SHARLENE WHYTE TALKS YOUTH, BLACK LOVE AND FINDING JOY IN IMPORTANT STORYTELLING

Sharlene Whyte has spent more than 25 years building a career across British television, film and theatre …

with roles spanning Tracy Beaker and Small Axe: Education to her RTS-nominated performance as Doreen Lawrence in Stephen and, more recently, Mr Loverman.

Now she stars as Sam in HBO’s Youth, Sharon Horgan’s new comedy about navigating life, love, family and reinvention in your 50s. A successful literary agent, wife and mother, Sam seemingly has it all together, while offering something we still don’t see nearly enough on screen: a successful Black woman enjoying her career, marriage and life without trauma sitting at the centre of her story.

We caught up with Sharlene to talk about bringing Sam to life, portraying a loving Black marriage alongside Robbie Gee, why women in their 50s deserve to be sexy and messy on screen, and how her idea of “important storytelling” has expanded to make room for Black joy.

Please introduce yourself …
My name is Sharlene Whyte, Taurus, Jamaican and Dominican. Big up Nottingham via South East London.

Describe your life in one word or a sentence …
Hectic, babes!

Why are we here?
We are here to talk about my latest project, Youth on HBO, and any other business.

Tell us what Youth is about in your own words …
It is about a woman in her 50s navigating life, kids, ageing parents, an empty nest, revamping herself in later life, and relationships, romantic and otherwise.

Introduce your character Sam?
Sam is a literary agent who represents some of the top authors in her field. She is a creative powerhouse responsible for an entire team of would-be writers. She is boss to Alex, played by the writer and producer Sharon Horgan. Sam is a savvy businesswoman who can sniff out a potentially profitable deal. She is a wife and mother of three, tackling her own insecurities around love and child rearing. She’s a trailblazer in her field, being one of the few Black literary agents in the UK.

Sam feels like one of the few people in Alex’s life who genuinely has her head screwed on. She’s confident, successful and very much the voice of reason. What did you enjoy about playing the person who seems to have it together while everyone around her is spiralling?
I enjoyed playing someone who has their life together, outwardly anyway (or at least appears to), because she is a version of me. I would love to wear designer outfits and carry expensive handbags filled with important, life-changing documents. A boss whose lipstick is always on point and who wears heels with confidence. I am a tracksuit and combats wearing woman. I loved playing me, turned up to 100.

Sam is Alex’s boss, but she’s also one of her closest friends. How did you and Sharon (Horgan) approach that relationship and the way the balance of power shifts between friendship and work?
We spoke about the dynamic on set and shared stories of people we know who have experienced the same in the workplace. I spoke to someone who works in publishing who had the same situation at work, and it was always a case of saying, “Look, you messed up at work and I am saying something about this so that we can go to the bar afterwards and laugh over a few drinks, and it’s fine.” In our scenes, I am Sharon’s boss, but when the director yells cut, she is MY boss! The mental gymnastics of switching between the two realities was of Olympic proportions.

There’s something quite refreshing about seeing two women at this stage of their lives running a company together, without the story turning them into rivals. Was that dynamic something that appealed to you when you first read the scripts?
That idea of women navigating life together rather than as rivals is precisely what made me fall in love with the project.

Youth talks openly about getting older, whether that’s sex, dating, menopause or children leaving home. Was there anything in Sharon’s writing that made you think, ‘We don’t usually get to say that out loud’?
When I read the scripts, I thought, is this woman in my house somewhere spying on me?! So much of what is written is precisely what I, as a woman, had been navigating in my own life. I was waiting for my grown son to leave home so I could buy an exercise bike I’d been eyeing up but never had the space for. I planned out a whole gym, only for him to change his mind and come back home. We never get to talk about how sexy we are at this age. The secret is out.

We hear so much about women becoming “invisible” as they get older, particularly on screen, but Youth puts women in their fifties at the centre of the story and allows them to be funny, sexual, ambitious and sometimes beautifully messy. Was there anything about the way these women are written that felt particularly truthful to you at this stage of your own life?
Yes. See above!

Sam and her husband also give us something we still don’t see enough of on screen: a successful, happy Black couple simply getting on with life together. How refreshing was it for you to portray that kind of relationship, particularly in a series exploring love, relationships and what they can look like in your 50s?
Being free to express love in a loving Black family home was really refreshing! It is so lovely to play rich and unbothered, in love and doting on my man. I hope the audience can finally see themselves represented authentically in Sam and her husband Frank, played by the lovely and super talented Robbie Gee. We had so much fun developing our characters and creating our backstories together. Sam and Frank are rooted in reality. We are out here loving on each other. An incredibly proud moment for me and a testament to the clever writing.

You’ve been acting for more than 25 years, and your career has taken you from something as beloved as The Story of Tracy Beaker to Small Axe, playing Doreen Lawrence in Stephen, Mr Loverman and now Youth. When you look at the roles available to you now compared with when you started, do you feel the possibilities for Black British actresses have genuinely changed?
I feel that the roles I have played up until now have been art imitating life. I enjoy playing roles that I feel a deep, intuitive connection to, and the roles I have played over the years really do seem to be in conversation with one another. Yes, I do believe the possibilities have changed. We are seeing more Black voices in writing and directing. Don’t get me wrong, it is still incredibly challenging, but we are standing on the shoulders of the creatives who came long before us. Actors, actresses and creatives who fought invisible battles so that I can be here in an HBO original comedy. And I never forget that.

When you were promoting Stephen, and after appearing in Small Axe: Education, you spoke about gravitating towards ‘important storytelling’ and feeling a responsibility to tell stories that open up conversations about people’s experiences. Those projects dealt with some significant and difficult parts of Black British history. Youth feels important in a very different way, allowing women in their 50s, and particularly Sam as a successful Black woman, to simply live, love, work and have fun. Has your idea of what defines ‘important storytelling’ changed or broadened as you’ve got older?
I love this question. It’s even more important now to tell stories of joy and laughter, as well as stories that document grief and suffering. It is all part of the fabric of navigating life in Britain. I feel honoured to be part of the canon of work that tackles important historical moments in Black British culture. Playing Sam is a nod to the progress we have made in society, despite some of the most unfair challenges we, as the diaspora, have had to navigate.

GETTING TO KNOW …

If not this, then what? Oh God! The amount of careers I’ve explored. A doctor.

What’s made you sad, mad, & glad this week? Sad: Leaving New York. Mad: Leaving New York. Glad: That you finally get to meet Sam in Youth

What are you watching? Love Is Blind: UK

What are you reading? This flippin’ interview!

The last film you watched? I Love Boosters

The last play you saw? One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

The last live music event? Jay-Z, Tottenham

What’s currently on your playlist? Jill Scott – Is It the Way, Roots Manuva – Witness (1 Hope), Mariah Carey – Say Somethin’, Amerie – I Just Died, Erykah Badu – Bag Lady, Mary J. Blige – Be Happy, Al Green – Take Me to the River and D’Angelo –Me and Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine.

Which podcast are you listening to? The Read

What’s on your bucket list? To visit Ghana

Where’s your happy place? My bed

Celebrate someone else … Santigold, Zendaya and the Sugababes.

Celebrate yourself … Being nominated for Best Actor (Female) at the RTS Awards for Stephen was a proud moment. Running my first 5K for the charity Mind in just under 30 minutes. And landing the role of Sam in the new HBO original comedy Youth.

What’s next? I’m currently working on a film idea, more about that in the new year. And taking a holiday!

Where can we find you? Instagram: @sharlenewhyte. Facebook: Sharlene Whyte. X: @sharlenewhyte. sharlenewhyte.com

Where can we watch you at work? On HBO Max and BBC iPlayer

Youth is available on HBO Max and BBC iPlayer.