With The Fantastic Four: First Steps recently releasing in cinemas, Bertie Caplan plays Wiseass Kid, and the film stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn, and he will appearing in the upcoming feature film Brighton Storeys, which is directed by John Jencks, and an unannounced audiobook. Bertie worked with Timothée Chalamet in Wonka as Shoeshine Boy, and he has made guest appearances playing Rafe Dombey in Carnival Row – Series 2 and Dylan in Series 10 of Doc Martin. Having experience in voiceover, Bertie voiced Bubble in Tulipop for his first regular voiceover role, and he previously played Spirit 1 in The Magic Flute. As a stage actor, Bertie originated the role of Luke in the world premiere at the National Theatre of the musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches, and he had his professional theatre debut at the Donmar Warehouse as Bodo Muller in Watch on the Rhine. In 2021, Bertie released the anti-bullying single No More along with a music video, and the single reached #1 in the iTunes singer-songwriter charts. Chatting with us, Bertie answered our questions about filming as Wiseass Kid in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, working on the upcoming feature film Brighton Storeys, being on set of Wonka, his voiceover roles and originating Luke in the world premiere of Roald Dahl’s The Witches at the National Theatre.

In the new release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, you can be seen playing Wiseass Kid, how did you find the experience on set of the film and working with the rest of the cast?

On the set of The Fantastic Four, I had the best time working with amazing people, such as the amazing other kids that were in my scenes, who I am now very close friends with, and with all the cast and crew.

How did you feel finding out you’d be joining the new The Fantastic Four film and how much did you know about the franchise before auditioning?

When I found out I would be a part of this film, I was very excited because it had always been my dream to be a part of a Marvel film. But when I got the audition through, it didn’t say what it was for and it was all under wraps so I only found out what it was on my first costume fitting.

Is there anything you can tell us about the upcoming feature film Brighton Storeys, which is directed by John Jencks, and what are you looking forward to for the release?

Brighton Storeys is a beautiful film and it has a huge cast. I think what I love the most about it is how real it is and how strong the bonds between all the characters are. I am looking forward to seeing how the audience responds to the film because it is not like anything you would have seen before.

What was it like filming as Shoeshine Boy in Wonka alongside Timothée Chalamet and what are some of your favourite memories from being involved with the film?

Filming Wonka was so much fun and being a part of that film was such an honour. The set was incredible and working with Timothée was great. It was filmed a very long time ago and during COVID, so it was quite a surreal experience. I remember sometimes I would just go to set to be tutored for a day in costume and then come home.

How was it playing guest characters Rafe Dombey in Carnival Row – Series 2, and Dylan in Doc Martin – Series 10 and can you tell us about your episodes?

Playing Rafe Dombey was so much fun and this was my first ever proper TV project, so it seemed very exciting for me being eight at the time. We filmed in Prague and I also worked alongside some incredible actors, who I learned a lot from.

Doc Martin was also such a fun experience because I had always watched the programme as a younger kid so being a part of it was so exciting. Cornwall was also so pretty.

As a voiceover actor, you voice Bubble in Tulipop, how is it getting into character and how is it having Bubble as your first regular voiceover role?

Bubble as a character is so kind and sweet, and also, you see his vulnerability throughout the series, so I really enjoyed playing him. I finished the whole series about two years ago, but I had worked on it for four years straight so it was sad to say goodbye. It was so interesting learning how to voice act as well and I had a great time getting used to it.

What did a typical day in the recording studio look like for Tulipop and how different do you find voiceovers to on-screen acting and theatre work?

A typical day in the studio would often be heading to the studio after school, getting the scripts in the recording room and having a look through, then we would join the Zoom with the director and producer, and sometimes music director, and we would start reading the different parts. We would usually get through about four to six episodes every session and we’d be finished by early evening.

You also voiced Spirit 1 in the 2022 feature film The Magic Flute, what was this like?

This was a very interesting experience because when I actually recorded the parts for the character, I thought and had been told it was only the audition, and at the end, the director said ‘Perfect, see you at the premiere’. This was also another voiceover so I had fun taking part in it.

How was it being part of the world premiere of Roald Dahl’s The Witches at the National Theatre, and what was it like originating the role of Luke alongside Frankie Keita and Vishal Soni?

I had the most memorable time playing Luke in The Witches and miss it a lot to this day. Being able to play to sometimes 2000 people a day was exhilarating and such a different experience to filming because you would always have to adapt to the audience on the day, which was a great skill to learn. I also made so many friends that I am still close with and had such a fantastic time being my first musical.

How was it performing in a musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s novel and telling the story of The Witches?

I personally think there was no better story to tell and I so enjoyed being able to tell it to so many people every day. Playing Luke was a huge responsibility, but also an incredible opportunity, and I felt so proud being able to share the story that we had all worked so hard to create together.

What was it like making your professional theatre debut in Watch on the Rhine at the Donmar Warehouse in 2021/22 as Bodo Muller?

Making my professional theatre debut was so exciting for me despite me always saying when I was younger that I would never do theatre. The play was quite a difficult topic but we worked very hard to get the message of the story across to the audience and I really loved playing the character Bodo.

We understand you have been part of workshops for the National Theatre and Michael Gracey, what are workshops like to do?

I hugely love workshops because it is always so engaging being a part of the first steps of some of these new projects which may or may not have a future, but being able to develop new pieces of theatre is so rewarding and interesting.

You released your anti-bullying single No More in 2021, which went to #1 on the iTunes singer-songwriter charts; can you tell us about the song and how was it seeing the response to the release?

Well, I have to start by saying that No More is not my most proud achievement because despite the message being very important, I definitely needed some singing lessons as a younger child! All jokes aside, the response to No More was very positive so it was great to see it had a big impact. It also surprised me so much when it reached the top of the charts.

What was No More like to write and record and how was it filming the music video?

I think I really enjoyed writing No More but I don’t have that much memory of it since it was relatively long ago. This was my first chance at writing a piece of music, and with the help of the producer, we put it together in the end. It was also a great learning experience for me to write and produce music for the first time.

Where does your love of performing come from and how did you get into it?

I have had a love of the arts since I was very young and growing up in a family where I was surrounded by it from a very young age. I learned to love it even more and had already learned so much from my parents. I had always been doing acting classes until I was about seven or eight years old, but then I got the chance through my acting classes to audition for an agency and then it all just sprung together from there.

Do you have any favourite films, TV and theatre shows to watch?

My favourite films are The Shawshank Redemption and Whiplash because I was completely starstruck by the beauty of the cinematography and storytelling, and I also love Star Wars as a collection of films as well. I really enjoyed Stranger Things and Band of Brothers. For theatre, I’d say my favourites are Dear Evan Hansen, MJ The Musical, and Benjamin Button.

How do you like to spend your free time?

In my free time, I play a lot of sports at school and outside, and also love writing and playing music. I play the drums a lot and also play percussion and ukulele.

What are you hoping the rest of the year brings for you and do you have any projects coming up that you can talk about?

I hope that the rest of the year brings more chances to learn and grow as an actor and artist. I recently did the National Youth Theatre two-week course in London, which was so inspiring and reminded me of how much I love being creative. I actually do have an audiobook that I was a part of coming out later this year, which should be exciting!

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