Film Agency News
21 st June 2012
Tom Harries named Rising Star
Screen International has named Cardiff-born Tom Harries, star of Hunky Dory, in the ninth annual Stars of Tomorrow report which showcases the hottest new acting and film-making talent emerging from the UK this year.
Tom made a big impact in Marc Evans’ Hunky Dory, as sexually confused teenager Evan opposite Minnie Driver and Aneurin Barnard (the film was shot during 21-year-old Harries’ time at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, which he has since left).
Funded by the Film Agency for Wales, Hunky Dory is a coming of age film that premiered at the 55th London Film Festival last October. The film was shot on location in Swansea, had its theatrical release through eOne, and is available on DVD on 25 June.
Since filming Hunky Dory, Tom had a role in the BBC/HBO series Parade’s End, based on the Madox Ford novels, shooting in Belgium opposite Benedict Cumberbatch. He is now on stage in London in a revival of Torch Song Trilogy, directed by Douglas Hodge at the Menier Chocolate Factory. He is playing Alan, the role taken by Matthew Broderick in the original Harvey Fierstein film.
Marc Evans, director of Hunky Dory said: “It’s always a buzz for a director when a young actor you believe in is recognised by the wider world for their talent. I don’t want to jinx Tom by saying he’s a star in the making but I have no hesitation in saying that he is a talented actor with huge potential. Hunky Dory was his first film and it was full of young welsh talent who I hope, like Tom, will all have a bright future. It was very much thanks to the Film Agency for Wales that the film was made – they supported us all along the way – and it just goes to show how local investment in local films can make a difference. There’s a huge talent pool here, especially when it comes to acting, and films such as Hunky Dory are the perfect way of showing that talent to the wider world.”
