Twenty-two year-old English actor Sam Clemmett plays Harry Potter’s troubled middle son Albus Severus in the eighth and latest instalment of the Potter juggernaut, HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD, PARTS ONE AND TWO at London’s Palace Theatre.  Albus is a shy, introverted, often misunderstood character, having to deal with his famous father’s past, who is propelled into a massive journey as he follows in Harry’s footsteps at Hogwarts and the wizarding world.

Sam, from a non-theatrical family, didn’t go to drama school. He joined the National Youth Theatre sometime between the ages of 16 and 17, which led to his first professional stage role in THE LORD OF THE FLIES at the Regent Open Air Theatre. His TV roles include THE MUSKETEERS, FOYLE’S WAR, DOCTORS and HOLBY CITY. Actually he doesn’t look 22. In a recent Evening Standard interview he said he looks, “Around 12. I’ll be ID’d forever,” an obvious advantage when it comes to playing the child wizard.

My recent frequent visits to the Palace Theatre stage door in Soho included the World Premiere gala performance on a whirlwind Saturday afternoon a couple of weeks ago, where I managed to catch Sam, who graphed my sketch.