Harry Richardson is riffling through the rail of clothes that Wonderland has brought to the shoot for him to wear. He’s pulling out coats and jumpers and throwing them on, admiring them momentarily before moving onto the next plush garm that takes his fancy. It’s only when he tells me that this his first fashion shoot that it all makes sense. That, and the fact that he loves to dress up and play a character, evidenced by his role in historical dramas Doctor Thorne and the upcoming season of Poldark, where he’ll give Aidan Turner a run for his money as the show’s resident dreamboat.
Flitting between Australia and the UK – and having recently finished drama school – Harry is just at the start of his on-screen career. So ahead of his inevitable rise (and before he becomes a point of obsession for guys and gals the planet over), we stole a moment to talk life on, and off, camera.
So we’ve just wrapped shooting. How does being in front of an SLR camera compare to being in-front of a TV camera?
There’s a lot of differences! I’m a lot more self-conscious in front of a stills camera, ‘cause you’re thinking about what you look like rather than focusing on a scene and trying to become a different person and be somewhere else. I think in film, you’re avoiding the fact that somebody’s there.
And what is it like being on an actual TV set?
Ridiculous! It’s like a whole bunch of kids with jobs, and everyone’s running around playing dress-up and having fun. But it can get super stressful, most of the time it’s like being in the military though! It’s so well run.
Do you remember what it was like the first time you ever walked onto a set?
Completely terrifying! I definitely had like one line in some drama and I was sweating buckets thinking that it was really important that I nailed it. I think they cut me out.
Have you always aspired to be an actor?
Yeah, I think so. It was always the thing I had most fun with growing up. It’s a great way to push and express yourself, and being on stage was so much fun.
What you were like as a child? Earlier on you were saying you were quite dramatic, how did that manifest?
Completely mental! I just had way too much energy, probably a big attention seeker!
How have you found the transition from drama school to being involved in big scale productions, and a TV show?
I mean, nothing really prepares you for it, except for the people that are involved seem to know what they’re doing, so you get there and try to consume as much advice from everybody. It’s super, super different.
And what’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given so far?
Maybe, ‘stay boring’ (laughs).
Stay boring?!
No, best piece of advice is just to breathe, I suppose. You’ve just got to bring it down. My issue is anxiety, and my people are just like ‘take it easy and have some fun’.