From director Jonathan Butterell and inspired by true events, the musical dramedy Everybody’s Talking About Jamie follows Jamie New (newcomer Max Harwood, who gives a fabulously standout performance), a teenager in a blue collar English town who dreams of a big and showy life as a fierce drag queen. Although not everyone is so quick to embrace Jamie for who he is, he does have the support of his best friend Pritti (Lauren Patel) and his mom (Sarah Lancashire), as well as local drag legend Miss Loco Chanelle (Richard E. Grant) who helps him understand the freedom in truly expressing his voice.

During this 1-on-1 interview with Collider, which you can both watch and read, Harwood talked about his journey to becoming a professional actor, his reaction to learning that he’d gotten the lead role, adjusting to life on set, how much fun he had working with co-star Grant, shooting the emotional duet with Lancashire, learning tricks for successfully walking in heels, and his desire to do a superhero movie.

Collider: First of all, congratulations on being absolutely fabulous in this film.

MAX HARWOOD: Thank you so much.

You’ve talked about how this movie was your first professional job in anything, film, TV, or theater. Was acting something you’d been thinking about doing? When did the desire to even do this start?

HARWOOD: For as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be an actor. I suppose I really felt serious about maybe taking it as a career when I finished college, which I was about 18, so maybe that’s high school age in America. I’m not really sure about the difference between the education. I did drama and theater studies and music, and I was picking my subjects. I decided that I was gonna go to drama school to study musical theater because I love singing and I love acting and I didn’t wanna give up either. And then, I didn’t get into any drama schools that I wanted to go to, that year when I auditioned. I then took a place in a foundation course for a year, and that’s where I truly began my craft and learning about the industry. That’s where it all really started for me.

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Image via Amazon

When you started auditioning for this, what were you thinking? Were you thinking, “Okay I have a shot at this, I could get this”? Were you thinking, “There’s no way in hell that I’m going to get this, so I’m just going to go for it”?

HARWOOD: I wasn’t getting this role, in my head. There was no way. I knew that they’d seen thousands of people already. I knew that they were still seeing lots and lots of people. I didn’t have an agent. A movie, for me, in my second year of college at the time, felt so unattainable and so far from reality. I was auditioning thinking, “Oh, I’m just gonna use this as experience. I’m just gonna be open. I’m going to get to meet a really cool British theater director, in Jonathan Butterell, and just use it as an experience.” It wasn’t really until they offered me the job that I realized what was going on. I was like, “Wow, okay, I’m gonna have to do this now.”

What was that moment like? How did they tell you? How did you react? Did you think somebody was pranking you?

HARWOOD: It definitely felt like an episode of The Prank Patrol. I don’t know what the American equivalent is. I’d worked with Jonathan, the director, Shaheen Baig, the casting director, and Cat Marshall, our associate producer, all day. We were meeting loads of potential Deans, who is the guy who bullies Jamie in the film. It got to the end of the day and Jonathan was like, “Ah, you know, Max, I don’t think we’ve got what we need out of the scene. Would you mind doing some improvisation?” I was like, “Okay, this is where I’m gonna lose the job. This is where they’re gonna begin to realize that I’m not good.” You do all these things in your head where you’re like, “I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy, I’m not worthy.” So, we launched into the scene, the sneaky associate producer, Cat, is filming me and I didn’t realize it. Jonathan launches into the scene, we do the scene, and he just says, “How would you feel if I offered you the role of Jamie in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie?” Apparently, I jumped around the room. I definitely remember calling my mum. But I remember, so clearly, pausing for what felt like an eternity and being aghast and not believing it.

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Image via Amazon

RELATED: ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ Trailer Is a Glam High School Musical for an Aspiring Drag Queen

What pressure and responsibility did you feel, in taking on this character? It’s the title character and you’re leading this film, so what was that like and what was the first day on set like?

HARWOOD: Oh, gosh, I felt a lot of pressure. Our amazing production company, Warp Films, and Film4 put an amazing team around me to make sure that I was guided so carefully, through the process of prepping my sides and making sure I knew what to expect when I came onto the set. My first day, which I don’t think anyone could have prepared me for, was with Richard E. Grant, Oscar nominated actor. I turned up to set and we filmed one of the Section 28 marches. It was a big crowd day and it was really daunting. I don’t think anyone can truly prepare you for that moment. I don’t think any amount of training or any amount of people telling you what the experience is going to be like can prepare you for being in the moment, on set, the moment before the A.D. or the director calls, “Action!” You have to just roll with it. It took awhile for me to get into the flow of what my working day would feel like, but I just tried to really enjoy it and just be in every moment, every second and every time.

I love the relationship between Jamie and Hugo. What was it like to explore that, and to have Richard E. Grant as a scene partner and really get to play with him? That character seems to playful.

HARWOOD: Yeah, and Richard, as well, is also so playful and fun. He was amazing. Working with him was so great. We got to do it so early on in the shoot as well. Whilst I was going through my crash course of filmmaking, I was also able to do that with a really super amazing actor that was so generous. I remember we shot, in the first week, the scene towards the end of the movie with me and Richard in the shop, which is quite an emotionally charged scene. We hadn’t filmed lots of the stuff leading up to that. I remember Richard giving just as much, if not more, when he was behind the camera and not being shot. That taught me so much about being generous and just being there to listen.

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Image via Amazon

Even though there are a lot of great moments in this film, one of my favorite moments is the song that Jamie and his mom sing together. What was it like to shoot that and to really get to look into each other’s eyes and sing that song? It’s such a beautiful moment.

HARWOOD: It was really emotional, actually. I think anyone can relate to a moment in their life where they pushed away someone who loves them, or when someone’s going through their own struggles and pushing away someone who’s just trying to be there for them. Sarah [Lancashire] is an amazing actor and I just truly connected with her in that moment. The music is so gorgeous. Dan Gillespie Sells and Tom [MacRae], who wrote this music, the music soars and it’s such an intimate moment. To share that with Sarah was really lovely. It was another moment that I’ll cherish and it will stay with me forever. It allowed me to pull my own heart into this character, and that was a moment where I felt like I was pouring lots of myself into the role.

I’ve been a dancer since I was four, but I am also one of the clumsiest people ever, so I have great appreciation for anyone who can wear heels like this.

HARWOOD: I’m also very clumsy too.

What was it like to walk in the heels, get used to them, and look confident in them?

HARWOOD: I hadn’t really had any heels training. I hadn’t done any heels dance classes or anything before this process, but I was so game, so up for it, and so open to it. I had an amazing heels coach, Shaun Niles, who’s danced with Kylie Minogue. So, to have him be by my side, teaching me the ways, teaching me how to walk, and giving me loads of tips and tricks was so important. But my feet hurt, after 12 weeks. I’m taking a break. I’m in trainers today. I’m gonna be in trainers for a little while.

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Image via Amazon

What was it like to see the full drag look and to get to do the first drag performance?

HARWOOD: It was really exciting. I’m a huge fan of Drag Race, so I was so excited to see myself looking as amazing as so many of the queens that I’ve looked up to over the last few years, but it was also incredibly daunting. When drag happens, it takes over. You’re really conscious of people reacting to you and how it’s making them feel, and that spurs you on a little bit. When someone is a little bit scared or a little bit like infatuated with your beauty, it does something to you. It makes you feel powerful.

It feels very otherworldly and magical.

HARWOOD: Yeah. The thing I liken drag queens to is like when you go see your favorite animated character at a theme park and they’re dressed up in these costumes. That, for me, is what drag is. It’s play. It’s character. That’s why I’m such a huge fan of it. You can actually meet these people in real life, and they’re real and they exist.

I love that Jamie wins people over by just being himself, by being fully okay with that, and by making no apologies for that. How freeing do you think that really is for him, especially having that moment at the dance?

HARWOOD: A lot of his internal world has built up to that moment at the dance. Along with the community around him shifting and having their thoughts and feelings about him, I think he truly goes through a change in how he sees himself. Do I think Miss Hedge is opposed to Jamie? No. Do I think that she’s just trying to let a kid know that they can’t always be the center of attention? Yes. Jamie has to go through that process of learning. He has to take his place, and also make room for others. That’s what that moment is. That realization comes when he arrives in what he arrives in and has that moment of joy when all of his classmates are sticking up for him. He definitely felt very supported by his community around him, which all of them took a shift. They all saw him do the show, and all of that stuff. It’s really a lovely moment in the film.

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Image via Amazon

Have you thought about where you go from here and what the next step for you is? How are you looking to approach this whole acting thing now?

HARWOOD: I’m approaching it head on. I’ve been really lucky, over the last year in the pandemic. I’ve shot a few more films, which I can’t talk about, unfortunately, because they’re not announced, but this film has been a true springboard for me into the world of acting. I just continue to grow and learn and do things that challenge me, and hopefully the work that I do, moving forward, challenges me as well as an audience.

When it comes to roles and projects, do you have things that you want to do, or is it more about knowing what you don’t want to do and being open to everything else?

HARWOOD: I think I’m just quite open. I do know that I wanted to do some sort of superhero movie. I know that I want to do a biopic that isn’t musical, that’s maybe a sports person or a fashion designer of some sort. That would just be really cool because I love having anchors that are really real to really draw inspiration from. Something like that would be great. But I’m so open. I think saying yes a lot is really good, especially when you haven’t got a lot of experience. I trust the people that I have around me to guide me in the right direction. I’m really very, very open.

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Image via Amazon

When it comes to a superhero movie, would you want to be a hero or a villain?

HARWOOD: I think I would want to be a hero, but I think I would be a good villain. I want the costume. I want to fly, probably. I want to do all the tricks on wires and stuff. That’s all the stuff, cinematically, that I haven’t done just yet.

Do you also see yourself wanting to do things behind the camera and get into producing or directing?

HARWOOD: Yeah. I write music and I’m writing a screenplay, at the moment, as well. I’m definitely a creative person at heart, so I’m definitely exploring all of that stuff. Right now, I’m focused on the acting thing and I’m going to hopefully go into other avenues, the later I get on in my career and the more experience I have. I’ve got stories to tell and I’m gonna tell them.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is available to stream at Amazon Prime Video.