He played Sam in “Love Actually”: what happens to Thomas Brodie-Sangster?

Of all the complicated love stories in Love Actuallyit’s Sam’s cutest. Having just lost his mother, this shy little boy discovers feelings for Joanna, a much more extroverted classmate. With the help of Daniel, his father-in-law, he decides to take up the drums to accompany him during the Christmas show…

If you are one of the millions of spectators who have seen and re-watched Richard Curtis’ cult comedy, rebroadcast this Thursday as a bonus on TF1, you inevitably remember the musical sequence in question. Just as you have never forgotten the face of the actor who made his cinema debut there. Although he appears much younger on screen, Thomas Brodie-Sangster was already 13 years old during filming. A precocious talent?

Coming from a family of Scottish origins, Thomas is the son of former actor Mark Sangster and dancer Tasha Bertram. An artistic ancestry which led him to play his first role in a BBC television film at the age of 11. After the worldwide success of Love Actuallywe quickly find it in Nanny McPheewhere he plays the eldest of five children martyred by the nanny played by Emma Thompson.

His undeniable presence on screen quickly attracted the attention of the greatest filmmakers. In 2008, he played the little brother of the heroine of Bright StarJane Campion’s film dedicated to the poet Keats. But also a teenage Paul McCartney in Nowhere BoySam Taylor-Wood’s film about John Lennon’s youth.

From “Game of Thrones” to “The Queen’s Game”

On the short list young British actors who are on the rise, we find him in the early 2010s in the credits of Game of Thrones. During seasons 3 and 4 of the saga adapted from the novels by George RR Martin, he plays Jojen Reed, the faithful companion of Bran Stark, played by Isaac Hempstead-Wright. Thanks to this significant supporting role – and a tragic death in the tradition of the biggest series of the time – Thomas Brodie-Sangster opens the doors to Hollywood.

In 2015, he became Newt, one of the heroes of the trilogy The Labyrinth directed by Wes Bentley based on the children’s novels by James Dashner. Two years later, he appeared more briefly in the costume of a First Order starship commander in Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens by JJ Abrams. For the record, he is one of the seven actors of Game of Thrones in the credits of the film which marks the return of the George Lucas saga.

In recent years, it is on the small screen that Thomas Brodie-Sangster has been most active. On Netflix, we saw him in the western miniseries Godless but especially in The Queen’s Game against Anya Taylor-Joy. For his irresistible portrayal of young chess champion Benny Watts, he earned his first Emmy nomination. In a radically different register, Danny Boyle made him play Malcolm McLaren, the fanciful manager of the Sex Pistols, in the series Pistol sur Disney+.

2024 has been a big year for the actor. While he played one of the main roles in Wolf Hall on the BBC, based on the historical novels by writer Hilary Mantel, he is currently the star of Fox: Prince of Thievesthe Disney+ series inspired by the work of Charles Dickens. He plays the adult version of Jack Dawkins, the pickpocket character in Oliver Twist, both surgeon and thief, and terribly charismatic.

Finally, you are probably wondering if, like little Sam, Thomas has found the one of his heart. After meeting actress Talulah Riley on the set of Pistol in 2022 – she played famous fashion designer Vivienne Westwood – he married her last summer. Five years his senior, the young woman is a regular on the pages of the tabloids since she was the wife of a certain Elon Musk. The world is small.

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After playing the drums for Love Actuallyand bass to play Paul McCartney, will Thomas embark on a second career as a musician? To have. In 2020, he took to the stage with his sister Ava to accompany their mother who sings in Winnet, a jazz group that roams pubs across the United Kingdom. Pay attention during your next trip to London, little Sam might bring out his drumsticks to play “All I Want For Christmas Is You”!