GUY REMMERS
*The Duke Goes Off-Script
written + interview Alban E. Smajli
There’s something about Guy Remmers. Maybe it’s the voice — precise but unbothered. Maybe it’s the posture — somewhere between centuries-old nobility and Gen Z’s nonchalance. Or maybe it’s the fact that he’s straddling about five different lives at once and making it all look impossibly casual.
You’ve seen him as Theo, the Duke of Tintagel, in The Buccaneers — Apple TV’s velvet-clad, chaos-laced, post-bridgerton fever dream of a period drama. He plays it with just the right amount of restraint and emotional slippage, like someone holding a glass of brandy they’re about to smash. Now, with Season 2 freshly dropped last week, and the one and only Leighton Meester joining the cast, Theo’s world is about to get flipped on its finely groomed head. No spoilers, but let’s just say Remmers is riding the heartbreak horse hard this time around.
total look ANN DEMEULEMEESTER
But The Buccaneers is just one thread in the tapestry. Before screen, there was stage — and before that, Bristol. Guy trained at the Bristol Old Vic and made his debut at The National Theatre in The Grandfathers, a moment he still talks about like a first kiss. “Being a Bristol boy at that age in London… that was the moment I knew,” he says, and you believe him. His presence off-camera feels less rehearsed. You might’ve seen him walk for Burberry, pose for Jimmy Choo, or drift across a moody editorial like he woke up in a 1970s issue of The Face. But fashion, he insists, is its own thing — something he enjoys, but doesn’t conflate with his work as an actor. Still, there’s a symmetry: both spaces let him play with image, identity, and what he calls “the evolving shape of masculinity.” You get the sense he’s aware of how he’s looked at, but not defined by it.
Ask him what he wants next, and he lights up. A detective role (“Life on Mars” energy), a comedy-drama à la The Thick of It, something American-accented. What you’re reading is a man who wants to stretch — not because he’s bored, but because he knows how good the view is from the edge. In an industry obsessed with immediate heat and viral cool, Guy Remmers is moving differently. He’s not here to be loud. He’s here to last.
total look ANN DEMEULEMEESTER
Alban E. Smajli
So you’re the Duke of Tintagel—old money, stiff collars, and then boom: American chaos. What made you say yes to Theo, and how did you find your way into all that aristocratic angst?
Guy Remmers
Thank you! Theo's constant battle with the benefits and disadvantages of his title has always fascinated me. I did a lot of work on what his upbringing would have been like and how he physically carries himself and speaks. A lot of suppressing his emotions but the really exciting part was then allowing him to be swept off his feet by this new unique ball of energy from overseas.
Season 2’s loading, Leighton Meester’s crashing the party, and Theo’s still stuck between duty and desire. Where’s he heading this time—and what happens when fresh blood hits old money?
New faces and characters are super exciting as it means you get to meet and work with incredible new actors. I loved seeing how they all seamlessly intertwined into the story. Theo's journey in this season is an absolute rollercoaster and his world flips upside down when he has to decide if love is more important than the institution he has been born into.
You started on stage, Bristol Old Vic, National Theatre, all that velvet and sweat. Now you’re in streaming land. What do theatre and screen give you that the other can’t?
They are both magical in slightly different ways. I haven't done theatre in a few years now and the thing I miss most is the feeling of being part of an ensemble where you all rehearse together and feel like one organism. The Buccaneers is an ensemble cast but it is rare for us to all be on set at the same time. But I have now done two seasons of seeing the world through Theo's eyes and growing with him and that is equally as special.
You’ve done Burberry, Jimmy Choo, the whole fashion orbit. What itch does that scratch that acting doesn’t or is it all just dress-up in different lighting?
I feel very lucky to have done those things, especially as I have a love for fashion. To me they are completely separate, neither offers me something that I would need from the other.
You move between film sets and fashion shoots, all soft tailoring and sharp stares. Do you see yourself as part of a generation that's reshaping what masculinity looks like, or does all that talk just feel like another box to be put in?
I definitely feel like 'masculinity' is evolving into more open and expressive ways and I think one strong representation of that is in fashion. I hope it keeps moving in that direction.
You’ve done corsets, campaigns, a bit of everything in between. Is there a role or genre still lurking on your wishlist, just waiting to be cracked open?
I've always wanted to play a detective, that would be super cool. I loved watching police dramas like 'Life on Mars' and 'Ashes to Ashes' when I was younger, I think that's where my love for them started. My favourite TV series is 'The Thick of It' so I'd love to do a comedy drama in that tone too. Also a big goal is to do a role in an American accent.
Was there a moment where it all just clicked and you thought, yep, this is it, this is the thing I’m meant to do?
When I was 18 I did a play called The Grandfathers at The National Theatre - it was an extremely special experience. Being a Bristol boy at that age in London doing a play at that theatre was the best feeling in the world and a moment that I knew I was doing what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
total look PAUL SMITH
shoes JIMMY CHOO
“I definitely feel like 'masculinity' is evolving into more open and expressive ways, and I think one strong representation of that is in fashion.”
Ruy Remmers speaks with Alban E. Smajli
for LE MILE Digital SS25
blazer + beret EMPORIO ARMANI
trousers ANN DEMEULEMEESTER
vest SUNSPEL
coat + trousers ISSEY MIYAKE
shirt DAVID KOMA
trainers ADIDAS X WALES BONNER
jacket + trousers Y-3
shirt BRUNELLO CUCINELLI
boots DAVID KOMA
gloves HANDSOME STOCKHOLM
tie TURNBULL & ASSER
“Theo's journey this season is an absolute rollercoaster. His world flips upside down when he has to decide if love is more important than the institution he was born into.”
Ruy Remmers speaks with Alban E. Smajli
for LE MILE Digital SS25
total look VERSACE
total look DANIEL W FLETCHER
trainers ADIDAS x WALES BONNER
photographer ANTONIO EUGENIO
stylist JUSTIN HAMILTON
grooming TRAVIS NUNES
photo assistant GEORGE TAYLOR
styling assistants KATIE SOMAVIA, LORNA LANE
videography VALENTINA VILLA
talent GUY REMMERS
Special thanks to Caroline Fergusson + Grace Yeoman, PR Pinnacle