Sebastian Denis de Souza (born 19 April 1993)
[''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England and Wales, 1916–2005'' B100D] is an English actor. He is best known for playing
Matty Levan in the
E4 teen drama series ''
Skins''.
He has since starred in the period television series ''
The Borgias'' from 2012 to 2013, ''
Medici: Masters of Florence'' (2018), and ''
The Great'' (2020).
Early life
De Souza is the second of the two sons of Elinor Kelly and
Chris de Souza,
an opera producer of
Goan
Goans ( Romi Konkani: , ) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, formerly part of Portuguese India (''Estado Português da Índia''). They form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, ...
descent. He was born in
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
,
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
, and has an older brother named Tristan.
He grew up in
Boxford, Berkshire, and was a boarder at
Brockhurst and Marlston House School developing a fascination with theatre, music, and writing.
At the age of 11 he decided to dramatise ''
The Willows at Christmas'',
William Horwood's adaptation of ''
The Wind in the Willows
''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and get ...
'', and performed it in the barn with his classmates. In 2006 when he was 13, he starred in the short film ''Hangman'', premiered at the
Corn Exchange
A corn exchange is a building where merchants trade grains. The word "corn" in British English denotes all cereal grains, such as wheat and barley; in the United States these buildings were called grain exchanges. Such trade was common in towns ...
. It was a story of witchcraft in the mould of ''
Macbeth
''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
'', that he co-wrote with the Prep School's Film Club.
He went on to
St Edward's School, Oxford,
where in 2006 he won a music award as a pianist, clarinettist and singer.
He later completed
A-levels
The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...
in English, History and Philosophy. He also attended acting workshops at the
Watermill Theatre, near
Newbury. At the
North Wall Arts Centre, he performed lead roles in school productions of ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...
'' playing
Puck, ''
Great Expectations
''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by English author Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. The novel is a bildungsroman and depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens' second novel, after ''Dav ...
'' as
Pip,
C. P. Taylor's ''
Good
In most contexts, the concept of good denotes the conduct that should be preferred when posed with a choice between possible actions. Good is generally considered to be the opposite of evil. The specific meaning and etymology of the term and its ...
'' as Maurice, and ''
Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...
'' as
Henry
Henry may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters
* Henry (surname)
* Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone
Arts and entertainmen ...
,
which earned him a drama prize in 2010. In the same year he became a member of the
National Youth Theatre
The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...
.
Career
After a brief appearance in
Nick Ross
Nicholas David Ross (born 7 August 1947) is an English radio and television presenter. During the 1980s and 1990s he was one of the most ubiquitous of British broadcasters but is best known for hosting the BBC Television programme ''Crimewatc ...
's documentary series ''
The Truth About Crime'',
de Souza got his break on television at the age of 17, when he was cast as
Matty Levan in the
fifth and
sixth instalment of cult drama ''
Skins''. In 2012 he joined the cast of historical drama ''
The Borgias'', created by
Neil Jordan
Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish filmmaker and writer. He first achieved recognition for his short story collection, ''Night in Tunisia (short story collection), Night in Tunisia,'' which won the Guardian Fiction Prize in ...
for the American TV network
Showtime and filmed at
Korda Studios, near
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. His character,
Alfonso d'Aragona, first appeared in
The Confession and closed his run at the end of the third and final season. While in Hungary, he was filmmaker with photographer Benjamin Lebus for ''Evelyne's World'', a concept short film about the
allegory of the Cave starring
Evelyne Brochu.
De Souza's first big screen role is in
Julian Gilbey's thriller ''
Plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...
''. Production took place in early 2013 on location in Miami and London. As a screenplay writer, he made his cinematic debut in ''
Kids in Love'', a film produced by
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...
with de Souza also taking a title role. In 2014 he was cast as the male lead in a new
Freeform show called ''
Recovery Road'', which was broadcast for a single season in 2016.
In addition to his acting career, de Souza is a singer and musician. In 2011 he featured as a guest vocalist for ''Cubiq'' in their ''Say''
EP released by Hidden Label. The tune, related to current
electro club music, has been remixed by
Matanza and Timmy P in an alternative version that fits the traditional
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
template. In 2016 the ''
Recovery Road'' cast including de Souza performed for the spring finale a
musical ensemble
A musical ensemble, also known as a music group, musical group, or a band is a group of people who perform Instrumental music, instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist ...
version of ''Lean On Me'' by
Bill Withers
William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me ( ...
.
De Souza also works in the field of producing. In 2013 he co-founded with actor
Will Poulter
William Jack Poulter (born 28 January 1993) is an English actor. He first gained recognition in '' School of Comedy'' (2009) and then for his role as Eustace Scrubb in the adventure film '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Tread ...
the TV and film
production company
A production company, production house or production studio is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television show, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and video ...
''Good Soil''. The following year he created his own
brand management
In marketing, brand management refers to the process of controlling how a brand is perceived in the market (economics), market. Tangible elements of brand management include the look, price, and packaging of the product itself; intangible element ...
called ''de Souza'' aimed at helping young storytellers, producers or filmmakers develop their scripts.
In March 2021 de Souza's first novel, ''Kid: A History of The Future'', was published by Offliner Press, a publisher established and owned by de Souza himself.
Personal life
With his family, de Souza annually runs drama courses for 9 to 16 year olds at a home-based Centre for Music Drama and Art.
In 2013 he has been made a patron of The Globe Theatre Education Fund, which runs drama projects for schools around the country, mostly
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
an.
Through a practical experience provided by orchestras he can sing in the
tenor
A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...
range and play different instruments.
Filmography
Film
Television
Stage
Music videos
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:de Souza, Sebastian
Living people
1993 births
21st-century English male actors
Goan people
Male actors from Oxford
British people of Goan descent
British people of Portuguese descent
English film producers
English male screenwriters
English male Shakespearean actors
English male stage actors
English male film actors
English male television actors
English people of Portuguese descent
English screenwriters
Male actors from Berkshire
National Youth Theatre members
People educated at St Edward's School, Oxford
Actors from West Berkshire District