Artist Spotlight: Actor, CASSIE BRADLEY

Cassie is an actor, voice artist and creative practitioner. Cassie founded SPoKE, a social enterprise, to redress the social inequalities that exist surrounding access to public speaking skills, voice work and empowerment training.  

Coming from a working-class background, Cassie is passionate about using art and artistic practice for social change. She’s facilitated workshops and outreach programmes for the National Theatre and National Theatre Learning, pioneered the confidence and public speaking work at Luminary Bakery, works with survivors of trauma and gender-based violence and regularly contributes to articles and panels campaigning for greater opportunities for artists from low socioeconomic backgrounds.  

As an actor: Cassie has worked extensively with the National Theatre, on screen she is known for playing Natalie Watkins in Coronation Street (ITV), Leanne in ITV’s Torvill & Dean, Leigh-Anne Carr in Casualty (BBC) and Mary Magdalene for History & Amazon worldwide. As a voice artist: Cassie has narrated audiobooks for HarperAudio, Amazon and Audible. She is frequently involved in national product campaigns, commercials, video games and BBC Radio projects. She is represented by United Agents and Say So Voices.  

Was there a particular moment when you knew you wanted to be an actor? 

When I was five my Mum took me to see a magical production of Cinderella at Nottingham Playhouse. We went on a backstage tour and I got to see how everything worked behind the scenes: the costumes, how the carriage lit up, the scripts, the props table…  

That was it: from that day I said I wanted to be an actor!

How did you get into theatre?

I attended weekly drama classes run by Nottingham City Council, joined Nottingham Youth theatre led by the incredible Alistair Conquer, had wonderful Mr. Carberry as my secondary school drama teacher and then won a full DaDA scholarship to train at The Oxford School of Drama.

Coming from a fully working class background I realise how lucky I’ve been to have had the opportunities I have. I wouldn’t be an actor without the support and encouragement from my family and some very special teachers. I’m currently on the Board of The Oxford School of Drama working to ensure that opportunities are kept open for individuals from low socioeconomic backgrounds and championing EDI as values that are fundamental to actor training.

What’s the best thing about being an actor? 

I feel so privileged to spend my life doing a job that I love and that I believe in. I believe stories have the power to educate, to change perspectives and to change lives.

I love every part of being an actor: from gut reactions to a script, doing research to create and build a character, intense rehearsal periods, long days in tech and on set and the buzz of performing: It’s a joy to have the opportunity to be creative every day.

Oh and the people! There is nothing better than being part of a team of people you get to emotionally skydive with.

Is there a role you’ve played on stage that you’d love to revisit on screen, or the other way around? 

One of my early theatre roles was playing Maggie Pearson in Husbands And Sons at The National Theatre. It was an incredible piece that interlaced three DH Lawrence plays, adapted by Ben Power and directed by Marianne Elliott. It meant so much to me personally, coming from a Nottingham mining family and was a phenomenal opportunity to grow and develop as an actor. I would love to revisit Maggie on screen, with all of Lawrence’s beautiful language – but only if all of the original cast did it too. It was such a special project with wonderfully talented people, it wouldn’t be the same if anyone was missing!

Are there skills you think all actors should develop, regardless of medium? What advice would you give to them? 

I often use sports psychology in my approach to my work and something I always come back to is: “stay in your lane”. It’s about trusting the path you’re on, not getting distracted by others paths and making the most of the track and the opportunities in front of you.

We are all unique people with individual experiences and outlooks on the world and as an actor I believe that’s our ‘gold dust’. I think all actors should nurture their individuality and celebrate what they can bring to a role that no one else can.

I also think it’s so important to be “match fit” because you never know when you’re going to be called on to step into a role or do a tape! So I think part of our job is to ensure we’re taking care of ourselves – physically and emotionally, keeping our voices warm and ready, staying inspired and poised to do our best work. That preparation will look different for everyone but I think it’s essential that we each know what we need to do to put ourselves in that place we can simply “jump off” from.

I also think the ability to laugh, find the joy in any situation and celebrate being silly is a key skill, not just in acting but in life.

What’s in store next for Cassie Bradley?

I’m about to start shooting a feature film alongside voicing a lead character in a video game. I’m also Creative Director of The Impact Lounge, a space where changemakers meet filmmakers: www.theimpactlounge.com

We’re currently programming for the UN General Assembly, Climate Week in New York and Sundance 2026.

I regularly do outreach work and workshop facilitation through my social enterprise SPoKE and I’m excited to grow and develop this work through the experience I gained on Tamasha’s Creative Lab.

I’m also training for an ultramarathon!

No two weeks are ever the same in my life but I love to be busy, to collaborate, to be creative and to be constantly challenged to grow.