Thomas Boyce is a bright young entertainer on the rise who is having an opportunity to shine. It is also highly earned. With his breakthrough role as Marucs in Disney’s CRATER, which was released earlier this month, it’s clearly his moment to shine. From performing for his grandparents as a child to now entertaining us on our screens, Thomas continues to refine his skills as he grows his acting career. This youthful, skilled, and brilliant performer is just getting started.

Cox: Thomas Boyce, I’m happy to speak with you today about your latest role in Disney’s CRATER, which is out now. You play “Marcus.” Before getting into this new movie, I want to know who Thomas, the actor, is. 
Boyce: Thomas is a lover of all things art. I love performance art the most. As an artist, I love to perform and put on a show. 

Cox: Speaking about putting on a show – what about it brings you joy? 
Boyce: As a young child, I was always entertaining and dancing for my grandparents. You know how little kids like to put on shows and dance in the living room? Well, for me, it was, and still is so electrifying. I’m fueled by positive energy I receive from the audience after putting on a great performance. Receiving that energy from observers is intoxicating, and I just love it. 

I also love the fact that I get to embody someone else while taking the audience out of their routine lives for a short period of time, or sometimes two-or-more hours. I get to bring them into a new world, which I genuinely enjoy. 

Cox: With all this joy you had for entertaining as a young child, did you know even then you wanted to be an actor? 
Boyce: You know, Michael, I had the pleasure of knowing pretty early that I wanted to be an actor. I was a class clown in school and loved making everyone laugh. When I wasn’t in school, I was at the local theater performing and networking. Even early on, I formed friendships with actors and others who took the job seriously. I took this love and passion for acting so seriously, that I skipped a lot of social events because I wanted to practice and perfect my craft – and this decision has served me pretty well. 

Cox: When Thomas is working to embody a character from the script, what’s his process? 
Boyce: If the character is a real-life person, then I’m doing a lot of research and trying to find YouTube videos about them. I want to know this person personally, so I would even check to see if I could speak with people who know them personally. It’s important for me to understand who this person thinks they are, and why they think and act the way they do. I’m looking at the smallest details, like their mannerisms. In order to embody the character, I want to truly know the person.  

Cox: Now that we are on the subject of embodying characters, I want to know more about CRATER. 
Boyce: I play “Marcus” in CRATER. The movie is centered around this futuristic trading world that’s on the moon. The film is really a story about friendship. When you watch it, you’re reminded of something like Stand by Me, one of those coming-of-age stories about a group of friends. The movie has everything from adventure, to comedy, and it’s really just a great and beautiful story all-together. 

I think there is something for everyone, and I recommend it for all ages. Any audience member can find something in it to relate to. 

Cox: Nice! Now take me back to when you received the notice about this opportunity and landed the role. 
Boyce: I love telling people about this. I remember being on my computer and also on the phone with my friends, De Jour and Trent, who are both actors, just chatting about nothing in particular. I also make music, so I was scrolling through my email as I thought I received some new beats. In actuality, I saw the inbound email was really about CRATER, and I immediately went through the rundown of the movie in the email. 

The movie drew me in because, growing up, I always loved superhero and sci-fi movies. As I read through the description, I said to myself, “Wow, these characters have such interesting plot points . . . Oh, this is cool!” So, I was incredibly excited for the audition. 

Initially, I actually didn’t audition for the role of “Marcus,” but for Isaiah Russell-Bailey’s role in the film. About a week later, they asked me to come in and read for “Marcus.” About two months had passed, and boom, I got the callback to do a test with the director and other Disney executives via Zoom. It was surreal and crazy, because during this test shoot, there were multiple actors testing for “Marcus” and “Borney” (Marcus’ best friend in the film). 

The following day after the test shoot, I returned home from school and off the bus, and right when I walked inside, I got the call from the director telling me I had secured the role. It was a very humbling experience, and I had to thank God because I was so excited for the film. I couldn’t stop thinking about it!  

Cox: Was there anything you think you did differently that landed you this role? 
Boyce: I honestly think I manifested this role. With most auditions, I come in, do my best, and try to forget about it. However, this one, I couldn’t get out of my head. I was constantly thinking to myself, “This is the opportunity for me to work with Disney. I want to be at Disney!” It was a dream come true. 

Cox: This is such a sci-fi film and a dream come true for you. How was it when you got on set and started filming? 
Boyce: I didn’t really have any first-day jitters, per se. It was a bit daunting to me at first, as it was my first-time meeting any of the cast and crew. Of course, we had little zooms here and there to get acquainted, but nothing in-person. It was such a rewarding experience getting to work alongside well-known actors like Isaiah Russell-Bailey, Mckenna Grace, and Kid Cudi. As I’ve mentioned, I come from a theater background, so I just hoped I didn’t go outside of what was asked of me as an actor. 

The cast and I all became good friends in the end.  We spent a lot of time together – we’d get to set at 7 a.m. each morning to film, and then when we wrapped, we’d continue to hang out, go eat, and talk. We kept this routine going on-repeat during the duration of filming, and we all really bonded as a result.  

Cox: Thomas, one last question before you go. Now that you have a film like this with Disney under your belt at 17 years-old, what does this mean for Thomas Boyce, a young entertainer on the rise? 
Boyce: I’m supposed to be here. I’ve worked hard for this, really earned it – and it’s only the beginning. I say this because, a lot of people marginalize themselves by thinking their big dreams or goals aren’t realistic. I was lucky enough to have teachers and family members who instilled in me the power to believe in myself. I want anyone in the arts to know how important that is for whatever they are striving for that they deem to be a measure of success. 

Now that I have had this experience, I feel like nothing can ever seem too big for me to accomplish. 

Photography Credit
Rowan Daly