Taken from the Winter issue of Wonderland. Order your copy of the issue now.

Having played Maid Marion in a school production of Robin Hood at the age of ten, Louis Partridge’s thespian life began early and, having been encouraged to find an agent shortly thereafter, his career has been steadily gaining traction ever since. He got his first taste for professional acting in a short film by Charlie Manton called Beneath Water back in 2014, telling me how, when this job finished, he felt a pang of homesick- ness for his new work family, missing the people who had “taught him loads.” This sense of family chemistry is something that Partridge has been lucky enough to find once again, this time on the set of Medici. He tells me how the cast were a unit, describing a football match in a small Tuscan town — locals vs. the Medici XI — as one of his most memorable moments whilst shooting the Italo-British historical drama. Filming abroad in rural Italy, whilst all of his friends were at school in “grey and rainy London,” was an experience that Partridge will never forget.

His upcoming project, Enola Holmes, in which he stars opposite wunderkind actor Millie Bobby Brown, wrapped filming at the end of the summer; “it was the most surreal experience of my life,” Partridge tells me. When asked about working with another actor his own age, he modestly states that he has a lot to learn from Bobby Brown. While on set, he says, they could switch from being “two kids laughing over stupid things to being professional,” a skill that the Stranger Things alum has perfected, and that Partridge is now working on too. Despite acting alongside some of Britain’s greats, such as Fiona Shaw and Frances de la Tour, as well as Burn Gorman, Partridge seems remarkably relaxed, perhaps emblematic of his current state of mind. He seems to know what he is doing, and what he wants, citing Luca Guadagnino and Martin Scorsese as two directors he would love to work with. Clearly a man of great British taste, his dream dinner party guest list includes Ricky Gervais, Holly Willoughby, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Talking about his motivations, and what he looks for in a script, Partridge transcends his age, stating that he likes to play a character with “something to relate to, and then build from.” Despite this drive and passion, he must return to school to undertake his A-levels, although he says that he would certainly prioritise filming, a smart move from a young actor who is definitely one to watch.