For Tom Cullen, acting was a natural choice of career as it was in his blood. The 37-year-old, who is known for his roles in ITV’s Downton Abbey and History’s Knightfall, is the son of two former actors.
Speaking to WalesOnline’s podcast In the Spotlight from his home in east London, Aberystwyth-born Tom admitted that he was inspired to go into acting after watching his parents teaching other performers. “I grew up in a rehearsal room where I was surrounded by actors and performers,” he explained. “My parents stopped acting before I was born and alongside teaching, they were also writers and directors. My primary school was next to the rehearsal space so as soon as I finished school I would have to sit in and watch the actors act - I completely fell in love with it!
“I was fascinated by seeing adults still be kids and it kind of infected me, I guess. I then moved to Cardiff and my high school was, in some ways, the antithesis of that. It’s not a very artsy place and I had some stuff going on at home when I was a teenager and I just moved further and further away from acting.” Listen to In the Spotlight with Tom Cullen below.
