Somewhere Boy, Somewhere Future: Lewis Gribben on Black Mirror & Blade Runner 2099

jumper & trousers 8ON8

Fresh off a standout turn in Somewhere Boy that earned him a BAFTA Scotland Award, Lewis Gribben is back on screen in a new episode of Black Mirror, one of television’s most culturally iconic and haunting anthologies. In Plaything, Gribben steps into the chaos of Charlie Brooker’s dystopian universe, where the lines between reality, tech, and morality blur into disturbing clarity. With a performance that swings from vulnerable to unhinged, he brings emotional intensity and rawness to a role that's tightly wound within the eerie, interconnected world of Bandersnatch.

We caught up with Lewis to talk about the psychological toll of playing emotionally charged characters, the risks posed by AI to the creative industries, and what it's like to join the world of Blade Runner 2099. Here, in his own words, Gribben reflects on the roles that shaped him and how he learned to let go, dig deep, and lose himself in some of television’s most unsettling stories.

Black Mirror returns! What is it like to be part of such a cult anthology series, and how did you tap into the unsettling energy that Black Mirror demands?

Lewis Gribben: Being part of Black Mirror is such an honour. I've been a massive fan of the show since it was first released on Channel 4, and then when it came over to Netflix. It is just iconic. I think they've got great storylines of different, various uses of technology and how horrifying they can be. It's just brilliant to be part of that world and the next season of Charlie Brooker's amazing mind: a mind that creates such lived-in, anthology worlds, where we can go from the different parts of the past, areas of the future, and the technologies he tackles in every episode. So, I'm feeling very privileged to be in one of his episodes for this year and to be part of one that's interconnected with Bandersnatch, with Will Poulter and Asim Chaudhry being in it, and getting to act alongside Peter Capaldi playing the same part, so it's great. How do I tap into the unsettling energy? You just have to kind of lose all sense of self-consciousness. I had to be the best I could be as an actor, open and available to perform any way that I was asked to, really get emotionally invested very quickly, let loose, be free, not be rigid at all and just be open to the direction I was given. And the more I am unhinged, the more that I'm overwhelmed as ‘Cameron’. The more extreme I push the emotions, the more it fits so well into the world of Black Mirror. Yeah, I just went crazy and took direction from our director and did my best with that.

Left: shirt, vest & shorts DOLCE & GABBANA, socks FALKE, shoes GRENSON • Right: vest & trousers AMIRI

Charlie Brooker's writing likes to address the dark side of technology. Now that AI is doing more and more of humans' work, do you believe it's bringing us a better tomorrow, or are we all being “slaves” to the machines?

LG: I think that AI is a very concerning thing - that it’s becoming more prevalent in culture, especially in artistic cultures, with animation, art, script-making, and acting. It's quite terrifying that a lot of people seemingly use it and have AI voice recognition of celebrities or people who are well known, and their voices are being modulated into computers, reading out, or their faces are being deep faked. It's just really concerning that a lot of people in general are not overly concerned about it. As an actor, it is terrifying to know that our jobs could be at risk, unless you are an actor of high profile, most actors could have work taken from them as a result of the various ways in which AI can be used.  It does concern me because I think it will eventually affect jobs and the creative industries in general. I'm hopeful that most people see sense and try and refrain from using it and don’t rely on it, because I think it kills creativity and people being interested in art, and seeing human emotions. People watching great performances that are human and true, they're authentic to the actors playing the characters and giving them genuine emotions. Hopefully, we don't go more dystopian and use more of it as time goes on.

If you could do over your character's destiny, would you alter anything? Why or why not?

LG: I wish I could change ‘Cameron Walker's’ journey in Black Mirror, in the episode Plaything, ultimately. I wish he had friends who genuinely cared about him, not just someone using him, using his flat for a drug operation. I wish he didn't go as far as he did with the violence of what he did, because ultimately, I think he was a lovely, genuinely good, person. I wouldn't change the fact that he met the ‘Thronglets’ and how much he cares about them, because I think it gave him something to fight for, a reason to do something beyond himself, and a compassionate connection, even just with these character creatures. I think it's lovely for him to have some sort of companion or friend. I would change how far he takes his protection of them, even though his intentions are good - I think he went a bit too far with that. If he was going to do what did with the ‘Thronglets’, I think it could be more to make everyone nicer without having to wipe their impulses and thoughts.

Looking back on your own career so far, is there one project which was a 'turning point' for you, or a film or TV show that first inspired your passion for acting?

LG: I think it'd be fairly easy for me to say that Somewhere Boy was a turning point for me. Having a lead role was an incredible experience that I hugely appreciated, because I had never had that kind of responsibility before. I really had to learn and do great at, I had to put myself through a lot of emotional vulnerability, and I think that role made people more aware of me than ever before. It definitely made me more visible to the industry: casting directors, directors, producers. Maybe living in Glasgow, a lot of people just don't care about you being an actor or stuff like that. You might get recognised here and there, but it hasn't changed my personal life too much, I'm grateful for that. But it elevated my career in the sense that I got seen for a lot more projects and got more noticed because of it. In terms of a film or a TV show that inspired me to act, the one that comes to my mind is Punch-Drunk Love. I felt like it was just so brilliant to see Adam Sandler–who at the time had done loads of silly comedies and dumb caricatures roles–in this emotional, off-beat, odd performance. It was the film that made me feel like I could do the same. He expressed something deeply profound about his loneliness, his weirdness, and his falling in love with someone who was also unusual, and he also had breakdowns when he was angry. I’d seen Adam Sandler one way and enjoyed those films, but then to watch him do a transformative performance when at the pinnacle of his comedy stuff, doing a dramatic, more offbeat acting role, made me think anything was possible. That film had a deep profound effect on me and made me want to explore my own emotions and therapies, and channel those into acting. Be brave and be bold kind of thing. I was into acting before that, but the power of his performance in that film, was I think what inspired me to want to go further and push it into a career potentially.

Left: blazer, vest & shorts DOLCE & GABBANA • Right: shirt & vest DOLCE & GABBANA

Your work in Somewhere Boy earned you serious recognition, including a BAFTA Scotland Award. How did that role challenge you as an actor?

LG: Somewhere Boy did challenge me, as I said previously, because I had to be very vulnerable and emotional, and allow myself to feel a lot of feelings that are in that script, about the wonderment of everyday life, pain, trauma, about feeling sad that you get your heart broken for the first time, and that you're out of step with the world. It challenged me because a lot of it felt real, emotional, and true to me, because I'm autistic, and I’ve had to deal with being different anyway and having to channel being different into a character. Thinking about your dad tells you the world's full of monsters and your mum got killed by monsters and you can't go outside, and for 18 years you think that's the truth, I think it was just about explaining what happens if someone lied to you your whole life, trying to protect you but ultimately damage you. The role just paralleled my life in a lot of ways, despite Pete Jackson who wrote it, not even knowing me.  It really helped me, but it was emotionally taxing too, even though it's not my life and it wasn't based on me at all. It felt very eerily similar to my life even through different circumstances, but confronting that your life's been a lie, stuck in the past, with limited exposure to the real world, made me think deeply of how I would react to that situation and being emotionally open to it, despite it being really taxing on my mental state, and staying in accent the whole time (even though I’m not a method actor by any stretch of the imagination). It was difficult to allow myself to be that because it started to feel like the character blended into me, and I blended into ‘Danny’, so it was mentally taxing, and I was very drained after I finished it. Obviously, I was very grateful to get a Scottish BAFTA, it was a shock to me, I didn't think I didn’t think I would win. I was a little bit hopeful that I'd get nominated but never to win, that was quite unreal, surprising, and very humbling and emotional. So yes, it's certainly a benchmark moment that I'm proud of, and it probably remains my, not to be narcissistic or arrogant but just to be honest, best acting. It's a hard thing to live up to, but it's something I'm very proud of.

You've developed a reputation for performing complex, offbeat characters. How do you prepare for these diverse roles, and what is your process?

LG: I don't know, it's difficult to say.  I try not to have too much of a process. I learn the lines, read the scripts a couple of times, and try and connect to the characters. We’ve all felt emotion, right? So, I just look for any kind of emotion that a character's feeling, and then just relate it to my own life. I think you're always going to bring yourself to a character. I try and do that as much as possible: I try and see where the differences in the character are but still think of times when I felt like that character, because it's my way in, to find the commonality. Every character, or actor, or person has felt angry, sad, upset, superior over somebody, smirky, powerful, everything. Every emotion under the sun has been felt by a human being. I just try to find my “in” with the character. Like when they feel hurt, happy, cocky or funny. I think everyone has done that in their life, so I just look at the emotions and think about the times when I've been like that and channel it into the character. I don't know if I've necessarily done complex performances, but maybe I'm just trying to be very grounded about that and quite instinctual. I listen to the director, or when I'm auditioning, I listen to either my partner or my friends who are doing my audition tapes with me, and they give me ideas, and I try and come up with ideas myself. I just try to have fun with it and explore every avenue, and not to get too much into the science of acting, because it kills the instinctual emotional impulse. So, I just prepare like any other role. I learn lines, read the script, hope that I can bring myself into it and perform in a way that feels authentic, and let the process be what the process is.

Left: vest & trousers AMIRI, socks FLAKE, shoes GRENSON • Right: vest FENG CHEN WANG, trousers 8ON8

Lewis, you're in Blade Runner 2099, part of a universe envisioned by Ridley Scott. Does his presence influence your creative choices or deepen your connection to the story? If your character had sat down to speak with ‘Rick Deckard’ or ‘Officer K’ from the previous films, what do you believe they would say to each other?

LG: Unfortunately, I never met Ridley Scott, but obviously, his vision was felt throughout the TV show, because he's an executive on it, and I'm sure he had some say in how the story and the world, should dictate itself when we were filming it, or beforehand. But I felt that, without giving too much away, stylistically and visually, it is very much what you remember from the films, in terms of the colour scheme, the clothes, and the dystopian underworld of LA. It all feels very reminiscent of that visually. I think there's going to be some references to both films that people will appreciate when they see the series. I think my character in Blade Runner would probably try to be quite cocky if he had to speak to ‘Rick Deckard’ or ‘Officer K’. He can be quite challenging at times. It depends on how much ‘Deckard’ or ‘Officer K’ pressured him. He is a bit of a fighter, my guy, and even though he's quite naive, he's certainly not above trying to fight, despite his differences, shall we say, without saying what they are.

Blade Runner is all about the future, so is Black Mirror. Would you want to know your own future, or would you rather just let life be a surprise to you? And what roots you in a world that's constantly shifting beneath your feet?

LG: If I could see my own future, I'd be a bit curious to see how well I've done in the next 10, or 20 years. But part of me would not want to know because I don't want to alter it. You don't want to stop yourself from getting a job, I guess. As in, if you're like, “Oh my God, I know I'm going to get that job” and then you're going to go into it, and then you're too cocky, but then you don't get it, then you alter it, reality. But then I also would be a bit fearful of like, “oh my God, what if I ended up homeless or something”. I don't know, I'd like life to surprise me. Maybe some great stuff would happen. I would rather see what's going on and find out, let things happen in the moment, you know, otherwise It wouldn't be fun. You wouldn’t love life. There'd be no shock and that's a human emotion. What roots me? A few things. Probably my partner telling me that I need to get certain things for the flat. Trying to save money as the world gets crazier. Probably being Glaswegian. The news keeps me grounded because it makes me realise that, you know, the world could capitulate at any moment. So, I try and just live each day as it comes and find joy in the world as much as humanly possible. And I just try to be a nice person. I try to always work hard on the craft side of things when I'm doing that, and when I'm not, I watch films, I play video games... I think about all the bills or life admin you’ve got to do as a jobbing actor slash adult, so yes, stuff like that keeps me grounded. Being aware of what's going on in the world but not constantly looking at it, because it would just depress us all the time. But mainly the people around me, they keep me quite grounded.

Interview / Lucas Pontidas, Managing Editor, PIBE

This PIBE exclusive has been produced by:
Photography / David Reiss
Styling / Gary Salter
Grooming / Evan Cahill
Photo Assistant / Stefania Carli
Talent / Lewis Gribben