Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Industry’s Harry Lawtey

Harry Lawtey is a rising young actor whose stock is on the rise. He’s captivated audiences with his nuanced performance as Robert Spearing in HBO Max’s Industry.

The must-see drama follows a young group of bankers and traders trying to make their way in the financial world in the aftermath of the 2008 collapse.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Harry about his career, Industry, tapping into the different layers of his character’s vulnerability, and what he hopes to explore in Season 2!

PC: How did you discover your passion for acting?
Harry: Oh God—that’s way back. It was probably when I was in secondary school. I was always one of those kids, even as a toddler, who was running around the house. I always used to dress up. We had a costume box in my house, and I’d come in as a pirate or some other thing. I’ve always had a feeling towards performing, but in terms of properly, it would be at secondary school when I must have been about eleven or twelve.

My school did a production of Oliver Twist and I played the Artful Dodger. I absolutely loved it. I’d never done anything like that before and it felt like the best thing, being part of this big cast and putting on this show. I went for it after that.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Harry: In terms of my development, it would definitely be going to drama school. I went to a place called Drama Centre when I was eighteen. That was what really made me realize that you have to take it seriously and that it’s a craft—not too seriously, of course—but you have to look at it as a craft and as a job. You have to hone your skills and develop yourself as a person and as a professional.

Then, I’d probably say the next thing after that was Industry and getting this job. It was on a different scale to what I’d ever experienced before. It pushed me in a big way professionally and challenged me to try and raise my level to the other people that I was working with. That was a big deal.

PC: You have a theater background. What has the transition been like going from the stage to the screen?
Harry: It’s been really nice. Obviously, not all actors get the opportunity to work in both. To go from one to the other in fairly quick succession was brilliant. They’re completely different and then also exactly the same. At the end of the day, it’s all acting. It’s mainly the same skills that are required, but it’s a different process.

What I really noticed is that with film, you have to turn up on the day and give it all, and then relinquish control and leave it to the hands of someone else who’s much more of an expert than you are to build the show and put the jigsaw together, whereas on the stage, you have complete control. You decide what goes out and you decide what the audience sees right there in the moment. That was the biggest difference—letting go of that control and being a part of a team that’s much bigger than yourself.

PC: Like you were saying earlier, you’re a part of the cast of Industry. The series has been incredibly well received. What do you think is resonating most with audiences?
Harry: Even though this is a show about highfliers in many ways, they’re all working at the top of international finance. It’s high stakes for all of them, and that in many ways is a world that a lot of us can’t relate to. I certainly can’t relate to it. But despite that, the audience is seeing that these are vulnerable, cracked, unusual, nuanced characters regardless of that, and they’re young people who are trying to work out who they are and who they want to be, which is something that I think everyone can relate to.

PC: You’ve said in previous interviews that a lot of your preparation involves journaling and creating a backstory for your character. Robert was somebody that was very different than you initially thought when you got the audition, and we see that duality throughout the first season. How did that impact your prep work and how you approached this character?
Harry: When you’re playing a character, you always have to do more work than the audience. You’ve got to go right to the edge of the character’s limits in a way that the audience maybe doesn’t initially. An audience is much more passive; they get it all on a plate for them. They make their own minds up, whereas if you’re playing your character, you have to know his vulnerabilities, know his honesty, and sympathize with him at the end of the day.

As you say, when I first auditioned for the part, I thought he was this completely macho, unlikeable guy. I was being told by the writers constantly, “No, no, he’s not that. He’s really not. He’s really nice. You’ve got to look a little bit deeper.” Once I did, I found out that he’s a very vulnerable person who just wants to be liked. He just wants friends. He just wants to be accepted in a community that he aspires to be a part of. That is much richer and more enjoyable to play. It becomes three-dimensional. It becomes a character with an arc, and that’s what every actor is looking for.

PC: Robert has a lot of really interesting dynamics with the rest of the characters. Did you have a favorite relationship that you got to explore in Season 1? Is there a relationship that you want to further explore in Season 2?
Harry: Yeah, there were plenty of relationships I really liked. The one with the two leading women in the show: Myha’la [Herrold] and Marisa [Abela], who play Harper and Yasim. That’s a really interesting three-way dynamic. He gets caught in the middle of their conflict and becomes a part of it, which is really interesting and keeps you on your toes. Then there’s the whole thing with Gus. That’s a really special relationship for the show. It’s the only relationship in the show that was already there before we meet these characters, so to play a relationship that has context and years of history is really nice, amongst a show where everyone’s meeting each other for the first time.

Then there are some other really fun ones, the relationship with Greg and how Greg is in the middle of this crisis. Robert is there and gets involved in it. Then there’s another crisis with Clement as well as his boss whom Robert looks up to. Even though Clement treats him with a bit of disdain, he takes them under his wing. It’s a very complex dynamic. The show is full of these. Those are the most interesting to explore where even you as the actor is not sure where the character stands with these people and whether someone is being controlled or is controlling the relationship, and whether it’s healthy or toxic. That middle ground is something that the show loves and something that we loved exploring as actors.

PC: There are a lot of parallels that you can draw between the world of finance and acting. Was there a scene or a moment in Season 1 that hit really close to home for you?
Harry: It’s interesting. They seem worlds apart, acting and finance, but in some ways, they’re really not. A lot of it was close to home in a way because for us as the main cast, we’re all pretty young people who’ve been thrown into this huge environment. That’s really similar to leaving drama school, which only happened for us like a year or two ago. Everyone wants to get along and do well, and be accepted into this community that they want to be a part of, but then also there’s the cruel realization that it’s a competition to do that in a way.

There are lots of people who want to do that and not everyone can. Both industries are oversubscribed and a high-risk lifestyle, but potentially with high rewards as well. We could really relate to that and a lot of it made it easy for me and the other younger guys on the show because we’re experiencing within Industry what we experienced in real life. We all had each other like they do on the show.

PC: This is a breakout role for you. When you look back at the experience so far, what’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learned as a man and as an artist?
Harry: That’s a good question. It’s a big question. I would say probably going back to a little bit of what I said earlier about relinquishing control and reminding yourself that you can only do so much. I think because we’re all young and we’re desperate to do well and we want the show to be a success, we put our heart and soul into it. You desperately want to do everything you can. You realize that’s not conducive to good work. All you can do is turn up on the day and do your best and do what you’ve prepared. A jigsaw is much bigger than yourself. You’re not the only one on the show. There are plenty of people in the show and everyone is equally important, and it only really works if everyone bounces off one another. We all realized that early on. It was great because it forged a great team ethic between us, which is what makes it fun as well at the end of the day.

PC: The show was recently picked up for Season 2. Where would you like to see Robert’s storyline head?
Harry: I’m not really sure. I’ve heard they’ve got big plans for it, according to the writers, which sound exciting. He could either spiral down or maybe sort himself out and get back on track. Both would be equally fun. I’m just as interested as you are.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Harry: The Graham Norton Show. I love The Graham Norton Show.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Harry: You can’t beat it, actually, they mention it in Industry. Notting Hill is always fun.

PC: Favorite book?
Harry: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It was the first adult book that I read when I was a teenager that blew my mind.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Harry: Billy Elliot.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Harry: Mika. His first album was a classic.

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Harry: I have mutual friends with George MacKay. They always say that I remind them of him and that we’d get along.

To keep up with Harry, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Industry on HBO Max today.