Tom Ellis: How Sheffield teacher persuaded star of new Netflix film Players to pursue drama career

Tom Ellis, who stars in the new Netflix film Players, grew up in Sheffield and attended High Storrs School.

The Lucifer star has told how his life could have been very different if it wasn't for one inspirational teacher there, Claire Pender.

The Star caught up with her to find out more about Tom's schooldays and how she spotted his talent and persuaded him to pursue acting.

Claire, who is now trust improvement director at Mercia Learning Trust, said: "Tom was always a great student and a pleasure to teach. He had a real stage presence and was a really creative performer.

What was Tom Ellis like at school?

"It was clear that he had a natural talent for acting. He had a real intuition and intelligence when it came to drama, and he had a really lovely energy which made other students want to work with him."

Tom has previously described Claire as a 'huge influence', explaing how she told his parents he should audition for drama school.

In an interview with the Big Issue, he said that at 16 he 'hadn't even stumbled across acting' and wanted to work in sports rehabilitation.

He told the magazine: "But then I kind of stumbled across theatre studies – my teacher said to me, we need boys for drama. I’ve got 12 girls and one boy. And as a 16-year-old with other interests, girls being one of the main ones, I quite enjoyed the maths of that."

Tom soon fell in love with drama and it's not worked out too badly for him.

How did Tom Ellis get into acting and what were his first roles?

Claire, who was that teacher, said: "I helped persuade Tom to change his options and study A-level theatre studies. I recognised his talent, and it also helped to address the imbalance of girls and boys taking the subject."

She recalled how Dark of the Moon was the first time Tom played a lead role in a school production, while perhaps his most memorable early part was as Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Crucible Theatre, as part of Sheffield Children's Festival.

Tom, who was born in Wales but came to Sheffield shortly after his birth, has three sisters, including a twin.

"Tom's family are very musical," said Claire. "I taught his twin sister Lucy, who was very musical too, and Tom could always sing as well as being a great actor."

She added: "He's had a great career so far and I'm so happy for him. We've always kept in touch and it's nice to see him when he comes back to Sheffield.

Other actors who studied at High Storrs School

"I'd love to see him performing again in Sheffield at the Crucible one day."

Tom's not the only one of Claire's former students to have enjoyed success in the industry.

"Lots of students from High Storrs have gone on to do great things in the industry, like Jessica Ransom (Doc Martin, Horrible Histories) and Eddie-Joe Robinson (Emmerdale, Casualty)," said Claire.

"Others have gone into production and stage management, and one former student is now a casting director.

"Teaching's such an amazing profession when you feel you're making a difference and having an impact on the future lives of your pupils."

Tom Ellis plays Nick in Players, a romantic comedy available to stream now on Netflix about a New York sports writer called Mack (Gina Rodriguez) who has a playbook of clever hookup schemes but ends up unexpectedly falling for a fling.