SUPERNATURAL HIGH

THERE’S A GOOD CHANCE THE NAME GEORGE REXSTREW WON’T REGISTER WITH TV FANS, BUT THAT’S ALL ABOUT TO CHANGE WITH DEAD BOY DETECTIVES, NETFLIX’S NEW SANDMAN SPIN-OFF, THE LATEST – AND MAYBE MOST INCLUSIVE AND DIVERSE – INCARNATION OF DC COMICS’ AND NEIL GAIMAN’S UNIVERSE. FANS ARE BOUND TO FALL IN LOVE WITH REXSTREW’S PORTRAYAL OF THE COMPLEX EDWIN, THE “BRAINS” OF TWO GHOST-BOY BESTIES FROM DIFFERENT ERAS, WHO USE THEIR ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE LIVING AND THE DEAD TO SOLVE SUPERNATURAL MYSTERIES. WE CAUGHT UP WITH THE RISING BRITISH STAR AND LAMDA THEATRE-GRADUATE, TO CHAT ABOUT THE THEMES OF LOVE, GRIEF AND PERSONAL GROWTH THAT SWIRL THROUGH THE FIRST SEASON.

Left Full look **Louis Vuitton**
Right Full look **Givenchy**

Firstly, have you ever had a pesky ghost haunting you and are you scared of ghosts?

Not to my knowledge! And yes, I would run if I saw one! I have a fear of the unknown.

Well, you play a rather brainy ghost in this new series, who didn’t have the best experience at boarding school in the 1900s which led to your death, and as a spirit you’re now really into the occult and casting spells. There’s a lot to unpack right there for Edwin! If the spirit world had Instagram, what do you think his bio would read?

‘Established 1900, re-established 1989’, because when he escapes hell and meets Charles for the first time, he experiences a kind of re-birth, a new life and existence in ghost form.

So, how did you prepare to play a ghost of a young boy whose life ended so horribly too soon, because among all the supernatural drama, there is that complex darkness about grief, love, loss, friendships. Aside from the original source material, the comics, and the scripts, what kind of research did you do?

I was aware that these two young boys have a very complex background story, in many ways, Edwin has a simple existence, he’s a detective with a best friend, but what lies underneath is very complicated. So, I made sure to factor that in as I was gearing up to film, and I drew on my own personal experiences, grief, loss, they’re all relatable, and that’s why it’s important to see that on screen.

Left Full look **Fendi**
Right Shirt and shorts **Valentino**, necklace **Sweet Lime Juice**, belt stylist’s own

Costume plays its part in informing a character, but how did you find the physicality of Edwin, in terms of performance? He’s quite stiff and upright and serious, unlike the laid back, casual Charles.

I leaned heavily on my drama school training from LAMDA, and I was fortunate to have had a very physical theatre training with study in screen, so in the early stages of filming when the imposter syndrome was at an all-time high, I really used that knowledge, expertise, and advice of my teachers. Having filmed a TV show as lead though, I will say that as an actor the medium of being on screen is one you do have to learn by doing it, [laughs], you know, they can’t teach you how to act with cats or imagine giant spiders or do stunts and be part of special effects! It was like a Disneyland and the best kind of learning process.

It’s such a unique story in that your character and Charles exist in different eras but have been friends for 30 years. I read that you both only met before filming so to have the kind of chemistry we see on-screen between you both is amazing, it’s so organic. What do you think it is that sparked this bromance between you?

We just hit it off straight away, chemistry is an organic thing, it’s not something that can be curated. We were just very lucky that we were the Yin to the others’ Yang. People would often comment on our chemistry during filming, so luckily that was one of the things that I wasn’t conscious of while shooting the series.

Left Full look **Dior Men**
Right Suit and shirt **Kenzo**, necklace **Sweet Lime Juice**

What about how the boys will evolve within the story, and your character arc, because It’s interesting that they never got to grow up, so they still have a teenage mindset and are finding their identity, and then they meet Crystal the clairvoyant, who is a living girl. So, will there perhaps be some bittersweet romance along the way, or maybe some jealousy, within yours and Charles’ dynamic?

Edwin has a really established routine and relationship with Charles, and Crystal comes in like a grenade, and there we have our show! What I will say is, they butt heads immediately as she poses a threat to his work with her modern technologies, and his relationship with Charles. But over the course of the series, they develop a lovely friendship and she’s the catalyst for the journey Edwin goes on, her arrival forces him to confront a lot of demons and pain that’s been suppressed for decades, and I would go as far as to say that of all the other characters in the show, Crystal is the most similar to Edwin, he experiences an unravelling with her and then Niko helps soften him.

And within all that emotional complexity, the series heavily represents inclusivity too, and I wanted to find out how that felt for you, to be able to delve deeper into positive role models for diversity on screen?

What I feel most proud of about Dead Boy Detectives is its depiction of male love, it’s one I’ve not seen a lot of on screen. I worked with a director once who told me about her young son’s weekend playdate and she said she realised that when we’re young, often our first love is with the same sex, and that was my experience and it’s quite common. Our show really speaks to that experience, there’s something about the inner child that permeates the entire series and the backstory behind it. The series is set in a world where the characters are free of labels, such as in Episode 5, when Jenny goes on a date, it’s with Maxine, and there’s no grand announcement, it just happens. When we put writing into our shows like that, as an audience, we naturally have the same response, which is important. Steve [Yokey – showrunner] has always said he wanted to make a show that reflects the world we live in, and sometimes the world that we would want to live in, but not necessarily with giant squid or floating spiders! [laughs].

Left Shirts **Miu Miu**, pants **Prada**, ring **Sweet Lime Juice**, belt stylist’s own
Right Full look **Louis Vuitton**

Is there a favourite episode that really resonates with you?

Episode 5, that’s my favourite, it’s Edwin’s turning point and it goes back to what I was saying about the inner child and our first love, and I know we’ve touched on sexuality in this conversation, but for me with Edwin, it was always a little deeper. His journey was always about learning what love is and how to love, and there is a scene at the end of Episode 5 with Charles where you see him learn, love, and it’s a moment I’m really proud of.

And in the words of Haddaway (rewind back to the 90s there), what is love to you George?

Love feels like relief, like a warm hug!

And are you in love?

I’m in love with my dog, Raffy!

Speaking of love, is there a particular movie or theatre show growing up that really kicked off your passion for acting?

I remember seeing a video at school of Donny Osmond in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and little 5-year-old me was so entranced by the whole thing!

Left Suit and shirt **Kenzo**, necklace **Sweet Lime Juice**
Right Shirts **Miu Miu**, pants **Prada**, ring **Sweet Lime Juice**, belt stylist’s own

And as this is your first major TV role, having worked in theatre mainly, how does it feel to be in the DC comics and Neil Gaiman universe, are you excited or nervous for what fans will think of this first season?

I hope people love and enjoy the show, but I’m not too fussed if it’s not their cup of tea. I would love people to have an opinion on it, that’s great because it means it’s spoken to them in some way. But in all honesty, it’s not something I’ve thought about too much because it’s so outside of my control, all I can ever focus on is playing the scene, especially when you’re just one cog in a giant wheel. So, I’ve stayed in my lane as much as I can really!

Has being part of this project made you hungry for more on screen roles as well as stage? Is there a dream role for you?

I’m just grateful to have a job as an actor! So many of my nearest and dearest are fellow actors, and I know what it’s like to experience the silence, and so I will take what I can get! I would love to do both screen and stage, as they’re both different, but the fundamentals are the same. I would love to do an Indie film, as the writing on indies has a very specific point of view and the characters are often complex, which is an actor’s dream. There’s a Belgian director called Lukas Dhont and he’s written a film called Close about two boys and their friendship, with themes of love and it really spoke to me, and maybe even try French or Italian cinema as that’s my favourite.

Well, yes, I read that you’re fluent in both languages, and that you’re also trained in stage combat too, in saber and sword fighting! There is no end to your talents obviously.

Haha! We had a module in stage combat as part of theatre training, and I was taught how to stage fight, and LAMDA holds a ‘Fight Night’ competition every year, and my fighting partner Christian and I entered and were runners up! I’ve been pestering Steve [Yokey] to write a scene for Edwin where he’s fencing, because in the comics he does, and I felt strongly about doing that because Edwin loves to disarm and parry, so it felt like an appropriate physical representation of that. After I mentioned it, two fencing masks did appear in the set design, behind the boys’ desk, so who knows, maybe in the future we might see Edwin fencing!