Will Poulter is quite a sight to behold. As well as having to eat pre and post-gym to bulk up for his next movie, at 6’4″ he towers over everyone in the room and has eyebrows so distinctive he’ll happily admit that they’re the main reason he gets spotted in the street. The 22-year-old Londoner took a slightly different path to that of his family of healthcare workers and financiers — one that has led him on adventures like duelling with giant mice in The Chronicles of Narnia, getting stuck in a snogging sandwich between Emma Roberts and Jennifer Anniston in We’re The Millers, and ruling over a group of lost boys in The Maze Runner.
His latest endeavour is a film tipped for Oscars glory, alongside someone who Will – before he knew that he was soon to be working with him – openly fanboy’d over at last year’s BAFTAs. When asked at the event who he’d be star struck by, Will gushed; “It’s Leo. Leo all day. DiCap without a doubt. It’s LDCP without a doubt… I haven’t met him and I would absolutely love to. If I did, I’d have a freak out.” So, on learning that he would not only get to meet, but work with Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant, did he freak out? “I said that because I thought, there’s no way I’m going to work with him anytime soon. If I’m lucky enough to work with him at some stage in his career, incredible, but it’s not going to happen in the next decade, and even after that I can’t see it happening. So it was a bit weird!” The Revenant is based on the true story of legendary American explorer Hugh Glass, played by Leo, and his revenge against John Fitzgerald, played by Tom Hardy (“I was a bit fanboyish there too”) who left him for dead after a bear attack. Will plays Glass and Fitzgerald’s mountaineer cohort, 19-year-old Jim Bridger.
Despite having over 42,000 followers on Instagram, and his own 8,000-strong fandom at @willpoulterarmy, Will has not posted a single picture on his own account. “I made a decision to cut back because I found myself going on it too much,” he explains. “I’d look up from my phone and be like, ‘I’ve just been scrolling for ten minutes… Why?’ I could’ve been having a conversation with the person next to me. And it scared me.” Instead, Twitter, email and HotNewHipHop are the only three apps he checks each morning. “That’s my other hobby, hip hop music. I think the first UK artist I loved was Dizzee Rascal,” he reminisces. “Then Kano. I remember being at a party when I was 13. There was a pop song on, and then these two older boys started DJing and just played Kano, and I was like, ‘What is this? This is the best thing I’ve ever heard!’ I kinda sat on the edge because no one was on the dance floor, and was like, I have to go ask them. So I went up really shyly – I was quite shy when I was younger – and said, ‘Um, excuse me, um, I was just wondering, what were you playing?’ They were way too cool to speak to me, but they were like ‘Kano P’s and Q’s‘, and I was like, ‘Okay thanks’. I remembered in my head ‘P’s and Q’s, P’s and Q’s‘, and went home and watched it on YouTube a million times over that night.” After seeing Will rap Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes’ part in TLC’s Waterfalls in We’re The Millers, we’re eager to hear more. “That’s very sweet, thank you, but I’m gonna spare the world. I’m comfortable in the knowledge that I’m saving the world by not having them ever hear me try!”
Credits
Text Felicity Kinsella
Photography Luc Coiffait
Styling Adam Winder
Groming Yumi Nakada-Dingle using Bumble and bumble and Chanel Le Lift and Chanel Body Excellence
Photography assistance Jos Whiteman
Styling assistance Chiori Takamatsu
Will wears all clothing Pringle of Scotland