-YEAR-OLD WITH BRIGHT FUTURE... AND MORE THAN A PRETTY FACE
– made sure he finished his s before she agreed on him taking musical theatre college). you discover there’s also an innate ess about him. ew up hoping to become a ional footballer,” he says of a which led to professional trials. , while I was seen as a football no-one was aware I also did l theatre.” dds, grinning; “I’d have my books cked lunch at the top of my bag but at the bottom I’d hide my tap shoes.
“On Saturdays, for example, I’d go to musical theatre from nine ‘till one and then rush off to the game.”
“Then during the week I’d turn up for musical theatre with my knees all cut and bruised. It was all a bit Billy Elliott. But I loved both.”
His very close friends accepted his leanings. “Yes, but any 13-year-old boy who wears leotard and tights two days a week is going to get slagged off,” he says, grinning.
“But it’s part of the banter. And my friends were fantastic and so supportive when it came to seeing my shows.”
When the football dream was kicked out of the park, Thomas decided to focus on performing and applied to the Academy of Performing Arts to study musical theatre.
His talent has since shone through. But of course he now works for Disney.
The corporation expects a lot of its young stars, in terms of how they represent themselves to the public, displaying a clean-cut wholesomeness.
So how does he balance out the Disney deal with the need to be a young man and have fun – and take a few risks?
“Just don’t get caught,” he says, smiling.
“But what you don’t do is overthink your status and let it get into your head because it will be a bit restrictive.
“What you have to do is just see yourself as a you are, which is a normal 22-year-old boy. And don’t let a couple of screaming girls sway you in any way.”
He adds: “But I’ve got it under control.”
What helps, apart from Eckhart Tolle and a few pages of natural common sense, is Thomas has a regular girlfriend, who happens to be his Descendants 2 co-star.
“Her name is Dove Cameron and she lives in Los Angeles.”
His voice becomes more animated as he expands: “She’s great. She’s like my pal, and a really good laugh.
“The plan is I’m going to head over to LA to live. We’re going to get a place together and live on Venice Beach.”
Thomas is relaxed about the future. He may be doing another season of The Lodge, and “hopefully a Descendants 3”.
But thanks to his Instagram success he has a regular income stream, independent of what he earns from acting.
“I want to test the water,” he says of work possibilities in Tinseltown. “But gently. “It’s good to have goals and a career and all the rest of it, but at the same time I want to enjoy life.”