Sebastian de Souza

Early life

De Souza is the second of the two sons of Elinor Kelly and Chris de Souza, an opera producer of Goan descent. He was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, and has an older brother named Tristan. He grew up in Boxford, Berkshire, and was a boarder at Brockhurst and Marlston House School developing a fascination with theatre, music, and writing. 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.

He went on to St Edward's School, Oxford, where in 2006 he won a music award as a pianist, clarinettist and singer. He later completed A-levels in English, History and Philosophy. 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, which earned him a drama prize in 2010. In the same year he became a member of the National Youth Theatre.

Career

As actor

After a brief appearance in Nick Ross's documentary series The Truth About Crime, 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. In 2012 he joined the cast of historical drama The Borgias, created by Neil Jordan for the American TV network Showtime and filmed at Korda Studios, near Budapest. His character, Alfonso d'Aragona, first appeared in The Confession and closed his run at the end of the third and final season. 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.

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. 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.

As singer and musician

In addition to his acting career, de Souza is a singer and musician. In 2011 he 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 in an alternative version that fits the traditional house template. In 2016 the Recovery Road cast including de Souza 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. The following year he created his own brand management called de Souza aimed at helping young storytellers, producers or filmmakers develop their scripts.

As author

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.

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. 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. Through a practical experience provided by orchestras he can sing in the tenor range and play different instruments.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Music video appearances

References

References

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