The star of recent BBC comedy drama Leonard and Hungry Paul, Laurie Kynaston was born in Shrewsbury in 1994 and raised in north Wales, where he joined the National Youth Theatre of Wales. He has portrayed a young Johnny Marr in the film England Is Mine and starred in Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman at the Gielgud theatre in London. In 2019, he won an Evening Standard Theatre Award for emerging talent for his role in The Son by Florian Zeller. He has also appeared in Derry Girls, The Sandman, and the coming-of-age comedy How to Build a Girl. He is about to star alongside Ben Daniels in Terence Rattigan’s Man and Boy at the National Theatre (30 January until 14 March)

Robyn: Dopamine (Jamie xx remix) 

Robyn is obviously an icon: she encapsulates early 00s euphoric music. She’s bringing out a new album, and one of the singles, Dopamine, is a club anthem banger. The song is great on its own, but it’s been remixed by Jamie xx, who has done something very unexpected and high-octane with it. His remix goes into more of an industrial sound, but it’s still got a kind of whimsy to it. When I’m walking to rehearsals, I put that track on, and it just makes me want to move. It needs to be played very loud.

Nan Goldin: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency at Gagosian, London W1

I’m really looking forward to this exhibition. I came across Nan Goldin a few years ago, and was blown away by her exploration of the 80s queer scene in New York. She has this amazing ability to be inside the room with people when they are going through some enormous life moments, but also getting ready to go on wild nights out. You see the fragility of these people who often have to put on a suit of armour to present themselves to the world, but she also captures the moment before the armour goes on – the people underneath it. Her work reminds me of a contemporary photographer called Roxy Lee, who documents the queer scene in London at the moment: she captures the hedonism of these lavish, ridiculous nights out.

All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

I couldn’t put this down. It’s set in America, and it’s about a 13-year-old boy called Patch, who is kidnapped, and his friend Saint never gives up hope that she’ll be able to find him. She goes on this epic, decades-long voyage to track down her friend. You really believe those characters: I had such a clear image of both of them in my head. The language is so beautiful. It’s a story about love and friendship, there’s twists and turns in it, there’s humour, there’s shocks – it feels like a thriller. It goes to some dark places and some really light places, and there is a very satisfying ending.

Monos (dir. Alejandro Landes)

My best mate Louis and I saw this in the cinema when it came out, and it has stayed with me as one of the most transcendent films I’ve ever seen on the big screen. I watch it every year now and it’s just as good on the telly. It’s set in Latin America and is loosely based on Lord of the Flies, and it’s about these child soldiers who are guarding an American female hostage and a milking cow. It’s this incredible story of power dynamics between teenagers. It’s set half on a mountaintop and half in a jungle, and you really feel like you’re in both of those places. The rainforest is so close and hot – you can smell the whole thing.

Backgammon

Backgammon is a brilliant way to try to be less online, which I think we all are trying to be a bit more conscious of now. I went on holiday to Greece recently, and we played it every day by the pool while we drank piña coladas – the perfect way to spend a holiday. It’s half luck and half skill, and it can all completely change on one roll of the dice, which makes for very entertaining play. I hear it’s on the rise – young people are all playing it. We’ve got a travel set that’s made of fake leather, and it rolls up into the size of a Toblerone. I would heartily recommend it.