From ESC to Eastenders

Charlie Suff, East Sussex College alumnus who studied Performing Arts at the College’s Lewes campus, has been cast in Eastenders as Johnny Carter, Danny Dyer’s son.

Alongside his new role on Eastenders, Charlie is best known for his role as Tommy Wilson in ITV drama Grantchester. Charlie has also starred in ITV series Grace and the Barons Court Theatre production of Lemons, Lemons, Lemons.

Students at the College’s Lewes campus have been lucky enough to work with Charlie in various workshops over the past few years, where he was able to share a wealth of practical knowledge and answer questions to aspiring performers about their next steps into the industry.

Following his new role, Charlie caught up with the College to speak about his time at East Sussex College and his development throughout his Performing Arts course.

“ESC was a fantastic starting point for me in this industry,” said Charlie. “The calibre of teaching there and the quality of the training are so rare to come by at Key Stage 5. The commitment at ESC to helping young actors prepare for drama school was so important for me being able to take that next step in my early career. I couldn’t have done it without the help of the college!

“[Since leaving college] I have definitely had ups and downs, as every actor does. I’ve had the fantastic highs of being on set for ITV crime dramas, touring shows, doing plays in London. And now, on EastEnders having such a brilliant time working with some fantastic actors and a great team of people.”

Charlie added, “But, I have also had the frustration of doing seemingly endless auditions that I very almost get or that go nowhere. Throughout it all I think being an actor, more than a lot of professions, really teaches you to appreciate each moment, whether good or bad - and try to learn as much as you can from it.”

After leaving the College, Charlie went on to gain a BA (Hons) in Professional Acting at Bristol Old Vic and has been working in theatre, film and television. During his two-year-long studies at ESC, Charlie earmarked the support from his tutors as one his standout memories of the course.

“I absolutely loved my PA course! I met friends for life, one of whom I still live with, and we have both helped each other with many an audition and acted with each other very recently too,” said Charlie. “I felt incredibly well supported throughout, the staff taught me so much about theatre, about acting and how to be an actor. I then felt fully supported as I took my next steps towards drama school, taking with me all I learnt in my two years at ESC.”

When asked whether he’d recommend the Performing Arts course at ESC to young, aspiring actors, Charlie said, “Definitely. Even if you aren’t sure if you want to be an actor, the environment and teaching style are so geared towards young people having the space to understand what drives them, what they’re interested in and what they could want to do. The Performing Arts building was always so buzzing with actors, singers and musicians - you got a taste for everything!”

Speaking about what advice he’d give to young people looking to follow in his footsteps, Charlie said, “Go for it. If you fall in love with it - don’t let anything stop you. Acting gets a real rep for being hard, and it is - it can be really hard. But there is so much out there, so much possibility and you will meet so many wonderful people along the way. And if you’ve really fallen in love with it, you’ll be able to handle those harder moments.”

If you’d like to follow in Charlie’s footsteps, please click here to find all the relevant courses on offer at East Sussex College.