Is Ed Sheeran in a Berlin Film Festival Movie? No, Wesley Byrne Is.
If you watch Austrian writer-director Florian Pochlatko’s feature film debut How to Be Normal and the Oddness of the Other World (Wie man normal ist und die Merkwürdigkeiten der anderen Welt) in the Perspectives program of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, you may catch yourself rubbing your eyes and wondering: Is Ed Sheeran really in this movie? And how the heck did they get him?
That’s no coincidence. Pochlatko’s film, among other things, reflects on such questions as what is real and what is normal.
The movie’s cast is led by Luisa-Céline Gaffron (And Tomorrow the Entire World) and also features Elke Winkens, Cornelius Obonya, and Felix Pöchhacker, among others. And yes, the British man protagonist Pia meets is called Ned and does look a lot like Ed Sheeran. But the actor’s name is Wesley Byrne, and he is a street cleaner who lives in the Greater Manchester area.
IMDb credits him on the film as Wesley Joseph Byrne. But the 32-year-old tells THR that “Wesley Byrne is fine.” Via Zoom, Byrne also talked to THR‘s Georg Szalai about how he ended up in a Berlinale film, when he started getting mistaken for the music star, what kind of entertainment he enjoys, and about the time he actually got to meet Sheeran.
The director of How to Be Normal tells me he found out about you online and how masses of people sometimes think you are Ed Sheeran. And then he thought you would make a great character in his film who fits its world that is slightly off. How did the film team convince you to be in the movie?
Byrne It didn’t take much convincing, really. Somebody found me on Facebook. They told me about it, and I looked everything up to make sure it was legit because I get a lot of weirdos. I ended up messaging them, then got in touch with Florian, and they just flew me over there.
What did they tell you about the role? Did you get a script?
Florian sent me a little script. Obviously, I say very little, because I’m not an actor. He sent me the script and everything over, and we just had a little video chat over Zoom. And he liked it, I guess.
You never acted before?
Before this? No, never.
What did you find to be the biggest challenge of acting then? Or was there anything particularly tricky at first?
Not looking at the camera. I don’t think I did it many times. But there was a whole shot where I had to look just over the camera, and I was just screaming in my own head, “Don’t look down! Don’t look down! The camera’s right there.”
Before and after – Wesley Byrne had to get ready for a shirtless scene in How to Be Normal and the Oddness of the Other World with fake tattoos to look more like Ed Sheeran. Courtesy of Wesley Byrne.
This wasn’t only your first-ever film as an actor but you also had to do a sex scene. How was that?
I’m not fussy. We had the intimacy coordinator. So beforehand, we talked about what we were comfortable with. So it was nothing crazy. You know, she wasn’t actually on me. It was just a nice little camera trick. It was a fun one to explain to my girlfriend though.
What was the strangest or most ridiculous thing you had to do for the film?
Probably the sex noises. That was the weirdest thing because I had to do those separately. I just had
to lie there and do the audio in this little closed set. And Florian said: “Now tell her she’s beautiful and say this.” And I’m trying not to giggle.
There is a scene that is a reference to The Matrix. How was creating that scene where your voice is key?
I just stood there reading into a microphone. Florian told me to just remember the scene from The Matrix where Neo is trying to escape. So I was just trying to channel my inner Morpheus. I’m no Laurence Fishburne, but you know, I did what I could.
Would you be open to taking on more acting roles?
I’ll just check what comes. I’m making this up as I go along. I don’t have a plan. I do have a really bad short-term memory so even the little bit of text I said I was struggling to remember. I don’t understand how people memorize whole scripts. On the flight over, I was just reading my little bit over and over again.
When did people start mistaking you for Ed Sheeran?
It was before he even got really famous, before he did The A Team. It has been about 10 years (or more). One of the first times I heard it, I was at an Iron Maiden concert, and I didn’t even know who he was. And some woman just looked at me and she went, “What are YOU doing here?!” I was like: “What are YOU doing?! What do you mean?”
Do you sing or make music?
No, I can’t sing, I can’t play anything.
How annoying do you find it when people ask you for an Ed Sheeran autograph or selfie?
It only really annoys me when I’m when me and my girlfriend are out having a meal or something and people come and bother us. That’s the only time it really gets on my nerves. Other times, I’m just kind of chill about it. It is what it is. If it bothered me, I’d (shave) my head.
How do you let people down and tell them that you are not really Ed?
A lot of times, I don’t. I just let them have a picture, and then they leave me alone. If I stand there and try to explain everything, it takes too long. I give them what they want and send them on their way because it’s easier that way.
Did people mistake you for Ed Sheeran when you went to Austria for the shoot or did you have any other fun experiences?
The people who had just won Eurovision (2022) for Ukraine were staying at the hotel that I also stayed at. I was chilling with them in the hotel lobby. I just sat and drank with them for a while.
Have you ever met Ed Sheeran himself and, if so, how was it?
Yeah, I was his body double for an advert he did for tomato ketchup. He was super chill. He just thanked me for being there. He’s a really nice guy.
Ed Sheeran and Wesley Byrne… well, actually, Wesley Byrne (left) and Ed Sheeran (right). Courtesy of Wesley Byrne.
Have you seen him in concert?
I went to watch him with my sister and my nephew at Etihad Stadium (in Manchester), and they moved us to (the) VIP (area) for free.
How come?
Security came over and moved us. I think it was because too many people were taking pictures. To be honest, there was a queue going all the way up the stadium stairs, and it was causing a bit of a hassle.
What kind of music do you like?
A bit of everything. I’m mostly a rock and metal guy, but sometimes I listen to some classical, some pop, some hip hop, whatever, music in different languages.
Do you like movies too?
Yeah, I watch all sorts. I’ve just had to get rid of all my DVDs because my unit was collapsing. I just kept my Blu-rays and box sets, that’s it.
Do you have a favorite movie?
Probably Avengers, because I’m a big comic book nerd.
If they offered you a role in a future Avengers movie, any character you’d love to play?
I’m not in good enough shape to play any of them. When I first found out about this film, I lost about 15 kilos because obviously I knew I’d be shirtless. I’m a qualified PT (physical therapist), so I know how to lose weight, gain muscle and all that.
I heard you wanted to but couldn’t attend the Berlin Film Festival premiere of How to Be Normal and the Oddness of the Other World. Why not?
I gave my boss a month’s notice, but they still wouldn’t let me have it off work. I would have loved to help the team out, get some more attention on the film wherever I could. They did everything they could for me. Yeah, I just feel bad that I can’t be there for them. The premiere (date) is actually my girlfriend’s birthday as well. So, the plan was to go to Berlin for her birthday.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Honestly, just how nice everybody was on the film. There were no egos. Everybody could act except me. But everyone made me feel super, super comfortable. Everyone was super nice. We all went out for drinks. It felt like I had known them for years. I’ve just got nothing bad to say. I just want more people to watch that film and just hope it does really well and everybody gets what they deserve out of it.
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