Sebastian de Souza | |
|---|---|
 De Souza in 2014 | |
| Born | Sebastian Denis de Souza 19 April 1993 Oxford, Oxfordshire, England |
| Other names | Seb de Souza |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Father | Chris de Souza |
Sebastian Denis de Souza (born 19 April 1993) [1] is an English actor. He is best known for playing Matty Levan in the E4 teen drama series Skins . [2] He has since starred in the period television series The Borgias from 2012 to 2013, Medici: Masters of Florence (2018), and The Great (2020).
De Souza is the second of the two sons of Elinor Kelly and Chris de Souza, [3] an opera producer of Goan descent. [4] He was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, and has an older brother named Tristan. [3] He grew up in Boxford, Berkshire, and was a boarder at Brockhurst and Marlston House School [5] developing a fascination with theatre, music, and writing. [6] At the age of 11 he decided to dramatise The Willows at Christmas , William Horwood's adaptation of The Wind in the Willows , and performed it in the barn with his classmates. In 2006 when he was 13, he starred in the short film Hangman, premiered at the Corn Exchange. It was a story of witchcraft in the mould of Macbeth , that he co-wrote with the Prep School's Film Club. [7]
He went on to St Edward's School, Oxford, [5] where in 2006 he won a music award as a pianist, clarinettist and singer. [8] He later completed A-levels in English, History and Philosophy. [9] He also attended acting workshops at the Watermill Theatre, near Newbury. At the North Wall Arts Centre, he performed lead roles in school productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream playing Puck, Great Expectations as Pip, C. P. Taylor's Good as Maurice, and Henry V as Henry, [6] which earned him a drama prize in 2010. [10] In the same year he became a member of the National Youth Theatre. [11]
After a brief appearance in Nick Ross's documentary series The Truth About Crime , [5] de Souza got his break on television at the age of 17, when he was cast as Matty Levan in the fifth and sixth instalment of cult drama Skins . [12] In 2012 he joined the cast of historical drama The Borgias , [13] created by Neil Jordan for the American TV network Showtime and filmed at Korda Studios, near Budapest. [14] His character, Alfonso d'Aragona, first appeared in The Confession and closed his run at the end of the third and final season. [15] While in Hungary, he was filmmaker with photographer Benjamin Lebus for Evelyne's World, a concept short film about the allegory of the Cave starring Evelyne Brochu. [16]
De Souza's first big screen role is in Julian Gilbey's thriller Plastic . Production took place in early 2013 on location in Miami and London. [17] As a screenplay writer, he made his cinematic debut in Kids in Love , a film produced by Ealing Studios with de Souza also taking a title role. In 2014 he was cast as the male lead in a new Freeform show called Recovery Road , which was broadcast for a single season in 2016. [18]
In addition to his acting career, de Souza is a singer and musician. In 2011 he featured as a guest vocalist for Cubiq in their Say EP released by Hidden Label. The tune, related to current electro club music, has been remixed by Matanza and Timmy P [19] in an alternative version that fits the traditional house template. [20] In 2016 the Recovery Road cast including de Souza performed for the spring finale a musical ensemble version of Lean On Me by Bill Withers.
De Souza also works in the field of producing. In 2013 he co-founded with actor Will Poulter the TV and film production company Good Soil. [21] The following year he created his own brand management called de Souza aimed at helping young storytellers, producers or filmmakers develop their scripts. [22]
In March 2021 de Souza's first novel, Kid: A History of The Future, was published by Offliner Press, a publisher established and owned by de Souza himself. [23] [24]
With his family, de Souza annually runs drama courses for 9 to 16 year olds at a home-based Centre for Music Drama and Art. [3] In 2013 he has been made a patron of The Globe Theatre Education Fund, which runs drama projects for schools around the country, mostly Shakespearean. [25] Through a practical experience provided by orchestras he can sing in the tenor range and play different instruments. [5]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Plastic | Rafa | |
| 2016 | Kids in Love | Milo | Also writer |
| 2018 | Ophelia | Edmund | |
| 2020 | Pixie | Gareth | |
| 2021 | Lapwing | Rumi | |
| 2023 | Fair Play | Rory | |
| 2025 | The Life List | Garrett |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | The Truth About Crime | Himself | Documentary |
| 2011–2012 | Skins | Matty Levan | 14 episodes |
| 2012–2013 | The Borgias | Alfonso d'Aragona | 11 episodes |
| 2015 | Crossing Lines | Matteo de Sabato | Episode "In Loco Parentis" |
| 2016 | Recovery Road | Wes Stewart | 10 episodes |
| 2017 | Maigret in Montmartre | Philippe Martinot | Episode: "Maigret in Montemarte" |
| 2018–2019 | Medici: The Magnificent | Sandro Botticelli | 16 episodes |
| 2020 | Normal People | Gareth | 2 episodes |
| The Great | Leo Voronsky | 8 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Puck | North Wall Arts Centre |
| Great Expectations | Pip | North Wall Arts Centre | |
| 2008 | Good | Maurice | North Wall Arts Centre |
| 2009 | Henry V | Henry | North Wall Arts Centre David Howorth Drama Prize 2010 |
| 2015 | The Read Through | Criterion Theatre [26] [27] | |
| Year | Song | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Ondulation | Burning Peacocks [28] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
