Former York College acting student Ollie Briscombe said it was ‘surreal’ landing his first major film role opposite huge movie stars.
Ollie, 20, stars as Lofty in The Choral – a historical drama set in Yorkshire during World War I, written by Alan Bennett with a cast featuring Ralph Fiennes, Mark Addy and Roger Allam.
Ollie studied at York College from 2021 to 2023. During a return to his old college, he spoke to current students about his experience of finding out he’d landed the role and filming a scene with multi Oscar-nominated actor Ralph Fiennes.
Ollie spent seven weeks on set for film from the end of May 2024 to the middle of July, working up to 15 hours a day.
Speaking about his role, he said: “Lofty is a telegram boy and I relay some big news to Ralph’s character, which was my big, big scene in the film.”
Ralph Fiennes is known for his roles in films like Conclave, The English Patient and Schindler’s List, and portraying Voldemort in the Harry Potter films.
“It was a bit daunting because all eyes were on me and I’m standing in front of the guy in Schindler’s List. It was a real ‘What is Happening’ moment!
“But I learnt a lot off him in terms of how he approaches stuff, because he’s very professional. At first, I was thinking, ‘What cereal box did I win this from’ and, being on set, I felt like Charlie with the golden ticket that gets him into the chocolate factory.
“But the role models I had – young and old – like (York-born) Mark Addy and Alun Armstrong – really guided me all the way and, pretty quickly, you have to say, ‘No, I’m here for a reason and I’ve been picked to do it’.”
In fact, Ollie was selected from a field of more than 400 hopefuls in what was his first audition for a professional film or TV job.
Having been pestered into putting together his initial submission just an hour before the deadline by his sister, he was then asked to produce a self-tape, before things took a ‘surreal’ turn.
“All of a sudden, I found myself in an audition room in London with (director) Nicholas Hytner, which was just surreal,” he recalled. “Then, I was back for the chemistry reads with the other actors and, next, I got a call from London.
“I was thinking, ‘Oh no, I’m just going to be told sorry, you’ve not got it’. My teeth were also aching because I’d just had braces fitted, so I just thought it would add to the pain.
“On top of that, there was a load of construction work going on where I answered the phone, with a cement rolling vehicle and people drilling. I decided to run up the street but the cement roller was reversing with me, so I ended up just jumping in somebody’s garden and crouching in the flower bed.
“I was then told I’d been offered the role and, after I hung up, I was left there, thinking, ‘What’s just happened!’
“I didn’t trample any flowers though!”
Ollie is about to start filming for his next major movie role from Monday (24 November). You can see Ollie in The Choral, showing at City Screen Picturehouse, Everyman and Vue cinemas in York.
