Finding Spike: Spike Fearn on becoming a new leading light of British film

It’s one of the first glorious days of spring after a particularly dismal winter and Spike Fearn is posing against a brick wall in east London as the sun makes an overdue appearance and shines down on his floppy brown hair, piercing eyes and chiselled cheekbones.

At the tender age of 26, Spike Fearn already feels like a name we’ll be hearing a lot more. In one sense, he’s a conventional heartthrob who could light up the silver screen for his looks alone, but you’d also be forgiven for thinking there’s something distinctly Liam Gallagher about his textured fringe, striking eyebrows and the refreshing swagger which comes across throughout the shoot.

The latter comparison is even more timely as Spike is the star of Finding Emily, a new, uniquely British romcom where Manchester and all its musical glory is joyously celebrated and becomes an ever-present character in its own right.

The film is thoroughly modern too, with Spike playing Owen, a charming young musician who sets off on a mission to find the girl of his dreams after she gives him the wrong number on a night out. The premise might be nothing new, but it’s testament to the razor-sharp and often laugh-out-loud story that old-school romancing is denounced as being, well, perhaps a bit creepy, and it’s then up to Owen to hilariously prove that his intentions are most definitely for good.

It’s the very definition of a crowd-pleaser and, you sense, the first of many leading roles for Fearn…

So this is going to be your first big leading role. Excited? Nervous? What’s the resounding feeling, Spike? 

I’m really excited, man; it’s a pretty exciting time. I wake up pretty jolly every morning, which is really, really good. I’m super, super excited about the film. I don’t want to say I’m living the dream because I don’t really know what the dream is yet, but that’s what keeps me wanting to chase something and keep pushing forward. I’ve got a few things coming out this year and I’ve been getting to play around with people that I respect so highly, and I’m just super grateful. So maybe I am living the dream?  

You worked with Cate Blanchett on the upcoming Sweetsick. What was that experience like? 

I just learned so much without realising I was learning. I feel a lot more confident on set after watching the way she just sprung and jumped around. It’s really nice. I definitely learned that, but I’m still learning and that’s what makes it so exciting for me. 

What was your path into acting?

I was always into art and I was never really the best at it, but I was really inspired by great artists and designers and musicians. I was obsessed with Alexander McQueen. I was obsessed with [American artist] Basquiat. I loved Bob Dylan and Neil Young and all these great artists and people that were so good with words. It made me think I want to be in some form of art. I come from an area where you go off and learn a trade, and there’s nothing wrong with that. These places are beautiful because of the trades that happen there, but I didn’t think I’d get on doing that. I wanted to be fulfilled, and so I went to [young people’s media training organisation] Television Workshop in Nottingham, as I’d seen a few actors who had been there. I didn’t get in first time round, but [Skins actor] Joe Dempsie who went there said the best ones never do, so I’m running with that. I worked really hard to get into the main group of Television Workshop the second time around. 

There’s a huge hotbed of creativity in the East Midlands when you look at people like [This Is England writer and director] Shane Meadows. Did they have any impact on you?

Of course. People like Shane are the reason I’m still trying to do this. I’ve been thinking about making my own stuff a lot recently, and I always just ask, ‘What would Shane Meadows do?’ The Midlands is such a great place, and it’s in performers like Vicky McClure too. They’re just wonderful and very unique.

Finding Emily, then – Owen seems like a very fun character to play. His heart is always in the right place, even if he doesn’t have the right idea all the time… 

He was, but it was a big step up for me doing that movie. I learned to play the guitar and had vocal lessons and singing lessons, which was really stressful and I was nervous, but Alicia MacDonald, the director, managed to pull this thing out of me that was really nice, and Angourie [Rice, co-star] allowed me to feel safe and she kept me on the right path. 

You learned the guitar from scratch?!

Well, my dad is a guitar player, a great singer, and when I grew up, music was always on in the house. We had a radio in our kitchen that would always constantly play, and it was just such great music that I’m going back and listening to so much now. But I just wanted to be a footballer, man. I used to like Wayne Rooney, and then Jamie Vardy for Leicester, and for a lot of lads around my area, playing football can be a way out. 

But I did this first audition where I definitely fooled Alicia into thinking that I could play better than I could. It helped that I went into the audition dressing a little bit like Ian Brown maybe and rocking this Liam Gallagher haircut that I still kind of have. 

It’s funny you mentioned Liam and Ian. One of the film’s greatest strengths, I found, is the way in which Manchester feels like its own character – especially that amazing scene on Canal Street. 

There’s something so magical about the place. You think of Oasis, The Stone Roses, and the amount that Manchester has influenced British culture is just so special. But it’s also in the way the city is built, the feel of the city, the people of the city. And that helped shape who Owen needed to be. Once I got the part, I had a clear idea of ‘OK, this is who he listens to and I’m gonna dive down a rabbit hole of this kid because Manchester is his home and it’s my job to make that as believable as possible.’

Did you go to the Oasis reunion?

Yeah, a friend of mine got me tickets to the last show at Heaton Park, which was incredible. They actually announced the reunion while we were filming, so that was just the talk of the set. 

Are there any specific artists that have informed your musical tastes? 

It’s all the stuff my dad played. The Beatles, The Doors – all that stuff. But funnily enough, there’s a part in the film where Owen is in the car with his brother and they’re rapping to ‘Genius of Love’ by Tom Tom Club. That’s in the film because Alicia, the director, asked me which song they should sing, and we needed to imagine it was their mum’s favourite song. Well, I chose that because it’s the song I remember my mum always showing me. I managed to get that in there! 

You’re at the beginning of your career. What are you looking for in the projects you want to explore next? 

I just want to explore good stories, and I want to be part of stuff that I’m going to look back at and be super proud that I went and did that and I had a challenge doing that. I’ve fallen into a place where I’m doing what I always wanted to be doing, which I think is super cool, and I’m doing films that I’m super proud of. My next two projects are very different and I’m obsessed with that. I want to jump around. I want to do a rom-com but also a horror. I want to work with great directors and performers: people who just tell stories that they are pushing their heart into and I can go in and get obsessed with.

But right now, I’m just enjoying myself, man. Nothing’s changed. I still have a very humble place back home, which is nice. I can go back home and just go for a pint with my mates and mess about, go play pool. Or even, go on holiday with those boys and they don’t talk to me about the acting stuff. It’s a great place to be.