EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Florence Pugh may be accustomed to bringing drama to the screen in Hollywood hits, from Don’t Worry Darling Dune: Part Two, to but as her elder brother Toby Sebastian can affirm, family get-togethers are equally lively.
“A party at our house is an incredibly fun, mad, loud affair,” says musician and actor Toby, 32, as he joins HELLO! for an exclusive interview to celebrate National Siblings Day on 10 April.
“On Christmas Day two or three years ago, there were 15 of us doing a conga at 2am, music blasting out – the dog was going ballistic.”
Indeed, dancing, singing and all-round theatricality are in the family’s genes.
Toby’s eldest sibling Arabella, 38, studied theatre and is a voice coach, while Florence, 28, has risen rapidly through the Hollywood ranks, earning an Oscar nomination in 2020 for her turn as Amy March in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women.. Their youngest sister Rafaela, 20, also sings and acts.
The apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree: their mother Deborah, who trained at theatre school, is a dancer, and restaurateur father Clinton is a talented artist and designer.
“The number one reason we have all ended up doing what we’re doing is because our parents gave us the backing to do so. Arts were seen as just as important as other, ‘serious’ subjects,” says Toby, who uses his forenames as his professional moniker.
MAN OF MANY TALENTS
His successful career has seen him play Trystane Martell in Game of Thrones and appear on the big screen opposite such heavyweights as John Travolta and Antonio Banderas.
He is currently focusing on his music, though, completing a UK headline tour and gearing up to release a new album.
Of his music-filled upbringing, Toby says: “Every one of us has followed suit and it’s been organic. I guess that’s the thing with siblings you’re close to: you look up to them, so you want to do what they’re doing.
“When I was younger, Arabella was a brilliant pianist. She was making songs and I thought: ‘I really want to do that.’ So I started having guitar lessons and writing songs, and Florence saw and was like: ‘I’m gonna have a go at that.’
“Obviously she has a genius voice,” says Toby of Florence, who lent her rich, deep vocals to his 2021 track Midnight.
At the
