Former development executive Flynt (née Daniel Inglés, née Gabriel) was reborn in Paris in 2012 under the instruction of Madame Paula, a legendary Latina courtesan, following a slight misunderstanding near a towpath. After some time perfecting his craft amongst wealthy ladies around the continent, Flynt returned to his home town of London, where he had to relearn everything, because the English still don’t seem to know what they want. A bi-lingual, multi-instrumental, adventure-seeking polymath, Flynt lists his hobbies as mixing us the perfect pink gin, giving you foot rubs, and always remembering exactly where we left the car.
If you could only eat one ‘Penny Sweet’ for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Probably Jelly Beans. A least there's variety.
What is one common misconception about the sex industry you would like to change?
There is nothing seedy or wrong about paying for sex, as long as your provider has made that decision for themselves. Though I appreciate that 'decision' in many contexts is a complicated issue, which is why these things need talking about, and not be buried under bizarre legislation or moral posturing.
What is one thing you would like people to know about sex work?
It comes in more flavours than there are Jelly Beans. I didn't appreciate that until I got to know my fellow cast members. We all appear to have found our respective niches and then worked the hell out of them for whatever reason, be that good or bad. But sex work does seem to be necessarily solitary. It sounds like a contradiction given the physical exchange of the job, but there you go. And yes, many of us care very much about our clients - the nice ones, anyway (so I guess that's more than one thing).
Is this your first time working in theatre? What’s it been like?
I've worked in both television and publishing, but never theatre, which forces collaboration like no other. Your deadline is a live space, and the feedback from audiences is immediate, and unpredictable, and intoxicating.
Describe the See Me Now rehearsal room vibes in three words (or emojis).
"Shitload of doors" (You really need to see the show to understand this!)
What did you want to be growing up?
A writer, actor or director. Professionally speaking, I have accomplished the first two, and only one of those also involved having sex for money ...
If days were 28 hours long, what would you do with the 4 extra hours?
I'd cook! I love to cook and I never have time. My beautiful fiancee is from the Brazilian state of Bahia. She produces the most fantastic quick food with cheap ingredients and a pressure cooker. I need to get back in the kitchen.
What’s your favourite song and why?
It changes all the time, but in the show I play the blues piano for Dee, another cast member. She's a pleasure to accompany, has a phenomenal voice, and her tune is really catchy. We all go home humming it.
What's your favourite play or movie you've ever seen?
Macbeth, Jaws, The Book of Mormon, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Big Leboswki .. a lot of the usual suspects. But I remember having dreams after seeing The Cherry Orchard as directed by Sam Mendes with Simon Russell Beale in about 2009, that really affected me. I have a BA in English Lit but Chekov was a bit lost on me until then. My guiltiest pleasure is And Then There Were None by Agatha Christi, which I saw as a fourteen year old boy somewhere in Ontario, Canada. It still amazes me that she could employ such broadly wooden characterisation and murder almost her entire cast in quite silly ways over ninety minutes or so, yet modern audiences, myself included, remain credulous and hypnotised. Theatre magic.
If you could have one supernatural power which would you choose and why?
Flight. But only while invisible.
Do you think you will want to continue being involved in theatre after this production?
Yes , at least with the Young Vic. It is a remarkable place to work, a worthwhile place to think, and has a fine bar in which to make friends and people-watch. Should it not happen, I will cherish the memory.
Flynt stars in See Me Now which runs 11 Feb – 4 Mar in the Young Vic’s Maria. Tickets for this production are all sold out but you are welcome to join our returns queues from an hour before each performance. Find more information on See Me Now here.
