The Transforming Musician

Josh Whitehouse had bigger dreams he wanted to pursue than what his hometown of Chester, England, could offer. The wide-eyed 18-year-old Whitehouse moved to London in hopes of making a career out of his love of music. Little did he know that he would pick up a new passion along the way, mastering the world of acting. “My plan was to try to get signed and release an album and sing songs. I was living in London for a few years, and then was scouted for a modeling job,” he recalls. That modeling job introduced him to Elaine Constantine, the writer and director of the 2014 British film Northern Soul, who noticed his acting potential. After working closely with Constantine and learning how to dance and act, he was ultimately cast in the film, starting his career in the industry and igniting this new love for the art.

Cementing his influential status, the musician-turned-actor has been featured in the popular BBC One historical drama Poldark, and in Burberry’s short film for their men’s fragrance Mr. Burberry, shot by Oscar-winning director Steve McQueen. Most recently, Whitehouse has starred as Sir Cole in the Netflix Christmas film, opposite Vanessa Hudgens, The Knight Before Christmas (“The film is a great romantic story, a classic tale with a twist about time travel”).

Although Whitehouse has been following the acting route, he hasn’t given up on his original dream of pursuing music (you may recall his role as musician Liam in the 2017 film Modern Life Is Rubbish and his musical contribution to the movie). It’s still something that is very near and dear to him, and he even has his own band that includes his brother Matt Whitehouse, an indie-folk trio called More Like Trees. While the band is gearing up for the release of their upcoming album (which was recorded in his home studio that he built), Whitehouse has written and performed a track for The Knight Before Christmas, titled “Before Christmas.” “Honestly, I’ll always try to get a song in the film, and I’ve succeeded a couple of times,” he adds. “I recorded this idea I had in my head, and wrote the lyrics to fit the story of the film. I was just fortunate [director Monika Mitchell] really liked it, and everybody kind of got on board really quickly.”

The charming English star combines his adoration for music and acting by writing songs to prepare for acting roles. “Sometimes, when I get into character, I often like to try to write music and sing something because I find that my emotions are a little more open when I get creative. I’ll just write songs to prepare for auditions, and nobody ever hears them,” Whitehouse shares. “My goal is to find some type of arrangement where I have time for music each year and can continue to do diverse and satisfying roles – that’s my dream.”

Writer: Gavy Contreras

Photographer & Videographer: Mason Kim

Photographer Assistant: Joseph Chang

Stylist: Loren Robles

Men’s Grooming: Natalie Malchev

Editor: Eiko Watanabe

Special thanks to EPK Media (@myepk & @epkmedia - epkmedia.com)