He's Like Fire

Some of you may immediately recognize this clip from the British TV show Doctor Who. It's from the episode "The Family of Blood," the conclusion to a two-part series that - it turns out - is quite good. News to me - I hadn't seen this particular episode, or even been aware of it, until this:




I've watched other Doctor Who clips during my years as a YouTube account-holder, but they've never been recommended before. So why now? The key here is the young man (he's 19) delivering this laudatory speech. If you immediately recognize him as the little boy from Love Actually, then you're a better celebrity spotter than I was when I saw Bright Star two weeks ago. In that film, Thomas Sangster (for that is his name) plays Fanny Braun's younger brother. He doesn't have many lines, but he has lots of screen time, and I knew he looked familiar.

When IMDB gave me a name, I promptly traced his career in YouTube clips, from Love Actually to a made-for-TV Pinocchio and a few random things in between. I've always been fascinated by child stars, partly because I wanted to be one and partly because their young adult lives seem almost invariably riddled with tragedy. Haley Joel Osment pleading no contest to a DUI and drug possession three years ago comes to mind...

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I was hoping to glimpse some dark secret behind Thomas Sangster's performances, but I do find it compelling to see someone's whole childhood documented in a string of fictions, and also I'm writing a few other things about child stars right now. Consider this research.

The thing is, this clip isn't tagged or titled anything to do with Thomas Sangster. The connection, I presume, comes from the comments and other viewers who likely favorited this along with his other work. The subtext there is slightly unsettling, but I'll save that for my other writing...

In any event, YouTube recommended a clip that did ultimately interest me - genuinely but for the poor editing that turns "And...he's wonderful" into a kind of tonal-shift punchline. That's just humorously unfortunate. I enjoyed watching the complete Doctor Who episodes, and I look forward to following Mr. Sangster's career. He's playing a young Paul McCartney in the upcoming Nowhere Boy. Thanks for the recommendation.