‘Black Bag’ movie stars Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender as spies
In Steven Soderbergh’s “Black Bag,” Michael Fassbender plays a British double agent whose lover (Cate Blanchett) might also be a turncoat.
Tom Burke is on a covert mission to infiltrate Hollywood.
The dapper British actor has been ubiquitous in recent years, with dynamic turns opposite Florence Pugh (“The Wonder”) and Anya Taylor-Joy (“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”), and plum roles in TNT’s “The Lazarus Project” and HBO’s “C.B. Strike: The Ink Black Heart.” But it’s his scene-stealing work in erotic thriller “Black Bag” (in theaters now) that could book him on the fast train to stardom, playing an MI6 lothario named Freddie Smalls who gets entangled in a game of deception with Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett’s married spies.
“Freddie seemed very spicy and that’s always interesting,” Burke says on an early morning call from the U.K., where he’s performing onstage with Blanchett in Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull.” The bewhiskered London native says he’s never had an experience quite like these last few weeks, juggling interviews during the day and shows at night.
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“It’s quite a heavy year, but luckily, I’m having a great time,” Burke says. To relax each morning before the chaos ensues, “I tend to do Wordle, but then someone told me that you shouldn’t look at your phone for an hour after you wake up. So now I’m just waiting to do Wordle.”
Burke, 43, walks us through his prolific career so far:
Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Black Bag’ is a star-making vehicle for Tom Burke
In Steven Soderbergh’s “Black Bag,” George (Fassbender) is tasked with sniffing out a traitor within his intelligence agency, which could be his colleague, Freddie, or beguiling wife Kathryn (Blanchett). The story unfolds like an Edward Albee play with a heavy dose of John le Carré, as George gathers a small group of double agents for a delectable feast, where he attempts to pinpoint the culprit.
“I loved the way the central relationship between George and Kathryn was written,” Burke says. “It’s a very extreme lens on something quite universal within relationships,” taking a “really clever and thrilling” dive into the trust and faith between a longtime couple.
For his part, Burke reckons that he’s a decent liar, although he’d be “fascinated” to take a polygraph test and find out for sure: “But I wouldn’t really want to do it on the spot. I’d like to have one at home so I could play around with it and interrogate myself.”
Tom Burke has a ‘sentimental’ connection with late ‘Harry Potter’ star Alan Rickman
Burke comes from a small dynasty of English actors: His parents, David Burke and Anna Calder-Marshall, are renowned Shakespeare players in the U.K., while his godfather, the late Alan Rickman, portrayed Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” franchise. Coincidentally, Rickman played the same role as Burke in a 1981 production of “The Seagull.”
He says he can “often” feel his godfather’s presence in the theater with him: “It might be sentimental of me, but I often imagine actors who have passed sitting in the upper circle.” Burke adds there have been talks of bringing the sold-out production stateside after its London run ends next month.
“That would be lovely,” he says. “I really love New York. My shoulders drop about two inches every time I get off the plane, and then they go right back up as soon as I get back to London.”
The British actor doesn’t ‘tend to think’ about his heartthrob status
Burke had his U.S. breakthrough in 2019’s “The Souvenir,” picking up multiple nominations from critics’ groups for playing the bad boyfriend to Honor Swinton Byrne (daughter of Tilda Swinton). The romantic drama, executive produced by Martin Scorsese, helped catapult him into Oscar-nominated movies with Gary Oldman (“Mank”) and Bill Nighy (“Living”), as well as a small part in Netflix’s “The Crown.”
In the last couple of years, he’s been stopped by more and more strangers “who actually know my name,” Burke says with a laugh. He’s also become something of an internet boyfriend, dubbed a “sex symbol” and “heartthrob.” For any actor, “it’s good to be aware of what that currency is for you,” Burke demurs. “But I don’t tend to think about it. It’s not something I’ve yoked my career on.”
Tom Burke’s dream is to make a ‘Back to the Future’ movie
Next up, Burke will co-star with Michelle Yeoh and Hunter Schafer in Prime Video series “Blade Runner 2099,” a TV continuation of the popular sci-fi property.
Should the opportunities arise, he would feel “incredibly lucky” to join either the James Bond franchise or the forthcoming “Harry Potter” show. “But I suppose if I’m being honest, the other one that’s really up there for me is ‘Back to the Future,’ ” Burke says. Although director Robert Zemeckis has squashed rumors of a fourth film, the actor would love to inhabit that universe someday.
“Those movies are just so good,” Burke says. “I watched them growing up, and whenever they’re on, I just can’t turn the telly off. They’re kind of perfect.”
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