We have yet another Tom treat, with a third interview with him in as many days, this time talking about his best things in life for Red Online. Not spoiled for new photos, unfortunately. The interviews have been accompanied by the same old promotional photo - odd when Amazon has lots! But this is another lovely interview with Tom, so we should be grateful for that. Reassuringly, Tom still loves All Saints after all these years. Read it in full on the Red website.
If you're looking for a new period drama to sink your teeth into, then Amazon's latest offering, The Collection might just be it. And Tom Riley, its star, might just be your new favourite thing on screen. Playing Claude, he stars alongside Richard Coyle, Frances de la Tour and Mamie Gummer in a family saga set in a fashion house in Post-War France, from Dearbhla Walsh, the woman who brought us the likes of Penny Dreadful and The Tudors. So far, so good. Add to that, that this month he'll be starring on the big screen alongside Downton's Joanne Froggatt in Starfish, about a young couple's battle to keep their lives afloat when the husband is diagnosed with a heart-breaking disease. Yes, it will make you weep. Here, Riley shares with us his best things in life...
BOOKS
It changes month to month, I’m currently reading Jonathan Safran Foer’s Here I Am, so I’ll stick with the words of a character from another book - Brian K Vaughan’s incredible ongoing series of graphic novels, Saga: “Anyone who thinks one book has all the answers, hasn’t read enough books.”
FILMS
My stock answer used to be Dancer in the Dark. It packs an incredible emotional punch and has a brilliantly committed leading performance. Although I am a fully-fledged walked-out Björk freak so I may be biased. However, the other night I caught a re-run of Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterpiece Magnolia and ended up watching it till the end again, which ain’t bad for a three-hour movie. Every character is beautifully realised, every story beautifully tied together, and every camera move planned out like a ballet. It’s extraordinary.
SONGS
David Bowie’s Life on Mars. It tugs at something inside me but I’ve never fully worked out what. The lyrics are spooky and evocative, and the melody (which apparently was cribbed from Frank Sinatra’s My Way) is timeless. His death affected me in a way I didn’t see coming, but I’m so glad he left behind an experimental body of work that will probably never be matched in its breadth and depth and bravery. He also looked spectacular in tight trousers.
FOOD
It’s burgers, mate. It’s got to be burgers.
RESTAURANTS
In London, St John. Simple, incredible nose-to-tail eating. In Los Angeles, Chi Spacca. Simple, incredible nose-to-tail eating, but with a truckload more salt.
HOLIDAYS
Last year, my fiancée and I went on a trek through Italy, from Venice to Florence to Tuscany and winding up on the Amalfi Coast, taking restaurant recommendations from taxi drivers and boat trip recommendations from locals. It may be the most relaxed and contented I’ve ever felt. And, due to all the carbs, also the fattest.
TV
Most recently, Stranger Things has scratched every nostalgic itch I didn’t even know I had, Breaking Bad had more episodes that kicked me in the chest like a horse than any other, and The Wire remains the most incredibly complex and important work in television history.
SHOPPING
I know my sizes at All Saints in literally every possible style of clothing, which makes shopping on their online site so easy that it’s kind of a drag to shop anywhere else at this point. They’ve got me by the distressed collar. But there are also some great smaller local shops in Stoke Newington, near to my home in London, that also deserve some love - like Hub, which is a great boutique menswear store, and the uber friendly Stoke Newington Bookshop.
BEST THINGS
The lady, the dog, a nice view, a cup of coffee, the phones at a distance, and a promise from someone, anyone, that it’s perfectly alright to just take some time off and chill.
