Shirt and trunks BOSS / Pearl necklace A Sinner In Pearls / Necklace Alex’s own

You’ve gone from professional footballer and bull rider to fitness coach, model and now actor — when did acting stop being something you were exploring and become something you genuinely wanted to build a career in?

Film and TV has always been something I’ve been obsessed with since I was little. It’s always been a dream. Where I grew up, there’s not really anyone that did it before me and there’s not an arts program or theater program. So there’s no knowledge of how to attain that dream. It was moreso if the opportunity ever presents itself then I’d love to, but I just don’t know how to get that chance. And then I was lucky enough to get that chance from an agent who sent me a tape to do for Yellowstone, 1883. That was the first tape I ever did and I got the job. So that’s what kind of led me into it.

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Do you think the experiences you had before Hollywood actually give you something that formal acting training can’t?

It’s really not like anything similar from my athletic background except for the scheduling of it. I use the same routines that I did for that and the same mindset in terms of showing up to work early, leaving late, and all that. So it’s more so I learned how to be disciplined from sport and then I put that into acting.

Fair enough, that is a really valuable skill to have though. I will get into Mobland in a little bit but seeing as it was the premiere in London just the other week, I was wondering what the city means to you, having lived here for a little bit?

Yeah, I lived all over London for two years. And when you spend that kind of time there and work there, the crew and cast is all from there. So you make really close friends and you have your favourite restaurants and you have your favourite things to do and it becomes a place, one, that’s great to live in, but two, great to work in and also it just becomes almost like a routine. So it is weird leaving that after the show. The show’s done, it’s weird spending so much time there and then leaving, especially in a cool place.

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I can imagine! London is great. What are your top spots to go out there? Do you have any favorites?  

Brixton was cool. I like East London. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Cotswolds. 

That is a very controversial opinion, haha! But speaking of London, talk to me about your experience at RADA in London. What was your time there like?

I didn’t study or apply there. For a lot of bigger shows like Mobland and American Primevals you don’t get really much rehearsals. It’s pretty much you just show up and you’re expected to do the job. I was lucky enough to work with some great people there to go through dialect work and rehearsals and stuff like that. So I didn’t go through their program but I went there to rehearse.

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What’s your favourite dialect to do?

My own. That would be the best. But I’ll try to use a different accent, even subtle or minor so you get a different look. 

What’s the hardest accent or dialect you’ve ever had to train for or learn? 

Actually, New York. It’s harder than Cockney, Irish or Scouser or any of that. Like a Brooklyn, New York accent is so difficult. 

Shirt and trunks BOSS / Pearl necklace A Sinner In Pearls / Boots by Jessie Western / Necklace Alex’s own

Oh, that’s so interesting. So let’s talk about Mobland – you’re returning for season two alongside Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan. How does your character, Donnie, evolve this season?

I think the first season was kind of open-ended. You didn’t know what I was sent to do or what my character was doing and the extent of it. You might not really know what he’s up to in the end, but it was just a fun character to play. I would say he’s well-educated, charming, but also has devious intent. He’s one of MacAllister’s henchmen, which is also fun because Janet McTeer is great.

Yeah, it’s a very star-studded cast for sure. Is there anything you learned from the cast at all?

I usually came in on half days and just watched and learned. I was watching them outside the scenes too and saw how nice they are to the cast and crew. There’s a reason why they’ve consistently been working for so long. There’s tons of people that are talented, but they’re not only super talented, they’re super professional as well. That aspect was very cool to see as well.

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Do you find it hard to get back into character after a while off?

Not really, I don’t take it home with me ever. So it was pretty much like a light switch. It doesn’t linger on me and it doesn’t take long to get back into it in the morning when I go to work. It would not be good for anyone else if you get a job that’s a bad character or has bad qualities about himself. That would be tough to bring home to other people, especially when it’s unneeded. 

You’ve lived a pretty nomadic life, including spending time living out of a trailer while working away. What does “home” actually mean to you these days? It’s cool that for the Principle shoot we went to one of the sites you stayed at!

I like a nomadic lifestyle when I’m working. At home it is different. But when I’m working,  there’s no distractions. It’s just nice to touch grass sometimes. 

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It sure is! So next to being an actor, you’re modeling as well and have done Paris Fashion Week among others. How do you approach being on a runway and being on a film set differently – is there more crossover than people might think? I know you mentioned that for acting and your fitness background, discipline is the main transferable skill. 

The only crossover with the runway is the day to day life of walking left foot, right foot. If you can walk in a straight line and turn around then you got it. You get to wear cool clothes that you necessarily wouldn’t have at home and you get to do it in a different country, or a cool city like Paris or Milan and that’s great. It is just a cool experience that I’ve enjoyed doing because I never dreamed that would be a real thing.

Yeah, acting, modeling, etc. you are a busy man! What do you do to unwind?

I have gocarts at my house and ATVs. I love dirt biking and all of that, and with my kids I go to water parks and the beach.

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Sounds like so much fun! As an actor, what’s your guilty pleasure series or film to watch in your free time?

Love Island probably. Any trash reality show. I guess it’d be a guilty pleasure. 

I’m with you, I love that stuff. So, which show or director is still on your bucket list for a future project?

I would love to be a Bond Villain. I love Mads Mikkelsen’s Bond villain character. I also read this script called the Waffle House Index. I love the script. And I thought it was such a cool story. So I think that would be cool. But other than that, there’s a bunch of people I’d want to work with. It just depends on what it is, but for now I would say a Bond villain and Waffle House Index are top two on my mind right now.

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Let’s speak it into existence, I can definitely see you as a Bond villain. Would you ever consider going on the other side of the acting thing, such as working on scripts and directing?

No, I love acting. Writing, I’m interested in least. I would want to work with someone on that end that I can speak my ideas to and they can clutch out the characters better than I would be able to. Directing is something that’s interesting, not at this moment for me, but something, a project, like a short film that friends and I create or something along those lines I’d be interested in. Maybe down the road. I’d love to just focus on the acting bit.

The opportunities are surely endless! I look forward to seeing what’s next for you. Thanks so much for your time!

MobLand Season 2 is now streaming on Paramount+

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