‘I was 100 per cent the guy': Jim Sturgess on what makes the perfect mixtape
Jim Sturgess didn't have to look very far to find his character in Binge's new drama Mix Tape.
'That was me in at 17,' he says of Daniel O'Toole, a teenager in Sheffield, England in the 1980s who falls in love with music and a girl at the same time. 'I was 100 per cent the guy that was walking around with his headphones on, making mixtapes for everybody, certainly as a sort of romantic gesture for girls in school and stuff like that. It was a huge go-to tactic.'
In Mix Tape it's a tactic that works rather too well. Daniel and Alison (played in their youth by Rory Walton-Smith and Florence Hunt) meet and connect through their shared passion for bands and ultimately fall in love. But then Alison disappears, for reasons that are unexplained, leaving Daniel confused and heartbroken. When we catch up with him 17 years later, now played by Sturgess, he's married with kids, still obsessed with music, but living another life.
'Daniel is still in Sheffield,' says Sturgess. 'He's a music journalist and he's never really left the town that he grew up in. Alison, on the other hand, has started a whole new life in Sydney, in Australia, as a writer and has just written this wildly successful novel that's gained global attention.'
And so begins a classic tale of love lost and found across continents. Cue soundtrack – Love Will Tear Us Apart – and in Daniel and Alison's case, it has.
The success of Alison's (Teresa Palmer) book becomes a catalyst for the two characters to reconnect from opposite sides of the globe. A dialogue begins courtesy of shared playlists, songs and music from their past.
'The music reignites a lot of feelings and emotions from their youth,' explains Sturgess, 'and ultimately forces them to confront the dark truth about what happened to Alison and why she had to leave Sheffield in the way that she did. And then they're sort of left with these feelings that this music and this new connection is creating between the two of them.'
You can guess what those feelings might be: 'It's really a story about unresolved love,' Sturgess says.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Herald Sun
19-06-2025
- Herald Sun
Role Aussie loss to US star: ‘More famous'
Don't miss out on the headlines from TV. Followed categories will be added to My News. British actor Jim Sturgess and Australian actress Teresa Palmer play high school sweethearts who reunite after decades apart in the new Aussie series Mix Tape. In a case of life imitating art, both Sturgess and Palmer also experience a reunion of sorts on the set, as they actually met years ago in Hollywood. That year was 2008 and Palmer had auditioned for a role in the drama 21, a film about a group of genius college students who use maths to win big at blackjack in Las Vegas. Sturgess scored the lead opposite Kevin Spacey, but Palmer didn't get the role. 'Kate Bosworth got the role ultimately. She was a lot more famous than me back then,' Palmer, 39, told But doing the audition process together at the time marked the start of a beautiful friendship between the stars. 'When they do those screen tests, they really kind of put you through it. And so me and Teresa spent a whole day together and got on really well,' Sturgess, 47, tells 'I'd always been aware of her work since that day and always sort of follow [her career].' 'Then literally 20 years later we're coming back and shooting Mix Tape together. We messaged each other about it and we were excited that we were both getting on board.' Stream Mix Tape now on BINGE, available on Hubbl. In Mix Tape, which is now streaming on BINGE, Sturgess and Palmer play former 80s high-school sweethearts Daniel and Alison who are now living in Sydney and Sheffield, respectively. As high-school sweethearts, the pair would make each other mix tapes, but a tragic event pulls them to opposite ends of the world. Through modern technology, they reconnect after a chance encounter and discover that the songs from their shared past evoke feelings that never went away. Off set, Sturgess and Palmer also connected through music – not through mix tapes, but through playlists. 'We made each other some playlists, but it was about as unromantic as you could imagine,' he laughs. 'We were sending each other hip-hop music basically. T's a big hip-hop fan, and I was sending her a lot of English sort of grime, hip-hop music, and she was sending me stuff back.' But fun and music aside, Mix Tape is more than just a rom-com. The four-part series explores missed opportunities, second chances, and childhood trauma. 'It sort of exists in this really interesting space where it's gritty enough and romantic enough and it's all these things just coming together to make the show. So that's all really of exciting and deeply nostalgic,' Sturgess says. 'This is definitely not a gushy kind of romance film. It's difficult and it's traumatic at times.' Palmer's character of Alison lives through a traumatic experience that forces her to leave town for Sydney where she now resides with her husband (played by Ben Lawson). But her troubled and impoverished childhood in Sheffield is never far from her mind. And in some ways, Palmer could relate to Alison. 'I would not say my upbringing was anywhere near what Alison went through. Not even close, but I grew up in government housing,' Palmer reveals. 'I went to a private Catholic school that my dad paid for, but I lived with my mum who was on a disability pension. I remember feeling like I was the one at school who couldn't have people over to my house because my house was so tiny and embarrassing and I didn't really want to have a lot of friends over.' 'But my place ended up being the place everyone wanted to go to because my mum was very open with her rules. We didn't really have any rules, to be honest. So all my friends suddenly were like, 'We want to be at our house. We're going to go to Teresa's house.'' Mix Tape will hit home for many people who have ever asked 'what if' – and both Sturgess and Palmer loved the 'beautiful, nuanced way' the story was told. 'I think it is hugely romantic for anyone looking back,' Sturgess says. 'There's a generation of 40 year olds that are really going to be moved by the nostalgia of it.' Mix Tape is now streaming on BINGE, available on Hubbl and watch On Demand on Foxtel Originally published as Teresa Palmer and Jim Sturgess reunite 17 years after almost starring together in Hollywood film
The Advertiser
19-06-2025
- The Advertiser
Teresa Palmer back for another Aussie drama series
Fresh off the back of The Last Anniversary, Teresa Palmer stars in another Aussie drama. Mix Tape, which is a British co-production, follows Alison and Daniel across two timelines. They first meet in high school in the north of England. Daniel is the more popular of the two, while Alison is quiet and reserved, but both have a love of music and an undeniable attraction to the other. Fast forward a quarter century and their lives look very different. Daniel has become a music writer, has a wife and kid, and is still living in Sheffield. Alison, meanwhile, is now a celebrated author living in Sydney with a mostly Aussie accent, doctor husband and moody teen daughter. News of Alison's new book reaches Daniel back in their hometown, and it seems inevitable that these two will be meeting again. The series takes place over four episodes, with only one episode dropping each week, so we'll have to be patient as the story unfolds. Florence Hunt (Bridgerton's Hyacinth) and newcomer Rory Walton-Smith are delightful as the teen versions of the pair in 1989. Palmer is the grown up Alison, and there's a clear sadness and underappreciation in her performance that invites you to learn more about this woman's life. Jim Sturgess (One Day) is the adult Daniel, clearly still harbouring some feelings for his high school love. Mix Tape is a serious, music-infused romantic drama, its emotions played with earnestness. It doesn't feel the need to break tension with laughs. There's not a great deal in the way of story in the first episode, so you'll have to stick it out to see where these characters are going. Remember the raunchy teen comedy genre? It was huge in the 80s, but where did it go? Summer of 69 tries to resurrect that genre, and mostly does, but also manages to be unexpectedly wholesome and sweet. From writer-director Jillian Bell (you might remember her from 22 Jump Street, Brittany Runs a Marathon, Godmothered), the coming of age comedy sees high schooler Abby (Sam Morelos, That 90s Show) determined to win the affections of her dreamboat classmate Max (Matt Cornett, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) in the wake of his relationship ending. Learning from a perhaps unreliable source of school gossip that Max's sexual interests tend towards the number of the film title, Abby decides she needs to become more skilled in the bedroom department and hires a local stripper to teach her the ways of the world. Enter Santa Monica (SNL's Chloe Fineman), who needs to make $20,000 fast to save her strip club from being sold to a slimy rival, and agrees to help Abby become a more confident, capable version of herself in order to woo Max. It's a truly ludicrous premise that does feel straight out of the 80s, but Summer of 69 is actually far tamer than you'd expect. There's no nudity, and the raunchiness doesn't get much further than the title. The heart of this film is the growing friendship between Abby and Santa Monica, who both grow under the other's influence to become more well-rounded, self-confident women. What should have been a massive miss is actually a surprising success, and a lot of that goes down to funny and sharp writing, and committed performances from the cast, which also includes Charlie Day, Natalie Morales, Liza Koshy and Nicole Byer in support. Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney are mother and daughter in this moody dramatic thriller. Moore's Kate lives and works alone at her farm, caring for horses and teaching the occasional lesson. She's grieving the loss of her wife and struggling to pay for the upkeep of the property. Her quiet monotony is broken one night when her daughter Claire shows up out of the blue. Claire has a history with substance abuse, and Kate - desperate for her daughter to be alright and keep coming home - is powerless to hold back assistance when she asks for it. But this latest visit comes with trouble. Claire and her on-again-off-again boyfriend have fallen foul of their drug dealer Jackie (a long-haired Domhnall Gleeson, recently seen in Fountain of Youth) and need to go off the grid for a few days until the heat dies down. Unsurprisingly, that's not the end of the story, and we'll see just how far Kate will go to keep her daughter safe. Echo Valley is more of a character piece than a plot-driven affair. The pacing is slow, the dialogue sparse and the overall mood pretty gloomy. The performances are solid, and the ending makes up for some of the experience of watching what can at times be a borderline boring film. But given the solid cast - which also includes Fiona Shaw and Kyle MacLachlan - you might be expecting more from Echo Valley than you get. Newly-minted Oscar nominee Monica Barbaro is back in action alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the second season of Netflix's over-the-top action comedy FUBAR. Also on Netflix you'll find a doctumentary about the doomed submarine implosion, Titan: The Oceangate Submersible Disaster, as well as another doco on Travis Scott's festival disaster Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy. Catch Nicolas Cage in an Aussie thriller in Stan's The Surfer, or check out Orlando Bloom and Bryce Dallas Howard in the hilariously silly action comedy Deep Cover on Prime Video. If you're after something a little more sci-fi, check out new series Revival on Binge, where dead folks are rising from the grave with apparently no ill effects. Ryan Reynolds tries his hand at nature documentaries on Disney+, providing the narration for the fun Underdogs, which takes a look at some of the animal kingdom's more left-of-centre creatures like the pistol shrimp and axolotl, with his trademark snarky delivery. On Disney+ you'll also find the fourth season of Wild Crime, a true crime docuseries that this season focuses on serial killer Israel Keyes. Fresh off the back of The Last Anniversary, Teresa Palmer stars in another Aussie drama. Mix Tape, which is a British co-production, follows Alison and Daniel across two timelines. They first meet in high school in the north of England. Daniel is the more popular of the two, while Alison is quiet and reserved, but both have a love of music and an undeniable attraction to the other. Fast forward a quarter century and their lives look very different. Daniel has become a music writer, has a wife and kid, and is still living in Sheffield. Alison, meanwhile, is now a celebrated author living in Sydney with a mostly Aussie accent, doctor husband and moody teen daughter. News of Alison's new book reaches Daniel back in their hometown, and it seems inevitable that these two will be meeting again. The series takes place over four episodes, with only one episode dropping each week, so we'll have to be patient as the story unfolds. Florence Hunt (Bridgerton's Hyacinth) and newcomer Rory Walton-Smith are delightful as the teen versions of the pair in 1989. Palmer is the grown up Alison, and there's a clear sadness and underappreciation in her performance that invites you to learn more about this woman's life. Jim Sturgess (One Day) is the adult Daniel, clearly still harbouring some feelings for his high school love. Mix Tape is a serious, music-infused romantic drama, its emotions played with earnestness. It doesn't feel the need to break tension with laughs. There's not a great deal in the way of story in the first episode, so you'll have to stick it out to see where these characters are going. Remember the raunchy teen comedy genre? It was huge in the 80s, but where did it go? Summer of 69 tries to resurrect that genre, and mostly does, but also manages to be unexpectedly wholesome and sweet. From writer-director Jillian Bell (you might remember her from 22 Jump Street, Brittany Runs a Marathon, Godmothered), the coming of age comedy sees high schooler Abby (Sam Morelos, That 90s Show) determined to win the affections of her dreamboat classmate Max (Matt Cornett, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) in the wake of his relationship ending. Learning from a perhaps unreliable source of school gossip that Max's sexual interests tend towards the number of the film title, Abby decides she needs to become more skilled in the bedroom department and hires a local stripper to teach her the ways of the world. Enter Santa Monica (SNL's Chloe Fineman), who needs to make $20,000 fast to save her strip club from being sold to a slimy rival, and agrees to help Abby become a more confident, capable version of herself in order to woo Max. It's a truly ludicrous premise that does feel straight out of the 80s, but Summer of 69 is actually far tamer than you'd expect. There's no nudity, and the raunchiness doesn't get much further than the title. The heart of this film is the growing friendship between Abby and Santa Monica, who both grow under the other's influence to become more well-rounded, self-confident women. What should have been a massive miss is actually a surprising success, and a lot of that goes down to funny and sharp writing, and committed performances from the cast, which also includes Charlie Day, Natalie Morales, Liza Koshy and Nicole Byer in support. Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney are mother and daughter in this moody dramatic thriller. Moore's Kate lives and works alone at her farm, caring for horses and teaching the occasional lesson. She's grieving the loss of her wife and struggling to pay for the upkeep of the property. Her quiet monotony is broken one night when her daughter Claire shows up out of the blue. Claire has a history with substance abuse, and Kate - desperate for her daughter to be alright and keep coming home - is powerless to hold back assistance when she asks for it. But this latest visit comes with trouble. Claire and her on-again-off-again boyfriend have fallen foul of their drug dealer Jackie (a long-haired Domhnall Gleeson, recently seen in Fountain of Youth) and need to go off the grid for a few days until the heat dies down. Unsurprisingly, that's not the end of the story, and we'll see just how far Kate will go to keep her daughter safe. Echo Valley is more of a character piece than a plot-driven affair. The pacing is slow, the dialogue sparse and the overall mood pretty gloomy. The performances are solid, and the ending makes up for some of the experience of watching what can at times be a borderline boring film. But given the solid cast - which also includes Fiona Shaw and Kyle MacLachlan - you might be expecting more from Echo Valley than you get. Newly-minted Oscar nominee Monica Barbaro is back in action alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the second season of Netflix's over-the-top action comedy FUBAR. Also on Netflix you'll find a doctumentary about the doomed submarine implosion, Titan: The Oceangate Submersible Disaster, as well as another doco on Travis Scott's festival disaster Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy. Catch Nicolas Cage in an Aussie thriller in Stan's The Surfer, or check out Orlando Bloom and Bryce Dallas Howard in the hilariously silly action comedy Deep Cover on Prime Video. If you're after something a little more sci-fi, check out new series Revival on Binge, where dead folks are rising from the grave with apparently no ill effects. Ryan Reynolds tries his hand at nature documentaries on Disney+, providing the narration for the fun Underdogs, which takes a look at some of the animal kingdom's more left-of-centre creatures like the pistol shrimp and axolotl, with his trademark snarky delivery. On Disney+ you'll also find the fourth season of Wild Crime, a true crime docuseries that this season focuses on serial killer Israel Keyes. Fresh off the back of The Last Anniversary, Teresa Palmer stars in another Aussie drama. Mix Tape, which is a British co-production, follows Alison and Daniel across two timelines. They first meet in high school in the north of England. Daniel is the more popular of the two, while Alison is quiet and reserved, but both have a love of music and an undeniable attraction to the other. Fast forward a quarter century and their lives look very different. Daniel has become a music writer, has a wife and kid, and is still living in Sheffield. Alison, meanwhile, is now a celebrated author living in Sydney with a mostly Aussie accent, doctor husband and moody teen daughter. News of Alison's new book reaches Daniel back in their hometown, and it seems inevitable that these two will be meeting again. The series takes place over four episodes, with only one episode dropping each week, so we'll have to be patient as the story unfolds. Florence Hunt (Bridgerton's Hyacinth) and newcomer Rory Walton-Smith are delightful as the teen versions of the pair in 1989. Palmer is the grown up Alison, and there's a clear sadness and underappreciation in her performance that invites you to learn more about this woman's life. Jim Sturgess (One Day) is the adult Daniel, clearly still harbouring some feelings for his high school love. Mix Tape is a serious, music-infused romantic drama, its emotions played with earnestness. It doesn't feel the need to break tension with laughs. There's not a great deal in the way of story in the first episode, so you'll have to stick it out to see where these characters are going. Remember the raunchy teen comedy genre? It was huge in the 80s, but where did it go? Summer of 69 tries to resurrect that genre, and mostly does, but also manages to be unexpectedly wholesome and sweet. From writer-director Jillian Bell (you might remember her from 22 Jump Street, Brittany Runs a Marathon, Godmothered), the coming of age comedy sees high schooler Abby (Sam Morelos, That 90s Show) determined to win the affections of her dreamboat classmate Max (Matt Cornett, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series) in the wake of his relationship ending. Learning from a perhaps unreliable source of school gossip that Max's sexual interests tend towards the number of the film title, Abby decides she needs to become more skilled in the bedroom department and hires a local stripper to teach her the ways of the world. Enter Santa Monica (SNL's Chloe Fineman), who needs to make $20,000 fast to save her strip club from being sold to a slimy rival, and agrees to help Abby become a more confident, capable version of herself in order to woo Max. It's a truly ludicrous premise that does feel straight out of the 80s, but Summer of 69 is actually far tamer than you'd expect. There's no nudity, and the raunchiness doesn't get much further than the title. The heart of this film is the growing friendship between Abby and Santa Monica, who both grow under the other's influence to become more well-rounded, self-confident women. What should have been a massive miss is actually a surprising success, and a lot of that goes down to funny and sharp writing, and committed performances from the cast, which also includes Charlie Day, Natalie Morales, Liza Koshy and Nicole Byer in support. Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney are mother and daughter in this moody dramatic thriller. Moore's Kate lives and works alone at her farm, caring for horses and teaching the occasional lesson. She's grieving the loss of her wife and struggling to pay for the upkeep of the property. Her quiet monotony is broken one night when her daughter Claire shows up out of the blue. Claire has a history with substance abuse, and Kate - desperate for her daughter to be alright and keep coming home - is powerless to hold back assistance when she asks for it. But this latest visit comes with trouble. Claire and her on-again-off-again boyfriend have fallen foul of their drug dealer Jackie (a long-haired Domhnall Gleeson, recently seen in Fountain of Youth) and need to go off the grid for a few days until the heat dies down. Unsurprisingly, that's not the end of the story, and we'll see just how far Kate will go to keep her daughter safe. Echo Valley is more of a character piece than a plot-driven affair. The pacing is slow, the dialogue sparse and the overall mood pretty gloomy. The performances are solid, and the ending makes up for some of the experience of watching what can at times be a borderline boring film. But given the solid cast - which also includes Fiona Shaw and Kyle MacLachlan - you might be expecting more from Echo Valley than you get. Newly-minted Oscar nominee Monica Barbaro is back in action alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the second season of Netflix's over-the-top action comedy FUBAR. Also on Netflix you'll find a doctumentary about the doomed submarine implosion, Titan: The Oceangate Submersible Disaster, as well as another doco on Travis Scott's festival disaster Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy. Catch Nicolas Cage in an Aussie thriller in Stan's The Surfer, or check out Orlando Bloom and Bryce Dallas Howard in the hilariously silly action comedy Deep Cover on Prime Video. If you're after something a little more sci-fi, check out new series Revival on Binge, where dead folks are rising from the grave with apparently no ill effects. Ryan Reynolds tries his hand at nature documentaries on Disney+, providing the narration for the fun Underdogs, which takes a look at some of the animal kingdom's more left-of-centre creatures like the pistol shrimp and axolotl, with his trademark snarky delivery. On Disney+ you'll also find the fourth season of Wild Crime, a true crime docuseries that this season focuses on serial killer Israel Keyes.
News.com.au
19-06-2025
- News.com.au
Teresa Palmer and Jim Sturgess reunite 17 years after almost starring together in Hollywood film
British actor Jim Sturgess and Australian actress Teresa Palmer play high school sweethearts who reunite after decades apart in the new Aussie series Mix Tape. In a case of life imitating art, both Sturgess and Palmer also experience a reunion of sorts on the set, as they actually met years ago in Hollywood. That year was 2008 and Palmer had auditioned for a role in the drama 21, a film about a group of genius college students who use maths to win big at blackjack in Las Vegas. Sturgess scored the lead opposite Kevin Spacey, but Palmer didn't get the role. 'Kate Bosworth got the role ultimately. She was a lot more famous than me back then,' Palmer, 39, told But doing the audition process together at the time marked the start of a beautiful friendship between the stars. 'When they do those screen tests, they really kind of put you through it. And so me and Teresa spent a whole day together and got on really well,' Sturgess, 47, tells 'I'd always been aware of her work since that day and always sort of follow [her career].' 'Then literally 20 years later we're coming back and shooting Mix Tape together. We messaged each other about it and we were excited that we were both getting on board.' Stream Mix Tape now on BINGE, available on Hubbl. In Mix Tape, which is now streaming on BINGE, Sturgess and Palmer play former 80s high-school sweethearts Daniel and Alison who are now living in Sydney and Sheffield, respectively. As high-school sweethearts, the pair would make each other mix tapes, but a tragic event pulls them to opposite ends of the world. Through modern technology, they reconnect after a chance encounter and discover that the songs from their shared past evoke feelings that never went away. Off set, Sturgess and Palmer also connected through music – not through mix tapes, but through playlists. 'We made each other some playlists, but it was about as unromantic as you could imagine,' he laughs. 'We were sending each other hip-hop music basically. T's a big hip-hop fan, and I was sending her a lot of English sort of grime, hip-hop music, and she was sending me stuff back.' But fun and music aside, Mix Tape is more than just a rom-com. The four-part series explores missed opportunities, second chances, and childhood trauma. 'It sort of exists in this really interesting space where it's gritty enough and romantic enough and it's all these things just coming together to make the show. So that's all really of exciting and deeply nostalgic,' Sturgess says. 'This is definitely not a gushy kind of romance film. It's difficult and it's traumatic at times.' Palmer's character of Alison lives through a traumatic experience that forces her to leave town for Sydney where she now resides with her husband (played by Ben Lawson). But her troubled and impoverished childhood in Sheffield is never far from her mind. And in some ways, Palmer could relate to Alison. 'I would not say my upbringing was anywhere near what Alison went through. Not even close, but I grew up in government housing,' Palmer reveals. 'I went to a private Catholic school that my dad paid for, but I lived with my mum who was on a disability pension. I remember feeling like I was the one at school who couldn't have people over to my house because my house was so tiny and embarrassing and I didn't really want to have a lot of friends over.' 'But my place ended up being the place everyone wanted to go to because my mum was very open with her rules. We didn't really have any rules, to be honest. So all my friends suddenly were like, 'We want to be at our house. We're going to go to Teresa's house.'' Mix Tape will hit home for many people who have ever asked 'what if' – and both Sturgess and Palmer loved the 'beautiful, nuanced way' the story was told. 'I think it is hugely romantic for anyone looking back,' Sturgess says. 'There's a generation of 40 year olds that are really going to be moved by the nostalgia of it.'
