Brit born thesp Tom Blyth is wasting no time when it comes to taking on a slew of daring, diverse and challenging roles in eclectic projects ranging from indie films to more popular fare.
He starred in a host of very different film projects recently including, the queer indie gem, Plainclothes, a searing prison drama, Wasteman, Claire Denis’ West-Africa-set thriller, The Fence, and the delightful Netflix rom-com, People We Meet on Vacation–to name a few.
Blyth first came to the attention of cinephiles as Glen Byam Shaw in Terence Davies’ 2021 cinematic poem, Benediction, about the life of English poet Siegfried Sassoon. A year later had a guest part on HBO’s The Gilded Age and starred in the Epix western series, Billy the Kid, as the titular character. The show just finished its third and final season.
In 2023 he played the lead in Frances Lawrence’s dark and suspenseful prequel, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, opposite Rachel Zegler, introducing him to a much larger moviegoing audience.
2025 proved a banner year for Blyth, beginning with Carmen Emmi’s queer-themed debut feature, Plainclothes, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and centers on a closeted cop who works undercover entrapping gay men, but then falls for one. Russell Tovey and Maria Dizzia co-star and provide fine support. The film won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast. Blyth fully captures the shame, paranoia, anxiety, fear and desire inherent in his character. It’s a performance that should be in the awards conversation.
Read the spot-on review by my colleague Joey Moser HERE.
Cal McMau’s brutal and arresting Wasteland, premiered at TIFF his past year. Blyth plays Dee, a tattooed drug dealer who is placed in David Jonsson’s character’s cell, disrupting his existence and messing with his hopes for parole. Both actors impressively dive into their roles. Blyth sneaks some fragility into his incendiary part and was nominated for Best Supporting Performance via the British Independent Film Awards.
In Netflix’s highly anticipated adaptation of Emily Henry’s best-selling novel, People We Meet on Vacation, directed by Brett Haley, Blyth plays complacent and relaxed Alex who is best friends with chatty, free-spirited Poppy (Emily Bader), a travel writer. The film spans a decade in their turbulent friendship as they begin to realize they may just belong together. Blyth nicely shows off his rom-com chops.
Claire Denis’ beguiling new work, The Fence, world premiered at TIFF and then played the New York Film Festival this past Fall. Adapted from Bernard-Marie Koltès’s Black Battles with Dogs, the visually stunning film is set on a white-run construction site in West Africa. A local man (Isaach De Bankolé) arrives at night to demand his brother’s dead body. The nervous foreman (Matt Dillon) argues with him. Meanwhile his stressed-out, manic colleague, Cal (Blyth), begins to unravel. Things begin to escalate and it becomes obvious that the men are hiding something. Denis’ tense and anxious narrative reveals the darker side of human nature. And there’s even a bit of homoeroticism on hand. Blyth’s Cal percolates like a ticking time bomb.
The accomplished thesp also had the lead role in Alfredo Barrios, Jr’s indie, Bull Run, released by Vertical last month in theaters and on Digital.
If all that wasn’t enough, he will also soon be seen as the lead in Mathieu Turi’s Watch Dogs, an indie crime thriller.
Blyth studied at TV Workshop, then moved to London, acting with the National Youth Theatre. At 21, he was accepted into Juilliard.
Plainclothes was released in the U.S. by Magnolia Pictures in September and can be seen on VOD via Apple TV and Amazon Prime.
People We Meet on Vacation is releasing globally on Netflix on January 9, 2026.
Wasteland is currently seeking U.S. distribution and will open in the UK in February, 2026, via Lionsgate. Sales Rep is Bankside Films.
The Fence will be released in France and is currently seeking U.S. distribution. International sales are being handled by Goodfellas.
The Contending had a blast chatting with the incredibly talented Blyth.
