Rising star talksabout class clashes in The Riot Club and how The Hunger Games has (or hasn’t)changed his life
If you only know Sam Claflin as the dude who fell in love with the mermaid in that last Pirates Of The Caribbean film or the badguy-turned-good in the recent Hunger Games outing, you’re in for a bit of ashock with his new movie.
In The Riot Club, he plays Alistair, a quiet, privileged Oxford student whose angry ideas about class come out verbally – and eventually physically.
The rolecouldn’t be more different from his own background growing up in the town ofIpswich, England, says the actor on the day of the film’s world premiere at TIFF on Saturday (September 6).
“I went to anaverage high school, had a life that was as normal as normal can be,” he says,sporting a casual, scruffy look in contrast to Alistair’s buttoned-down appearance.
“There was noprivilege whatsoever. In fact we were probably on the opposite end of thespectrum. My brothers and I worked ever since we could walk, in one way or another, and we all made our own ways.
“So for me tobe going into this film and say a line like ‘I fucking hate poor people!’ isquite a stretch. I’m not looking forward to my mum and dad watching it.”
His life haschanged, however, especially since he took on the role of Finnick Odair in TheHunger Games: Catching Fire.
“It’s allbeen positive,” he says. “Luckily I can walk around the streets unscathed. I’verubbed shoulders with Jennifer Lawrence, Kristen Stewart and Johnny Depp, andthey can’t leave their hotel rooms because they’re hounded constantly. I’vebeen quite lucky in that sense. I can still get on public transport or thebutcher’s without being stopped.
“On the otherhand,” he adds, “it’s opened a lot of doors for me and allowed me to meet newpeople, and given me opportunities I wouldn’t have had – The Riot Club beingone of them.”
The Riot Club screens again September 13, 8 pm, at the WinterGarden.
If you only know Sam Claflin as the dude who fell in love with the mermaid in that last Pirates Of The Caribbean film or the badguy-turned-good in the recent Hunger Games outing, you’re in for a bit of ashock with his new movie.
In The Riot Club, he plays Alistair, a quiet, privileged Oxford student whose angry ideas about class come out verbally – and eventually physically.
The rolecouldn’t be more different from his own background growing up in the town ofIpswich, England, says the actor on the day of the film’s world premiere at TIFF on Saturday (September 6).
“I went to anaverage high school, had a life that was as normal as normal can be,” he says,sporting a casual, scruffy look in contrast to Alistair’s buttoned-down appearance.
“There was noprivilege whatsoever. In fact we were probably on the opposite end of thespectrum. My brothers and I worked ever since we could walk, in one way or another, and we all made our own ways.
“So for me tobe going into this film and say a line like ‘I fucking hate poor people!’ isquite a stretch. I’m not looking forward to my mum and dad watching it.”
His life haschanged, however, especially since he took on the role of Finnick Odair in TheHunger Games: Catching Fire.
“It’s allbeen positive,” he says. “Luckily I can walk around the streets unscathed. I’verubbed shoulders with Jennifer Lawrence, Kristen Stewart and Johnny Depp, andthey can’t leave their hotel rooms because they’re hounded constantly. I’vebeen quite lucky in that sense. I can still get on public transport or thebutcher’s without being stopped.
“On the otherhand,” he adds, “it’s opened a lot of doors for me and allowed me to meet newpeople, and given me opportunities I wouldn’t have had – The Riot Club beingone of them.”
The Riot Club screens again September 13, 8 pm, at the WinterGarden.
