Martin Clunes Outshines Hollywood in Wuthering Heights

In the run-up to Wuthering Height's release the focus has been centered on lead stars and , who play Cathy and Heathcliffe respectively. 

Yet behind the Hollywood stars is a creative cast bursting with British and Irish talent - with cinemagoers set to be pleasantly surprised with their scene stealing performances after they were largely snubbed from the film promo. 

Notably, delivers an award-worthy performance as Cathy's cruel and alcoholic father, Mr. Earnshaw. 

It's quite the departure from his famed roles as eccentric GP Doc Martin in the titular series and the hapless Gary Strang in Men Behaving Badly. 

Yet while he's a well-known face in the UK, he looks set for international stardom with his role in the Hollywood blockbuster. 

During an appearance on This Morning last week, Martin revealed how he was adjusting to attending glitzy premieres and being surrounded by A-listers, confessing: 'It's weird! It's not the norm at all, it's exciting and scary.'

On how his wife felt about attending the premieres, Martin joked: 'We're both a bit like, "Wooo!" We live a quiet little life down in the country. You know, it's quite a change for us.' 

There was also a change in Martin's filming process, with the actor detailing the difference between working on a blockbuster and his typical work on TV dramas. 

He mused: 'It's a Hollywood movie, there's the money and the time for everyone to flourish. In telly you're racing across the clock every single day.'

Another British actor who has been weathering the transition from small to silver screen is Owen Cooper, who plays young Heathcliffe. 

The talented teen, 16, achieved overnight fame last year when he starred in Netflix hit Adolescence, earning him an Emmy and Golden Globe award among his many accolades. 

Yet he's still relatively new to the industry and admitted he found it hard to adapt to filming multiple takes after Adolescence was filmed in one continuous go. 

He told Jimmy Kimmel: 'In Adolescence, we’d do one take and then you’re done. But in Wuthering Heights, you’re crying your eyes out, smashing stuff off the wall – oh, sorry, spoiler… – and then Emerald goes, "can we do it again?" And I’m like, "no…’" 

'I’ve just melted my heart out in a scene, and she’s making me do it again… but it is what it it is, isn’t it?'

He added in a chat with Dazed magazine: 'The set and the costume and make-up was so weird to me, because I’d never done that before.' 

Yet while Owen was adapting to his surroundings, he still managed to intimidate his Hollywood co-star Jacob. 

Asked in an interview with 10 News First about working with teenage star as young Heathcliff, Oscar-nominee Jacob said: 'He's a rock star. He's brilliant and he's intimidating.'

'I think the first time I met him I asked "Are you nervous mate" and he went "No" and I thought cool... cool me neither,' he added. 'But no he is a tremendous actor.'

Playing opposite Owen is Charlotte Mellington as young Cathy.   

She got her break playing Lavender in Matilda the Musical on the West End in 2023 and this is her first on-screen role. 

Charlotte, 14, made her red carpet debut at the London premiere last week and revealed she was surprised by her school friends before the event.  

'I was so happy to see them, especially because I think I needed a little confidence boost,' she told Teen Vogue. 

Speaking about filming Wuthering Heights, she told Dazed: 'It was such an amazing atmosphere with the cast on the moors in Yorkshire, a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. 

'Emerald made the workplace atmosphere so relaxing and funny. I had so much fun with Owen and Vy, on and off set, and obviously Margot and Jacob are such incredible people. I loved the entire cast.'

She added: 'Acting is a different world. It's incredible. I love all the characters and auditions that come up. I love being able to play different characters who have [dissimilar] thought processes. I find the contrast between all the roles really exciting.'

Spooks star Shazad Latif, 37, is another British star in the ensemble, taking on the role of Edgar Linton - who steals Cathy away from Heathcliffe.

Shazad, who is known for his roles in Sky's Penny Dreadful and Paramount Plus' Star Trek: Discovery, made his Hollywood film debut with the role, calling it a 'childhood dream come true.'

Speaking to GQ, he shared: 'I grew up wanting to be in something like this, a Warner Bros movie shot on film.'

In a full circle moment, he revealed that he had gone to see Emerald's previous film Saltburn in the cinema and had sat there imagining himself in the movie. 

'I was depressed that day and I thought, "why can’t I be in movies like that?’" he recalled. 'I remember having that exact, specific thought watching Jacob and Alison [Oliver] and Barry Keoghan on the screen. And now it’s come around and I couldn’t be more grateful.'