Netflix’s latest romantic dramedy, My Oxford Year, transports viewers to the picturesque halls of Oxford University, where American graduate student Anna (Sofia Carson) navigates love, friendships, and academia. Central to her experience is roommate Charlie Butler, portrayed by rising comedic actor Harry Trevaldwyn, known for roles in How to Train Your Dragon and Ten Percent. Caitlynn McDaniel sat down with Trevaldwyn to discuss Charlie’s iconic style, personal growth, and why meaningful queer representation is important to him.
Q: Charlie is the roommate, comedic relief and style icon. How was it taking all of that on?
Harry Trevaldwyn: “I felt that responsibility on my shoulders every time I had to wear a gorgeous scarf. It was tricky. I loved it. I wore more waistcoats than I’ve ever worn in my life. Sometimes I looked like the ghost from an Oscar Wilde film in the lectures. But the costume department got it brilliantly. Charlie read those books and wanted a cravat and a scarf and watched ‘Withnail and I’ and just really leaned into that.”
Q: Did you lean into that fashion at school, or was this fulfilling a dream?
Harry Trevaldwyn: “It was fulfilling. I was very much like, ‘What is everyone else wearing? I’ll wear exactly the same.’ Sadly, I wore skinny jeans quite a lot at university—actually after they had gone out of style. Now I’d like it known I only wear wide-leg trousers.”
Q: Do you actually think Anna’s shoes were hideous?
Harry Trevaldwyn: “No, I don’t think they were that hideous. Charlie was being catty and enjoying it. I think the shoes that come later are better. Charlie basically wore the same shoes the whole way through, so I don’t know what he’s complaining about.”
Q: Many side characters in this film get their own stories. How fulfilling was that?
Harry Trevaldwyn: “So often, especially with queer characters, it’s expositional—delivering a sassy line and walking away. In My Oxford Year, side characters are involved in the dynamics, have their own things going on. The relationships felt real because we bonded during rehearsals. Especially as a queer person watching, you zero in on queer characters.
“And if they’re not given a life, then slowly that eats into you and it’s like, well, ‘I won’t have a life,’ especially if you’re watching it when you’re young. You believe what you see on tv. And so the more life and the more depth and character and all humanness that’s in a character you believe and you invest in yourself. So I think it’s so important to have those sideline characters. You can have a sideline character and you can still have it be fully developed. He has his own world and his own perspective and his own motivations and all these things, his own jokes, his own boots, his own scarves.”
Q: What’s holding Charlie back from accepting love in his life?
Harry Trevaldwyn: “Well, I think basically — and I think it’s so funny — I feel Charlie, especially… I know so many people like him, and I’ve probably been him before. It’s like you wear armor of cattiness and you’re like, ‘I’m just in it for the fun.’ He’s quick, so he feels like he’s one step ahead, so no one can touch him. He’s keeping his distance so he can’t be invested and then can’t be hurt.
“I think watching him, watching Anna and Jamie’s love story and feeling this love he’s got for his friends, slowly cracks him open. And he’s like, ‘OK, I’ve tried this and no shame to that — fun is fun, gorgeous — but I think I’m ready to actually maybe dive in a little deeper.’ So he’s got a lovely little love story that plays alongside it, and it was really funny. It was really nice.
“It’s almost like part of it is the love story for him. The love story is actually allowing himself to be still for a second and be loved in a way that he loves his friends, and he’s loved by his friends, but he doesn’t accept that romantically. He’s always very like, ‘I want flings, I don’t want anything serious.’ And to see that kind of thought was really nice.”
Q: Who was the first character you really related to on screen?
Harry Trevaldwyn: “I kept getting it wrong—I was a pretty happy child but loved moody characters like Peyton from One Tree Hill or Effy from Skins. But maybe Willow from Buffy—happy to be there, helpful and a powerful witch.”
Q: What’s Charlie’s go-to karaoke song?
Harry Trevaldwyn: “Oh my goodness. What a question. I think maybe he’d do. I just think also it’s also in the film, not in the film, but Chappell Roan in the film, maybe ‘Pink Pony Club,’ but that’s the one that immediate or ‘Manchild.’ Those are the two, to be honest. Those are the two that I’m personally playing the most at the moment. So they’re the ones that are like, well, I know the words. I think that, or actually maybe ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’ by Shania Twain.”
Q: Do you think Charlie and Tuffnut from ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ would get along?
Harry Trevaldwyn: “No.”
Caitlynn: “I mean, I don’t know what his shoes were. I was trying to envision them, right?”
Harry Trevaldwyn: “I mean, they were beautifully made, but Charlie would make fun of them. I think where Charlie makes snide remarks and clever catty comments, Tuffnut would just push him. So I think it’d be real brains versus brawn. But you know what? I think that Charlie would be jealous of Tuffnut’s hair in the same way that I’m jealous of Tuffnut’s hair. There’s all been locks. Forget about it. So I think that, and they’d both agree that the other one was beautiful and they’d be like, my goodness, what a look. But they would not get along at all. Not even a little bit. I don’t think they’d have any common ground apart from the fact that they look very similar.”
Caitlynn: “I mean, I feel like they have sassy one liners in common.”
Harry Trevaldwyn: “They do. Okay. Yeah, they do. They do. They do in different accents.”
Caitlynn: “It would just be only witty banter. There would be nothing deeper.”
Harry Trevaldwyn: “Absolutely not. I would not go below surface level. No, sir.”
Q: Do you have a favorite Charlie moment you hope becomes a meme?
Harry Trevaldwyn: “Well, there’s one bit in the film that I really didn’t think was going to make it. Iain [Morris], who’s our director, who’s obviously a big comedy legend. And at one point he was just like, ‘oh, Harry, you can just improv a bit about what would happen.’ We were in a lecture and it’s basically this almost long monologue that I do about what I would happen if I died at a bar or something like that. I can’t remember exactly the context of it, and I’m so surprised. I’m very happy that it made it into the edit, but that was just, I think I basically did that to make Esmé and Sofia who were with me laugh. And so it’s one of those ones where you’re like, oh, I didn’t think it’ll make it into the film. And it did. So I was very happy about that.”
Q: This is a book-to-screen adaptation. Is there another book character you’d love to play?
Harry Trevaldwyn: “I’m adapting my own YA book, The Romantic Trials of a Drama King, which has been fun. But I recently read Throne of Glass—I think Manon Blackbeak would have the sickest wig. I’d love to play someone with superpowers.”
My Oxford Year is now streaming on Netflix, showcasing Harry Trevaldwyn’s undeniable charm and comedic brilliance, perfectly encapsulated in Charlie Butler’s unforgettable scarves, sharp wit and heartfelt queer journey. Alongside Trevaldwyn, the film stars Sofia Carson as Anna, Corey Mylchreest as Jamie, Catherine McCormack, and Esmé Kingdom.
