With a breakout performance in Urchin, the actor has emerged from cult TV fame to the cusp of major stardom – a new ‘post-alpha male’ lead to join the ranks of Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor
Few actors make an instant impact on their first major film festival appearance, but Frank Dillane, star of fellow actor Harris Dickinson’s directing debut Urchin, is one of them. Critics are near-unanimous in their praise, with Variety calling his performance “revelatory”, and IndieWire describing it as “magnetic”. Influential film industry publication Deadline said that Dillane “arrived in Cannes a virtual unknown, but Harris Dickinson’s directorial debut has made him a star”.
In Urchin, Dillane plays Mike, a man living on the streets who ends up in jail after committing an assault and then struggles to go straight after his release. Despite being given a place in a hostel and helped into employment, Mike is tempted to fall back into his old ways. With a script written by Dickinson, Dillane committed to the role by trying full-immersion method acting, saying: “I spent a lot of time in soup kitchens, a lot of time with people, friends, walking around … You’re carrying your stuff, your feet hurt, your back hurts. It’s the weather. You can never close a door. You can’t sit here, you can’t stand there, move it along. No one’s looking at you.”
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