This week's lunchtime masterclass is with actress Samantha Barks, who plays Éponine in the movie version of Les Misérables, out next month.
Samantha, 22, was born on the Isle of Man. She has been dancing since the age of three and trained at the Arts Educational Schools in south west London before releasing her debut album, Looking in Your Eyes, in 2007.
A year later Samantha competed in BBC talent show series I'd Do Anything, winning rave reviews with her performance of Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked and coming in third place.
She has since starred in Aladdin, at the Theatre Royal Windsor, and Cabaret, directed by Rufus Norris at The Birmingham Repertory Theatre, both for executive producer Bill Kenwright. Additionally, she played Éponine in Les Misérables in the West End for a year and appeared in Les Misérables in Concert: The 25th Anniversary, opposite Nick Jonas.
In February this year, she won the role of Éponine in Tom Hooper's movie adaptation of Les Misérables, beating the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Lea Michele and Taylor Swift and as a virtual unknown in the world of cinema.
She had spent 15 weeks auditioning and screen testing for the epic blockbuster - co-starring Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman - and dubbed it "the biggest opportunity of my life."
Do you want to break into musical theatre? Or perhaps you'd like to know what it was like working on the film version of Les Misérables? Whatever your question, join our live chat with Samantha at 12.15pm this Friday in the comments section below.
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