With Justin Timberlake or Mark Wahlberg, most of us know. But what actually 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 yesteryear? 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 enormous attention they enjoyed in their early youth are now history and hardly anyone is interested in them anymore?
These questions moved the then budding director Eddie Sternberg back in 2015 when he shot his short film “I Used To Be Famous”. The protagonist was none other than Naomi Ackie, who soon rose to fame with screen successes such as “Lady Macbeth” and above all “Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker”.
The 17-minute film was screened at various festivals and was very well received by audiences and critics. So Sternberg set about writing the script for a feature-length remake. Now his feature-length debut is ready and has landed on the most popular streaming service far and wide: “I Used To Be Famous” will launch exclusively on Netflix on 16 September 2022.
THIS IS THE STORY “I USED TO BE FAMOUS” ON NETFLIX
Years ago, Vince (Ed Skrein) was a member of one of the hottest boy bands on the planet. By now, the fame of yesteryear is long gone. But Vince still dreams of a comeback and works on new music. However, no record company wants to hear from him, let alone sign him. He just can’t get his foot in the door of show business any more.
Desperate, he begins to perform in the pedestrian zone of his London district Peckham, in order to at least reach a small audience there. But that doesn’t really work either. Only when he meets the autistic teenager Stevie (Leo Long), an exceptionally talented drummer, does Vince’s new sound take shape. Making music together leads to a real friendship and the mismatched duo forms an indie pop duo.
Stevie’s mother Amber (Eleanor Matsuura) worries about her son’s well-being and is very sceptical about the whole thing. Nevertheless, the two even give concerts soon after. After the first small successes, however, there is soon a setback. Vince gets into a violent altercation with a fan – an incident that disturbs Stevie and seems to confirm Amber’s fears …
AND THIS IS THE CAST
Ed Skrein became world famous as the first actor to play the character Daario Naharis in season 3 of “Game Of Thrones”. He went on to star as the main villain Francis Freeman/Ajax in “Deadpool”, as Jason Statham’s replacement in “The Transporter Refueled”, in Roland Emmerich’s “Midway” as well as in “Alita: Battle Angel” and “Maleficent 2”.
The mother of newcomer Leo Long’s character is embodied 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” were in front of the camera for other parts.
