Sebastian de Souza

Sebastian Denis de Souza (born 19 April 1993) is an English actor. He is best known for playing Matty Levan in the E4 teen drama series Skins. He has since starred in the period television series The Borgias from 2012 to 2013, Medici: Masters of Florence, and The Great (2020).

Early life De Souza is the second of the two sons of Elinor Kelly and Chris de Souza, an opera producer of Goan descent. He was born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, and has an older brother named Tristan. developing a fascination with theatre, music, and writing. At the age of 11 he decided to dramatise The Willows at Christmas, William Horwood's adaptation of The Wind in the Willows, and performed it in the barn with his classmates. In 2006 when he was 13, he starred in the short film Hangman, premiered at the Corn Exchange. It was a story of witchcraft in the mould of Macbeth, that he co-wrote with the Prep School's Film Club.

He went on to St Edward's School, Oxford, He later completed A-levels in English, History and Philosophy. He also attended acting workshops at the Watermill Theatre, near Newbury. At the North Wall Arts Centre, he performed lead roles in school productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream playing Puck, Great Expectations as Pip, C. P. Taylor's Good as Maurice, and Henry V as Henry, In the same year he became a member of the National Youth Theatre.

Career

As actor After a brief appearance in Nick Ross's documentary series The Truth About Crime, In 2012 he joined the cast of historical drama The Borgias, created by Neil Jordan for the American TV network Showtime and filmed at Korda Studios, near Budapest. His character, Alfonso d'Aragona, first appeared in The Confession and closed his run at the end of the third and final season. While in Hungary, he was filmmaker with photographer Benjamin Lebus for Evelyne's World, a concept short film about the allegory of the Cave starring Evelyne Brochu.

De Souza's first big screen role is in Julian Gilbey's thriller Plastic. Production took place in early 2013 on location in Miami and London. As a screenplay writer, he made his cinematic debut in Kids in Love, a film produced by Ealing Studios with de Souza also taking a title role. In 2014 he was cast as the male lead in a new Freeform show called Recovery Road, which was broadcast for a single season in 2016.

As singer and musician In addition to his acting career, de Souza is a singer and musician. In 2011 he featured as a guest vocalist for Cubiq in their Say EP released by Hidden Label. The tune, related to current electro club music, has been remixed by Matanza and Timmy P in an alternative version that fits the traditional house template. In 2016 the Recovery Road cast including de Souza performed for the spring finale a musical ensemble version of Lean On Me by Bill Withers.

De Souza also works in the field of producing. In 2013 he co-founded with actor Will Poulter the TV and film production company Good Soil. The following year he created his own brand management called de Souza aimed at helping young storytellers, producers or filmmakers develop their scripts.

As author In March 2021 de Souza's first novel, Kid: A History of The Future, was published by Offliner Press, a publisher established and owned by de Souza himself.

Personal life With his family, de Souza annually runs drama courses for 9 to 16 year olds at a home-based Centre for Music Drama and Art. Through a practical experience provided by orchestras he can sing in the tenor range and play different instruments.

Music video appearances Year Song ArtistRef.2017OndulationBurning Peacocks