House of the Dragon and Downton Abbey star Tom Cullen has said he does not take the “privilege” of playing LGBTQ+ characters lightly, as he promoted new mystery-thriller Black Church Bay at the Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival in Cardiff.
The Aberystwyth-born actor, who stars opposite Heartstopper's Joe Locke in the Welsh-Irish feature, plays Barry, a closeted man whose life begins to unravel after an intimate encounter with a younger man. Set against the dramatic backdrop of Anglesey, the film explores the pressures of secrecy, identity and small-community expectations.
Speaking at a screening during the festival's 20th anniversary celebrations, Cullen reflected on portraying queer characters throughout his career, having made his screen debut in Andrew Haigh's acclaimed 2011 film Weekend. “I don't take the privilege of playing a queer character lightly, and I hold it with the utmost importance, and I hope that translates in the work,” he said.
Cullen argued that queer cinema cannot be confined to a single genre or style, pointing to the contrast between the romantic realism of Weekend and the psychological darkness of Black Church Bay. “What is wonderful is I feel like people can often pigeonhole queer cinema, and those two films show the spectrum and diversity that can be found,” he said.
The actor added that he approaches LGBTQ+ roles no differently from any other character, saying empathy remains at the heart of his work. “They are characters that you have to empathise with and understand. And fundamentally my job is empathy,” he said.
Cullen described Black Church Bay as an unusual project for British cinema and said the screenplay's bleak and unsettling tone was what first drew him to the role.
“The script was extraordinary and something that isn't usually made in the UK. It's so dark,” he said.
Written and directed by Welsh-Irish filmmaker Rhys Marc Jones, the film was conceived with Anglesey's landscape in mind. Jones described the story as “a fantasy that becomes a nightmare” and said he wanted a location capable of shifting from idyllic beauty to something far more threatening.
“Anglesey fitted the brief,” he said. “It can be absolutely stunning but has a foreboding quality.”
The film also stars Joe Locke, who said filming on Anglesey reminded him of his home on the Isle of Man. “The landscape is very similar, the small-town aspect is very similar, so it kind of felt like being at home,” he said.
Cullen praised Locke's performance and said the pair developed a strong working relationship during production. “Joe and I had each other's backs,” he said, calling the Heartstopper star “an absolute joy to work with”.
The comments came as Iris Prize, one of the world's leading LGBTQ+ film festivals, marked its 20th anniversary in Cardiff. The week-long event showcases queer stories from around the world and partners with BAFTA Cymru to support emerging filmmakers.
The festival's top prize this year went to filmmaker Luís Hindman for Magid/Zafar, a drama set in a busy Pakistani takeaway exploring tensions around identity and belonging. Hindman received £40,000 to produce a new LGBTQ+ themed film in the UK.
Speaking after the win, he said he hoped the film would offer “a chance to display my mosaic of what British Asianness can look like”.
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