Danny Jarabek
For a band like Daisy Jones and the Six to become real, there are multiple prerequisites—the group must have chemistry, talent, and coordination, but sometimes even more importantly, it must have an indescribable allure of star power. Sam Claflin brings just that to the table. Claflin takes on the complex and enigmatic role of Billy Dunne, the lead guitarist of the iconic fictional rock band. Billy, a charismatic and tortured soul, grapples with personal demons as he strives for greatness in the tumultuous 1970s music scene all the while adding to the enigmatic celebrity of the band.
Billy Dunne is a complex and contradictory character. He is a talented musician and songwriter, but he also struggles with addiction and self-destructive behavior. Claflin brings a nuanced and sympathetic performance to the role, capturing Billy’s magnetic charisma as an innate rock star, but also the vulnerability that comes alongside his journey.
Being a member of a cast is quite like being a member of a band, you are all from different walks of life and different parts of the world sometimes and you all get thrust together in this room and are expected to get along…Billy is the older brother and the leader in a way that people looked up to him and expected things of him…in a sense I think I adopted that role in the group naturally.
In our conversation, Claflin discusses his preparation for the role through an extended “band camp” with his castmates, his thoughts on Billy Dunne as a leader on and off screen, and the challenges of performing music while also performing a character.
Watch our full conversation with Prime Video’s Daisy Jones and the Six star Sam Claflin below:
That was a good interview, Danny!