'Romeo & Juliet' Hunk on Modern-Day Romance

Welcome to Young Hollywood, where we have a bar like two feet away from you.

I know. I'm eyeing it up.

We sometimes ask celebrities that come in, what would their drink of choice be? So like what's the Douglas Booth drink? Definitely not the adult chocolate milk. So what's Yeah, what's your choice?

Grey Goose. That's me.

And you're 21, so you can drink in the States.

Yeah, this is actually the first trip that I can legally drink in the States.

Legal I love that you threw the legally part in there. So you're one of those people we would say is on the verge to emerge. You've got so many

I love that you just grew what I said that. Verge to emerge. I just like

Well, New York Magazine wrote about you. I know you've got a film with Darren Aronofsky coming out. You've got a film with Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis coming out. You've got a lot of things coming out. And then, of course, Romeo and Juliet. Do you get recognized a lot over there, here, what is it?

I think probably more in the UK. Yeah. Um, and it's starting to more a little over here. I mean, it's it's it's a very gradual thing for me. I I keep saying this, but I I feel like fame I think fame and the the growth of fame is a bit like a cat. I think it's like when you get a kitten and you see your cat grow. You never really you never really see it grow. You just wake up one day and it's only huge. And you because you haven't noticed because you're living with it. Right. Right. So if you would like stepped away from your life, you know, two years ago, and now look at it. And then you look in. And actually, I was at Glastonbury Music Festival in England. And like every year, it's interesting to see how it changes. It's like a segment. That's quite a good way of like testing it. A testing it. Yeah, but if you go back to the festival, this year it was kind of crazy. It's sort of changed quite a bit. And I was, you know, me and my friends were quite surprised. It's quite interesting.

Before you were an actor, when you were really young and you said, when I grow up, what did you what did you think you want to do be?

I mean, I started off and I knew it was never going to be an academic thing cuz I struggled at school. I'm dyslexic. So I knew I wanted to do something sort of creative, and I thought, well, I'm going to take up the trumpet. And I took up

As all people do.

Yeah, I took up the trumpet and I'm going to become the next like Louis Armstrong and And I worked really, really hard. And then eventually when I turned to like 13, became like 13, came a teenager. I was like, this isn't cool anymore. Everyone else is playing guitar and they're becoming rock stars and I was like, I want that party. You can't just whip that out of the party and play it. You know what I mean? It's not a friend maker. So it kind I kind of gave that up and sort of took up acting. But if you play the trumpet now, please keep on going cuz it's actually in hindsight, it's the coolest instrument.

So Romeo and Juliet. Yeah. I know Haley kind of in a way chose you. I mean, I know she had a huge say in who played Romeo and Juliet.

Yeah, I mean, she was she was already on board the movie before I came on board. So they were then looking for Romeos and they uh they tested a whole bunch of a whole bunch of guys. And I mean, I wasn't expecting anything, but then I fortunately found out I was going to test. And um, yeah, so it was really cool.

And then you got on set and split your dance many times, I heard.

Oh, it was how you tell you that. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it was it was it was

You were wearing the tights. So let's let's

Well, they're not They were these kind of like leather sort of really cool like kind of pants or trousers as we would call them in England. But they were quite tight. So I mean, in rehearsals, when I was practicing the sword fighting, they would like give me some to try on just to be able to move in them. Every time they would just like splitting. I was like, okay guys, I've got to sort this out before we start shooting. Anyway, the first day, like balcony start climbing up rip. And I think there's some great video footage of me just lying there and just having like my crotch sewn up, like. And then sometimes like get on the horse, you like put your leg over a horse and just like

You ride though, don't you? Aren't you?

Yeah, and I've ridden for a while. So that was a huge, huge Bonus. I don't even have to do the training or anything. Well, I did. I mean, I was I was out there riding every day cuz I was going to take every opportunity I could get. So we were just galloping through the Italian countryside and having the best time.

So So romantic. And speaking of romance, do you think after doing this film, these days people are so much less romantic than those? You think?

Well, yeah, I mean, nobody's declaring their love for each other after like two hours

I'm romantic.

Dying for each other. Are you? Yeah, I'm I'm romantic. I think so. I mean, people I think people are. I mean, I hope that there aren't many cases where there's such tragic love stories as this one. But, you know, it is cuz it's but it's, you know, the true epitome of like a true like, you know, romance. Keely kept saying, you know, who doesn't want to be like have their Juliet moment? You know, I mean, it's probably best not to die at the end, but But yeah, I know I think I think the themes in this movie are still totally relevant today. Like all over the world, there are, you know, there there's going to be multiple people in this world right now, you know, that are in love with someone else, but are being forced to marry someone else. So, you know, I I think these themes are totally relevant. And this kind of story is probably happening to, you know, real people right now.

Well, right along those lines, we have a game for you. It's about modern day romance. Because you know how they mix people's names these days, like couples together. What name? Like like, who do they what do they call Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt? Like Brangelina. Brangelina. So we're calling this Rolliet. No, okay. No, no. We're trying to make you nervous. No, no, no. Um, so so Romeo in the film, you know, you go to you meet her in and in the story, you meet Juliet. And you meet her at a ball, and then you go to her house and you throw a rock at her window and you get her attention. By today's standards, that would be considered really creepy. Let's say you meet somebody, okay? And you're into them and you say, "Hi about you never you don't get their number." And then later that night they're like, "Okay." They text you and they're like, "I went to the ends of the Earth. I got your number. Hi." Creepy or romantic?

Romantic, I think.

Really?

But that would like if it was the same night, that's just you think they just trying to have a booty call. That maybe that's not so romantic. If they like if they if they left it like a day or a couple of days or a week, then maybe that's like, "Oh, that's cool." Like you remembered me. But if it's the same night, you just think they're

Obviously, the families did not like each other or did not like get along. Meeting the parents today. How do you make a good first impression? Are you bringing gifts? Are you bringing mom flowers? What are you doing?

Is mom flower. You know, yeah, mom flowers, it's, you know, it's like, you know, they have a certain interest. You're like, "Oh, I just I was just walking past the bookshop and I picked up this book. I thought you'd like it." And you've like looked up and you've Googled. Yeah, exactly.

Okay. Declaring your love for someone after three days. Romantic or creepy by today's standards?

Uh, today's standards, that's creepy. Okay. I think not creepy. I creepy's the wrong word. I think today's standards that's it's just not the way things are done. Maybe it is? I mean, I'm sure I mean, cuz how do you know someone's being totally sincere? I mean, people always say, do you believe in love at first sight? And I I I kind of do, but I also think there's a I've met some of the most beautiful women in the world. And you would think, okay, I've just seen the most beautiful woman in the world. I must fall in love with her instantly because that's love at first sight. And she's like the most perfect form. But actually, the most beautiful woman in the world that I've met are not the most attractive women I've ever met.

I love that you said that. Now, why is it that is it what are you talking about?

Because inner beauty is like ten times more beautiful than exterior you know, an exterior beauty.

We're going to move on to the next. Okay. Um, back then someone had to write letters to communicate. These days we've kind of gone back to that with the texting. Is it okay to text somebody for a first date instead of calling them on the phone?

What do you mean like to meet up for the first date or after?

Yeah, to ask them.

I think I think text okay. I think so.

I think cuz people get nervous and Yeah, I think it's all right. Okay. Romeo and Juliet met at the ball. Yeah. Where's the best place to meet somebody these days? God, I I don't know. It's it's I'm I'm useless at that kind of thing. I wouldn't know where to go. But I did I tell you a story about when I first met Haley, which was at the Met Ball. Um, yeah, it was just it was crazy cuz we're at the Met Ball, one of the biggest balls in, you know, in the country. One of the only balls in the country, quite frankly. Yes. We saw each other across the room and just like, you know, and then we kind of came across and said, "Hi." And I think it really made a difference that we sort of met and just had a little chance to hang out and chat before we

That was like a real life Romeo and Juliet moment.

Kind of. Yeah. In a way. Yeah.

Your own version. So what is your idea of a of a Juliet to you?

I mean, my perfect girl? I think someone needs to have sort of charm, humor, um, as I said, it's all about the inner beauty rather than exterior beauty. They've got to be funny. They've also got to challenge me. I think it's important in a relationship to be like to be a balance in the sense of, you know, as soon as you feel like the other person isn't challenging you or they they're not, you know, you're not sort of matched on that level. I think that's when things are going to fall apart. So you need to be challenged. You need to be kept on your toes. You need to feel like you're with, you know, your sort of equal.

Thank you so much for coming in. Congratulations on all the success. Please come back and see us again.

I will be.