I Used To Be Famous is a 2022 British musical comedy-drama film made by Forty Foot Pictures for Netflix. Directed by Eddie Sternberg in his feature length debut, and starring Ed Skrein, Eleanor Matsuura and Leo Long. The film debuted on Netflix on 16 September 2022. Synopsis Set in London, former boy band pop star jama on the street with an autistic teenager drummer and starts an unusual friendship. Cast Ed Skrein as Vince Leo Long as Stevie Eleanor Matsuura as Amber Kurt Egyiawan as Dia Eoin Macken as Austin Lorraine Ashbourne as Cheryl Neil Stuke as Dennis Production Sternberg co-wrote the screenplay with Zak Klein, adapting from Sternberg’s short film of the same name. Sternberg based the character of Stevie on his cousin, who is autistic and a drummer. The film is produced by Collie McCarthy at Forty Foot Pictures for Netflix. Long, who plays Stevie who has autism, is neuro-divergent himself and diagnosed with a speech and language condition. Long said he is determined to make the industry more ‘people-friendly’ for disabled musicians & actors. He performed with the London Youth Folk Ensemble and National Open Youth Orchestra prior to his work on the film. The National Autistic Society provided advice and guidance throughout the production. Release The film debuted on Netflix on 16 September 2022 and went into the top two on the Netflix chart onin the United Kingdom. Reception On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, I Used To Be Famous holds an approval rating of 80% based on 10 reviews. Glen Kenny in The New York Times praises Skrein for “mostly winning ingenuousness” of his performance, and especially the “seamlessness with which [Long] and his compelling character fit into picture…is the most noteworthy thing about it”. He says the film strays into cliche but that makes the “ending which actually takes an exit ramp off triumphalist clichés, genuinely surprising.” Lesley Felperin in The Guardian described it as a “schematic but seeet-natured”. References External links 2022 films British teen comedy-drama films English-language Netflix original films 2020s English-language films Films about autism Films about music and musicians Films about percussion and percussionists