I didn't think that that is what a man was supposed to do.
I was brought up in a very working class household where you were
meant to end up on a building site
Hi, I'm Connor Swindells, I play Adam on 'Sex Education',
this is my Attitude cover shoot, which is on sale now.
What inspired me to get into acting?
I think I always thought that I was supposed to do it.
I always found some, sort of, fluidity with it,
but I think for the longest time rejected that because
I didn't think that that is what a man was supposed to do.
I was brought up in a very working class household where you were
meant to end up on a building site, and
that was something I very much didn't want to do
after having done it for so long.
And yeah, I thought, I don't want to be on my deathbed
and have someone looking back at me saying, god, you should have, you know,
I’m the version of you that you could have been and you pissed it away.
My first audition I ever had,
there was no, there was no lines given to me.
It was an improvisation audition where a wonderful casting director,
I won't say his name, he said that I needed to act
as if I was hammering down the hatches of a sinking ship
with a bunch of slaves trying to jump off of it.
So, I was both slave master and just childhood delinquent,
running around and just hammering on the carpet of this Soho office.
And then I was asked to act
as if I'd also been hung, so a hanging and then a branding.
So, that was probably my, that was a baptism of fire - my worst audition.
I think I've definitely bonded most with
Alistar [Petrie], who plays my dad.
Again, I think he's just such
a great person, a wonderful actor, and he's taught me so much.
And he's been there for me at times where I've felt low, or
whatever, he's just always been someone that I could turn
to, he's always a phone call away or a text, and that's
been very important to me
during this, sort of, crazy time in my life with this show.
Who would I like to have more scenes with?
Gillian [Anderson], I'd say, we don't get to, apart
from season one, you know, we didn't have anything in season two.
Not that I remember.
And she's so amazing.
And, you know, she's beautiful and funny and charismatic
and a wonderful scene partner to have, so I wish that I could have
more opportunities to work alongside her.
She's actually quite, when you first meet her, and people say this about me
as well, the quite a, sort of intimidating presence to be around.
And then once you're,
once she's said hello to you,
she's absolutely wonderful and golden and lovely.
But I think I still was quite reserved around her and nervous for the
most part, you know.
I think my most memorable behind-the-scenes moments,
not behind the scenes really so much, but just having our first
premiere was a really big moment for us, all young actors.
It was our first big thing.
It was just really nice - to see this show that we cared so much
about and worked so hard that be such a massive
success was really, really
a wonderful time in my life.
And I would say for others too.
What advice would I give to my teenage self?
I wish that I had tried harder in school and not just been so much of
a sneaky Pete and done the bare minimum I could to have gotten by.
I mean, there is nothing I would go back and change, because ultimately
it's got me to where I am now and I'm very grateful for that, but
I do wish that I had been more academically focused at school.
I know that's a boring answer, but is something that I
probably would have gone back and said.
Dream acting role?
I don't really have, I don't really think about acting in terms of roles.
The only thing I want to do while I'm here is and while I'm relevant
in any way is work with the best people on the best material.
And I feel like, and that's why I'm so grateful to have been on
‘Sex Education', is because it really is that, it's a whole system
where everyone mucks in
as much as they can to do the best job and make the best product, so
keep doing that.