Born in Hackney, London, before moving to Manchester in 2018, Galaxie Clear had just begun sixth form college when she pivoted to the North Yorkshire shoot of Molly Manners’ indie feature Extra Geography, adapted from Rose Tremain’s 2007 short story. Clear plays Minna, who begins to break away from one half of a seemingly inseparable duo at a girls’ boarding school.
With no previous professional experience, she landed the role after casting director Lucy Pardee included Manchester School of Acting — where Clear was taking Saturday classes — among her trawl of young talent. “It was my first audition experience,” explains the now 18-year-old. “They saw this character in me, and it all just came from there. It was a pivotal moment in my career.”
After Extra Geography — which premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January and opens in UK cinemas in October via Vertigo Releasing — Clear shot ITV espionage series Secret Service, playing the daughter of an MI6 officer (Gemma Arterton) and government special adviser (Rafe Spall). She followed with the iconic role of the much-desired Pandora Braithwaite in new BBC series The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾, adapted by David Nicholls from Sue Townsend’s bestseller. “I didn’t want to judge her too much, she has the best intentions,” says Clear of the seemingly flawed character. “I feel like I kind of merged with her.”
Clear’s creativity began with her own art — “I love low-contrast, dreamy landscapes, and I guess the colour palette is quite inspired by Sofia Coppola” — and Coppola and Wes Anderson are top of her filmmaker wishlist. “I love these aesthetically driven directors,” she explains, adding quickly that she is still finding her way.
“I’m open to pretty much anything, and ideally I would like to do a little bit of everything,” says Clear. “There’s no way that I can determine my dream path, because it could be something that’s completely unexpected to me now. Experience is what I want my path to be.”
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