When it comes to comedy, nothing can come close to the irreverent humour and trend-worthy scenes born out of 2010s Youtube and Vine. And, Tom Moutchi knows this. After having made a name for himself on the streaming platforms, the multi-facet looked to establish himself on the big screen, which he achieved through stints in the play Barbershop Chronicles and Comedy Central’s Drunk Black History

When speaking on his journey into acting, Tom claimed “I kind of entered the industry in 2017, but before then I was making my skits online around about 2012 as I was trying to get to where I am now. It was a bit of a mission still, can’t lie. Getting here is like, you work so hard to get to this place and when you enter you realise you enter at the bottom again and you have to make your way up to the point where you get to the next level. You want to be recognised and seen by the right people so you can go for the right jobs. No one knows who you are and you have to prove yourself.”

Sitting down with Wonderland ahead of the release of his project Man Like Pleaser., the comic got candid on his upbringing in South London and the type of work he wants to get involved with next as he looks to continue on. Head below to enjoy our interview with Tom Moutchi.

What’s good Tom, How has this past year been for you with the easing of lockdown?
This past year I have learnt a lot about myself, but I also learnt a lot about the environment I want to be in. Going forward, work-wise, spiritually and relationship-wise, that’s friends and romantically. I feel like being locked inside our houses is something that no one has ever been through, not in my lifetime anyway, well unless you’re in prison, You just learn so much. Me and a couple of my friends who call ourselves ‘The Counsel’ came together when we were allowed to and we were praying. Essentially we were doing therapy for each other. We’d come together every Thursday and ask ‘How did your week go?’, ‘How are you feeling?’…ect and then we would pray. Coming out and getting back to work, I was blessed enough to actually audition, do a Pilot, get some roles as a guest in two tv show’s which were on BBC and Sky, One called ‘Temple, Season 2’ and a Show called ‘Super Hoe’. And yea it went quite well for me.

What was it like when you first entered the acting/comedy space in London?
I kind of entered the industry in 2017, but before then I was making my skits online around about 2012 as I was trying to get to where I am now. It was a bit of a mission still, can’t lie. Getting here is like, you work so hard to get to this place and when you enter you realise you enter at the bottom again and you have to make your way up to the point where you get to the next level. You want to be recognised and seen by the right people so you can go for the right jobs. No one knows who you are and you have to prove yourself. You have to do theatre…even down to agents, you get one agent then you have to get a better one as he was probably good for that time, but to progress, you need someone better, a bigger agent who knows more casting directors. Over time I ended up growing with the work I was doing and yeah the acting space is interesting. It’s a small world, you know who’s who and who’s doing what..

Did South London and your upbringing play a part in influencing your creative style?
South London has played a massive part in my creative style and the way I create. Some of it was trauma and I believe that trauma brings out some of the best art in people. Even the humour I use in my work is basically from growing up in ends, And the biggest one was probably being African in South London. You know, you grow up around Caribbeans and Africans, who you know are all one, seeing different versions and facets of us growing up, all the jokes, all the things that pertain from being from South is what I used in my sketches, writing and TV. so it definitely had a big influence.

On your Instagram, you teased the script for ‘Man Like Pleaser’, Looks like it’s coming soon but could you give us any teasers?
Ahaha, ‘Pleaser’ is a character I created when I was making my sketches and trying to get into acting. Now I thought, because I’m in a better place, I can write something meaningful, something in long format for him (Pleaser). I’ve written an amazing pilot for him (Pleaser) and I think people will love it. Like, it’s got some really noticeable faces in there, you know the pilot explains why ‘pleaser’ hasn’t been around for so long and is based on his first day back. I don’t want to say where he’s back from but it’ll be really funny. I hope to put it out on Youtube, that’s my aim. If I don’t put it on TV then it’ll be on Youtube. I want to give it to the people, as opposed to TV where I have to wait. But yea it’s coming soon….

Recently, Your comedy portrait of Idris Elba at the GQ awards was hilarious. How did this come to fruition? Was it a spontaneous joke?
So, I did a TV Show called Famalam and we played on the joke that Idris Elba does everything. So the sketches consist of Idris going into different spheres. For example, Idris going into an HIV lab, a coffee shop, like different places. It’s the idea that wherever he comes and he takes control of the whole area just because he’s Idris Elba and not because he has the talent to do it or not. So we played on that joke, pulled it out and it went viral. People loved it. At the time I was writing my own TV script with my friend and we wanted Idris Elba to be a part of it. When the BBC reached out to him he already was a fan of my work and he thought the sketch was hilarious. This led him to do a read for us, during this meeting he mentioned how he was doing this event for GQ with his wife and asked me to be a part of it. That’s how the sketch kind of came about. Like no one has ever done something like that at the GQ Awards, they’re usually quite straightforward, simultaneous and meticulous. But we broke the rules, you know, wherever Idris goes he likes to bring his ideas and likes to bring people in, which is what he did for me. Not only did I write the script for the sketch but I wrote the script for the whole GQ awards, which was big for me, I really respect him for giving me that platform.

What type of films do you see yourself doing in the future? Are you looking to steer away from comedy or are you open to anything?
I see myself doing a lot more drama, film’s that have a crazy message, film’s that make you wanna go and change your life. Like A beast of No Nation, The Last King of Scotland or even Pursuit of Happiness. As well as this I want to do Comedy and Sci-Fi, as long as it has a message that’s me. I don’t want to steer away from comedy as it’s natural to me and it will always gravitate itself towards me and you know, I just want to be able to show that I can manoeuvre in other genres.

What are you currently watching? Any series or movies that you binged during quarantine?
Currently, I’m watching two television shows. One is called War of the Worlds on Disney+, I love Sci-Fi so you know it’s about aliens taking over the world and only having a couple of humans left, ahah I love that stuff. The other show I’ve been watching is called See which is on Apple TV. It’s a world where a virus hits mankind and it’s made us blind, so we’ve kind of gone back in terms of moving forward as a civilization, essentially going back to how we used to be because we have lost a major sense and then out of nowhere, after a 100’s of years, two kids are born who can see.

What is a little unknown fact about yourself, something people don’t know?
French is my first language. I first came to the UK around the age of 6/7 and I couldn’t speak English at all. I went to a primary school called ‘Oliver Goldsmith’ and I used to go to a little classroom on the side where I got taught English by a guy called Tom. That framework/service that was offered to the school for students was something called ‘Springboard’, and when I grew up and got into acting I met my mentor, Lord Micheal Hastings, funnily enough, he was the creator of ‘Springboard’.

What is some advice you’d give to aspiring young actors and comics?
“Never Stop Having Fun.” The minute you stop having fun we will all know and we will all see. So, have fun man…Don’t watch all of the stuff around it, you want to be in a space where you can be creative. It’s weird, everyone is creative, even people doing 9-5’s are creative, when God made the world he left all the materials, metals and gold we’re all left raw. We had to come on this earth and be creative with it. Definitely, go out there, have fun and be creative. That’s what life is about. They say the biggest killer of dreams are wages. Take that one in.

Looking to the future, what’s next for you? What are you most excited about?
Looking into the future, I’ve written my own TV show with Idris Elba, ‘Attached’, which we will film next year and ‘Pleaser’ pilot on youtube which I’m very excited about too. Other than this there are many more projects I’m working on writing but most importantly, I’m excited about the person I’m becoming. I’m becoming who I prayed to be. I’m becoming who god always saw me as. God Bless You.