IN CONVERSATION WITH FRA FEE

interview by MAREK BARTEK

Fra Fee continues to establish himself as one of the most versatile and compelling actors of his generation, seamlessly moving between stage and screen with remarkable depth and range. This spring, he leads Netflix’s highly anticipated psychological thriller Unchosen, starring in a gripping story set within a secretive religious sect. The series marks a major moment in his screen career, following the international success of Lost Boys & Fairies, which recently earned an International Emmy. With upcoming projects including Zack Snyder’s The Last Photograph and a growing body of acclaimed work across television, film, and theatre, he is entering a defining new chapter — one that continues to expand his creative reach and global impact.

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Unchosen is already building a lot of anticipation. What initially drew you to the project, and what made you want to be part of it?

I suppose, like anything else, a self tape request came through to my inbox. I read the first couple of episodes and was immediately hooked, largely in part to this fascinating setting of a separatist, closed-off community. I’m always the first person to specifically google documentaries about groups like this, closed communities or cults, so to have a drama set within that world was immediately intriguing. 

But even greater than that was the opportunity to get to play Sam. Our incredible writer Julie Gearey has created wonderfully nuanced characters throughout the story, but I felt as though Sam was one of the most compelling characters I’ve ever come across. He is brilliantly complex, contradictory, passionate, fiercely intelligent, and a master manipulator. I knew I would relish the opportunity to figure him out, and so I was just over the moon when I was offered the role. It’s always a real gift to be given a character whose psychology is difficult to comprehend. The more complex or complicated the character is, the more satisfying the work tends to be. And above all else, it’s just a damn good story. I’m very excited for people to see it.

What can you share about that world of closed, conservative religious sect, and how your character fits or doesn’t fit into it?

I believe Julie modelled The Fellowship of the Divine, which is the name of the group in Unchosen, on many different separatist religious communities. What people will probably find interesting is that this group is based in England. Certainly most of the documentaries that I have watched tend to be set in the United States. I hadn’t personally heard of many that existed in England. It must be noted though that this is a fictional world and Julie has drawn on the experiences of many different people and different groups. 

But yes, The Fellowship is a separatist community closed off from the main world. It doesn’t use technology apart from their business and finance obligations, nor do they use mobile phones. It’s an arguably extremely appealing world. Everybody works for each other, provides for their family, and looks out for each other. The way they have simplified and minimalised their world is quite alluring, especially when looking at the utter chaos of our modern world. There’s something idyllic about the way people in The Fellowship live. 

When we first meet Sam, he has escaped from prison, he is wearing his prison uniform, and has stumbled upon this environment in a somewhat fateful sense. For now he has the perfect place to hide, a place separate from society, a community that distances themselves from the police. He can’t quite believe his luck really. Of course, Sam is an unchosen, unchosen being the term The Fellowship uses to describe anyone outside of their religion. He is an outsider, so time will tell how his arrival affects the people within the group.

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Stories centred around religion, control and belief seem to resonate strongly with audiences. Why do you think these themes continue to feel so relevant today?

Well, religion and faith and belief systems have been the centre of the human experience since the dawn of our existence. There will always be an insatiable appetite for those stories. We are fascinated by what the meaning of life is. Why are we here? What will happen after we leave this earth? We are intrinsically fascinated by belief systems that differ to our own, and I think any institution or environment that has strict rules and boundaries is something that intrigues us. We all believe we should have free will, full autonomy over our decisions and our lives, so we are fascinated, and perhaps a little provoked, by groups that place a barrier on those freedoms.

When approaching the role of Sam, what aspects of him were most important for you to understand?

I was extremely fortunate to have been given an extensive backstory for Sam. It doesn’t always happen that an actor is afforded the luxury of such a backstory. Sometimes it’s our job to fill in the blanks or connect the dots in terms of where the character has come from, but Julie provided me with an amazingly full picture of his childhood, which helped me understand how and why he behaves in the way he does. It would be easy to categorise Sam as an antagonist or erring on the side of “bad,” but it doesn’t really serve me to simplify him in those terms. He had an extremely traumatic childhood, he is feeling the effects of abandonment, had no positive male role models to look up to, and is replicating the poor behaviour and decision making that his dad displayed when he was young. It's inarguable that Sam‘s actions before the beginning of our series and his behaviour throughout are reprehensible, but it was my responsibility to figure out why he behaves in the way he does and to approach him with empathy. He’s certainly not a psychopath in my view. When he says to Molly‘s character Rosie that he “just wants peace,” I believe he is being utterly sincere in that moment. That was my driving force throughout the show. His overriding desire is to have peace. There’s something quite beautiful and sad about this young man just wanting peace but being utterly incapable of finding it because he can’t function as a normal adult.

full look GUCCI

The series deals with quite intense psychological themes. Did working on it shift your perspective in any way, either personally or professionally?

I guess I became a bit more attuned to the susceptibility of people. You know, we have these leading figures in the community, these “Men of God” who, whether it’s as a result of their addictions or greed for power or repressed demons, behave atrociously and yet are outwardly giving off such holier-than-thou auras. On a similar note, Sam, who is on the surface a deeply troubled figure, a “bad guy,” displays such an eagerness to atone for what he’s done. He is deeply passionate and full of feelings. I couldn’t help but become more aware of the intricacies of human psychology, the fact that nothing is black-and-white, and to be wary of the ease with which people in a position of power and authority can behave badly. Although, to be fair, we don’t need to venture very far to see examples of that in the real world, do we?

Alongside Unchosen, you’re also set to appear in Zack Snyder’s The Last Photograph, a project that has been in development for many years. What can you tell us about the film and its atmosphere?

Yes! I couldn’t believe it when Zack called me up around last May and told me about this movie that he has had on his shelf for a couple of decades. I believe it almost got made about 15 years ago with Christian Bale and Sean Penn attached and for one reason or another, he never got a chance to make it. But he found himself with this unique window of opportunity to gather up some funding and go to Columbia with a small American crew, assemble a local crew there and just make it. So he called me and this brilliant Scottish actor Stuart Martin, who’s just an absolute legend and a delight of a human being, to be his leading men. It was an absolute dream of an experience. It’s such a departure for Zack, who is used to working with massive budget and franchise-building universes. 

The Last Photograph is such a smaller film following these two strangers from different walks of life into the unknown. It’s beautiful, meditative, life-affirming and I’m thrilled to be a part of it. I’ve already seen a few clips and it looks and sounds absolutely stunning, so I’m very excited for it to come out into the world.

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What made you want to be part of The Last Photograph, and how did that experience differ from your other recent work?

Oh, it was an absolute no brainer. When I was shooting the Rebel Moon movies for Zack, I said both to myself and in follow-up interviews that I would work again with him in a heartbeat. His enthusiasm for his work is utterly infectious, and he is a true artist. It’s just inspiring to be in his company as a creative person, so it really wouldn’t have mattered what he asked me to come on board with, I would’ve been up for it. It differs from previous experiences on set in that we were in the magnificent surroundings of Columbia in South America. Every location was a new unbelievable aesthetic to get lost in. We shot the last 10 days in the Amazon, both in the rainforest and on the river. It was just magic, a very immersive experience, one that I’ll never forget.

Another one of your projects, Lost Boys & Fairies, has just received an International Emmy, which is a huge recognition. Looking back, what does that moment represent for you?

Oh my goodness, I can’t tell you how proud I am of Lost Boys & Fairies. It’s such a gem of a show and I’m a measurably proud to have been a part of it. Thankfully, now there are lots of queer stories in film and television, certainly much more than when I was growing up, so to be a part of what I believe to be one of the most special LGBTQIA+ series in the pantheon is such a privilege and I’m so happy that it got the recognition it deserves. Daf James, who wrote the series, is a phenomenal talent and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. But yes, making Lost Boys & Fairies was a profound experience. As a gay man, to portray the character of Andy and to create this gorgeous relationship between him and Gabriel, played by the magnificent Sion Daniel Young, was just one of the most gratifying experiences of my career.

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jacket SAUL NASH
gloves COSTUME STUDIO
belt LEVI’S
boots VINTAGE

In the series, you portray a character navigating adoption within a queer relationship. What did that role allow you to explore?

To be honest, before getting the job, I had never really thought much about adoption, and certainly didn’t know much about the adoption process as it adheres specifically to queer people, so it was an unbelievable insight into that world. It can be a very intrusive experience, one that brings up old baggage and trauma, but it’s one of the most selfless things a couple can do for a child. Daf has a couple of adopted kids, so I got to meet them and to fully appreciate what an incredible gift it is to provide child with a loving and stable home. Regardless of whether that’s a home with a mum and a dad, two dads, two mums, one parent, it doesn’t matter, all that child needs is love. So, yes, it was such an insightful and beautiful awakening for me.

Looking across your recent projects, there’s a wide range of roles and genres. At this stage in your career, what tends to guide your decisions when choosing a project?

To be completely honest, I don’t really know. There’s such an element of the unknown in this career, which is part of the fun. Sure, we all aim to maintain as much control as possible, but so much is genuinely written in the stars. Sometimes a project comes along that just speaks to you because it’s the right time to explore that story, or it’s just something that you desperately want to do, and so you fight for it. 

But generally speaking, I like to keep things as varied as I possibly can. If I work on a film production for a long time, I almost certainly want to get back on stage as quickly as possible and vice versa. If I haven’t sung in a long time, I want to do some singing. I’m very lucky that I’ve been able to play different types of characters on different stages, and I hope that continues.

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Are there any other exciting ones we can be looking forward to?

Yes, I’m filming something new at the moment. I can’t delve too deep into that, but I’ll also be  back on stage soon, which is very exciting. I’ll be doing a new Martin Sherman play about the infamous Liberace, directed by Alan Cumming, and Liberace will be played by none other than Sir Simon Russell Beale. Both Alan and Simon are such heroes of mine so I can’t quite believe my luck that I get to work with them both on this new piece. Alan recently took over as artistic director of Pitlochry Theatre up in Scotland so we’ll be premiering the play there this autumn, and hopefully it’ll get a London life further down the line, but I’m very excited to get up there and work with those two Titans.

TEAM CREDITS:

talent FRA FEE
photography DAVID REISS
styling NATHAN HENRY at Stella Creative Artists
hair and makeup SVEN BAYERBACH at Carol Hayes Management using Daimon Barber and Only Curls
photography assistant STEFANIA CARLI
styling assistant STOYAN CHUCHURANOV
editor TIMI LETONJA
editorial director JANA LETONJA
interview MAREK BARTEK