From Spring Issue 61
British actor James Nelson-Joyce speaks to Glass Man about wanting to break out of playing the hard man and why his native Liverpool remains his guiding star
It’s one of those bitterly cold February mornings in Liverpool and James Nelson-Joyce is trying to get his family dog to go in the garden. “He’s not feelin’ it,” he realises when the sharp breeze hits both of them. “How bad is this weather.” I agree from the other end of the phone line in London, though I suspect it’s far worse for him up north. He laughs – of course, it is.
For those familiar with Nelson-Joyce’s screen presence, his reputation precedes him. His filmography reads like a roll call of television’s most hardened characters: a bullying convict in the BBC’s Time, a ruthless gangster in Sky Max’s A Town Called Malice, and a con man in The Gold. So when the first couple of minutes of our conversation include a typical British digression into the weather, you realise that the 35-year-old couldn’t be further removed from his menacing roles.
“A lot of people think when they meet me, that I’m gonna be this nasty person,” he answers. “I’m so far removed from that, it really isn’t me.” That sentiment is reinforced by his unwavering connection to home. Unlike many in his industry, Nelson-Joyce has resisted the gravitational pull of London, New York or Los Angeles, preferring to remain where his roots run deep. “I’m the least actor-y actor that you’ve ever met,” he says truthfully. “I like coming home. I love home.”
Photographer: Joe Hart
Born north of Anfield in Walton, Liverpool, Nelson-Joyce grew up in a working class household. His mother worked in a factory; his father cleaned gutters for the council. “People haven’t got a lot, but what they have, they take pride in it,” he says. He went to school at Archbishop Beck Catholic College where the idea of acting was entirely foreign. “I didn’t know a single person who wanted to be an actor – including myself.”
Like many, his dream was to become a footballer. It was the only subject he excelled in at school, finding himself in the bottom set for the rest. Unbeknownst to him, he was dyslexic – something he would only be diagnosed with in his early twenties. As expected homework was a struggle, so he avoided it all together. “I was a bit of a nightmare to teach,” he admits. By 16, his school wouldn’t have him back.
Prior to being dismissed, his English teacher, Miss Griffiths, picked him to do a monologue for the speaking and listening exam. “She was the teacher in school everyone fancied. I would put on mad accents in class to get her attention,” he recalls. Seeing an opportunity to spend more time with her, he agreed to do it. The piece he had to learn was about a teenage boy who deals with the emotional loss of his pet. His examiner burst into tears after he finished performing.
“Me being a cheeky little Scouser, I’m like ‘hey love, come here and give me a hug’. Little did I know she had lost her dog, so connected to it.” Nelson-Joyce ended up receiving the highest mark ever awarded in the northwest. “It shows how lucky I am. I get given this piece because I’m a bit naughty in class and a teacher sees something in me.”
Photographer: Joe Hart
With no clear path ahead, Miss Griffiths suggested he consider drama and took him to a community college in the city centre that focused on the arts. “That’s how I got into acting,” he pinpoints. But it was after watching This Is England, The Street and The Damned United, that Nelson-Joyce felt confident enough to realise that acting was a possibility.
“All these films had Stephen Graham in them,” he says. “I was like ‘oh he’s a Scouser. I’m a Scouser’. You don’t see many Scouse accents on the telly.” His performances varied from playing a racist to a drunk, showing Nelson-Joyce the many facets of what a career could look like, all joined together by a singular thread – raw emotion. “There was stuff going on in my personal life at the time and I was able to connect to that vulnerability,” he reveals. “I have emotional intelligence. I would say I’m not the smartest of people, I’m genuinely not, but I do have emotional intelligence.”
The transition to drama school was marked by an undeniable sense of disparity. Sat in waiting rooms for auditions and asked by tutors what books he had read or plays he had seen, there was a disconnect. “I remember thinking there’s a whole different culture divide here,” he says. “Like, you don’t do that where we’re from. We go out on the street and listen to 50 Cent in the youth club.” Nonetheless, the Liverpudlian prevailed and was accepted into London’s Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.
During his third year, Nelson-Joyce was eating dinner in Nando’s when Stephen Graham and his wife, the actress Hannah Walters, walked in. As a long-time admirer, he approached Graham, explaining he was in the process of getting into acting. “I just didn’t want to be that kid, when all I had done was Casualty, Mount Pleasant and Vera, to say ‘please watch me’.”
Photographer: Joe Hart
As luck would have it, he didn’t need to. Eighteen months later, the pair ended up at the same table read. “He looked across the table and just smiled. That was the pat on the back I needed.” Immediately recognising the youngster from their brief interaction, they both shared titular roles in ITV’s Liverpool-based drama, Little Boy Blue, which portrays the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in 2007.
When the script first landed in his inbox, he felt a sharp affinity with the story as he lived only a five minute drive away from the incident. “I remember it happening,” he declares. Sporting long hair and a beard at the time, he was desperate for the part, even calling his agent to ask whether he should get a skinhead to secure the role. She advised against it, warning him to manage his expectations. But having seen images of James Yates – the perpetrator who supplied the gun that killed the boy – plastered across newspapers and tabloids, he wanted to mirror his gaunt look. Every morning he would go on runs in bin bags and cut down on water to quickly drop weight.
The combination of commitment and experienced knowledge of the incident meant he got the role. Immediately immersing himself in the mindset of this youngster, he spoke to neighbours, watched all the documentaries and listened to the violence-inspired music of that year. “Look, I’m from Walton. I know kids of that same ilk, do you know what I mean? They never killed an innocent kid, but they were fearless, the kids in my area were fearless.”
Photographer: Joe Hart
The unfiltered dedication to his portrayal seeped through the screen and highlighted his name to the masses. What transpired was a contagious career-turning point of successive projects, where he built up an impressive catalogue of credits – many of which called on him to take on the uglier parts. None were worse than his role last year as Skate, an abusive boyfriend in Andrea Arnold’s award-winning drama, Bird. Showcasing a raw and palpable performance that caused audiences to stir in their seats, Nelson-Joyce began to etch his name onto people’s minds.
This February saw the actor take on a slightly less sinister role in Disney+’s series A Thousand Blows that brings to light the Forty Elephants, the infamous all-woman crime syndicate in East London during the 19th century. Starring as Treacle Goodson, the brother to Graham’s character Sugar, the pair reunite as bare-knuckle boxers to highlight the underbelly of the fighting scene against the mischief of the female thieves.
Their relationship has long surpassed being mere colleagues. What was once admiration from behind the screen has evolved into a firm friendship – so much so that Graham, who also serves as executive producer, personally called Nelson-Joyce to encourage him to audition. After the usual self-tapes, director Steven Knight requested a chemistry read between them.
“You’re never gonna believe this,” he begins, amused. “I walk into the room. And this was not planned. Me and Stephen were wearing the exact same clothes. The exact same colours. The same trainers but in a different colour. Everyone in the room burst into laughter. They thought we had planned it. I swear to God, we didn’t. We did not plan this.” The anecdote speaks for itself – of course playing siblings would come naturally.
Photographer: Joe Hart
After mastering a Cockney accent, he had to get into fighting shape. As a diligent actor, he immediately took to researching the era. “The malnutrition of the East End at that time was a big thing, like meat stealing. And I knew my character was fit and had a little bit of money but it meant he wasn’t built.” Turning up to training, where a coach taught them the stiff Victorian boxing stance, Nelson-Joyce met up with Graham, Malachi Kirby, and Francis Lovehall – each arriving with shredded physiques. “Those three looked amazing. I thought, maybe I need a bit more chicken in my diet,” he laughs.
Although his historical research was meticulous, it’s the four Smith brothers – one of professional boxing’s most famous families – at the Rotunda gym back in Liverpool that helped in his character preparation. “I channelled the brothers, because they’re all so close and intertwined,” he says. “They all love each other so much. I used bits of each of them.” The notion of being a hometown boy isn’t lost on him. Having spent the last year and a half adjusting his accent for roles, he returns to familiar soil in BBC’s The City is Ours, which sees him speak more freely.
“I slowed it down a bit and made my voice a bit deeper so it’s a bit more manly, but all in all I didn’t have to worry about my vowel sounds or accent in general,” he explains in a relieved tone. Set around a family-run drug ring led by Ronnie Phelan (Sean Bean) between Liverpool and Spain, it follows Nelson-Joyce’s character, Michael Kavanagh, in the process of taking over the operation from Ronnie.
Photographer: Joe Hart
“Drugs in most cities are a problem,” he reflects. “I think what we are trying to show is a man for whom this is all he knows. He’s come to a crossroads where he conflicted about what to choose. I like to tell the truth because in today’s society it’s quick money but it comes with risk and ruins people’s lives. You don’t get something for nothing. And there’s very few people who walk away from that world.”
Beyond the classic displays of bravado, the show explores another side of Michael – the struggle between him and his girlfriend to conceive a child due to his low sperm count. “He’s seen as the man but he’s troubled with the fact he can’t get his Missus pregnant. It’s his fault,” he explains earnestly. “It’s like he’s had masculinity taken from him a little bit. And then there’s a trauma of learning about IVF, learning what women have to go through – it suddenly makes the relationship feel unsteady.”
Despite the crime-ridden plot, it’s got this very real side embedded in the script that many will be able to relate to, bringing an unexpected tenderness to the show. “It was a beautiful piece to work on and I hope it comes across how much these two people want to be together and raise a family but unfortunately they can’t do it naturally.” As the episodes evolve, we’re shown a more gentle and emotional side to the actor, one closer to reality.
Photographer: Joe Hart
“Do I enjoy playing complex characters? Yeah, I love it. Would I love the opportunity to play something different? Of course.” With a desire to transcend the grit, he mentions his wish to portray George Best, the famed Northern Irish footballer who suffered from alcoholism throughout his adult years. “He had problems with women, drinking and drugs. That was his medicine through knowing he had wasted his talent,” he says. “I don’t think he ever got quite over that. And there is something that I would love to portray.”
But perhaps it’s the depth of understanding of these internal entanglements that makes Nelson-Joyce so compelling to watch. Maybe it’s less about not playing the bad guy, but rather about offering a space to reveal the humanity within them, because, just like him, I reckon they’d probably complain about the winter breeze in Liverpool too.
by Imogen Clark
This City Is Ours is on BBC1 and iPlayer from 23rd March and all episodes of A Thousand Blows are available now on Disney+ and Hulu.
Photographer: Joe Hart
Senior Fashion Editor: Lily Rimmer
Grooming: Richard Wynne-Ellis
Set designer: Elena Horn
Photography assistant: Jonathan Tomlinson
Styling assistant: Maki So
Production: Daisy at Twenty Twenty Agency
Talent: James Nelson-Joyce
Look 1: Billinge SPZL hoodie ADIDAS SPZL, Shirt SAMSØE SAMSØE
Look 2: Hudswell SPZL jacket and A. Aspden SPZL trainers ADIDAS SPZL, Jeans and shirt SAMSØE SAMSØE, Tie LATE CHECKOUT
Look 3: Brockhall SPZL tee, Mod SPZL socks and Handball Cup SPZL trainers ADIDAS SPZL, Coat TIGER OF SWEDEN, Trousers NN07, Necklace and bracelet TILLY SVEAAS
Look 4: Brockhall SPZL tee ADIDAS SPZL, Shirt FILIPPA K, Trousers LOEWE, All jewellery TILLY SVEAAS
Look 5: Wardour SPZL vest and Roelee SPZL trainers ADIDAS SPZL, White shirt HERMÈS, Trousers JAMES’ OWN, Bomber TOD’S, Tie KENT & CURWEN
Look 6: Hudswell SPZL jacket, Salesbury SPZL pant, Mod SPZL socks and Pampanga SPZL trainers ADIDAS SPZL, Boxers KENT & CURWEN, Top WALES BONNER
Look 7: Halewood SPZL parka (two worn) and TRX Mesh SPZL trainers ADIDAS SPZL, Under jacket BARACUTA, Jeans NN07, Necklace TILLY SVEAAS