Thomas Sangster

Movies

Thomas Sangster first appeared on screen in 2001. He started with television films “Postcards for Miracle”, “Bobby's Girl”, “Stig from Dump” and the like. For the drama “The Guarantor” he learned to play the piano and received the “Best Actor in a Mini-Series” award.

Thomas Sangster in the movie Love Actually

And the young performer made his debut on the big screen thanks to the tragicomedy Love Actually, in which he collaborated with such stars as Keira Knightley and Colin Firth. Thomas got the role of the son of Liam Neeson's character, and he again had to learn a new musical instrument - this time drums. His father helped the teenager in this matter.

Critics considered the role of little Tristan in the action-packed drama “Tristan and Isolde” to be a successful work. And Sangster’s first commercially successful film was the family fantasy comedy Nanny, where Thomas played the eldest of the seven children of the widower Mr. Brown. This work gave the young actor the British Teen Choice Award.

Thomas gained great popularity due to his role as young Paul McCartney in the biographical film about the musicians of The Beatles - Becoming John Lennon. Interestingly, for the sake of this image, Sangster, who is right-handed, had to completely retrain himself to be left-handed, including trying to play the guitar with his left hand, as Paul did.

Thomas Sangster in the series "Game of Thrones"

The actor's next high-profile film was the psychological drama about a teenager with cancer, Death of a Superhero. Thomas also appeared in several episodes of the famous television series Doctor Who and was involved in ten episodes of the acclaimed blockbuster Game of Thrones, in the role of Jojen Reed.

But perhaps the most high-profile work of the British actor is Newt from the youth dystopia “The Maze Runner,” which is based on the book of the same name by James Dashner. This action game was released in 2014 and created a sensation among young fans of the genre. In addition to Thomas, the main roles in the dystopia were played by Kaya Scodelario and Dylan O'Brien.

The film's plot follows a group of young men who are imprisoned in an ever-changing Labyrinth. The teenagers do not remember their own past and do not know how they ended up in the Labyrinth. At night, monsters appear in the Labyrinth, and you can hide from them only in the Clearing, surrounded by walls. Monsters are gradually killing young people imprisoned in the Labyrinth, but every month a mysterious elevator arrives, bringing a supply of food and a new participant.

Thomas also starred in the film’s sequel, “The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials,” which was released a year after the first part. In the sequel, all the leading actors returned to their own characters. In the new film, teenagers got out of the Labyrinth and were even able to get fragmentary explanations of why and how such terrible places were created. But the heroes notice contradictions in the words of the head of the base they arrived at from the Labyrinth, and escape into the outside world, filled with deserts, destroyed cities and infected people. There, the heroes hope to find rebels who can honestly explain what is happening.

Also in 2020, the young actor appeared in the British mini-series “Wolf Hall,” based on the novels “Wolf Hall” and “Bring Up the Bodies” by writer Hilary Mantel.

In the same year, Sangster joined another high-profile project - Star Wars. Episode VII: The Force Awakens." In the new Jedi film, Thomas Sangster played the supporting role of Officer Thanisson. Despite the fact that the actor still has youthful features, Thomas’ height is 179 cm, which allowed the actor to get not a teenage role, but a completely adult one.

The film became a direct continuation of the “old” trilogy. The film features iconic characters from the trilogy, played by actors from the original films: Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). But the plot turned out to be around a new generation of rebel heroes and Sith villains.

Biography of Thomas Sangster

Luxurious pedigree

And all because Thomas Brodie Sangster was born into a creative family and began acting at the age of 10. He was born on May 16, 1990 to musicians and actors, Londoners Anastasia (“Tasha”) Bertram and Mark Ernest Sangster. Thomas has a sister, Ava. Mark's roots are in Banchory (Scotland). Tom's mother has a luxurious pedigree, including the novelist Anthony Bertram and the politician and colonial administrator Sir Evan Kneepen. And Thomas's great-grandmother, Barbara Bertram (née Randolph), was the sister of the grandmother of the famous British actor Hugh Grant.

Loud debut

Tom's first role was as Henry in the BBC TV movie Jim's Station. In the early 2000s, several more television projects appeared in the biography of Thomas Sangster, and for his role in the British-French mini-series “The Guarantor,” the 13-year-old actor won the “Golden Nymph” prize at the 43rd annual television festival in Monte Carlo. Also in 2003, the mini-series Hitler: Rising of the Devil was released, in which the title character was portrayed by Robert Carlyle, and Sangster played Adolf as a child.

Audiences came to know and love Thomas in his film debut as Sam, the stepson of Liam Neeson's character in the excellent Christmas romantic comedy Love Actually. The boy is very worried about the death of his mother, and his stepfather is trying to establish a relationship with him. And then it turns out that Sam is in love with a girl who studies at his school. For this work, Sangster was nominated for two awards - the Young Artist Award and the Gold Satellite Award.

Mischievous Simon and others

Thomas played in the television adaptation of the novel The Boy with Feathers, 11-year-old Tristan in Tristan and Isolde and took part in the filming of the comedy Nanny Nanny. The main character of the film (Colin Firth), a widower, has already changed several nannies for his naughty children (and he has seven of them). Non-rumors can drive anyone crazy, their pranks are funny, but the father is not amused. The eldest son Simon (Sangster) rules over everyone. But everything changes when a nasty-looking old woman McPhee (Emma Thompson) appears on the doorstep of the house. The film became a commercial hit: its box office was almost five times its budget.

In 2007, Tom starred in two episodes of the fantasy series Doctor Who, and in the same year the historical drama The Last Legion was released, in which Sangster again worked side by side with Colin Firth, as well as with Ben Kingsley and Aishwarya Rai. The young artist was also invited to voice the title character of the animated series “Phineas and Ferb.”

In March 2008, it was announced that the Briton had received the lead role (voice and motion capture) in Steven Spielberg's animated film The Adventures of Tintin, but there was a disruption in the filming schedule, and Tom left the project, giving the role to Jamie Bell. Then Sangster already had another job - he starred in the biographical film Bright Star by Jane Campion with Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish (a film about the tragic love story of the poet John Keats and Fanny Brown).

For Paul's sake, I learned to play with my left hand.

A year later, Thomas joined Aaron Johnson, Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne-Marie Duff in a biopic about the early years of John Lennon and the influence that his mother Julia (Duff) and Aunt Mimi (Scott Thomas) had on the future iconic musician. In Becoming John Lennon, Aaron played the title character, and Tom played Paul McCartney. For this reason, he learned to play the guitar with his left hand. The film was directed by Sam Taylor-Wood, who later became Aaron's wife.

Bran's friend and prisoner of the labyrinth

The next major milestone in the biography of Thomas Sangster was his work in the series “Game of Thrones”. There is a lot of excitement around this show; every performer would be happy to be part of a huge fantasy ensemble. True, Jojen Reed's role is not very large - he appears to help Bran get to the Three-Eyed Raven and dies defending Stark. Sangster was involved in ten episodes of the show - in the 3rd and 4th seasons.

In 2014-2015, dystopian films with Tom’s participation, “The Maze Runner” and “Maze Runner 2: The Scorch Trials,” were released. He portrayed one of the captives of the labyrinth (gladers), on whom experiments were carried out. In the finale of the first part, the guys led by Thomas (Dylan O'Brien): Minho, Teresa and Newt (Sangster) escaped, but their misadventures did not end there.

Personal life of a movie star

The actor's personal life is quite well known. Since 2013, he has been married to Isabella Melling. The young people met in 2012 while working in The Ugly Duckling. It is known that Thomas Sangster and his girlfriend studied at the same school and both acted in films from childhood. At the time of their acquaintance, Isabella was working as a manager. The girl is a very creative person, sings well and loves to perform at youth events.

Thomas Sangster and his girlfriend Bella Melling

Thomas Sangster and Bella Melling often attend various ceremonies together. Journalists noticed them in 2020 during The London Critics Circle Film Awards. The young people did not hide their relationship and held hands all the time. Recently, rumors have appeared that young people are on the verge of separation. However, the information has not yet been confirmed and there has been no official statement from the celebrities. Some fans claim that their idol has a non-typical orientation. There is information that he was on more than friendly terms with his Maze Runner colleague O'Brien. According to the official version, Thomas Sangster and Dylan O'Brien are dating girls. However, for some time the guys were accused of bisexual tendencies and liking each other. The rumors arose due to the fact that Dylan has long been noted for his passion for “cuddling” with boys, and his relatives are activists of the LGBT community.

Thomas himself does not comment on such information in any way, and when asked about the nature of his relationship with his famous colleague, he usually gets off with a mysterious smile. The young man prefers to live one day at a time and tries not to think about the future. He critically perceives the attitudes of school teachers and, in principle, did not receive special education

Sangster lost faith in its importance and became disillusioned with the effectiveness of the standard college-prestigious job-success scheme. As an example, he cites his own biography. In everyday life, Thomas is a very emotional and sympathetic guy, he tries to perceive the people around him in a positive way.

Most of all, he would like to live a happy life and encourages everyone to be as tolerant as possible towards each other. In addition to music and cinema, the young man has a weakness for motorcycles and draws well. As of today, Thomas Sangster still lives with his parents and sister. The most important thing for him is work and career growth, and girls still remain in the background.

Film career

In 2003, Thomas Sangster was cast as Simon Brown in the children's fantasy film Nanny. For this role he was twice nominated for a Young Artist Award. The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, and with a small budget of 25 million, the film grossed 122 million. The original film was followed by a less successful sequel, in which Sangster no longer starred.

In 2006, the actor played Tristan in the melodrama Tristan and Isolde, based on a famous medieval legend. The film received mixed reviews from film critics, and the box office was small.

In 2007, Sangster played the last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustus, in the adventure film The Last Legion. His co-stars were Colin Firth, Aishwarya Rai and Ben Kingsley. Despite the fact that the film failed miserably at the box office, the young actor had the opportunity to work with Hollywood stars.

Another noteworthy project in Thomas Sangster’s filmography is the biographical drama “Becoming John Lennon,” in which the actor played Paul McCartney. For this role, Thomas had to learn to play the guitar with his left hand.

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In 2011, Sangster played the lead role in the drama Death of a Superhero, based on the novel of the same name by Anthony McCarten. His character is a boy with cancer who escapes cruel reality by drawing comics about an invulnerable superhero.

In 2014, the actor auditioned and received the role of Newt in the dystopian film The Maze Runner. The film was a success with audiences, and the box office grossed $348 million, which is 10 times more than the film's budget. Two sequels were made, in which Thomas also appeared as Newt.

Childhood. First roles

The film actor, who won the hearts of millions of viewers, was born and raised in the capital of the United Kingdom. His entire family (where, in addition to Thomas, his sister Ava grew up) was directly related to the cinema industry. Mom was a ballet dancer, tried herself as a songwriter and performer, played a little in plays, and acted on the BBC. His father is a musician and editor-editor who took part in the production of the musical “The Lion King.” Their family includes the famous actor Hugh Grant, whose grandmother was the sister of Thomas’s great-grandmother. As a child, he often watched his parents perform, and, feeling their inner satisfaction, he perceived with childish spontaneity and delight all the events and actions unfolding in front of him.

List of films starring Thomas Sangster

• Love Actually / Love Actually 2003, UK Love is unforgettable and unattainable, regrettable and ecstatic, unexpected and unwanted, inconvenient and inexplicable, inelegant and unequal. Love truly rules everyone around. From the prime minister who instantly fell in love with an employee of his staff, to the writer who fled to the south of France to mend his broken heart...
• Tristan and Isolde
  / Tristan + Isolde 2006, USA, Great Britain, Germany Tristan, raised by Lord Mark, fights the army of the Irish king. One day, off the Irish coast, he is found by the king's daughter, Isolde. Love arises between them. The king is going to marry his daughter to one of the British lords, Tristan wins the tournament. Now Isolde must go to Lord Mark.
• Bright Star / Bright Star, 2009 The film tells the story of the English poet John Keats, who died at the age of 25 from consumption. For the last three years of his life, John realized that he was gradually fading away, and it was during this time that his romantic relationship with the girl Fanny Brown began.
• Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens / Star Wars: Episode VII The Forse Awakeness 2013 USA Thirty years after the death of Darth Vader and the Emperor, the galaxy is still in danger. Public entity The First Order, led by the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke and his right-hand man Kylo Ren, follows in the footsteps of the Empire, trying to seize all power. In this difficult time, fate brings the young girl Rey and the former First Order stormtrooper Finn together with the heroes of the war with the Empire - Han Solo, Chewbacca and General Leia. Together they must fight the First Order, but the moment comes when it becomes obvious that only the Jedi can stop Snoke and Kylo Ren.
• Nanny McPhee / Nanny McPhee, 2005 Once in the house of the recently widowed Mr. Brown, the sorceress nanny tries to pacify his seven naughty children. These brats, led by Simon, have already gotten rid of 17 previous nannies and therefore have no doubt that the 18th will face the same fate. However, when Nanny McPhee manages to take control of the situation, the kids suddenly begin to notice that their terrible behavior magically leads to completely surprising and unpredictable results...
• The Maze Runner / The Maze Runner, 2014 The main character is teenager Thomas, who wakes up in an elevator, but remembers nothing except his name. He finds himself among other teenagers who have learned to survive in a confined space. Every 30 days a new boy arrives. A group of children have been living in the “Shelter” for three years. They feed on what they can grow on the ground and try to find a way out of the maze that surrounds their place of residence. But one day a girl appears in a coma...
• Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials / Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, 2020 The maze is completed, but Thomas, Teresa, Minho and other gladers do not have to relax. The mysterious leadership of VICE - a secret organization that organizes races for survival - assigns new, deadly tests to the children. This time they will cross the hot desert and meet victims of an incurable disease, who are distinguished by their violent temperament and unpredictable behavior.
• The Last Legion / The Last Legion. 2007 476 AD. The Roman Empire is in agony... The Caesar dynasty is defeated... The last emperor, 12-year-old Romulus Augustus, who ruled the country for only one day, is imprisoned by the barbarians on the island of Capri. However, with the help of his teacher and legionnaire, Augustus escapes and sets off on a risky journey to the shores of Britain to lead the Ninth Legion, the only one remaining loyal to Rome. The last legion... Augustus must save the country, regain power, restore the dynasty. Who will Heaven favor in the decisive battle?..

Filmography[ | ]

New round

In 2013, Thomas Sangster appeared in the third season of the acclaimed HBO series Game of Thrones. The young man played Jojen, a wise guy beyond his years with the gift of foresight, along with his sister accompanying Bran Stark, his brother and Hodor on a journey through the lands of the wild. And the following year, Thomas appeared in the key cast of the dystopian thriller The Maze Runner. His character named Newt became the main character's best friend and supported his desire to get out of the labyrinth teeming with danger as soon as possible. Before filming, he took a real course in extreme survival in the wild. They were taught how to handle a knife, make fire, find water, and so on. But this was only the beginning - after the ambiguous ending of the first part, the release of the second and even the third was only a matter of time. So in 2020, he was already busy filming the second part of “The Runner,” which took place in the most beautiful places in the United States with amazing landscapes - in the city of Albuquerque, the Sandia Mountains, on the US-Mexico border - the Rio Grande River, in the Chihuahuan Desert. The thin guy looked younger than his age, and therefore played mostly teenagers, although, for example, at the time of the release of the second part of The Maze Runner he was already 25 years old. In 2020, he also played Rafe Sandler, Cromwell's mentee, in the miniseries Wolf Hall. Another worthy addition to Sangster’s filmography was the seventh part of Star Wars, where he played the role of Officer Thanisson, serving on Kylo Ren’s spaceship.

List of sources

• starpri.ru
• novoevmire.biz
• smotrihd.com

About growing up:

He is 28, but on average he is still given no more than 17, due to his aristocratic pallor and small face. This makes it difficult for him to sit at the bar, as the staff refuses to even pour a glass of beer in the pub. Once he had to show his own profile on IMDb, which indicated his age, and although the employees asked for an autograph, Thomas never got any alcohol.

Undoubtedly, Thomas is able to seriously benefit from his own appearance - he can still play young guys, for example, in Game of Thrones he played the role of Jojen Reed, who, according to the canon, is only 12.

Growing up on the set was difficult, and Thomas was especially worried about not being able to fit into the team.

I clung to my childhood for a long period of time, I loved being a child, but at the same time I was always reasonably mature. When I was a kid, I hated being talked down to or like a child, actually, so it was great to immerse myself in an environment where I was talked to as a person and expected to do a good job on set. I took a keen interest in the camera department, the lighting department, as well as the props department and the enormous amount of time, effort and resources that went into the filming process. I thought it was an incredibly cool environment, I absolutely loved it all, in addition to this, a certain amount of responsibility was placed on me when they told me “Attention, engine, let’s start!”, and I had to give my best to be on the same level with the guys. This all gave me responsibility at a young age. This means that I grew up quickly, but I didn’t have any problems with it, I wanted it. But I still loved coming home and playing with LEGOs.

Since childhood, he dreamed of playing a bad child - “who looks at you and your blood runs cold,” and one day he was given the opportunity to play Hitler:

It was only a couple of scenes, although I shot for about a week, but then my scenes were cut literally down to the opening credits. So yes, I did, but it was a short scene. I was either 10 years old or 11. It was actually surprising, I liked this game. To get into the head of an innocent, indifferent child, who in the future would become one of the craziest monsters the world had never seen before. As an eleven-year-old child, I was very excited about this role.

During the breaks between filming, Thomas found it difficult to fit into the team, and unlike many other millennial stars, he was never drawn to the theater:

I didn't like the idea of ​​speaking in front of my classmates. People thought I should play brilliantly.

Thomas never reads the script or studies the project thoroughly before joining it. He auditioned for the role of Ron Weasley in Harry Potter, not realizing how the saga could grow, he did not read the script for The Runner and did not even specify what Game of Thrones was when going to the casting.

Honestly, I didn't know about this series. I only heard the name and that's it. It was one of those times where they said to me, “They want you to audition tomorrow.” So, I learned the scene, thinking, “Okay, this is an American HBO TV series with swords. Wonderful". I quickly went there and did it - got in, got out, done. Afterwards, I was having fun with my friends and they asked, “What were you doing?” I said, “I auditioned for some show called Game of Thrones.” The response I received was, “WHAT?”