In a national exclusive, the ascendant British actor sits down with Forbes Australia to talk boredom, chasing directors and his new partnership with Johnnie Walker Blue Label.
Somewhere between filming a remake of the 1981 psychological horror Possession, and the two features he already has out this summer, Callum Turner has found time to join Johnnie Walker – as the brand’s new global ambassador for its renowned Scotch whisky blend, Blue Label.
The rising film & TV actor, who got his start on British television in the 2010s, has more than a few projects on the go. But if the breakneck pace and volume at which he’s working is in danger of derailing the proverbial train, it’s impossible to tell.
The Eternity and Masters of the Air lead was in Sydney earlier this week for just 24 hours: fittingly, to promote his new romantic comedy (alongside co-star Monica Barbaro) entitled One Night Only. On the morning Forbes Australia calls him, he appears to be in high spirits – having carved out a cheeky hour in an otherwise down-to-the-wire schedule to pierce the water at Bondi.
“I went for a swim at Icebergs, and the people and energy there are just really lovely,” Turner says, seemingly without pretension or varnish. “It’s my third time in Australia and I absolutely love it here.”
The 36-year-old actor’s toolbox – chiseled good looks, an easy manner, intense dedication to ‘the work’ – has made him into a totemic force among the next generation of Hollywood A-listers. In his on- and offscreen persona, Johnnie Walker has evidently found lightning in a bottle: a widely appealing, unstuffy leading man able to “attract new audiences” to the world of Scotch whisky.
“We’re proud to welcome [Callum] to the Johnnie Walker Blue Label family as he enters the next chapter of his journey” says Neil Shah, the brand’s Global Director, “celebrating his continued rise as an icon of style and screen through the ‘Keep Walking’ spirit”.
To mark the occasion, in an exclusive Q&A, Forbes Australia asks Turner about his own Johnnie Walker moments, the process of picking the right creative project, and why boredom is anathema to great acting.
FORBES: You’ve starred in festival programmers like Rosebush Pruning; are currently in Australia to promoteOne Night Only; and will appear as the lead in Apple TV’s forthcoming adaptation of Neuromancer (2027). That’s quite the eclectic slate.
Is there a throughline in the projects that interest you? Is it important for you to work across a range of different creative registers; and is there a genre of film & TV you’ve yet to tackle which you’d like to?
CT: I guess, I don’t ever really want to bore myself, you know?
First and foremost, all of my projects are director-driven. It is about them and their team’s vision, and I’m obviously there to serve that vision. But beyond that, it’s important that I’m never just doing one thing. Hopefully that comes across in my performance in something like Rosebush Pruning, which is very different to a big sweeping comedy like One Night Only.
Actually the next film I’m doing is [a remake of] Possession, which is a horror directed by Parker Finn. Again, that’s a completely different energy and tone. The rawness of it is a great complement to something like One Night Only, where the performance I’m giving is a much more liberated one.”
FORBES: There’s a rich tradition of actors, especially those hailing from the United Kingdom, representing Johnnie Walker over the years — from Robert Carlyle to Blue Label’s own Jude Law.
Why do you think thespians are so drawn to the house of John Walker & Sons? And what is it you hope to bring to the collaboration?
Callum Turner: Firstly, I feel very lucky to be joining part of the [Johnnie Walker] family. They’re a wonderful bunch of people, and the whisky is simply phenomenal. Just really, really delicious.
What draws thesps to Blue Label in particular? I think there’s a sense that it’s a very elevated product: something undeniably cool, classy, and a privilege to be invited to represent.
FORBES: You’ve said on-record that Blue Label is “the first bottle [you] reach for when celebrating” with close friends. Do you recall the first time you enjoyed Blue Label? Pivotally, what stood out to you about that experience?
CT: I have a pretty distinct memory, from around the time that I was 26, of enjoying Blue Label at a dinner party. Mainly I was taken aback by the flavour and how smooth the whisky was — just how easily it went down.
I already liked Scotch whisky at the time, but that experience was pivotal in convincing me that Blue Label is among the very best bottles out there.
FORBES: Drawing a connection with the care and meticulousness that is employed to craft Blue Label, Johnnie Walker’s Neil Shah described you as a “quietly persistent” kind of actor. What similar qualities, of subtlety and dedication, have you come to admire in Johnnie Walker Blue Label?
CT: The statistic about only “one in ten thousand” casks ever making it into the final whisky blend resonates with me. There’s just so much evident love and care that goes into Blue Label.
FORBES: Is there any part of the process, beyond actual whisky-making, that you’re excited to delve into when you next travel with the Blue Label team to Scotland?
CT: “The ‘Keep Walking’ ethos is something I find very inspiring and am excited to learn more about. That idea of mastering your craft day by day, one step at a time; striving to be the best version of yourself in every moment. Those are ideas I’m very aligned on.”
FORBES: When you’re serving Blue Label — at home or off the red carpet — how do you prefer to enjoy it? Neat? Over a pristine ice cube? Or is there maybe a cocktail recipe that you bust out on occasion…
CT: At home, my favourite serve is over ice. I generally think a cooler temperature brings out the flavours I most enjoy in the blend, and there’s nothing quite like sitting with (and nursing) a chilled glass of Blue Label.
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