Marvellous move pays off for Rhys
FROM dying of food poisoning on a little known S4C hospital drama to directing one of the biggest TV shows to launch this autumn, Cowbridge-born Rhys Thomas can certainly consider his television career a resounding success based on humble beginnings.
The showrunner, and sometime director, on Disney+’s latest collaboration with Marvel, Hawkeye, Rhys started out on a few S4C projects, enjoyed time at the Sherman Theatre, but didn’t really click with the industry as a career path until he attended university in Dublin.
After graduating he left for New York and after six frustrating months looking for work in the industry he landed a job as PA to the film unit on Saturday Night Live, the iconic, latenight comedy sketch show.
“I was always interested in film growing up and at that time there wasn’t much going on in South Wales, other than Welsh language television which I did do some extra work in,” said Rhys.
“I had no idea about film school, or that that kind of thing existed. But I continued on the theatre path in university in Dublin, and there started incorporating film into theatre and that was the beginning for me.
“When I finished university, I just chose to keep moving. And rather than come back to the UK, so I went to New York, on a bit of a whim and somehow, within six months of being there, and believe me, it was after six months of bashing my head against a wall, trying to figure out how you get into the film industry. I suddenly found myself at Saturday Night Live as a PA in the Film Unit.”
Through his time with SNL, between 2005 and 2018, he worked as producer and director on countless specials, films and segments, trading ideas and working with the top class of American comedic talent and superstar guest hosts like The Rock, Melissa McCarthy, Chris Hemsworth, Larry David, Lady Gaga and Paul Rudd.
The regular cast during his time on the weekly, live show included, now household names, like Andy Samberg, Kirsten Wiig, Jason Sudeikis and Bill Hader.
“That’s kind of where I grew up, it was like a crazy, intense film school to be thrown into. You’d be making a film every week, more or less. It was an amazing experience.” Rhys added. “I worked up through production. And eventually, after about eight years of being there, I got a shot at directing. I was told that if I messed it up, then we’d never talk about it again, and then go back to being a producer. But suddenly it went okay.”
So working on the iconic comedy show and bringing a Marvel Avenger, from a film series praised for its lightness of touch (mostly) when it comes to blending humour with action, into a TV series format must have been a natural fit for Rhys, right?
“I don’t think of myself as a very funny person,” laughed Rhys. “But maybe yes, naturally, I do see things through a specific lens and I think that was what was exciting and that was what Marvel wanted, a specific tone, and they give you permission to think about it that way.”
Rhys said he was “dying” to do the series and loves Barton’s (played by Jeremy Renner) human flaws and compelling back story.
“I think it was a great marriage because Clint Barton as a character who has sort of quite a dark past and a lot of trauma and, and rather than do a show that would wallow in that and get very heavy. So taking this lighter approach to it as a way in just was really interesting and a fun sort of a fun task to think about how to handle both those sides of things.”
Missing the Welsh sense of humour and energy, Rhys hasn’t been able to make it home much since the pandemic hit the globe, but the film and TV industry has certainly upped his home country’s profile since he left, with Disney+’s Willow currently filming here and Netflix’s Sex Education and Havoc, with Tom Hardy making the most of the locations and talent we have to offer.
“Nothing filmed here when I was growing up and now everything’s here!” he mused.
“I did some Welsh TV when I was younger, Pobol y Cwm, a few times, I did Glan Hafren for a while and I was in a coma for that one and I eventually died of food poisoning.”
Hawkeye is now streaming on Disney+, with two episodes available to launch the series.