British actress Antonia Thomas on her role in hit drama The Good Doctor, avoiding stereotypical roles for black talent, and making the move to America
For many British actors, especially those of colour, it has long been something of a given that you, at some stage, move over to the States in order to access a wider range of roles. And while the mood is increasingly optimistic for diverse change in the UK TV and film industry, this hasn’t meant that many aren’t still pursuing their dreams on the other side of the pond.
Antonia Thomas decided to move to the States to give her career the boost she wanted, after feeling as though she’d hit something of a glass ceiling here. Having had on-screen roles in dystopian young offenders comedy-drama Misfits, and the romantic comedy Lovesick – which was originally on Channel 4 under the eyebrow-raising title ‘Scrotal Recall’ – Thomas became a viewers’ favourite, often praised for the sensitivity she brings to her characters.
However, it’s her role in medical drama, The Good Doctor that has seen her really begin to break through internationally. The drama, centring on an autistic young surgeon (played by Freddie Highmore) and his hospital colleagues, has beaten long-held viewing records for its US network, ABC, meaning that Thomas is a fixture in the homes of millions each week. In a fun, but wide-ranging transatlantic phone conversation, she told Pride about playing surgeon Claire Browne in the show, as well as her feelings towards unimaginative roles for black and mixed-race people.
On her first introduction to acting…
I come from a family of performers: my dad was an opera singer and my elder sister [Emma Jay Thomas] is an actress, so performing and singing was sort of something I was around all the time. I initially thought I wanted to sing, but my sister Emma introduced me to the National Youth Music Theatre. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I got in, and ended up going to Japan with them to do a musical when I was 14. From there, I basically just got the bug. It’s clearly a starting point for a lot of young actors in London and England – Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lily James and Ben Barnes, for example. It was amazing training, and it’s what got me started. Eventually, after some deliberating, I went to drama school, and from then I was set.
‘There are roles that I go in for here [in the US], that I just never got over the threshold for at home.’ (Image: Michael Shelford)
On the differences between British and American TV roles…
I suppose the reason I originally ventured to the US was because I felt like there was more here [in America] for me. I got to the point where at home, I felt like the industry wasn’t necessarily catering to ethnic minorities – and when they were, it was the same sorts of roles. I felt like I’d hit a bit of a glass ceiling there, for TV. I know that things are definitely changing at home now, with people making a real push, but I made the move because there’s just so much more here.
I came over for pilot season, which is when actors descend upon LA to audition for hundreds of network pilots. In LA, I found was being seen for things that I wasn’t really being seen for at home – some really cool, interesting roles, and that excited me. Our theatre scene in the UK is amazing, and my black actor friends are noticing positive changes, but there are roles that I go in for here [in the US], that I just never got over the threshold for at home, and that’s been really exciting.
On her The Good Doctor character, Dr Claire Browne…
I like that she is extremely multi-layered, and pretty flawed. She’s doing her best, as any person is, and she gets thrown in at the deep end as resident surgeon. But immediately, things go wrong, because that’s life, and that’s how you learn. She has such a steep learning curve, and is always tussling with professionalism, and sometimes over-empathising with a situation, which gets her in trouble in terms of making promises to patients that she shouldn’t. In the first season, she ends up killing somebody by mistake, which is something a lot of surgeons have to go through. It’s really, really tough. But then, she’s good at relating to patients, but closed off when it comes to romantic relationships… she’s a ball of contradictions, and as actor, that’s really fun to play.
Antonia Thomas and Freddie Highmore – The Good Doctor (Image: 2018 Sony Pictures Television Inc)
On saying no to stereotypical roles…
When I first started acting, there was definitely a whole string of the same kinds of films coming out. Some were really good, and some I feel were sort of stereotypical; perpetuating a particular idea of black people. I said to myself: “I’d love to play that kind of role – but the writing has to be right, and it can’t be another of the same film churned out.” There have been a couple of times when I’ve said ‘I’m not gonna do that’ – also, because then you may get put in a certain box. If I do that, I want it to be because it’s telling a certain story in an important way. When I first started there was very specific, obvious storytelling that felt really not a representation of the black community, or ethnic diversity in our country. I feel quite strongly that we shouldn’t be perpetuating negative ideas. If you’re telling a story, and the story has truth, and it’s important, then brilliant – but not just people stabbing each other for the sake of it, for example. There has to be an important message. There has to be a point.
On future projects…
I have things in the pipeline that I can’t really talk about yet, but I’m working on developing a couple of my own things as well, writing and producing wise. I’ve gotten to a stage of my career where I want to be part of the creative conversation too, not just waiting for other people to give me the right roles, and creating interesting stories and putting interesting people in them. It’s very exciting.
On mantras for 2019…
I want to be present in the moment. I can be quite impatient in all the things I want to be doing and be happening, and sometimes I can forget to be really present in the moment. I want to focus on that more. Be present, and enjoy every part of it.
The Good Doctor Series 2 airs Tuesdays, 9pm on Sky Witness and NOW TV
