Layton Williams talks singing icebergs, Olivier nominations, following his convictions and shaking his booty on stage and screen
Layton wears: leather jacket by Mr. P at MR PORTER; top by Patrick McDowell; trousers by APAR Editions; earring and pearl ring by A Sinner in Pearls; and boots by Grenson
Our interview could not have been better timed; it is less than 24 hours since Layton Williams heard the news that he had been nominated for an Olivier award, and he is on cloud nine. “I just can’t stop smiling,” he exclaims. “Finding out that you are an Olivier-nominated actor does not happen that often! Whether I win or not, I can say for the rest of my life that I’ve had that accolade. I had a little bit of a moment yesterday, when I was doing the show – it is quite overwhelming, you know? It is 20 years I’ve been doing this – practically since I was 10 years old – but I have never had the chance to originate a role, and now that I’ve actually done it for the first time… I’m like yeah, I was eligible, but I didn’t really think too much into it… I didn’t have my hopes up, which I think is a good thing. And then doing the performance on the day, it was really magical; tears flowed!”
The nomination for ‘Best actor in a supporting role in a musical’ is one of three nominations (including ‘Best new entertainment or comedy play’ and ‘Best actress in a musical’) for Titanique, the show that Layton is currently appearing in. What can he tell us about it? “It is absolutely bonkers,” he says, with a laugh. “It is a musical, comedy, concert with all the Céline Dion songs, but it kind of goes through the story of the Titanic movie. So, you have all your favourite characters from Titanic, you know your Jack, your Rose, your iceberg, AKA me. And it’s just an absolute hoot. It’s an hour… 50 minutes, I would say of pure joy, and people end up singing and laughing, and skipping out of the theatre. The laughter is the most infectious thing; everybody just has the best time. And apparently, we are a hit, certified as of yesterday… all the interviews I have done prior to yesterday, I’ve been like, well, we think this… we think that… but having that stamp of approval from the Oliviers has definitely put a spring in our step!”
Layton wears: coat by Ahluwalia; shirt and trousers by APAR Editions; hat by Stetson; earring by A Sinner In Pearls; knuckle bangle by Annabel B; and boots by Grenson (all other rings his own)
How does one play an iceberg, you might ask. “My big moment comes toward the end of the show, when the ship, of course, unfortunately sinks,” Layton explains. “But we definitely do it in a way that is just… it is kind of flabbergasting to be honest! I come out dressed as Tina Turner in a big old gorgeous disco gown, and her iconic jacket, and I don’t want to give too much away, but it gives iceberg in a… think RuPaul’s Drag Race. Ru Paul, meets Tina Turner: that’s the energy for my number. And Ru Paul actually gave us the stamp of approval, too, he came to see it a few weeks back and absolutely loved it. He was like, ‘It’s my favourite show ever, it’s hilarious – you killed it!’ And I was like, my god Ru Paul! So yeah, that’s probably my big moment, I think that’s definitely the thing that got me my recognition.”
Having heard about the show from his team in America, Layton had been keen from the outset to be involved when it made its West End move. When the time came though, he nearly missed out. “My American team, WME, my agent out there, she was just like, ‘You have to do this; this was the talk of New York when it first came out – and still is’,” he recalls. “There was a bit of a clash, though, I was actually in Cabaret at the time. But the show got delayed – it was supposed to come earlier in the year, but then it came at Christmas. I literally messaged my agents, and I was like, get me in for this, please!”
It is this sort of unwavering conviction that has got Layton to where he is today. At just ten years old, he saw an ad in the newspaper promoting auditions for the West End production of Billy Elliot. “It was just an open audition at the Zion Centre in Manchester, and it was just advertised in the newspaper. They were like, we’re looking for young boys who can dance… So, we rocked up,” he reveals. “I mean, the audacity of it really, when I think about it, for me to rock up to an audition for a show where you are supposed to become a ballet dancer, and I’d never done a ballet class in my life! I feel like that’s a reflection of my whole life and career, to be honest. I’ve just always been hustling, always running around, spinning plates; I just think that’s in my nature.”
“WHEN THINGS COME UP, WELL WE’LL CHAT ABOUT IT, IF THE SCRIPT IS RIGHT, IF IT FEELS RIGHT, I WILL JUST THROW ALL OF MY ENERGY INTO IT”
Layton wears: coat and trousers by QASIMI; vest by Mr. P at MR PORTER; brooch by Patrick McDowell x Anuka Jewellery; earrings by Thomas Sabo; socks by Pantherella; and boots by Grenson (rings his own)
Prior to playing Billy, the extent of Layton’s practical stage experience was appearing as Captain Hook in a school production. “I milked that role for all it was worth,” he laughs. It was that performance, he believes, that persuaded his mum that this was the path for him. “I was definitely the kid that used to put on shows for their neighbours, and my nan when she used to come round. And you know, dancing in front of the telly to the Spice Girls, and other music videos that were out at the time. I was always expressive like that. I think the school play was a turning point for my mum, though. Afterwards, I went to a place called Carol Godby Theatre Workshop in Bury, which was such an amazing school, and it also had an agency attached to it – she had lots of the Coronation Street actors and things like that. So, I went there for around six to eight months, I would say, before I auditioned for Billy Elliot, and then from there everything just kind of happened…”
He recalls leaving his family behind in Bury and moving to London, to a big house in Ealing with the other child members of the cast. “I have like three other siblings who needed bringing up by my mum, who was basically a single mum at that point, so they all stayed,” he reveals. “I was whisked off to London and straight onto the West End stage. We used to do our schooling and tutoring in Hammersmith, and the actual show was in Victoria. We lived in like a big Billy house, with all the Billys, the Debbies, the Michaels. When I talk about it, it feels kind of strange.” Those sacrifices clearly paid off though. “It was so nice to be able to call my mum and tell her about the nomination yesterday. She was hiding in the cupboard at work crying! She said that she made those sacrifices because she knew that this was something that was going to be career defining one day.”
A first screen role followed shortly afterwards, with Layton offered the part of Kylie in Beautiful People at the age of 14. It was another defining moment – both professionally and personally. “Playing that character brought me out of my shell even more. It just made me confident in my skin, in who I was; being a young queer, you can feel like you have to hide yourself a bit – especially back in those days,” he explains. “It also introduced me to Maria and Val, who were my guardian lesbians, who I lived with from the age of 14 until pretty much a few years ago. They are beautiful people. And the role itself was amazing for me, because I am a dancer, I love to sing, but it was television. It almost felt like Glee before Glee! Everybody would be dancing on set, we would have full on musical numbers, and it was the best kind of TV for me, because I got to also do all the other things that I loved, all rolled into one. It will always be my first – it taught me how to do screen. And then I kept doing it from there. My fingers were in all the pies, even from that young, which I was very grateful for.”
Layton wears: suit jacket and trousers by agnès b.; sash (worn as scarf) by Patrick McDowell; earring by Thomas Sabo; and boots by Grenson (rings his own)
While variety might be the spice of life, Layton admits that his first love will always be theatre. “I love TV, I love film, I love doing it, but I really come alive when I’m on my stage,” he enthuses. “Of course, I mean you never want to turn down any TV or film work. I love it, I absolutely enjoy it, and when I do it, I know that I’m still having an amazing creative output. And shows like Bad Education [he played Stephen Carmichael in all three series of Jack Whitehall’s BBC comedy] it basically spoke directly to queer viewers. There have been thousands of young queer boys who have seen that over the course of its run; people still come up to me in the street, and say, ‘Stephen was my favourite character; he helped me come out’. You get to reach people en masse with television and film, and I think that’s what’s really special about it. And I mean who doesn’t want to be in the movies, let’s be honest! So yeah, I will always dabble. I’ll take it all; at this point in my career I’m not picky. When things come up, well we’ll chat about it, if the script is right, if it feels right, I will just throw all of my energy into it and just hope for the best. And it has worked so far, so I’m gonna keep that energy. I’m filming a movie after Titanique. I’m always kind of like jumping from one to the next.”
The film project he mentions is due to start production this summer. “It is called The Light Fantastic. It is in very early stages at the moment, but other actors that are attached to it are Rupert Everett, which is pretty cool! Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Jeremy Irvine,” Layton reveals. “When I was reading the script and became attached to it, I didn’t know that these actors were involved, so once I found out, I was like, wow, OK, this is the real deal. This is going to be quite the moment. And for me, there are parallels between my life and career. Basically, we’re going to be filming in the Blackpool Tower, and it’s about ballroom dancers. Two male dancers, which, of course, after my time on Strictly just felt like something that I should probably do. But the funny thing is, my character actually can’t dance too well, so I really do have to act! It is like a musical/movie/comedy – so it is right up my street. I get to shake a leg, maybe get a bit of a show tune in there! It has always been my dream to get into the musical movies. To do what I do on a bigger scale, on the big screen, and finally it is happening!”
Layton wears: suit jacket and trousers by KGL; vest by Zara; sunglasses by Tom Ford; earrings by Thomas Sabo; necklace by Annabel B; and shoes by Grenson (rings his own)
Though some people were critical that his professional experience gave him an unfair advantage when he appeared on Strictly, Layton speaks fondly of that time. “It was wonderful; I had the best time! There were definite ups and downs, and lows, but we got through,” he tells me, honestly. “In the greater scheme of things, looking back on it, Nikita [Kuzmin – Layton’s professional partner on the show] is my lifelong friend now, I got to dance for literally four months of my life, which was the biggest thing that I wanted to do while my body was still young and healthy, and stretchy! You know, why wouldn’t I have this experience? And it has definitely opened up a different audience for me. And brought in amazing opportunities. All of the stepping stones… going into Cabaret, going into Titanique, it’s all been off the back of that moment, I think.”
It is hard to imagine how he has any time for anything other than work, but, along with his cousin Olivia, Layton has created Pros from the Shows, an organisation designed to inspire the next generation of performers. “It’s my little baby,” he exclaims, excitedly when I ask about it. “We basically just wanted to offer people high-quality professional experiences, from the people from the shows that they love. Colleagues of mine, friends of mine, have done workshops for us. We have Slay Clubs where people get to go and just basically slay and have a good time, and be surrounded by like-minded people. It is a very free space. We tend to get people there who don’t necessarily feel like it’s for them, but then when they join us, they all get such a special bond. It’s really beautiful. We do summer schools, big open workshops… it’s just for the next generation of talent, but also people that don’t necessarily want to do it as a career but just want to do it for fun. We have loads of amazing workshops for people who like to shake their booty!” And I’ll put money on the fact that there’s nobody better placed to instruct on shaking that booty than Layton himself.
Photography by Lee Malone, Styling by Jess Punter, Grooming by Jackie Saundercock using Lisa Eldridge Beauty, Dr Jart+ skincare and Olaplex hair. Styling Assistance by Aoife Steyaert-Heron, Creative Direction by Penny Clements, Shot on location at St. Pancras London Hotel, Shot for London Fabric Magazine
