TYLER CONTI
- 5' ELEVEN''
- 1 day ago
- 9 min read
Updated: 8 hours ago
It’s a hot summer's day in Camden, and 5’ELEVEN’ sits down to talk with rising star Tyler Conti, whose calm demeanour and quiet confidence almost seems impervious to the heat. And perhaps it’s that same warm disposition and effortless assurance that, within his relatively short career, has earned him an impressive portfolio across television and theatre. Having played Jay, the loyal friend of ‘Duke’ in Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson’s physically demanding and emotionally complex drama Fightland, his masterful work has also garnered the attention of Guy Richie, landing Tyler a role in the second series of the crime drama The Gentlemen. We chatted with the actor — whose performances show depth and versatility, across intimate, emotionally grounded storytelling, darkly comedic dramas, and Shakespearean roles on stage — about his process across disciplines, his role as Jay, and what it feels like to get a thumbs up from Guy Ritchie.
Words by Leigh Maynard.
Photographed by Alex Hutchinson. Styled by Alton Hetariki. Grooming by Charlie Cullen at Forward Artists using Clarins Men's Skincare. Tyler Conti appears courtesy of Pinnacle PR.
Where did your love of acting come from? Was there a person or a significant moment in your life that sent you on that path?
I was about 13 when I saw Little Shop of Horrors at my school. My mate was on stage, everyone was laughing at him, and I remember feeling a bit jealous. I thought, I want people to be laughing at me. And that was kind of it. I joined amateur dramatics at the Southend Shakespeare Company, which was basically a bunch of 60-year-olds in a town hall in Southend, and I absolutely loved it. I’ve been hooked ever since.
Overcoat, check tracksuit top, long-sleeved tech shirt, denim jeans and LV lock square sunglasses, by Louis Vuitton
Did the old guard teach you a lot?
Yes, they really did. I had a much thicker Essex accent back then, and I was 13, playing Romeo, so they taught me a lot about the language. They were just incredibly friendly and kind. They saw me as one of their own children and really took me under their wing.
No one was really laughing at Shakespeare, so I’d been thrown completely in at the deep end. I had about 102 pages of Shakespearean text to learn and I’d never done anything like it before. My Juliet was three years older than me, so I was thinking, Get in!. But I didn’t realise at the time the pressure and anxiety that would come with it. I just went with it and thought it was incredible. And I was happy because, unlike Little Shop of Horrors, there was no singing involved, and I can’t sing!
Leather coat, striped rugby top and cotton shirt, all by Gant. Pleated trousers by Tommy Hilfiger. D de Dior Chelsea boots by Dior
When you stepped into the characters in Fightland and The Gentlemen, what aspects of your earlier career did you find yourself drawing on?
I played King Henry VIII when I was younger, on stage, in a Howard Barker play called Meet Brutopia. I tend to use him as a kind of scale - how much are you King Henry VIII, and how far away from him can you go? So whenever I’m playing these egomaniacal or larger-than-life characters, I can see where I am on that scale.
With Henry, there was so much physical weight to him. He was huge, and I had all this armour, corsets, jackets, trousers, everything. I remember training at the gym a lot, especially my legs, because I wanted to stomp around and feel really heavy. So whenever I approach a new character, I can picture Henry at one end of the scale and then dial it back as much as I need to.
And it can obviously go completely the other way too. Jay in Fightland is pretty much the polar opposite of Henry. But it’s nice to know that I’ve got that extreme in me somewhere, and I can always bring it back from there.
To people who've not seen Fightland, how would you describe Jay’s character?
Jay is a troubled guy. He’s complicated, but at the same time, there’s something quite plain and simple about him. He’s very instinctive - he doesn’t overthink things or necessarily have a plan, he just reacts to what’s happening around him. In a way, he’s the moral compass of the show. He’s not always making the right decisions, but there’s a real honesty to the way he moves through the world.
He’s also quite easily led. He gets taken wherever people want to take him, and I think that vulnerability is a big part of what makes him interesting. He’s trying to find his place in this world while constantly being pulled in different directions.
When you were reading the script, was there a particular moment when you thought, This character really resonates for me?
I’m quite a sensitive person, and in Fightland, there aren’t many characters who really show their emotions or allow themselves to be vulnerable. Jay is different in that way. He’s not as aggressive as everyone else, and there’s a real honesty to him. He doesn’t necessarily put on a front or try to be something he’s not. I like to think I’m quite honest too, so I connected with that side of him. There’s something quite vulnerable about Jay, even when he doesn’t necessarily realise it himself, and I think that’s what drew me to him.
You're also appearing in Guy Ritchie's The Gentleman. Can you tell us about that character?
I play Joe Green, who’s a dealer and also becomes Susie Glass’s new love interest. He actually knew Susie when they were kids, as he’s good friends with her younger brother, Jack, so there’s already a history there when we meet him.
Joe and Susie have had a relationship before, and we’re introduced to him in the first episode as he comes back into her life. It’s a really fun character and an exciting world to be part of. And, obviously, it’s really exciting to be in a Guy Ritchie production!
What was it like working on the scale of the production, the sets, the costumes, and working with Guy?
It was nuts. It was genuinely a dream come true. My first scene was me in my underwear, with Guy Ritchie standing opposite me and Kaya there as well, so it was a pretty intense introduction! And then Guy gave me a thumbs up, and I’ve been carrying that thumbs up with me for the last three months. You can take that with you throughout your career, right? If Guy Ritchie gives you a thumbs up, you must be doing something right!
You never quite know what’s being filmed when you’re working on one of his productions. Cut and action don’t really exist in the traditional sense in a Guy Ritchie world, but somehow it all comes together so brilliantly in the edit. Even the mechanics of making it are exciting - the cranes, the way the cameras move and are held, the sheer scale of the sets. You’re constantly watching things happen around you and thinking, What is going on? It’s completely mad, but it’s also incredibly fun to be part of.
Zipped cotton sweatshirt by Tommy Hilfiger. Classic stripe boxer short by Sunspel
What's one part of your preparation that has become essential to your process that people might not know about you as an actor?
No two jobs are the same, so my preparation changes with every character. I don’t really have a set ritual or routine that I follow. I think it’s more about finding what each particular job needs from me.
Although, I do quite like taking the dog for a walk and going over my lines to myself. So I’m probably walking around looking completely mad to all the other dog walkers! It’s actually a really good way for me to learn things because I can just switch off from everything else and work through the scenes in my head.
How do you remember them all?
TV is so much easier than theatre because, obviously, you get multiple takes. With Guy Ritchie, he might give you the script on the day or the day before, throw a new line at you.
Theatre is completely different because you’ve got hundreds and hundreds of pages to learn, and you have to have it so deeply embedded that it becomes second nature. Once it’s in your body, you just know it - you can go straight into it without thinking.
I think with TV, I’ve just had a lot of practice now. I can pick something up pretty quickly and it tends to stick. Although I’m sure there’ll be a job that comes along one day and completely tests that theory!
Do you have a preference for theatre or film?
I probably would have said theatre five years ago, when I was doing much more of it, but now, having done more TV, I’d say TV has just about taken the top spot.
Theatre is more electric and immediate. You get that constant feedback from the audience, and there’s something amazing about the fact that, once the curtains open, it’s just you and them. You can’t stop, you can’t reset - it’s down to you. It could go completely wrong, or it could go brilliantly, and that unpredictability is part of the adrenaline.
TV is much more stop-start, so you don’t quite get that same rush. But there’s a different kind of excitement to it. You can build much more intricate performances, really fine-tune the details, and there’s a lot of fun in that too. I think they just give you completely different things as an actor, which is why I’m lucky to be able to do both.
What does one discipline teach you about the other?
Theatre has taught me to play much more on TV. Everyone obviously has a different process, but I personally think there’s a bit of a misconception that you have to be really small and restrained on screen. I think, as long as it comes from a place of truth, you can be as big as you want to be, within reason.
Theatre teaches you that you’re allowed to go huge, and I like bringing some of that into TV. It’s nice coming from a show and then going straight into a TV job and thinking, Actually, as long as I believe it and it feels truthful, and there’s a reason why my character is doing this, I don’t have to hold back.
It’s not about being demonstrative for the sake of it. If the emotion is real and it’s right for the character, then you can really go for it. I think that’s something I’ve become much more confident with, and it’s really fun to play with on screen.
Ribbed top by Mithridate. Stitch detail trousers by Onitsuka Tiger
Have your roles in Fightland and The Gentlemen revealed to you the kind of roles you'd like to pursue in the future?
Yes, I think so. First of all, being in The Gentlemen is incredible. I grew up watching Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and all of those films, so to suddenly find myself in that world is pretty amazing.
But I think I’d like to do something that’s a bit more naturalistic and grounded next. I’m a huge Mike Leigh fan, or even something like The Bear, which I’m obsessed with at the moment. Something that feels like it exists within the real world and is a little more relationship-led. I’d love to explore characters where the drama comes from those really human, everyday situations.
That’s not to say that if Guy Ritchie rings me tomorrow and asks me to come back, I’m going to say no! But I think it would be really fun to do something next that’s a little more grounded, a little less heightened, and really live inside that world for a while.
Are there any other directors, actors, or people in the industry that you'd love to work with?
Yes, there’s a huge list! My girlfriend recently did a film with David Tennant, and I’d absolutely love to work with him. He’s an absolute legend, and I think it would be brilliant to share a set with him.
As I mentioned, I’m also obsessed with The Bear at the moment, so working with Jeremy Allen White, or really any of that cast, would be amazing. Ayo Edebiri, who plays Sydney, is incredible. I’d love to work with people like that who bring so much truth and specificity to what they do. There are so many actors and directors out there that I’d love to learn from.
What projects have you got coming up that you can tell us about?
I’m working on an Apple TV show. I’ve just finished filming it, but I can’t say too much about it at the moment. I’m really excited about it, though, and hopefully I’ll be able to talk more about it soon.
Flightland premiers on the 27th of August on Sky Atlantic and The Gentlemen season 2 begins on Netflix on the 3rd of September.
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