Shaun Thomas’s positive affirmations

At first glance, Shaun Thomas doesn’t seem the mystical type. He wriggles in his gaming chair, wearing a plain grey top and black watch, eager to exhibit his dad-style phone case which holds his bank cards. But, to my surprise, in the same breath he tells me about his interest in self-help books, and how that led him to read The Secret. It’s a book whose philosophy asserts that an individual tells the universe what they want, acts as if they already have it, and it is attracted into their life. “I think it’s easier to be negative, isn’t it?” the actor muses in his broad Bradford accent. “I do force myself to stay positive. I started doing that and things started happening, and then I was like, ‘Oh, this kind of does work’. Maybe it doesn’t, but it works for me.” He grins. 

Thomas’s manifestation technique certainly seems to be effective. His credits include the BAFTA-nominated How To Have Sex, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and most recently HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Now 28, he recalls how he never expected to act professionally. As a teenager, he wanted to be a farrier, and his first job was scrap-metal collecting, which he “fell into” at age 12. Intrigued by a young man driving through the estate he grew up on in a horse and cart, Thomas asked if he could join him at work. The stranger agreed. “I loved it,” the actor says frankly, propping his chin up on his fists. “I mean, I didn’t get paid much, but just to get to go out of where you live when you’re younger — it’s like getting your first car.” 

As a self-proclaimed “disruptive” pupil, Thomas would regularly skip school to attend to his new venture. Looking back, he admits he struggled with authority. “I was one of those kids,” he says sheepishly. “I wasn’t really functioning in mainstream school, always messing around and being a class clown.” In a bid to interest him in academia, Tong High School put him onto an alternative learning programme in which Thomas learnt to horse ride in addition to the usual maths, science and English. Shortly afterwards, Clio Bernard and casting director Amy Hubbard contacted the school in search of young actors to star in The Selfish Giant. They’ve formed an integral part of Thomas’s support system ever since. Thomas played co-lead Swifty, and won the Best British Newcomer award at the 2013 London Film Festival for his performance. 

Being whisked away from the monotony of school and onto a film set felt like a fantasy, Thomas tells me; which is why the actor counts the project as his “most special” to date. A far cry from the classroom, the creative environment suited him, even though it provided the most concentrated dose of learning he’d ever experienced. “I’m always open to learning now,” he explains. “I try to be a sponge and soak up as much as I can. I speak to as many people as possible and just dig for information.” 

Thomas’s shift in mindset was a necessary one for a career so founded on research. And his commitment has paid off. “I just could have never in my wildest dreams fathomed what I’ve done and the jobs I’ve worked on,” he says. “When is somebody going to wake me up and tell me it’s not real?” Crowning his list of most thrilling moments was receiving a British Independent Film Award in 2023 for his rendition of Badger in How To Have Sex, a film that follows a group of teenagers holidaying in Malia, and grapples with adolescence, consent and friendship. Even the memory of his win leaves him speechless. “That was like, that was a feeling that, that like…” Thomas searches for the right words, gently shaking his head. “Mind blowing. I remember, like, the nerves, like the — just the energy that I had going through my body after I did my speech and stuff. My body was physically buzzing, I was shaking that much,” he continues. “I were proper shocked to just be in the nominations, never mind to win.” It was a milestone that quietened Thomas’s impostor syndrome; proof of his status as a bona fide thespian. “I used to struggle to see myself as an actor,” he confides. “When people would ask me what I do, I’d feel stupid. It gave me a massive confidence boost.” 

His tendency to underestimate himself didn’t disappear entirely, however. Thomas approached his most recent role as Raymun ‘The Reluctant’ Fossoway in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms with considerable self-doubt. The series follows the adventures of a knight and his squire, played by Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell. Assuming responsibility for a character in the much-loved Games of Thrones universe felt like a heavy burden to bear. In order to quell his anxiety, he turned to show runner Ira Parker, who reassured Thomas that he had no cause for worry. “‘These people know what they’re doing, so you wouldn’t be here if you wasn’t able’,” he recalls reminding himself. “The biggest lesson was believing in myself.” To his relief, further fears that the production would be an unfeeling “military operation” because of its scale were banished after shooting just a handful of scenes. “It was the complete opposite,” he says. “Everyone was just so happy and welcoming.” Beaming, Thomas describes the filming process as “one of the best experiences of my life”.  “Every day was fun,” he effuses. “I mean, we’re all dressed up in armour and we’ve got swords!” 

Despite his initial misgivings, Thomas believes that it was the power of his positive thinking that landed him the role. Just after How To Have Sex came out, Don McNicholl, business and legal affairs executive at Film4, asked him what kind of project he’d like to work on next. Thomas specified that he’d like to be on horseback. After just a year, he started working on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which involved weeks of horse riding training. Incidentally, while at the BIFAs last year, Thomas bumped into McNicholl again. “Before I could mention it to him, he mentioned it to me, so he’d been thinking the same,” he laughs. “That was a big moment. I just put that out there and then it happened.”

When I ask Thomas if he has any other jobs on the horizon, he shrugs: “Just waiting to be updated.” It’s this in-between time that tests his dedication to positivity. Rejection is hard to swallow, the actor acknowledges; particularly if he believes the audition went well. “That’s always a little bit of a heartbreaker,” Thomas says, rubbing his chin back and forth along his fingers. Characteristically, though, he handles knock backs with grace, affirming that “what is meant for me won’t pass me by”. Even in the in-between, Thomas moves with purpose. He fills his days with walks on the nearby Yorkshire Dales, watching Liverpool FC’s training videos on YouTube and writing bits of scripts as and when inspiration strikes. “The goal is just to be positive and not get caught up in being down or feeling like I’m not doing enough,” he says. “That’s the main goal: to be happy.”