Broadcasting: Reda Elazouar
British-Moroccan star of Pirates and Sex Education talks about being raised in a culture of storytelling, turning down his spot at UCL to study Biomedicine, and manifesting his acting career.
It’s sunny in London, one of those days where you know that - in a few hazy hours - Soho’s streets will be busy with office workers spilling out of pubs, sipping cold beers and deciding what time it’s acceptable to sack off their afternoon meetings.
I’m sat on an oversized rattan chair on the terrace in BAFTA. I can hear snippets of a conversation behind me; “I really wanted to fall in love with BRAT, you know, I really did! But the wine selection wasn’t to my taste…oh, really? No, no, I haven’t tried there, but Richard was telling me that they have a gorgeous new tasting menu…it’s so bold, really brave what they’ve done actually…we must go”. I’m wondering when it became commonplace to refer to a thinly-sliced tomato adorned with a pine cone and half a turnip as “brave”, when my reverie is interrupted by the arrival of my guest.
You might recognise Reda Elazouar from his lead role in Reggie Yates’ feature directorial debut, Pirates, or as Beau in the fourth season of Sex Education, to name a few of his on-screen credits. Reda was spotlighted as a Film & TV star of tomorrow in Man About Town’s Autumn / Winter 2023 issue, and - spending a couple of hours with him - I can see why. Reda’s energy is infectious, and it’s a joy to chat to him about his journey so far; we discuss the sense of shared humanity and belonging he felt growing up on an estate in South West London, his desire to explore the nuances of North African culture through storytelling, and his relentless belief that anything is possible.
“I didn’t know anyone who worked in the arts or anything creative, and I think knowing that it was up to me was weirdly freeing. Like, no-one was going to make it happen for me except me.”
Before we started recording, you were saying how you’re a South West London boy through and through (and how I should abandon East and venture south of the river. Never). Tell me what your upbringing was like.
I’ve spent most of my life in and around Battersea. I grew up on the Doddington and Rollo estate which is a really diverse area. It’s minority white - most of my friends were Nigerian, Ghanaian and Afghani. I went to a Roman Catholic Primary school, even though I’m Muslim, so - aside from feeling a level of distance in terms of my religion and culture - I related to most of the other kids because we’d grown up in similar conditions, so there was a shared understanding that I think transcends race, ethnicity or religion.
When I was seven I moved to Muscat, in Oman, for three years. I went to an American-British school and I remember speaking to this boy who sounded a bit like me and I was like, “where are you from?”, and he said Finchley. I didn’t even know where Finchley was, that’s how South West London I am!
You moved at a time when you’re undergoing a lot of changes and your perspective is shifting. Was it strange coming back to London as a ten year old?
It was weird! I feel like there’s a gap in my knowledge when people talk about certain shows or music. I was confused when I came back because I was like, “you guys are still watching Tracy Beaker, right? And The Queen’s Nose?!” Turns out they’d moved on to 4 O’Clock Club, which I very quickly got on board with! But yeah, on a serious note, I definitely experienced London differently as a ten year old. It was a lot of, “watch your back when you’re walking this way” and “don’t go down that road”, which was all new to me. So even though the streets looked the same, it felt different. When people think of Battersea now they think of The Power Station and the park and stuff. But that wasn’t my experience of it growing up. There are good and bad areas everywhere. Actually, good and bad is too binary. I don’t want to categorise it like that because I think it’s much more systemic - the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ is reflective of where and what the government decides to invest in.
Are you glad you moved back to London?
Definitely. I’m very grateful that I did because I’m not sure I’d be acting if I hadn’t. I have so much to thank London for in terms of my career. I’d always said to my mum I wanted to be an actor, but it wasn’t until I was fifteen and she was like, “Reda, when are you actually going to do something about it?” that I joined an actor-training company called RaAw London. For the next four years of my life that’s where I spent every Saturday. In those four years, I only missed two Saturdays! It was intense - my mum says it was like the army because sometimes we’d be there from 5am until 10pm. I loved it.
Have you always wanted to act?
I’ve always loved performing. I was that kid who was like, “yo, record this!” and I’d be singing and dancing to the camera. It’s funny because I was actually really shy. But I think the performative aspect of being an actor appealed to me. I feel like it’s a cultural thing, too. I was raised on storytelling. Growing up, my dad would tell me stories about his childhood, about what happened back in the day, what his life was like. Also, being raised in a religious household meant I was surrounded by stories. I love being entertained. I think everyone does. So I want to do that for other people.
Were your family supportive?
Next question. Haha, no, I’m kidding. They knew how much I loved performing, but they did want me to go to university. I studied history, chemistry and biology for A Levels, and the plan was to get a Biomedicine Degree and work towards a doctorate. I’ve always loved science, I just love acting more! On results day, I found out I’d got into UCL and I said to my family, “my goal is to book a commercial, then a BBC or Channel 4 job, and then get an agent. If I do that in a year, I won’t go to university”. I literally wrote that on a post-it note and stuck it on my wall. They agreed.
That September, I am proud to say I flipped a bottle for a Maryland Cookies commercial! I might have been on TV for less than a second, but it was my first job. Then, in May 2018, I booked a BBC One show called The Little Drummer Girl, and that July, I got an agent. I told my dad and he was like, “it’s amazing, but it’s not enough”. I’d already taken a gap year from UCL, so I was like, “OK, give me one month.” I was in Morocco at the time, and my dad helped me with a self tape for a show called Baghdad Central on Channel 4. A week later, I booked a series regular role. Being from a religious family, I think my dad was just like, OK, clearly it’s meant to be! I didn’t actually live with my dad, so my mum took a little more convincing, but she came around. It was so weird because it happened literally in the order I wrote it. Call it manifestation, fate, destiny: whatever you like!
You sound like a very determined person. Where do you get your drive from?
I just have this relentless belief that anything is possible! It’s so cringey, but I really believe in that saying: if there isn’t a door, build it yourself. I remember I couldn’t afford Casting Call Pro, back before it was called Mandy. You could get fifteen days for free if you referred a friend. So I would refer all my friends and then they’d refer theirs. And I’d get a job and that would pay for the next month’s fees. And the next. My first acting job was in this little room in the Channel 4 building. I got paid £250; that paid for a six inch subway and one week of acting lessons. There was a point where my mum was like, “we can’t afford to keep doing this acting stuff anymore”, and I was like no - I will make it happen. And it wasn’t just for me. It was for my mum, for everyone I’d grown up with on the estate. I didn’t know anyone who worked in the arts or anything creative, and I think knowing that it was up to me was weirdly freeing. Like, no-one was going to make it happen for me except me.
So, has it all been worth it, or will you be calling up UCL to get your place back?
Haha, never say never! No, I love acting. I love learning about other people. That’s what’s at the heart of it for me - it’s the opportunity to ask questions, to be curious. I remember one of my acting teachers asking me, “how will you know the hands of Hamlet if you don’t know the hands of Reda?” I always think about that - you have to understand your own pathology to understand why other people do what they do. Thinking about my interest in science, I think it’s probably driven by that same curiosity, a desire to understand why things are the way they are. I think science is a universal language of why and what and how and where. I find it very interesting. But being an actor is everything I could ever need and want from a job. I rarely even call it a job. There is a freedom I feel when acting that I don’t get from anything else. I really enjoy it. And it’s so much fun as well. I have the best time.
What’s the most fun you’ve had on a job?
Pirates! That was the most beautiful job. Being directed by Reggie was such a gift, and I have to thank him for how amazing it was. We had music in between takes, dancing, laughter. He took us to Richard Curtis’s house for two nights and we just watched films and chatted about Reggie’s inspiration for the story. We spoke to DJs and MCs from the era. He was so generous, right from the beginning, and that effort and love from him really trickled down to us. My co-stars, Elliot and Jordan - they’re like my brothers. There is such a unity between us and that is largely down to the atmosphere Reggie created on set. It was surreal to be filming on streets that I remember walking down when I was younger. After the film came out, one of my mates said to me, “bro, I swear you weren’t even acting, that’s just you!!” He’s not totally wrong, although I like to think I have a slightly higher IQ than my character!
What about when you’re playing a character like Beau in Sex Education - how do you prepare for roles like that, ones where there might not be such commonality between you and the character?
I think it’s about not judging the character. I might not agree with what he does, but - whilst playing him - I have to not only find but also understand the reasons for his behaviour. Thinking about when Beau grabs Viv, that isn’t something I would do because of my own reasons, what I believe is right and wrong, the way I’ve been brought up, etc. So I tried to find reasons for why someone would do something like that. I’m always trying to think about what would make a character have a certain impulse.
Are there specific stories or experiences that you’re particularly interested in exploring?
I really like pursuit of a dream narratives because I see myself in them. I relate to the desire to ‘make it’, despite being faced with a lack of funds or people who don’t believe in you. All you have is your belief in yourself. I’m also really interested in representing how Morocco sits at the intersection of so many different cultures. Being Moroccan and living in London, or the UK in general, is so much more nuanced than the very limited representations we have at the moment. I’d love to bring my experience of that to a role.
I’m also writing, which is something I’ve had a bit of a complicated relationship with in the past. When I was at RaAw, I was writing so much, but I was adamant that I wasn’t a writer. I was like, no - I’m an actor. I was such a weird purist about it for no real reason! But I was constantly coming up with my own comedy scenes. If you go on the notes app on my phone, there are hundreds of different scenes which I’m trying to collate into a TV script. I’m also working on a few short films. I just acted and produced in a short film that we made for the Sci-Fi London 48 Hour Film Challenge, working with a bunch of extremely talented editors. I’d love to do more stuff like that. I’d love to write a fantasy or a psychological thriller. I want to do everything!
Have you come up against instances of racial or cultural ignorance when you’re auditioning for roles?
I’ve been very lucky in my career so far, in that I think I’ve only been asked to audition for the role of a terrorist once! The most common thing I do come up against again and again is a lack of understanding of the nuances of North African and Middle Eastern countries. I speak French and Moroccan Arabic, and I’ll often get asked to play characters who are Egyptian or Iraqi, with no consideration of how different those dialects are. And it goes beyond language. I think there’s a lack of appreciation for the different cultures across the region. I might share a religion with some North African and Middle Eastern countries, but the culture and way of life is entirely different, the same way it is throughout Europe. I’m hoping that the more work I do, the more I’ll be in a position where I can help educate people on that.
Speaking to you, you seem like someone who is not only determined, but also positive. How do you deal with rejection?
Onto the next. I say this all the time. If you typed “onto the next” into my email, you’d see my reply to hundreds of rejections! The truth is, as an actor, you are going to get rejected the majority of the time. That’s just how it is. I never presume that I’m going to get anything, or that any role is mine to lose. It isn’t my role until I have it. I try my best because that’s all I can do. If something doesn’t go my way, then I let myself take a minute, sit in the disappointment, but then I have to move on. I can’t be grieving a job I didn’t get years ago. If I didn’t get it, then it wasn’t meant to be.