Tom Francis, who grew up in Thorpe Morieux, near Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury, makes TV debut starring in final season of hit Netflix series You
An actor who grew up in Suffolk has made his television debut starring in the fifth and final season of a popular Netflix series.
Tom Francis, formerly of Thorpe Morieux, near Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury, plays Clayton in season five of the American psychological thriller series You, based on the books by Caroline Kepnes.
It comes after Tom won the Laurence Olivier Award last year for Best Actor in a Musical for his role in the highly-rated West End show Sunset Boulevard, which also starred Nicole Scherzinger.
Netflix’s companion site Tudum said Clayton is a pretentious, self-absorbed, wannabe author whose vindictive, controlling nature draws the attention of main character Joe Goldberg, played by Penn Badgley.
Speaking with GQ magazine, Tom shared what it was like to make his television debut.
He said: “It was the first time I was ever on a TV set, which was wild to get as a first job in TV.
“It was the most heartwarming experience I've had in my professional career. Everyone was just so willing to guide me through and teach me things.
“Penn Badgley as a number one was just absolutely fantastic. He was so inspiring every day, and it really trickled down into every department because he was so great. I had the best time ever.”
Tom, who won Bury’s Got Talent in 2017, used to be part of Bury’s Theatre Royal Youth Theatre before going on to train in musical theatre at Arts Educational Schools (ArtsEd), in London.
He was also previously involved in the town’s Voice Squad and West Suffolk College’s Conservatoire East.
Erica Dupuy was Tom’s course director at Conservatoire East which he attended from 2015 to 2017.
Following his performance in Sunset Boulevard, she said last year to SuffolkNews that it was no surprise he had found success.
“Tom was such a fearless performer. As an actor, he had a real integrity about his performance and was willing to give everything a go,” Erica said.
“The thing I really remember is that he was very funny as I was always laughing a lot and he was just a very energetic and charismatic person to be around.
“I’m absolutely not surprised by his recent success at all. He's always been ambitious in a good way and has always wanted to improve to succeed.”
Fans can now catch all 10 episodes of You’s final season on Netflix.
