Break Out! (A New Weekly Column on Do You Have a Flag?)

Break Out is going to be a weekly series here at Do You Have a Flag? Basically each week I'll showcase someone from the film industry, i.e. actor, actress, director, etc., who falls into one of the following categories:

• Someone who is on the cusp of stardom, about to make it big

• Someone who should be big, but has often been overlooked

• Someone totally new to the industry who shows a lot of promise

You get the idea. Hopefully this will be a good way to give some attention to new/overlooked people, and help to garner them some new supporters. Any feedback on this new series would be great, and I also totally open to suggestions of Break Out stars each week. If you have someone you love who hasn't struck it big yet, suggest them!

This week's Break Out is, Sam Riley.


It's certainly possible that some of you hardcore cinephiles out there know of Sam Riley from his role as legendary Joy Division lead singer, Ian Curtis, in the biopic Control. The 29 year old British actor literally blew me away when I saw the film (illegally) online over the summer. The film, directed by Anton Corbijn, excellently done, with true artistic vision, depicts the incredible, complicated, and ultimately short lived career of Curtis, who hung himself at 23. Riley nails the part, including the eerily high pitched speaking voice which famously differed so much from Curtis' deep hypnotic singing voice. Riley plays perfectly off female co-stars Samantha Morton (playing Curtis' wife Deborah), and Alexandra Maria Lara (who plays love affair Annik Honore, and who is Riley's real life fiance as of this past Christmas). His onscreen presence, even in silence is just as hypnotic as Curtis himself, lulling you under his spell, and then abruptly, though not unexpectedly, exiting. Riley has been blessed with very youthful looks (despite his being almost 30), which should bode well for him in Hollywood. He also has a bit of a modeling career under his belt, as you may recognize him from recent Burberry ads. Control is Riley's first film credit to date (apart from TV cameos). The fact that his first film was so impressive, hopefully speaks to a long career ahead, but it could be that he simply got lucky with Control (which wasn't widely seen after all). He will be starring in the upcoming Franklyn (which I have mentioned before) and is also set to star in On The Road, a film adaptation of the Jack Kerouac book. Neither film has a U.S. release date as of yet.

So, keep an eye out for this guy, and if you have a free night, watch Control to help promote this week's Break Out, Sam Riley.