts out.

And meeting. Yeah. You get yeah. Thank you for your turn. Next. Yeah, exactly.

Well, congratulations on everything.

Thank you.

Acting, music.

And now you're going to be able to talk like Young Hollywood, so. Yeah. You're welcome. You're welcome, actually. Thank you so much. It means it means so much to me. You're very welcome. Well, we can't wait for the EP and I hope everybody sends you more videos of them dancing in the kitchen to it.

Me too. Me too. Thank you. That is the thing. That is the thing I wish the most.

Bet. But did I ruin it with the hand thing? I did, didn't I? I knew I did. I knew it. I knew it as I was doing it. I knew I was ruining it with that. That's okay. That's all right. We'll cut out the hand. We'll just cut it out.

No, just leave it in.