Tom Byrne on starring in 'The 39 Steps' in the West End

The Crown star speaks to London Theatre Magazine about starting out in amateur dramatics and finding his feet as Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps.

After nailing TV roles in The Crown and Bridgerton, Tom’s relishing being back on stage. To get under the skin of The 39 Steps’ lead protagonist, Richard Hannay, he says he drew on other fictional characters for inspiration. “One of them was Blackadder,” he laughs, “because I really like what Rowan Atkinson did with the character, in the sense that he’s someone who is marginally cleverer than everyone else. He’s slightly more across everything, but not enough to be able to change his circumstances. He’s a really good touchstone for Hannay.”

Tom talks to London Theatre Magazine about first catching the theatre bug, being cast as the controversial figure of Prince Andrew in The Crown, and the pros and cons of typecasting.

How did you get into theatre?
I was quite a performative kid, so my mum got me involved with an amateur dramatics group in town. I remember playing The Artful Dodger aged 11 and saying something that got a big laugh from the audience. It was like rocket fuel! I was so excited – it was like, “God, this can happen to me if I do this!”

Were you familiar with The 39 Steps before being cast?
I was dimly aware of the original West End production, but had never seen it. I know it pretty much originated the espionage genre – it’s one of the first of its kind and a classic story. I haven’t read the book, but our production is probably more loyal to the Hitchcock film – certain scenes are recreated shot-for-shot. I think that not having a prior relationship with the story helped more than hindered the cast, because we were able to feel creative within it.

You portrayed Prince Andrew in The Crown – did your research throw up any surprising facts about him?
To be honest, I wasn’t an aficionado, so pretty much everything I learned was novel. But there was something that stuck out – despite being the Queen’s “favourite” and his image being quite playboy-ish in his twenties, he was also apparently quite aloof and cold. So, I wanted to bring that to his character – that sense of iciness.

Which role would you never get cast in but love to play?
I’m from a relatively working-class background, but I don’t seem to present like that, so my “type” has led me down this avenue of playing very privileged men. And that’s fine – those roles are a lot of fun – but I would love to reconnect with some “normal” people!

Book The 39 Steps tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credit: Eugene McCoy, Maddie Rice, and Tom Byrne in The 39 Steps. (Photo credit: Mark Senior)