“I sort of dip in and out depending on what I’m doing,” he tells us. “When I’m promoting something, it’s quite fun to get involved in that fashion world. But in my day-to-day life, comfort tends to come first. It’s always nice to dress up and go to a fancy premiere or something.”

On the day of the shoot, Jeremy was a dream in front of the camera, throwing expert poses that perfectly showcased the clothes. While modelling isn’t something he ever wanted to pursue, he admits he enjoys dipping his toes into the fashion world from time to time.

“When I step onto a film or TV set, I know what my job is,” he explains. “I’ve read the script, I’ve prepared. Whereas on a photoshoot, I’m not quite sure what I’m meant to be doing. But that’s part of the fun — jumping into another industry. I don’t do it often enough for it to become boring yet, so I still really enjoy it.”

But we’re not here to chat about fashion, or about practising looks for photo shoots in the mirror – something he swears he doesn’t do, and never has. Instead, Jeremy is on the promotional trail for his new film, Return to Silent Hill, a psychological horror fantasy based on the mega-selling Silent Hill franchise.

In this interview, Jeremy tells us why starring in the film was a dream come true, how acting saved him from an angsty teenagehood, reflects on one of his biggest regrets, and reveals the special gift Cher gave him on the set of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

Jacket Wales Bonner / Vest Wax London / Trousers The Frankie Shop / Loafers Grenson

So let’s get down to business. Your new film Return To Silent Hill is based on a game you loved as a teenager, right?

That’s the whole reason I wanted to do it. I’ve always wondered what it would be like for someone who doesn’t know the game, because it’s a very abstract storyline.

I’m glad you said that, because there were moments where I didn’t quite know what was going on. When you follow your character, it feels like I was the viewer inside a game. I felt like I was on your shoulder as you walked through that world, which I really enjoyed.

That was quite deliberate, I think. The director wanted to keep that feeling of being inside a game. A lot of the shots were done specifically for that reason. Everything in the game – and the movie – is a metaphor. You only have to look on Reddit to see enormous discussions about what everything represents. The monsters, the symbolism – Pyramid Head, the representations of illness and guilt – it’s all very deliberate. There’s a vagueness and ambiguity to it that’s intentional.

Starring in a film that you are so fond of must be strange.

When I was asked to do it, it wasn’t specific moments I remembered from the game, but the feeling it gave me – that melancholic, uneasy atmosphere. As a teenager, that kind of world is very appealing. It’s something you want to wallow in.

Was that an escape from the real world for you back then?

I was very angsty – I wanted to be into anything dark. I was a difficult teen.

Really?

Yeah, I was very angry.

That surprises me, because you come across as so calm now. We assumed you had this very picturesque, idyllic upbringing.

I think I got it all out on my system.

Jacket Ami / Polo Sandro / Trousers Wax London / Trainer Axel Arigato

Was there a reason for the anger, or was it just teenage angst?

There were a few reasons, but I think it was probably similar to a lot of people. I didn’t like school very much. It’s a strange time, finding yourself. I definitely put my parents through it, and hopefully they’ve forgiven me now. I have apologised since.

I’m sure they still love you. Looking back now, what would you say to your angry 15-year-old self?

I’m not sure. You see, although I wasn’t a happy teenager, that experience shaped me. It gave me a chip on my shoulder and pushed me to really go for a career like this. I put all that energy into being productive later on. If I’d had a really chilled-out time, I’m not sure I’d have had that drive. I’m not necessarily grateful for it, because I remember not liking it at all, but it definitely gave me motivation in my late teens and early twenties.

I agree. Everything that happens guides you somewhere, even the bad stuff. Was acting something you wanted to do during when you were deep in your angry-at-the-world period?

Not at all. I only discovered acting when I was about 17. Before that, I wanted to join the military. I tried to join my local recruiting centre when I was 16, but because I’m diabetic, I was told I wasn’t deployable. That pissed me off as well. I was only really doing acting to piss my parents off. Then I thought it might be something else they wouldn’t approve of – but frustratingly, they were incredibly supportive.

Curses!

Yeah, that really backfired. I think I just wanted to be rebellious. I went to a school that was very academic, and that was never me. Acting felt like the opposite of everything a sensible teacher would advise.

Coat and trousers Ami / Top Corridor / Loafers Grenson

So when you went into acting, you felt like you’d found your place?

Absolutely. I remember it very clearly, being around people who were slightly different but incredibly funny. I worked backstage at Her Majesty’s Theatre as a work-experience tea boy and just loved being around actors. Everyone was constantly joking. That feeling’s stayed with me ever since – it’s like being surrounded by all the class clowns.

Did you suddenly calm down once you found that world?

I think it’s something I would have naturally grown out of, anyway. I found somewhere to put my energy. Acting can be cathartic; you get to play characters who say and do things you might not be able to in real life.

Have there been roles where you’ve exorcised some of that angst?

Probably not consciously, but it’s impossible not to bring a bit of yourself to every role. Your baseline is always yourself – how would I feel in that situation? How would I react? You can’t avoid bringing parts of yourself into it.

Is it true that after drama school, you nearly gave up? Why?

Just a lot of rejection. An awful lot. Statistically, it’s almost impossible to get a job. Only a couple of people from my year at drama school are still working. It’s bleak until you get a break. You cling to any shred of self-belief you can, because the knockdowns come thick and fast – and they never really stop. Even successful actors still face rejection. Most actors might only realistically work two or three jobs a year. You’ve probably been up for maybe 30 auditions. So that’s 30 times you’ve been told, “No, you’re not good enough.” Or at least they say, “You’re not right,” but you take it as, “You’re not good enough.” So yeah, it’s that resilience part. Because you are the brand, it’s very hard not to take it personally. It’s not like someone’s saying no to your company. The brand is you.

Youve worked consistently for so many years in some of the most high-profile projects – do you not yet feel like you’re in a comfortable place now?  

I have moments where I feel like I know for the next six months I’m going to be okay – never more than that. Just today, my wife and I were discussing moving house, but you just don’t know where the next job is right now. So as far as I’m concerned, it’s like: right – how long is the money going to last? So no, I don’t think that ever goes away. I’ve met actors who, in my eyes, are so successful, and they still feel exactly like that. I don’t know when it stops. It’s a cruel industry. But we shall see. I’m fairly confident for the next five or six months, and then who the hell knows.

Well, if there are any problems, we’ll do a GoFundMe or something – we’ll help you that way.

I think I’ll change career at that point.

Well, the acting world is a tough one. Look at Jonathan Bailey, for example. He’s huge now, but he’s been working for, what, 25 years? And now he’s a global star. You always think someone has appeared out of nowhere, but there’s a lot of hard work to build that ladder. I’m always impressed by people.

It’s very rare that someone’s just had it dropped in their lap. But I guess, in a way, I sort of did, because I’d only really been acting about three or four years when I got the lead in the Spielberg movie [War Horse]. That just doesn’t happen. But at the time, it still felt like a lot of work. I was nearly quitting and all the rest of it. And I know people who’ve been slogging away for 15 years, waiting for a break of some sort.

When you see someone go from not being well-known to suddenly getting pushed into this huge world, as you did with the Spielberg film or currently, like the cast of Heated Rivalry, there must be a weird shift in your life when something like that happens.

I remember it all so clearly. I’d obviously never done anything like a big movie before, and you’re on a massive adrenaline buzz for quite a long time. There’s also a lot of pressure on you. I was 19 years old, leading a hundred-million-dollar movie. There are a lot of people taking a risk on you, and the pressure is something I remember a lot. But also, because everyone tells you “You’re a star,” you think, “Ah, okay, right.” But it doesn’t work like that. You need a few roles in a row to really feel like you’ve made it.

Shirt David Koma / Trousers The Frankie Shop / Shoes Grenson

Did success start to feel relentless rather than fun?

When I had finished War Horse, I went straight to another big movie, which was incredible. As it was around awards season, I was flying to LA every weekend to promote War Horse, which is a crazy thing to do, because you’re literally going to the Directors Guild Awards, the Golden Globes, everything – each weekend, then flying back. So Monday morning, I’d be filming and doing a whole week of filming. So it comes to the Oscars, which are the last of the awards, and the War Horse people said, “We’re nominated for seven Oscars, we need to get you on a plane on Friday.” And I went, “Oh, you know what, guys? I’ll go next year.” So I never did! Looking back on it, it is insane. But when you’re doing well, you get into this mindset thinking, “Oh, well, this is going to be me now forever.” And now I realise that when I do get to do things like that, it’s very special and very precious.

So you’ve learned not to say no!

I’ve never regretted taking a movie, no matter how bad it’s turned out, because I’ve always got funny memories. I mean, I’ve done one or two films that I cringe about, but I’ve got funny stories from all of them. I do regret, however, saying no to a few things. I’ve only ever regretted saying no. You make a decision based on the information you have at the time. And there are one or two projects that have come out later and realised, “maybe that would have been a good thing to do.”

Can you share any of those regrets with us?

I can’t, because you never know who was offered it before you. There could have been a whole list of people who had it before. It’s a bit like bragging about getting a job to the actor who just said no to it. And I’ve seen that happen. Very embarrassing.

So now you’re a yes man?

Not yes to everything, but I take more risks now. I mean, this is a movie that, on the face of it, you go, “Jesus, is that going to work?” But I had a great experience filming this.

Another surprise movie you starred in was Mamma Mia 2.

I mean, that is so far out of my normal. And it’s one of those movies that, if you measure success by popularity, is probably the most successful thing I’ve done. So yeah, I think it’s a good lesson sometimes: just jump in. Actually, Oli Parker, the director, gave me a bit of advice once. He said, no matter how bad one of these projects is, you can always laugh at how funny it is – however terrible the situation, because it’ll be a few months and then it’ll be over. And then refuse to promote.

We assume ABBA wasn’t on your playlist during your teen angst years.

ABBA’s unavoidable. You can’t get away from ABBA, can you? It’s probably on everyone’s… you’ll know the words whether you like it or not.

It looked like a fun set to work on.  

It’s ruined every single job I’ve had since.

How so?

We stayed in a villa on the Mediterranean Sea, on an island that we basically took over. I’d get picked up to go to work by speedboat – Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth on the front. And then at the end of shooting, people would be like, “Oh, do you want to take your make-up off?” and I’d go, “No, I’m just going to jump in the sea.” And then we’d have long, long dinners into the night. It was just great. I can’t actually think I’ll ever have that experience again on a job. I think you can see how much fun everyone was having. God, it was great. Just brilliant.

Cardigan Casablanca / Vest Wax London

Were you there for the days Cher shot?

I spent a bit of time with Cher, actually. She was lovely. I’ve got a nice necklace that she gave me that says, “To Jeremy, love Cher.” I’m going to pretend it was just me, but either way, it’s one of my prized possessions.

On a slightly different note, we hear you loved vegging out to 24 Hours in Police Custody.

That show is great, but the funny thing is, it features all of the worst crimes going on in the UK, but they all seem to be happening in the town I grew up in. They all seem to happen in Bedford. I find it very funny. Apparently, Bedford council has got a bit pissed off about this and have the TV company if they can show some crimes from other areas. And I imagine the producers are like, “Look, I’m sorry, but this is where all that horrible stuff is happening.”

Clearly, it’s a crime central. You’re lucky you found acting; you could’ve ended up on 24 Hours in Police Custody.

I doubt that. Twenty-four hours on the sofa, more like.

We also hear you like reality shows…

I should probably be less honest about this in interviews. It’s because I spend all day doing high drama, so when I get home, sitting down and watching performances is quite difficult, because I can’t stop myself from either critiquing or thinking, “Oh, that would be good for this scene I’ve got next week,” or “That’s a good idea.” So, really, trashy reality TV does tend to feature quite heavily.

You’ve also appeared on one, SAS: Who Dares Wins?

And I loved it. I did it for the reason I spoke about earlier: because I was told that as I was diabetic, I couldn’t go into the military – so I thought, well, I’ll go and see if I can do the physical side – for 10 days anyway. I loved every second.

Was it not a tough ride being screamed at by the former Special Services?

I think I was used to that a little bit, having done cadets and all that stuff growing up. So it wasn’t anything new. The only bit I couldn’t handle was the sensory deprivation with the baby screaming, in stress positions for days on end. But the rest of it was great fun. I wanted them to do that bit at the end so I could tap out and still do all the fun stuff – swimming under ice and all that – because people pay to do that stuff. I got to jump backwards out of a helicopter – into a lake. It was fantastic.

Jacket Dries Van Noten / Trousers Ami / Loafers Grenson

Is that why you wanted to go into the army in the first place? Was your dream to do all that “boys’ own” kind of stuff?

I think probably, yes. And thank goodness I didn’t get in, because all my friends who did say those moments are pretty few and far between. A lot of my friends went into the military, and from what I’ve heard, I think I would’ve been far too soft.

It’s admirable to want to be in the military.

Well, that was teenage me. Now? I’d be the chef or the person who sews the patches on the clothes. There’s no way I’m doing that now.

On a reality tip – The Traitors has just finished. Were you hooked like the rest of the nation?

I watched it religiously. I’ve watched every series, including the Celeb one. But I’d never want to do it myself. It all looks so stressful. I want nothing to do with it. I just want to watch it and be like someone who supports football – sat on the sofa eating burgers and drinking beer, yelling what someone should have done. That’s the relationship I want with it. I just want to be the armchair expert.

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