Exclusive: The rise and rise of stage and screen star Harry Giubileo. 

The London based actor Harry Guibileo grew up in Guernsey and graduated in drama from the Musical Theatre academy in 2020.

His career rise has been meteoric with screen acting roles in films and TV shows such as “Last Train to Christmas,” which is broadcasted on Sky/Now TV and “Red Rose” which is on Netflix/BBC three. 

Harry has recently finished a run in the lead role of Lenard Vole in “Witness for the Prosecution” at the County Hall theatre in London’s South Bank. It was his West End debut and his charismatic and assured performance wowed audiences and critics alike.  

Over the shoulder spoke to him about what drove him to become a professional actor, his experience playing Leonard Vole and his upcoming screen project Famous old Grouch, set to be released coming in early 2024. 

So, let’s get into the interview: 

Where did you get your passion for acting?

Harry: 

I think it started when I was young. My mum was a performer. She wasn’t an actor, She was a dancer. She’s quite a performative person and I think I picked it up from her.

I just remember I was interested in performing and singing. I didn’t create a lot of plays in our house though because my brothers not really into it. One man plays, unless you’re Andrew Scott are not that interesting. I just loved to perform from a young age.

How did you turn your love of acting into a professional acting career? 

Harry: 

When I was 10, maybe a bit younger, I started going to extracurricular drama club, which was very casual at the start. No acting technique or trying to be a better actor, just being performative was enough.

I also did this activity called “Eisteddfod”, which is traditionally a Welsh thing but is quite big in Guernsey which is where I am from. It’s a little competition where different people sing songs or make speeches or perform speeches with songs or do group pieces. 

It wasn’t until I was 15 or 16 when I needed to decide what I was going to do for A Levels, that I decided to pursue a Performing Arts BTech course instead. It was far more practical than doing A Levels.

Then I moved away to drama school at 18 for a year to Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in Wood Green and then I went to a college called MTA which I graduated from in 2020.

Oh, and then COVID hit! I was very fortunate, because I’m from Guernsey originally, I managed to do a little bit of work there whilst there was nothing going on over here.

What did you do?

Harry: 

It was called “Branching Out “which was by a local theatre company called Freaky Geese. It was a piece of new writing by a writer called Michael Sullivan and it was a beautiful piece of writing. I think it’s a beautiful play.

It was probably the most profound job I’ve ever done. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to do it. It was a two-hander. It was 50 minutes long and my character had probably a bigger portion of the lines, so it was a lot to learn. It was emotionally charged. It was about mental health problems and there were many challenging themes in it.

I was fresh out of drama school. This was a challenging first job and I learned so much doing it. It’s the job and acting exercise that I’ve probably learnt the most from.

Your most recent role was Leonard Vole in “Witness for the Prosecution.” What was the audition process like and how was that experience for you? 

Harry:

I don’t audition for a lot of theatre; I mainly audition for screen. Screen acting is pretty much what I’ve done since I graduated. I moved back to the UK (after Covid) and then just started filming. 

I did a few great filming jobs and then it kind of sped up from there and I’ve been filming essentially for two to three years now. Then “Witness “came up. The auditions were late last year, and I was originally auditioning for the cover/understudy of the lead part. 

The audition process was quite short. I did a first round where we did some scenes and then they called my agent quickly afterwards and asked me if I would come back the day after, as they wanted more people to be in the room as well as the producers. Then I did some more scenes and then I had to wait a little while. Then I got the offer!

How were the rehearsals, opening show and how do you feel about the run?

Harry: 

Rehearsals were amazing. People always tell you as a young actor, ‘Oh rehearsals are the best.’ I think I was kind of naive and I like being on the stage. I like performing. 

Rehearsals are the most fun because they are the time where you have discovery, can be collaborative and playful. There is a big element of that in the show. 

I spent the first week with just me, Madeline Walker (Romain), Crispin Redmen (Mayhew), and Joe Stone Fewings (Sir Wilfred Robarts). It was just us four. We were workshopping and making the early scenes and discovering things. You must refine things as the rehearsal process goes on and then the last week is all in the Chamber in County Hall, which is an amazing space, an incredible experience and was revolutionary. When you step out onto the stage some shows do not feel that different, but the Chamber has this aura and kind of magnetism about it. 

The rehearsals felt well timed, well-paced and our director Josh Matheson, he really paced the rehearsals for me. When we opened, it was probably the least nervous I’ve ever been for a show because I felt ready. 

I just remember feeling a sense that I’d achieved something, that we had achieved something. Opening night buzz dies after a few days and then you kind of settle into the run. 

I had never experienced being in a long running show. Performing over 200 shows you must be able to find new things in your performance because otherwise things look stale and old. Even in the last week we were still experimenting and finding new things and constantly talking about scenes. I feel very lucky in that sense. 

Have you ever been starstruck? 

Harry:

The one time that I really felt Starstruck was recently. I went to see a play at the National called “The Motive and the Queue.” Which was incredible and one of the best plays I’ve seen in a long time.

Johnny Flynn who’s a great actor was playing Richard Burton in the play. I was walking one day, after I’d seen the show and I saw him walking past me. I had to go up to him and tell him that he was incredible and deserving of all the praise he had received.

Has there been a quote that another actor has told you that has stuck?

Harry: 

In this run we did a circle (acting exercise) on one of our first days, and Crispin Redmen who plays Mayhew said doing a long running show takes, “RIGOUR”. 

I suppose it was less of a quote and more of a word. He said you had to be very strict with yourself. “The word he used was “RIGOUR”.

It was a word that I found myself coming back to because it’s so easy in a long running show to rest on your laurels, to relax and to not keep putting your all in every day, and to not invest in the show and the characters.

What do you do during the theatre interval and between the matinee and evening performance?

Harry: 

In the interval in this show, we played a game called Bananagrams which is kind of like Scrabble.

I didn’t really have a set routine, sometimes I would just chill out in my dressing room. 

Earlier in the show’s run I would be focused on what scene was coming next, but as you do more performances you realize that you don’t need that every day.

You can step off and be yourself and then step back on.

Some people sleep in between shows I don’t know how they do that! I just chill out as much as possible, eat some food and then get ready to go again. 

Do you prefer being in the theatre or on screen?

Harry:

The most challenging aspect about theatre is the repeatability of it and being able to do something repeatedly and keep it fresh. That’s a real skill, a real challenge and something which takes a lot of well, that word “RIGOUR”. It takes a lot of rigour to be able to repeat something and not make it monotonous. 

Whereas on screen, you don’t really have that. You might rehearse a scene a little bit. You do it once, twice, three, four times maybe and then it’s done. Then you move on. I like that about it. But then on the flip side, I also like the fact that it is a challenge to be able to keep something fresh in theatre.

They’re just very different. More different than I think a lot of people give them credit for.

You have a new TV show coming out called “Famous Old Grouts”, how was that experience for you?

Harry: 

It’s a comedy series. It was fun to shoot. I shot it during the start of “Witness for the Prosecution”.

We had just opened with “Witness” and I was filming during the days and doing shows in the nights. It was intense and I had a little freak out that I wasn’t going to be able to do both, but it was such a cool project. 

We filmed for eight hours and just laughed all the time. We would just mess around and have fun. Hopefully that translates to the final edit, and I’m sure it will be well received. 

It should be released early next year.

Harry has established himself as a dynamic actor in the theatre and on screen and Over the Shoulder is incredibly thankful that he took time to tell us his story, as well as offering insights into the life and disciplines needed to be successful in the world of performance.

We wish Harry continued success and look forward to catching up with him again in the future to learn what new avenues he has pursued and projects he has entertained us all with.  

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