When it comes to Justin Timberlake or Mark Wahlberg, most of us know it. But what happened to the rest of the members of *NSYNC, New Kids On The Block? Or those of other, once super successful, now almost forgotten boy or girl bands of the past? Not to mention all the other ex-teen and child stars in the film and TV business? How do they deal with the fact that the often global fame and the enormous attention they enjoyed in their early youth are now history and hardly anyone is interested in them anymore?
Eddie Sternberg, who was then aspiring director, was already concerned with these questions in 2015 when he was shooting his short film “I Used To Be Famous”. The protagonist was none other than Naomi Ackie, who was soon to be credited with big screen hits like Lady Macbeth and most importantly,Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker’ to fame.
The 17-minute film was performed at various festivals and was very well received by audiences and critics alike. So Sternberg set about writing the screenplay for a full-length remake. Now his first feature film is finished and has landed on the most well-known streaming service far and wide: I Used To Be Famous premieres September 16, 2022 exclusively on Netflix.
Years ago, Vince (Ed Skrein) was a member of one of the hottest boy bands on the planet. The glory of yesteryear is now long gone. But Vince still dreams of a comeback and is working on new music. However, no record company wants anything to do with him, let alone sign him. He just can’t get his foot in the door of show business anymore.
Desperate, he begins to perform in the pedestrian zone of his London district of Peckham in order to at least reach a small audience there. But that doesn’t really work either. It’s not until he meets autistic teenager Stevie (Leo Long), an extraordinarily talented drummer, that Vince’s new sound begins to take shape. A real friendship develops through making music together and the unlikely team founds an indie pop duo.
Stevie’s mother, Amber (Eleanor Matsuura), worries about her son’s well-being and is very skeptical about the matter. Nevertheless, the two soon even give concerts. After the first small successes, however, there is quickly a setback. Vince gets into a violent altercation with a fan – an incident that disturbs Stevie and seems to confirm Amber’s fears…
Ed Skrein became world famous as the first actor to play the character Daario Naharis in season 3 of “Game Of Thrones”. In cinemas, he was seen as the main villain Francis Freeman / Ajax in “Deadpool”, as Jason Statham’s successor in “The Transporter Refueled”, in Roland Emmerich’s “Midway” as well as in “Alita: Battle Angel” and “Maleficent 2”.
Newcomer Leo Long’s character’s mother is portrayed by Eleanor Matsuura from “The Walking Dead’, ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ and ‘Wonder Woman’. Eoin Macken (“La Brea”), Lorraine Ashbourne (“Bridgerton”, “The Crown”) and Kurt Egyiawan from the TV series “The Exorcist” on camera.
