Sebastian de Souza
Souza in 2014
Born (1993-04-19) 19 April 1993 (age 30)
Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Other namesSeb de Souza
OccupationActor
Years active2007–present
Parent

Sebastian Denis de Souza (born 19 April 1993)[1] is an English actor. He is best known for playing Matty Levan in the E4 teen drama series Skins.[2] He has since starred in the period television series The Borgias from 2012 to 2013, Medici: Masters of Florence (2018), and The Great (2020).

Early life

De Souza is the second of the two sons of Elinor Kelly and Chris de Souza,[3] an opera producer of Goan Indian descent.[4] He was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, and has an older brother named Tristan.[3] He grew up in Boxford, Berkshire, and was a boarder at Brockhurst and Marlston House School[5] developing a fascination with theatre, music, and writing.[6] At the age of 11 he decided to dramatise The Willows at Christmas, William Horwood's adaptation of The Wind in the Willows, and performed it in the barn with his classmates. In 2006, when he was 13, he starred in the short film Hangman, premiered at the Corn Exchange. It was a story of witchcraft in the mould of Macbeth, that he co-wrote with the Prep School's Film Club.[7]

He went on to St Edward's School, Oxford,[5] where in 2006 he won a music award as a pianist, clarinettist and singer.[8] He later completed A-levels in English, History and Philosophy.[9] He also attended acting workshops at the Watermill Theatre, near Newbury. At the North Wall Arts Centre, he performed lead roles in school productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream playing Puck, Great Expectations as Pip, C. P. Taylor's Good as Maurice, and Henry V as Henry,[6] which earned him a drama prize in 2010.[10] In the same year he became a member of the National Youth Theatre.[11]

Career

After a brief appearance in Nick Ross's documentary series The Truth About Crime,[5] de Souza got his break on television at the age of 17, when he was cast as Matty Levan in the fifth and sixth instalment of cult drama Skins.[12] In 2012, he joined the cast of historical drama The Borgias,[13] created by Neil Jordan for the American TV network Showtime and filmed at Korda Studios, near Budapest.[14] His character, Alfonso d'Aragona, first appeared in The Confession and closed his run at the end of the third and final season.[15] While in Hungary, he was filmmaker with photographer Benjamin Lebus for Evelyne's World, a concept short film about the allegory of the Cave starring Evelyne Brochu.[16]

De Souza's first big screen role is in Julian Gilbey's thriller Plastic. Production took place in early 2013 on location in Miami and London.[17] As a screenplay writer, he made his cinematic debut in Kids in Love, a film produced by Ealing Studios with de Souza also taking a title role. In 2014, he was cast as the male lead in a new Freeform show called Recovery Road, which was broadcast for a single season in 2016.[18]

In addition to his acting career, de Souza is a singer and musician. In 2011 he's featured as a guest vocalist for Cubiq in their Say EP released by Hidden Label. The tune, related to current electro club music, has been remixed by Matanza and Timmy P[19] in an alternative version that fits the traditional house template.[20] In 2016, the Recovery Road cast including Sebastian performed for the spring finale a musical ensemble version of Lean On Me by Bill Withers.

De Souza also works in the field of producing. In 2013 he co-founded with actor Will Poulter the TV and film production company Good Soil.[21] The following year he created his own brand management called de Souza aimed at helping young storytellers, producers or filmmakers develop their scripts.[22]

In March 2021 de Souza's first novel, Kid: A History of The Future, was published by Offliner Press, a publisher established and owned by de Souza himself.[23][24]

Personal life

With his family, de Souza annually runs drama courses for 9 to 16 year olds at a home-based Centre for Music Drama and Art.[3] In 2013 he has been made a patron of The Globe Theatre Education Fund, which runs drama projects for schools around the country, mostly Shakespearean.[25] Through a practical experience provided by orchestras he can sing in the tenor range and play different instruments.[5]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2014 Plastic Rafa
2016 Kids in Love Milo Also writer
2018 Ophelia Edmund
2020 Pixie Gareth
2021 Lapwing Rumi
2023 Fair Play Rory

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2009 The Truth About Crime Himself Documentary
2011–2012 Skins Matty Levan 14 episodes
2012–2013 The Borgias Alfonso d'Aragona 11 episodes
2015 Crossing Lines Matteo de Sabato 1 episode No.3.3 Dragon
2016 Recovery Road Wes Stewart 10 episodes
2017 Maigret in Montmartre Philippe Martinot
2018 Medici: Masters of Florence Sandro Botticelli 12 episodes
2020 Normal People Gareth 2 episodes
2020 The Great Leo Voronsky 8 episodes

Stage

Year Title Role Notes
2007 A Midsummer Night's Dream Puck North Wall Arts Centre
2007 Great Expectations Pip North Wall Arts Centre
2008 Good Maurice North Wall Arts Centre
2009 Henry V Henry North Wall Arts Centre
David Howorth Drama Prize 2010
2015 The Read Through[26] Criterion Theatre[27]

Music videos

Year Song Artist
2017 Ondulation Burning Peacocks[28]

References

  1. ^ Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England and Wales, 1916–2005 B100D
  2. ^ "Sebastian de Souza plays Matty". Channel 4 Press. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  3. ^ a b c "Drama Courses". Arts Play. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
  4. ^ de Souza, Edward. "Name derivation". Celestial Toyroom. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d "Portfolio de Souza". Nevsmodels Agency. London. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  6. ^ a b "Meet Sebastian de Souza". Screen Terrier. 10 October 2010. Archived from the original on 12 August 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  7. ^ "Glitzy film premiere hits The Corn Exchange". Newbury Today. 27 June 2006. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  8. ^ "The de Souzas". Arts Play. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  9. ^ "Sebastian de Souza starring in the new series of Skins". The Goan Voice. 23 January 2011. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  10. ^ "St Edward's Chronicle 10/11". Annual School Magazine XXXIII. 15 December 2011. p. 18. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  11. ^ "Why talent is a muscle". IdeasTap. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
  12. ^ Pope, Rihanne (17 January 2011). "Oxford teenager lands part in controversial TV series Skins". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  13. ^ Les Chappell (17 June 2012). "The Borgias: The Confession". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  14. ^ Herald, Calgary (8 November 2011). "The Borgias set visit in Hungary". Korda Studios. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  15. ^ Curtis, Beth (28 June 2012). "Sebastian de Souza confirms the Borgias season three role". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  16. ^ Lebus, Benjamin (16 June 2013). "Evelyne's World". Virgin Media shorts. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  17. ^ Sell, Maria (7 December 2012). "Hot projects on Screenbase". Screen Daily. London. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  18. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (3 June 2014). "Sebastian De Souza & Alexis Carra Cast In ABC Family Pilot 'Recovery Road'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
  19. ^ "Cubiq from UK". Ibiza Voice. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  20. ^ "Cubiq Say feat Seb de Souza". Hidden Label. January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
  21. ^ Lamont, Tom (5 October 2014). "Will Poulter: 'Hanging out in Soho House LA, that's my worst nightmare'". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  22. ^ "We are the You+h". dsbranding.com. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  23. ^ "Sebastian de Souza on Instagram". instagram.com. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  24. ^ "OFFLINER LLP - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  25. ^ "Biographies". Arts Play. Archived from the original on 9 September 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  26. ^ "Joy Beresford Frye - Writer". The Production Exchange. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  27. ^ "Criterion New Writing Showcases 2015". Criterion Theatre. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  28. ^ "Le clip du jour : "Ondulation" de Burning Peacocks". Vogue France. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.

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