Something of a wonder-boy, actor Billy Barratt is sure to be on people’s radars. His latest film, A24’s hotly anticipated Bring Her Back could make him a star, but Billy is very much grounded having been acting since 6 with a long list of credits, including his breakthrough performance in Responsible Child (2019), for which he became the youngest actor to win an International Emmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor. Beyond acting, he fronts the band THE HUNGER and just wants us to dance.
We caught up with Billy to chat on film, fashion, and fear, but it was clear that he is passionately nerdy about music. Photographer David Reiss captures Billy in London with styling by Chalisa Guerrero in an exclusive for Fucking Young!
You are at the age when most people are trying to decide what to study and some might step on stage for the first time, but you already have some impressive accomplishments. What were you like as a child, and when did you get the urge to perform?
I apparently was a little sh*t when I was a child, but I don’t remember those days, so I couldn’t tell you. But it was probably around when I did Responsible Child, when it came out, I realised how much of an impact a film can have. That was probably about the time when I sort of said, “this is it, this is what I really want to do”. I felt the passion, I don’t know if that’s the right word, but you know what I mean. That’s when I decided this is it.
Leather Blazer, trousers, jumper, and shoes by Burberry; Sunglasses By Bottega Veneta; Rings by Stephen Webster
Stylish and emotionally raw, Bring Her Back does more than make your skin crawl. Are you a fan of the horror or psychological thriller genre? What’s the film that still lives rent free in your head?
Probably The Shining. On the topic of psychological thrillers, horrors – even Kubrick’s way of working was a psychological mind-f*ck. I heard a story once that he let off a shotgun next to someone’s head to scare them, and then called action straight after, and that was genuine fear. I do like psychological horrors and thrillers also, it’s so f*cking scary, the idea of losing a friend or a family member. Not even necessarily to death, just because someone’s lost their mind, or they’ve been led to believe that you can’t trust them, or other things that are kind of uncontrollable. That’s terrifying to me.
It is an incredibly dark and gruesome film. How did you make the character your own and prepare?
I listen to a lot of music, so that was something that really helped me get into character. I think Sonic Youth was a big one for me because they have a way of swaying my emotions, which I love them for. And there were loads more, like Nirvana as well, but those are sort of the essentials. And funnily enough, Green Day. I’ve always loved Green Day. I talk about them all the time. But I listened to a couple of their angrier and harder tracks to rile Andy up, during workouts and whatnot. Those are the essential bands.
Coat, leather blazer, trousers, jumper, and shoes by Burberry; Sunglasses By Bottega Veneta; Rings by Stephen Webster
Was it important for you to identify with your character, Andy?
Yes, it was. You don’t necessarily have to identify with the character you’re playing, but you have to understand what they’re about and who they are. Acting is reacting, and I think for me, mainly it was my little brother – I want to say a big thank you to my little brother. He didn’t have to do anything to help me; he just had to be my brother, like Andy with his little sister. It makes you think about your relationship with your sibling when watching the film, but also when filming. So thanks, Cass, you helped me with old Andy boy.
Jacket and trousers by Nanushka; Top and scarf by YYAtomic; Shoes by Toga Archives; Socks by FALKE; Sunglasses by Saint Laurent; Jewelry by YOJ, Thomas Sabo, and Stephen Webster.
The role of Andy is your biggest to date. Do you have a preference for projects, or is it all about the script and production team?
I don’t have a preference for projects; it’s just that if I’m finding myself drifting off when reading, then it’s not the one. But if I’m reading it and I catch myself going “Ohh” and reacting, and I’m feeling something when I’m reading it, then yeah, great. That’s the project for me to a certain extent. It gets deeper than that, but that is the surface level. I don’t really pick projects like “I want that one, that one and not that one” – I don’t do that. I just have to like it, and I really liked Bring Her Back. Loved it, still do, even got it tattooed on my arm.
A24, as well as the production team, they’re one of the best, they’re ******* great. Especially all the stuff that’s coming out at the moment. It’s been consistently good, in my eyes at least. I’d love to do another film with A24, I mean, I don’t look at the production company when I’m auditioning for it. But I think it’s just enjoying what you’re reading because then you’re more likely to enjoy making and watching it.
The film is set in Australia, did you film on location? On a lighter note, any good memories or funny stories from the set?
I did film in Australia, and we did film on location, and I prefer that to be honest because you can feel the energy of the location, which is a massive help in understanding where you are as a character. And they found a really good place to do it as well.
There are great memories, so many. I feel like I’ve spoken about a few of them before, but someone quite vital to the whole film happening may have fallen asleep under the bed that I was sitting on, doing a scene on. It wasn’t necessarily a big scene, I don’t even know if it got used, but we had to stop the scene mid-take, and we were like “what is that” and then someone, and I’m not going to say who, but someone was snoring. We couldn’t find them for ages and then realised they were directly under the bed. So funny, that was a very good, funny moment.
Cardigan, shirt, trousers, and tie by Solid Homme; Shoes by Toga Archive; Socks by FALKE; Sunglasses by A.Society; Jewelry by Stephen Webster and Thomas Sabo.
What characters would you like to play going forward?
I’m open to most characters. I’m liking romance characters at the moment, the coming-of-age sort of thing, but then I’ve always thought that a Western would be so fun to shoot. I’d love a western, that would be really good. Like ‘Billy, the Kid’ – like, Billy? I mean, come on. I need to do a Western, it’s already meant to be.
Would you want to do a musical?
I did do a musical called Big Fish. It was with Kelsey Grammar and it was years ago. I would like to do it again, but also not necessarily in the near future, just later on down the line. It’s quite hard for me to go from six months in theatre, to then go back to that whole ‘less is more’ thing in film. It’s quite hard to transition from theatre to film, for me at least; it took me ages to get back into it. I kind of have a little fear of that. But at the same time, I would love to do it, just later on down the line.
Tell us about your band, The Hunger Band.
Well, to whoever’s asking the questions, I think The Hunger are the greatest band of all time, and everyone should get to know that – I’m kidding!
We are a rock band and the band involves Cody Molko, Myla Tailor, Bruno Bentovim, and me. We’ve done a tour with The Libertines and we did a residency at the Sebright Arms, and now we’ve got another one coming up. So if you’re reading this, go get a ticket. It’s free, just remember that, when you turn up, our whole thing is just to put your phone away and just f*cking dance, have a good time, run into someone, get on stage if you need to. Just come and enjoy the music, have a good time. We’re releasing demos at the moment, but we’re not releasing songs that are fully mixed, mastered, and recorded with some massive producer. I’m sure it will happen at some point, so stay tuned with The Hunger.
Let’s imagine the Desert Island. Which eight tracks would you bring?
I would say Kool Thing by Sonic Youth. I can’t think of individual tracks because there are just so many, but I just got a bunch of new records. Let me have a look. Ohh, definitely some of The Specials. We need some of The Specials in our life – Too Much, Too Young – that’s a great song. I’ve just got my Best of Bob Marley records, yeah, that’s the one. Got a bunch of Beatles records, and definitely Hendrix – Hey Baby by Hendrix – that’s the good stuff. Radiohead as well. You gotta love Radiohead. They’d make me upset on that Desert Island, but at the same time, sometimes you need that, and so Radiohead, 100%. There are so many that I couldn’t give you 8. I’d have to sit down and really go through it. But there are some bands.
Jacket, top, and trousers by Denzil Patrick; Shoes by Toga Archives; Socks by FALKE; Sunglasses by Bottega Veneta
Let’s have some fun! If you could live in any fashion decade, what would it be?
It’s probably the 90s, maybe the 70s as well. The 70s were f*cking cool, and I feel like no matter who you were, it was just cool. 70s and 90s – I can’t decide. But yeah, those are the days. Man.
Finally, where do you want to be in 10 years?
In 10 years, I would love to be working consistently, still doing this job, because this is all I really want to be. Being an actor, a musician, and just making things that people can enjoy. That’s kind of it. This is what I want to do and I reckon I’ll be saying the same thing in 10 years or so. I could just do the Matthew McConaughey thing – what is it he says? ‘My hero is me in 10 years.’ But I mean, this is it. This is what I want to keep doing. Just new jobs, new films, new music, new fashion – like, let’s make a clothing brand in 10 years. That’s what we should do. We should make a clothing brand. Anyway, that’s it, I think.
Cardigan by 8on8; Trousers by Toga; Shoes by Axel Arigato; Jewelry by YOJ, Sinner in Pearls, Thomas Sabo, and Stephen Webster.
Bring Her Back is in UK cinemas from 26th July, followed by the rest of Europe.
