Announcing our first Fiorentini’s Got Talent Judge – actor Sam Crane!

We caught up with Sam Crane for a quick Q&A to get a better insight into his experience as a professional performer, and asked for some words of wisdom to our upcoming competitors at Fiorentini’s Got Talent.

Sam is known for his acclaimed performances at the National Theatre, in the West End and on Broadway, playing Winston Smith in Robert Icke and Duncan MacMillan’s seminal production of 1984, and Farinelli in Farinelli and the King opposite Mark Rylance. On screen he starred as Fred Walters in the BBC series Desperate Romantics, and has appeared in many hit television shows including The Crown, Endeavour, Call the Midwife and Poldark.

What attracted you to begin a career as an actor/performer?

I think I always found great pleasure and freedom in immersing myself in other personalities

What has been your greatest accomplishment professionally?

Being congratulated by Whoopi Goldberg after she saw me in Farinelli and the King on Broadway

Do you have a dream role you would like to play someday?

I’d really like to play Karl Ove Knausgaard in a (as yet unrealised) dramatisation of his autobiographical series of books My Struggle

What’s the last thing you do before stepping onto stage / the cameras start rolling?

Totally depends on what the part is, what the project is. It’s different every time

If acting wasn’t an option, which career do you think you would have instead?

In an alternative universe, I would love to have been a novelist, though I think that’s probably an even less sensible career choice than acting.

Do you have any funny anecdotes with other industry professionals?

When I was a student at LAMDA, we did a workshop with Simon McBurney (founder of Complicite). We were all in awe of him. He came into the room, looked us all up and down, and said “So, you want to be actors. I hope you know how to STARVE!”

What is one piece of advice you would be able to give to our students who are starting out in the industry?

It’s a hard, hard industry (see above!). Try not to compare yourself to others. Everyone’s career path is unique. Do what you can to maintain your creative agency; if you can, try and develop your own work.

Can you give any tips to our contestants before Fiorentini’s Got Talent 2019?

Trust in the preparation you’ve done, don’t forget to breathe, and try to enjoy it!

Sam can next be seen in The Trial Of Christine Keeler on BBC 1 and Cobra on Sky.

Don’t forget to book your tickets to Fiorentini’s Got Talent 2019 on Saturday the 16th November! Click here to book.