For Bruce Herbelin-Earle’s professional stage and tour debut, he plays Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr Ripley and working with a cast including Ed McVey as Tom Ripley and Maisie Smith as Marge Sherwood. The Talented Mr Ripley is the first major stage adaptation of the novel, and Bruce is directed by Mark Leipacher, with the tour currently booking until April 2026 at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre. As a screen actor, Bruce most recently played Shorty Hunt in the feature film The Boys in the Boat, with George Clooney directing, and he attended the film premieres in December 2023 in both London and Los Angeles. Bruce is probably best-known for playing Marcus across all episodes of the award-winning series Free Rein, which was released on Netflix from 2017 to 2019 and can still be streamed on the platform. Answering our questions, Bruce talks to us about continuing touring as Dickie Greenleaf in The Talented Mr Ripley, having the play as his professional stage and tour debut, being directed by George Clooney for the feature film The Boys in the Boat and his time playing Marcus in Free Rein.

What are you looking forward to most for continuing your run in The Talented Mr Ripley and how are you finding the experience touring for the first time?

I’m most looking forward to being on the road and performing in all of the UK’s major venues. Each week, we’ll pack up our show and travel to our next destination. What a blessing it is, as my first theatre job, to be able to travel and experience all these different, beautiful environments. Priceless experiences!

This is the first-ever UK Tour of The Talented Mr Ripley, and it is the first major stage adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel; what is it like bringing the story to the stage and can you tell us about the show?

With the success of the film and the recent Netflix series, I can’t believe it’s taken this long to bring the story to the stage! We definitely delve into the story deeper than either of the screen formats, whilst still managing to condense all the important parts of Patrica Highsmith’s novel into a two-hour viewing window.

The show is electric and fast-paced. Ed McVey, a phenomenal actor and our Ripley, never leaves the stage. The entire show navigates around his environmental changes from New York to Italy and transitions effortlessly, aided by the ‘light cage’ that the lighting designer, Zeynep Kepekli, has created. It’s beautiful, naturalistic and pure joy to act within.

Was there anything that drew you to the role of Dickie Greenleaf and how would you describe the character?

He’s such fun to play. I think Jude Law did an incredible job, and I’ve stolen a few mannerisms from him and added them into some sequences. My Dickie is a little sterner and controlling. There are moments of my Dickie where you don’t know whether he’s going to slap or kiss Tom. He’s a lot more unpredictable. When considering the time period and class differences between Tom and Dickie I’m finding that there’s so much subtext to play in the moments Dickie doesn’t speak and where Ripley is conducting himself in soliloquy, directing them at the audience. You’ll warm to Dickie throughout the show and see he’s just as troubled; his own insecurities boiling and bubbling under the smooth, charismatic surface that he wants everyone to perceive.

How does it feel to be making your professional stage debut in the show and how different are you finding this project to screen work?

It’s come out of nowhere, at a time when I really needed something to come through. I was recommended to Thomas Hopkins through a casting director called Rob Kelly. Rob cast me in my first TV job, Free Rein. It proves that even the connections you make very early on will come back and provide surprising opportunities.

I’m hugely grateful to be working at all; the fact that it’s such a long engagement period is the cherry on the cake. There is big talk of going to the West End in 2026, so I’m going to hold onto my hat and prepare for the best!

I’ve not been on stage since I left school, 10 years ago, but I don’t feel like the theatre has ever left me. It feels like I’m dusting off my younger self and tapping back into the community collaboration that I grew up surrounded by all those years ago. I didn’t go to drama school, so the opportunities for being seen for theatre projects have been few and far between due to me not having the school credit, which is understandable. My plan was to get some screen credits under my belt and then turn my focus on theatre as my form of validation that I’m an actor worth my salt – I just didn’t expect it to come around so quickly. I’m very grateful.

How is it being directed by Mark Leipacher, and what was it like reading his script for the first time?

Mark’s direction is fantastic. I’ve very much enjoyed working with him. He’s a collaborative director and welcomes any and every bold idea. He’s also a very gracious man and likeable – any actor would be lucky to spend time with him on a project! His script is deeply rooted in all the necessary storytelling parts of the novel, and he has created a beautiful adaptation that we are excited to present around the country. Whether you’re a fan of Patricia Highsmith’s novel or haven’t read it at all, our stage show certainly takes you on a beautiful and terrifying journey into the mind of Tom Ripley.

What has it been like meeting the rest of the cast, which includes Ed McVey as Tom Ripley and Maisie Smith as Marge Sherwood, and have you worked with any of them previously?

I’m surrounded by 10/10 actors. The entire cast is sublime; it’s a testament to Mark Leipacher and Mark Frankum’s casting. I’ve not worked with either Ed or Maisie before, but they’ve quickly become people I’ve grown very fond of. Down to earth, fun and lively, what more could you want from your supporting cast? We’re on this thing for at least six months. To survive, we need to gel together and support each other as best we can. I feel extremely supported by them, and in return, they know they’ll find me backing them up until the end of the earth. We’re in this together, we’re a team. It feels like we’re comrades, going into battle and fighting together for the best show possible!

What can audiences expect from this stage adaptation of The Talented Mr Ripley, and why would you recommend booking tickets to the UK Tour, which is booking until 22nd November?

You can expect all the charisma that the film beautifully conveys, alongside all of the psychological elements that are present in the novel. The Talented Mr Ripley is selling itself. It’s a story that the public is all very intrigued to see, and I’d recommend booking tickets when we come to your city to discover it all for yourself!

How was it taking on the role of Shorty Hunt in the feature film The Boys in the Boat and what was it like telling the story?

Best screen experience so far! Simply because I met a bunch of fine actors and spent the majority of five months with them. It’s always who you work with that makes the experience worthwhile. Not dissimilar to what I have with the cast of The Talented Mr Ripley, the boys I was with on The Boys in the Boat MADE my experience. Friends for life.

How was your time on set of The Boys in the Boat and being directed by George Clooney?

George was very cool to work with. Laid-back, funny and hard-working. He’d curated his own solid crew of filmmakers that he’s been working with for years that he’s acquired over the years and they work like a well-oiled machine. It makes for a very safe environment, knowing that the work you’re doing matters and isn’t being taken for granted. I wish I could relive those five months all over again. Not to mention, I had to learn a completely new skill, which was challenging but such a pleasure. As actors, part of the job is being able to be malleable and pick up and adapt to new skills. I’ve been lucky in that I’ve learnt to horse ride and row like a professional all in the space of a few years, and I attribute it to the work. I’d have never done these things if it weren’t for the work.

What was it like watching the completed film for the first time, and attending the London and Los Angeles premieres in December 2023?

Pretty cool indeed! We had a London screening and an LA screening, and to be honest, I had no idea the boys could scrub up so well! At that point of release, the film is handed over to the public, and the only thing you should hold onto is the experiences you had creating it. Therefore, when things are being said, good or bad, they roll off the shoulder, and it leaves you the space and energy to focus on what’s next.

For your first regular role on screen, you played Marcus across every episode of Free Rein for Netflix, what are some of your favourite memories from filming the series?

As the series progressed, some of my favourite moments from filming Free Rein actually came from the storylines themselves. The writers on it were fantastic, and the storylines got crazier and enjoyable as the series developed. What was lovely and surprising about our little show was that it was released on Netflix without much support in terms of advertisement, yet it blew up to become one of the biggest family viewing series Netflix has ever seen. I look back on Free Rein with fondness and admiration. It ended in 2019, and fans online are still screaming for a Season 4! Maybe one day, guys…

Do you have any favourite theatre shows to watch, and which would you like to see that you haven’t done so as yet?

I absolutely love The Play That Goes Wrong. You literally can’t go wrong with a night at the theatre to watch it. I had a brilliant time seeing it and would love to work on something equally crazy and joyful one day. The cast look like they’re having an absolute blast on stage and, in a way, I’m having the same kind of fun as Dickie in The Talented Mr Ripley; it’s a very joyous experience.

How do you like to spend your free time?

I’m quite the gamer; I got some lovely folks online that I play games with. We’re a core group that haven’t ever met in person, and after a long while, I started to reveal to them a little bit about what I do, and now they’re just as interested and supportive as my real-life friends. They’re not too worried about not seeing me online for long periods of time; they know I’m busy cracking on with building whatever it is that this career asks of me.

Have you received any advice over your acting career so far that has stuck with you?

Tons. All my life, I’ve had brilliant mentors and selfless people who’ve put their belief in me and enriched me with their wisdom and guidance from the kindness of their hearts. I haven’t ever felt like I’ve needed to tackle this industry alone. My parents are my biggest supporters, so I would say that the best advice always comes from them. They ground and support me in a way that I can’t ever thank them enough for. I truly wouldn’t have come close to making it this far without them. The advice I follow generally is that the mother knows what’s best. Always listen to mum!

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