Callum Turner on Mastering Air — and Sea — in Two New Projects

Seija Rankin
·3 min read
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Callum Turner first started getting noticed in the U.S. with a supporting turn in 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (he played Theseus, brother of Eddie Redmayne’s Newt). But this year, the 33-year-old Brit, who started his career modeling for Reebok and Burberry, is headlining a pair of projects — one in the water, the other in the air — that make him impossible to miss.

First up is a leading role The Boys in the Boat, George Clooney’s just-released Depression-era drama about the U.S. rowing team in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Then, arriving on Apple TV+ on Jan. 26, there’s Masters of the Air, a nine-episode, $250 million World War II aviation epic produced by the same team behind Band of Brothers (that’d be Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks), in which Turner and a cast of other ascendant stars — Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan — portray members of the U.S. Air Force’s 100th Bomb Group.

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Masters of the Air, in particular, is stacked with an impressive young cast — did you know anyone before you started?

After my audition, they called and said, “We’ve got this guy called Austin Butler who just played Elvis, and we want you too.” I had sent him a message, but Austin had actually gotten really sick after Elvis; I later got a voice note, like, “Sorry I haven’t replied, I’ve been in the hospital.” I just wrote: “Elvis has left the building.” It was like he needed a medical procedure to get Elvis out of his body. But we built a bond immediately. We play best friends in the show, and it’s very easy to be best buds with Austin.

You shot Masters before Boat. Did your time shooting the series help prepare you for Clooney’s movie?

My character in Masters drinks a lot and eats a lot of junk food. He’s not thinking about his six-pack. I decided to just follow his way of living, to be like him as much as possible, and see how my body manifests with that. That basically meant I just got a bit chunky. But then I had to play an Olympic rower immediately after. We started a boot camp near Oxford that offered everything a professional sports team would. We had nutritionists, physios, a rowing coach. It was knackering.

How did you unwind at the end of the day?

I’m so boring on location; I never go out and always just go home and learn my lines. Everyone has a different way of doing their job, and that’s mine. I do love that when you’re on location, there’s sort of a family or holiday vibe. I also love to relax by watching things like Emily in Paris and Mean Girls. I like to find a balance with my viewing. I watch The Devil Wears Prada and cry at the end.

You cry at The Devil Wears Prada? How come?

At the very end, when Meryl Streep looks right at Andy [Anne Hathaway] and gives her that look, and she accepts Andy for who she is. It’s really emotional.

Turner center in George Clooney’s historical drama The Boys in the Boat.
Turner (center) in George Clooney’s historical drama ‘The Boys in the Boat.’

This story first appeared in the Jan. 4 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.

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