POTTER STAR’S BROADWAY MAGIC
IT’S A two-show day for Sam Clemmett, who plays Albus Potter (son of the famous Harry Potter) in Harry Potter And The Cursed Child.
Time for a cuppa and an almond Danish.
Sam created the part of Albus in the West End. And now he’s on Broadway, one of seven British actors from the original company in a cast of 40.
As I mentioned last week, he and his fellow Brits are giving performances that are deeper and richer than before.
At 24, Sam is a relative newcomer to New York. He and Anthony Boyle, as Scorpius Malfoy, do most of their scenes together.
The youngest Brits have become good mates off stage, too.
Sam acknowledged that ‘success here is a different ball game’. He said the cast did its work with director John Tiffany, and then it was time for the first preview.
‘We bring it into this glorious new space (the Lyric Theater) and we have a curtain call, and you suddenly realise this is the real thing — and how enormous Broadway is.’
Clemmett, who hails from Norfolk, became interested in acting when he was 11, and did his first professional job at 17.
‘I’m a 24-year-old man, and I’m completely new and green to New York City. I’m here, and it’s really bizarre.’
His family were over for last Sunday’s big official opening. But he said the ensemble have become like family, too, so he’s far from alone.
And then he was off, for his warm-up — and to prepare for the wizardest time of his life.