Name
James Eeles

Course
BA (Hons) European Theatre Arts (ETA)

Graduated 
2013

A few months after graduating, I was lucky enough to find my current agent who I got on really well with, and through this, I’ve ended up going down a fairly ‘mainstream’ route as an actor, focusing on TV and film. I’ve done a fair amount of TV work including commercials, worked as featured characters in a couple of different series (Peaky Blinders BBC2, Fearless ITV, Black Mirror Netflix) and have been lucky to work on mix of short and feature-length movies (Darkest Hour, dir. Joe Wright – Focus Features; Lost in the West, dir. Carlos Gonzalez – Nickelodeon)

Working on Darkest Hour was a bit of a dream come true. Gary Oldman is one of the reasons I wanted to be a student at Rose Bruford, and to act alongside him in my first appearance in an (Oscar winning) feature film was just mind-blowing.

ETA gave me an understanding of what it takes to create a piece of work as a whole. Although the course is focused on performing, it is built around studying a bit of everything alongside it: directing, writing, devising and a load more. I’ve been able to take all these skills and adapt them to work for me in my chosen career path.

My Erasmus placement was so important for me. I went to the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia) in Tallinn, Estonia. I learnt a great deal, about acting, but also other skills, like dealing with being in a brand new country whilst having a very busy schedule, as well as how to overcome new challenges. Overall the entire experience was very fulfilling.

For those of you starting out, make sure you are smart with your choices. Don’t let other’s experiences of certain training methods impact the way you work. Go into each new part of your training with a willingness to give it everything. When you graduate if you get an offer from an agent, which is always great, do your research. That goes for anything really, not just picking an agent. You might be offered a role in a fringe show or a TV role for example, the same thing applies: do your research. When you are working put your best into it. If you do a good job, and try and get on with everyone, you’re more than likely going to work with them again. Whatever you do though, make sure you keep yourself happy – there is no point doing work if it makes you miserable.

If you want to be challenged in every different module, and you’re ready to see a whole new perspective of what theatre can be, and you’re open minded, then ETA is 100 percent the course for you. You won’t regret choosing it.

Useful links:
BA (Hons) European Theatre Arts
James Eeles IMDB Page