‘The Queens Gambit’: Thomas Brodie-Sangster Breaks Free of the Teen Role Mold, So What Is Net Worth?
Actor Thomas Brodie-Sangster is boldly leaving teen roles in his rearview mirror as his career made a seismic shift in the Netflix breakout hit, The Queen’s Gambit. As a result, his reported net worth of $3 million is likely to experience exponential growth.
Brodie-Sangster was widely known for his role as Sam in Love Actually. The 2003 holiday ensemble film followed the lives of entwined friends and family in London. Brodie-Sangster played a 13-year-old lovesick teen, dealing with the recent death of his mother. After Love Actually, Brodie-Sangster’s career blossomed, adding roles in animated and live-action films.
However, he became the eternal teenager, continuing to play a 13-year-old a decade after Love Actually in his role of Jojen Reed in Game of Thrones. Brodie-Sangster was in his mid-twenties during Game of Thrones, but he was continuously cast in youthful roles. He played Rafe Sadler in Wolf Hall in 2015 while continuing to pursue voice work in animated roles.
Along came ‘The Queen’s Gambit’
Brodie-Sangster isn’t instantly recognizable in The Queen’s Gambit. The 30-year-old actor sports some serious facial hair, playing chess champion Benny Watts. “I took two years off just to chill out and focus on other things,” he told NME. “I went on to Queen’s Gambit and I felt a bit rusty, but I also left feeling like ‘I can’t wait for the next job!’ And then this all happened [the global pandemic]… Kind of annoying!”
He mused about developing his character, adding that growing facial hair was one of the biggest challenges. Director Scott Frank told Brodie-Sangster “He said, ‘I want you to start growing as much facial hair as you can.’” And while the actor was up to the task he shared that he did his best. “That’s all I could muster,” he said laughing. “But it was about six months of growth there.”
Brodie-Sangster also loved the 1960’s era setting. “I’ve always wanted to work in the 1960s,” he remarked. “I loved being there; the cars, the fashions, the styles, the hair. All of it. It’s very cool.”
Thomas Brodie-Sangster paused his career before diving into ‘The Queen’s Gambit’
Brodie-Sangster told NME he was at a crossroads in his career. “I did wonder, ‘how important is it to me?’ But I missed it,” he said. “I missed the wonderful freedom of being able to explore all of those kinds of questions but doing it through a character. That by proxy allows you to explore an alternative version of yourself in some ways, through someone else, and you get to play and experiment with that on set. I think that’s the most interesting thing about acting.”
While he looks forward to future roles, he understands that he will continue to be recognized for Love Actually, especially during the holidays. “I do get recognized a lot more around that time!” he said. “But that’s fine, I don’t mind – it’s quite funny, really.” Adding, “It’s just part of it.”
“It’s just about love and about companionship and togetherness,” he continued. “It’s a little bit cheesy and it’s a little bit unrealistic sometimes and the score is really lovey-dovey, but it follows several different paths and different people and different ways in which people can all find love. I think there’s something beautifully simple about that.”
