Heartstopper star Sebastian Croft has revealed that “cheesy love songs” helped him during filming for How to Date Billy Walsh.
The Prime Video rom-com follows best friends Archie (Croft) and Amelia (Charithra Chandran), who are rocked by the arrival of the titular American transfer student (Tanner Buchanan).
Amelia yearns for a date with the newcomer whilst Archie harbours a long held love for his best friend, with the pair going to great lengths in order to achieve their respective aims.
Related: Charithra Chandran praises Bridgerton reunion on new movie How to Date Billy Walsh
Ahead of the film’s release on Prime Video on Friday (April 5), both Croft and Chandran spoke exclusively with Digital Spy about the project, with the pair detailing their working methods during filming.
“With rom-coms, there is a recent trend of being very cynical,” said Chandran. “This movie really believes in itself, and it takes itself very seriously. It’s incredibly funny, but it believes in itself. And that hopeful optimism is needed right now.”
“It’s just that earnest,” added Croft. “It’s too easy with these films to not actually believe in it, like [be] a bit apologetic. And actually one thing we had to work on when we were in rehearsals, we sang these amazing love songs that were so cheesy.
“The first time we did them, basically like karaoke, we were pissing ourselves. And the director Alex [Sanjiv] was like: ‘I need you to really believe these lyrics, because if you guys are embarrassed with what you’re doing, it’s not going to work.'”
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Croft, who played Ben Hope on Heartstopper, also spoke about his affinity for the character of Archie, saying: “This is a teenager on the cusp of telling the love of his life, someone he thinks he is going to spend the rest of his life with, that he loves her – that’s a big thing.
“I fell in love with this film when I found that human side. Yes, it’s silly and it’s a big film with big spectacles, but actually it’s just what it feels like as a teenager to be in love for the first time and get it wrong. As soon as I found that human hook, I was in.
“I also think that everybody in our industry is very self critical,” added Chandran, who played Edwina Sharma in Bridgerton. “I love the fact that all of the crew, they were all to themselves and to each other: ‘wow this is pretty good’. People in our industry never say that.”
How to Date Billy Walsh is available on Prime Video from April 5.
Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
Deputy Movies Editor, Digital Spy
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over seven years, mostly for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas.
Her work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema in the UK.
She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki’s Kiki’s Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world, and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She’s also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London.
Now based in the UK, Mireia joined Digital Spy in June 2023 as Deputy Movies Editor.
