Every manner of temptation will be thrown in his path – how long can he hold out? Can Luke prove he has staying power or will the industry eat him up and spew him out?
When Manchester born Sol walked in to meet the producers he was exactly what they were looking for. With good looks hailing from his Spanish roots and a passion for the series, the production team were willing to take a risk in giving him his first ever television role.
“When I first got the scripts I remember thinking that this was going to be one hell of a challenge but I thought ‘I have nothing to lose’ and gave everything I’ve got. My first day on set was surreal, just meeting Michelle and Sean was amazing, but my main task was to get my head around the ‘television talk’ - knowing where to stand, and what camera was on you for example seems easy to me now, but at the time it was all very new to me and a complete learning curve. I’d like to think I picked it up quickly and wasn’t too much of a pain for the crew.
“To be just nineteen at the start of filming and being given an opportunity like this is unbelievable and I’m very grateful to those who put trust in me. It’s been a complete whirlwind and I don’t want this feeling to end… the only bad thing is that my friends now think I’m rich and ask me to buy them drinks all the time when we go out.”
Not only did Sol have to familiarise himself with the world of television overnight, he also had the vital task of learning lyrics to a dozen songs and how to lip-sync.
“Luke has a very similar style to me so I didn’t find it too hard to get into character, which is a good job, because I had so much to learn for the music element of the show. Thankfully for everyone I stick to acting and do not sing – the wonderful Emil is the singing voice of Luke and Ronan Johnson is the vocal coach who has taught me a lot. He recorded all the songs Luke performs and in between each scene or during most lunch breaks I would listen to these on my iPod to keep the songs fresh in my mind.
“I was still given vocal coaching, because although my singing voice isn’t used, I still had to be filmed singing so that the straining in my throat and mouth shape looked believable. It was hard work learning to lip-sync to Emil’s voice because he would change some parts of the song so that they were different from the originals, but hopefully what I’ve done will convince the viewers that this is Luke’s voice.”
Talking about what Luke goes through in the series Sol admits that his character has a tough journey too.
“Almost straight away we see that Bethany is Luke’s biggest rival in the competition, mainly because she is Karina’s best contestant and that Luke is Mal’s. These judges are the real rivals of the show and I think Luke and Bethany get swept up in their madness.
“Luke is aware that Bethany is very talented and that he has to up his game to stay in the competition. But a secret romance with fellow contestant Dana and some shocking news about his long lost mother meant that his concentration levels drop and Mal and his team ask him to make some decisions.
“Luke’s naivety means that he listens to everything Mal tells him but doesn’t really know how to handle the whole ‘fame’ thing. He becomes so focused on becoming a star that he casts aside girlfriends and tries to build his nonexistent relationship with his mother in the full glare of the press. Sadly his mother is killed in a tragic road accident and Luke goes off the rails a bit.”
With an emotional journey on and off the Rock Rivals set, Luke also has a stalker to deal with.
“Luke is a stereotypical young boy singer – a mixture of Enrique Iglesias and Shayne Ward – who enjoys meeting his fans, especially the female ones - he is like a kid in a sweet shop. One of my favourite scenes to film was with a bunch of bikini clad women – I loved every minute and my mates back home were very jealous when I told them.
“But when a particular male fan becomes a little obsessed Luke feels slightly odd. Adam plays such a great stalker that it’s quite scary. His character Felix has a blow up doll with my face on it which is freaky but a great storyline and I can’t wait for people to see that develop.”
Since working on Rock Rivals, Sol is an even bigger fan of talent shows and has a greater respect for what the contestants go through.
“I am a fan of reality television anyway, but as soon as I found out I got this role I found myself watching more of The X Factor. I think people should have admiration for anyone who goes on to these shows even if they do not have talent. To put yourself out there with a chance you’ll get slated by the judges is very brave. I couldn’t do it.
“The great thing about being part of this series is that I get a little taster of what being on one of these shows might be like but luckily I’m prepared for the comments I get from the judges.”
On a personal level, Sol hopes to continue learning more about the industry and to meet more great actors like Michelle and Sean.
“I would love to continue building a career in acting. I love the experience, even all the auditions where you don’t get the job: it becomes more of a challenge to be better next time. I’m not sure how I would react if I got a fan base in real life; I’m not sure that’s something you can ever prepare for. But I hope any future jobs involve a great cast and crew like this. I’ve had the best time and have really enjoyed working with Michelle and Sean. They were both so friendly from the moment I arrived until the end of filming. I felt right at home.
“All I need now is the public to vote for Luke to win the competition. I would love to win Rock Rivals – that would make all the hard work worthwhile and top off a great year for me.”
Image and text © ITV1
