Tom Stourton interview
Tom Stourton breaks away from Totally Tom to star as dysfunctional Dan...
What is Siblings?
Siblings is about a brother and a sister both in their twenties (Dan and Hannah), who live together in the sister's flat. They are both hopeless and extremely self-destructive (but in a funny way hopefully). While the show does focus on stuff like not being able to get a job or have any kind of meaningful relationship the spirit of the show is very big and silly. Despite being terrible for each other's well-being they are sort of dependent on each other as well, as there is no one else as useless as them in the universe.
What attracted you to Siblings?
I'd love to say that I have the luxury of cherry picking scripts. The truth is I'll essentially do anything (within reason). With Siblings I was just incredibly lucky that the thing happened to be such an amazing and funny script. Some comedy sometimes feels quite light on the jokes when you watch it, more heavy on the drama. With Siblings, I really admired how the writer, Keith Akushie, just packed in as many jokes as possible and always went for the funniest option. Even if this meant me getting electrocuted by a dildo.
Do you see any similarities between you and Dan?
Well, a major flaw with Dan is that he lacks any kind of self-awareness so perhaps there are loads of similarities but I'm just not aware of them. He likes gaming which I'm ashamed to say I do. Although he seems not to see that there's anything weird about inviting three 14-year-olds boys over to game with him in their lunch break. Which I do. Promise.
What was working with Charlotte like?
She was brilliant. She's a fantastic actress and it was really fun watching her work when we weren't in scenes together. It was also really helpful that we got on because we could always encourage each other if a joke wasn't working or something. We were actually both at Bristol University together but never crossed paths. Perhaps deep down we knew that one day we would be friends and there was no rush. That or she just avoided me cos she actually hates me.
Would she make a good sister?
I've already got a sister. Don't want to be disloyal.
Siblings has some brilliant guests in the series, what was it like working with them?
It was great, particularly as lots of them were guys and girls I'd met doing live comedy over the past couple of years, including Tom Palmer who I'm in a double act with.
Your double act is called Totally Tom?
We're a sketch act although we haven't done live stuff for a while. We've done some TV stuff, and appeared as two characters on Live At The Electric on BBC Three. We try to write as much as possible for whatever format though. At the moment most of the things we do are for a YouTube channel called Mr Box.
How would you describe your style of comedy?
Our live stuff has tended to be pretty broad - I wouldn't say we had a particular style. Sketch comedy as you probably know is different to stand-up, as you're sort of doing mini-plays. I wouldn't say it's the coolest type of comedy, more like the comedy equivalent of the nerdy older brother who hangs about with his younger brother's mates and still lives at home with his parents. That last bit is becoming particularly relevant to me.
What's your favourite comedy on TV at the moment?
I like all kinds of comedy. I was brought up on stuff like Red Dwarf and Blackadder, but my favourite two things of all time remain Dumb And Dumber and Alan Partridge. As for new stuff, the best thing I've seen is Eastbound And Down. And Siblings, obviously.