HCX caught up with Alex Thomas, who is becoming a bit of a star in the Youtube world, to bring you one of our rare fresher cuties!
Name: Alex Thomas
Year: 1
Course: English
How long have you had your YouTube channel? How did you end up gaining so many followers?
I’ve technically been vlogging since October 2012, so that’s 2 and a bit years. After about a month with my channel I had about 100 subscribers. Then by random chance, ThatcherJoe and Zoella came across my channel and they both subscribed to me, and liked some videos and that got me 1000 subscribers in a weekend.
So you’re properly in with some of the big stars then! Has being on YouTube brought you any cool opportunities?
Yeah we keep in contact – I’ve been to Joe’s house in London after a Halloween party.
I did some filming with The Voice which will go live around February/ March time I think- which my network organised.
Is YouTube something you’d want to take further or do professionally?
Umm I would love to but it’s not completely realistic – only a small handful of channels get huge and even those don’t earn enough to live on.
So let’s talk about RENT, in it you play Mark, how long were you rehearsing for before the show opened?
I got cast in September and we began rehearsing straight away
Rehearsals weren’t too crazy to begin with – at least for me. I had one a week, sometimes I wasn’t even needed but as it got closer to the show it got more hectic.
Okay so quite a while! Did you audition specifically for Mark or just in general?
I auditioned in general but mark was my favourite character so the song I sang was deliberately more Mark if that makes sense
What made Mark your favourite character?
I like his songs a lot, and I guess I can also relate to him more than the other characters, it just looked like a fun part to play.
How nervous were you on opening night?
Fairly nervous, especially because it’s my first drama experience at Exeter. As soon as the first scene was finished though I was fine and on every other night I was a lot more relaxed.
Are you looking to do any more drama/theatre things this year?
I want to try and get involved somehow in the T3 drama festival (where drama students put on plays all through the third term) – I really want to try doing some directing at some point.
So it’s going to be a busy year for you!
Yeah it’ll be nice for this term to find some time to relax.
Check out Alex’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/ItMustBeAlex