EDGE Rewind: Meet Sean Teale: 'Rosaline's' Breakout Hunk

EDGE is reaching into its archive and sharing some of our favorite stories from the past.

Actor Sean Teale has been working steadily for more than a decade after he appeared as the bisexual Nick Levan on the fifth and sixth seasons of the BBC teen drama https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skins_(TV_series)z"Skins."> But the role that is likely to introduce the 30-year-old hunk to as wide an audience as possible is his role in the snarky Hulu comedy "Rosaline," which premiered last week.

The film offers a new-take on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" with Kaitlyn Dever (from "Booksmart") as Rosaline Capulet, a cousin to Juliet, who, at the start, is courted by Romeo Montague (Kyle Allen); but she finds his flowery speech annoying and can't commit when he confesses his love for her. Forced by her father (Bradley Whitford) to pursue a relationship with Dario (Teale), she misses the masquerade where she had planned to meet up with Romeo. Instead, he meets Juliet. Thwarted, she plots to get Romeo back while finding herself more and more involved with Dario, whom she initially rejects. 

But it's easy to understand why she succumbs. With his dark good looks, Teale resembles another rising British actor, Theo James. And when he appears shirtless, there's little doubt as to why he's a star on the rise. 

Teale earlier appeared as a queer character in the 2017 thriller "B & B." He plays Fred who, with his partner Marc (Tom Bateman), sues the owner of a B&B when they are denied a rental. They win, then proceed to throw their victory in the face of the B&B owner and devout Christian Josh (Paul McGann). The thriller has a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is available to stream on Peacock.

Teale discussed his "Rosaline" character in an interview with Screenrant. "My love for Dario started when I read him. I really just loved him. And I think there was a space to have him in a movie that is about young, brilliant women being empowered and fighting against the social norms that are so archaic and wrongfully persecutory. I liked that there was a man that was still a strong man in his own way, but was completely not what anyone – or Rosaline even – perceived him to be. There doesn't need to be this machismo, [though] he has a medal that he wears. I guess that's sort of an egoistic thing that he does, but that's a status thing in a world like that."

The role, he tells the website The Rakish Gent, is a welcome challenge from the dramas he's been part of. "I guess I've found myself in more dramatic projects than comedies, so to speak, so it was a really nice change of pace. All of it's about chemistry anyway, and you kind of have to just completely commit to the tone, and the world you're living in. Luckily, medieval times were hilariously and shockingly awful. There's just this endless amount of moronic backward ideals, and then bizarre superstitions and styles across everything in life – the movie highlights a lot of them. I grew up watching 'Princess Bride,' 'Robin Hood Men in Tights,' 'A Knight's Tale,' etc., so making a medieval comedy was great."

Speaking of chemistry, he adds about how much enjoyed working with Kaitlyn Dever. "Oh, man, it was just a pleasure. I have to say, she's a popular Everything actress, if we're to label in any way. She's basically just prodigiously talented across the board, in all genres. That said, she's hilarious in this film and we got to have this great wind up, antagonistic relationship that deep down is really affection. At points it was seriously hard to focus."

Asked to describe himself in an interview with A Book of Us, he said: "I'm one of the more anglicized Venezuelans you'll meet – I'm of Hispanic descent, but very much born and bred in London. I like to be around people more than anything. Obsessed with sports, travel, and the general art of storytelling (in all mediums) although often unsure if I'm capable of it myself. New people, places, and experiences are incredibly important – I'm basically begging I don't end up stuck behind a desk, for my sake and those nearby. Could maybe, potentially, occasionally (realistically) be labelled as energetic, loud, goofy. Ultimately, I just want to help people, enjoy life, be happy and make a positive difference before I go."