British actor Elliott Ross chatted about “The Quest” on Disney+ and “Masters of the Air.”
Congrats on the success of “The Quest”? how did that feel?
Thanks! Lots of feelings. It was a big personal achievement to book a role like that, so that felt pretty great. And the show just got nominated for three Children & Family Emmy Awards, which is extremely nice!
As a company, we were all super excited to be part of something so novel but you just never know how things are going to be received. Award nominations are very validating. We knew we were onto something!
Looking back now, that it has aired, what did you like most about your character Prince Cederic?
I liked lots of things about him so it’s difficult to pick. But I think the moments of humor and warmth read really well. It’s fun to watch a spiky personality soften up over the course of a series.
Can you briefly tell us about “Masters of the Air” and how was that experience like?
Extremely different from “The Quest,” that’s for sure! There was definitely a grittiness to the filming process. They had us complete two weeks of boot camp before we even started filming, which kind of set the tone. It was quite an immersive process and, as we were all playing real people that actually existed, they placed a lot of importance on authenticity.
All of the planes, costumes, and props were also real World War II artifacts so it was quite special. It felt like a badge of honor to be included in the cast. I guess being on a Spielberg set for the best part of a year is really quite a cool experience. Who would have thought?
If you were to have any superpower what would it be and why?
I want to be able to speak to cats. Could we make that happen?
What would your alternate career choice be?
I’m the lead singer of my band that is headlining Glastonbury, of course.
Were there any moments in your career that helped define you?
In hindsight, lots of moments! Lots of painful and challenging experiences provided opportunities for huge learning and growth. And also some really thrilling moments where people said yes to me. But I guess there were a couple of important decisions I made that really opened doors, although I didn’t know it at the time.
When I was at University I was cast in a production of “Macbeth” that was going up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; however, I decided to jump ship to another student production that my best friend had written for the same festival. I know right, very controversial political decision for me at the time. But I had a gut feeling about it.
Anyway, I got seen in that show in Edinburgh by the director that would mentor me and eventually cast me in her show at the Royal Shakespeare Company, which was my first big job and my ultimate dream at the time.
I never went to Drama school, so that job was an incredibly important launchpad to my career in terms of relationships, training, and opportunities. If I hadn’t changed my mind about those student shows things would have played out so differently!
What would you like to tell our readers about “The Quest” and “Masters of the Air”?
Well, I think they’re both awesome and I’m very proud of them. To be honest I think the caliber of the projects speaks for themselves.
“Masters of the Air” is Spielberg & Tom Hanks’ upcoming sequel to “Band of Brothers.” It comes out soon on Apple TV.
And “The Quest” is a hybrid fantasy reality series created by the producers of “Lord of the Rings,” “Queer Eye” and “The Amazing Race” and it’s out now on Disney +
To learn more about Elliott Ross, follow him on Instagram and check out his IMDb page.
