Photographer: Jemima Marriott
Stylist: Bertie Taylor- Smith
Grooming: Nadia Altinbas
Bristol born rising star Gamba Cole talks to us about his brilliant break through role in ‘The Outlaws’, acting alongside Christopher Walken and how he became an actor.
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Hi Gamba, where abouts in the world are you today?
I am in london in the uk.
You’ve recently played a lead role in Stephen Merchant’s BBC/Amazon series ‘The Outlaws’ can you tell us about the show?
The show is about 7 strangers that come together to do community service. It’s a comedy drama that explores stereotypes and looks at the world through many different lenses.
Can you tell us how you prepared for your role as ‘Christian’?
First and foremost I travelled to Bristol and immersed myself in the city and created my character’s back story. I thought about where Christian went to school, his route home from work and where he would shop. I also wanted to absorb the culture, accent and style of the people that live there. Bristol is such a vibrant city and I wanted to encapsulate that as much as possible.
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‘Christian’ is a complex character, do you see any similarities between you?
Yes! I believe that there is a piece of you in every character you play but for me the obvious similarities were that he is an older brother as am I and I was also born in Bristol. Plus before acting I used to work as a security guard.
In the outlaws you perform alongside Hollywood legend Christopher Walken, what’s he like to work with?
It was surreal. To go from watching Christopher on my tv to working with him was crazy, I would never have imagined that one day I would be acting along-side him. He was so fun to work with – always making everyone laugh on set. He was such a presence.
What are you doing next? Any projects in the pipeline?
Shooting season one and two was such a honour and privilege but for now I just want to rest, reflect and reset.
How did you get into the acting industry? Did you always have the ‘Acting bug’?
I didn’t no. Before acting I was playing football (soccer) but I realised soon enough that it wasn’t my dream. I decided to take up acting in school and loved it so I made a decision that this was the career for me.
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Who’s your biggest inspiration?
Rather than a person my biggest inspiration is wanting to create a legacy for my family.
Out of all the characters you’ve played – which role have you found the most challenging?
That’s a tough question. For me I would have to say Christian because this was my very first leading tv role and biggest role to date. But it has also been my most rewarding.
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Gamba Cole stars in Stephen Merchant’s The Outlaws out on Amazon Prime soon and available on BBC iPlayer (UK) now.