Luke Treadaway interview: 'I love that people think I'm a teenager'

Anyone who saw him in the National Theatre's production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time will know that Luke Treadaway is a prodigious talent. As Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old maths genius with Asperger’s Syndrome, he gave an astonishing performance: raw, funny and at times almost unbearably moving.

The play was adapted for stage by Simon Stephens from Mark Haddon's 2003 novel and won a record seven Olivier Awards earlier this year – including one for Treadaway as Best Actor – before transferring to the West End, where it's now been seen by more than 150,000 people. The Curious Incident... wasn't the first successful National Theatre production to star Treadaway, however: in 2007, he played 16-year-old Albert in the original War Horse, a play that has since stormed the West End and Broadway, and spawned a Hollywood movie directed by Steven Spielberg.

Now 29, the voluble, affable Devon actor, who's appeared in films such as 2011’s entertaining, genre-mashing Attack the Block and 2010's blockbuster remake of Clash of the Titans, is about to start work on a movie project his agent has forbid him from talking about. Here Treadaway discusses his stage career, winning an Olivier Award, kissing his actor twin brother, Harry, and his latest film, The Rise, in which writer/director Rowan Athale transports a familiar heist-gone-wrong tale to England's industrial north.

What sets The Rise apart from other heist movies?

"There’s definitely a strength to it not being set in London. It has that northern soul vibe to it – a kind of warmth to it which maybe is generated by those guys together, and the banter they share. They’re not cockney geezers who are trying to rob hundreds of thousands of pounds; it’s four young lads from an estate outside Leeds. And there’s that small-town mentality. They’re trying to get £60,000 to go and invest in a business – it’s a really small amount. I think it’s quite different in that they’re not trying to steal the Crown Jewels or something."

Your first break was with War Horse. How did it come about?

"It’s an interesting story. I’d just come out of drama school and was auditioning for a play at the National [Theatre] and I got down to the last two. I didn’t get it and was obviously gutted but then, about two weeks later, the casting director at the National called me and said, ‘You know, sorry that play didn’t work out but would you be interested in doing this workshop instead?' It was a three-week workshop for a new play that they were devising called War Horse. So I got the book and read it and realised that, ‘Bloody hell, this is amazing’. Albert is an amazing part for a young Devon lad, but, you know, I didn’t think I 'd get it. Then every day in the workshop, I kept being given this part to read, and, eventually, in the last week, I got asked to do it. It was amazing being there at the early stages, when the puppets hadn't arrived from South Africa – it was people’s hands on the backs of people’s shoulders as a horse, you know. We would be stroking people’s heads. Some of the early videos from that workshop would make us all laugh now quite a lot."

Did you have a feeling at the time that it would be this successful?

"Well, I’d never seen anything a show that had life-size horse puppets in it so I knew it was going to be different. And, yes, certainly it was the most joyous, brilliant, incredible experience ever devising something on that scale. But I suppose you never stop and think at that stage, ‘Yes, well, we could be having a hit on our hands' – there’s just no time for that and you’re not in that mindset. You're just thinking, ‘What are my lines?’ Even when we’d finished after four months, it was just a one man play at the National and it was only, you know, five years later that two million people around the world have seen it and suddenly it’s this worldwide thing. So, it’s very satisfying and I’m very proud to have been some small part of it."

What preparations did you make for playing the role of Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time?

"Well, I read lots of books and watched lots of documentaries. I went to five different schools that cater specifically for kids with autism, and I hung out for a day at these schools and spoke with staff and spoke to pupils. Five minutes in a lesson was more useful than 10 hours of documentary watching. It was incredible trying to get some sort of understanding first-hand of what it’s like to live with autism."

^{Luke Treadaway in 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' at the Apollo Theatre}

How often did you have to wax your chest during Curious Incident?

"I chose the shaving method and I had to do that every other day. The longer it gets the longer I know I’ve left the play for. It’s like a sort of visual metaphor."

Are you missing playing Christopher?

"Yes and no. It's a very incredible experience to have every day. I mean, on a biological level, doing it releases tons of adrenalin and endorphins so your body becomes aware that you're no longer getting that rush. At the same time I must say it’s quite nice to be able to see friends and family and every day know that I’ve got that huge journey at the end of each day to do."

Did you find yourself acting like Christopher after the curtain had gone down?

"Well, on a practical level, I’d find myself still moving through crowds in a very precise manner and, because I’d warmed up for an hour and done about two and a half hour shows, I'd be pretty switched on. I’d find that I would still talk in a pedantic, articulate way for, like, two hours after. But, no, I haven’t had trouble eating brown food and, no, I don't suddenly dislike the colour yellow."

And that Olivier award...

"Yeah, I was genuinely very shocked and completely unprepared for that to have happened. But it was a beautiful surprise and was just very excited the whole evening that The Curious Incident was getting so much attention. It was a fun night for us all sat there."

In your career you’ve played quite a few teenagers. Do you find it strange?

"No, I love that I still get ID'd. It’s not a bad thing; it’s cool. Albert and Christopher don’t necessarily seem like what you think of when you think of a teenage part. They're not from young love story. If I was stuck playing those kind of parts, I think it would annoy me. I’m lucky to have had the genes to have allowed me to play younger parts at my age. I mean, I’m 29 now and to be able to play a 15-year-old is something few people my age would be able to do."

What’s the most awkward thing to happen to you while you’re on stage?

"Well, my brother and I did a play in 2009 at the Royal called Over There. It was a sort of metaphor for East and West Berlin, so we were twins that had been separated by the Berlin Wall. In the last scene, having been covered in ketchup and chocolate sauce and all sorts of weird food condiments – it was a very European style production I have to say – I ended up taking my pants off, putting on a pair of red high heels and blonde wig, and walking down from the top of the stage down to the front of it and snogging my brother as the lights went out. I suppose it was probably liberating and awkward when you’ve got your cousins in the second row...

You both look very similar. How did you try to create your own identity?

"I think we’ve always been quite different but at the same time always been into the same things so, even though we were both into rugby, we were still different types of rugby players. Even though we were into music, we were still our own person doing it and the same goes for acting now. We had different haircuts and we never dressed the same."

Which directors would you most like to work with?

"So many. If we narrow it down to some British directors, then: Shane Meadows, Danny Boyle, Ken Loach."

What now? I’m presuming that you’ve got quite a few offers coming in after The Curious Incident...

"I’ve a film that I’m doing that starts in about a month’s time, but sadly, I don’t think I'm able to bloody tell you, I’m sorry. It’s one of those things that hasn’t been announced yet and so I’m not allowed to."

The Rise is out on DVD and Blu-ray now

Buy tickets to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time from Telegraph Box Office