Seth Lee’s got moves. Don’t let his slender frame trick you, the young Austin-born actor is a champion martial artist holding multiple black belts. What began with an introduction to family friend, actor, stuntman and martial artist Ernie Reyes Jr., soon evolved into an education that has seen Seth nurture his acting craft alongside physical training – yes, he does his own stunts. Having first garnered acclaim for playing a young version of Ben Affleck’s mathematician-hitman character in the all-action thriller The Accountant, in Seth’s next film, Bugs, a story of three sisters genetically modified at birth, the actor takes the lead.

Alex James Taylor: Is that an Arsenal shirt?
Seth Lee: [laughs] Yes it is, my girlfriend’s an Arsenal fan.

AJT: I’m a Manchester United fan so…
SL: OK, a little beef then. [both laugh] We’ll keep it civil today.

AJT: You’re from Austin originally, what was life like there as a kid?
SL: It was great, a nice mix of suburban life and also Austin is a very creative city, a very liberal city. Austin was where I started my career because there’s a huge film scene and a lot of artists and musicians.

AJT: Is that independent scene still there when South by Southwest isn’t on?
SL: Absolutely. They really elevate a lot of new artists and thrive in the independent production sphere.

AJT: We have to speak about your martial arts background, I’m so intrigued. How did you first get into it?
SL: Martial arts and acting came at the exact same time. My dad’s close friend is Ernie Reyes Jr., who was in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies and all this great stuff. As a seven-year-old kid, that’s the coolest thing, right? I met him over Skype, I came in wearing my underwear, a fake moustache and a top hat while my dad was on a call with him. I was dancing in the background and my dad was like, “Go away, go away,” and Ernie was like, “No, no, let me talk to him.” We really connected and I felt seen as this really loud kid wanting to be in the spotlight. Then he was like, “Let me teach you a little bit of martial arts,” and he taught me a punch combo or whatever. Afterwards, I was like, “Dad, who is this guy? He’s so awesome.” [My dad] showed me all of his movies and I was like, “That’s what I want to do.” As a kid jumping into a professional workspace like this and working at such an early age, you have to mature a lot quicker than [usual] and martial arts taught me a lot of valuable life lessons – perseverance, confidence. [Also] being able to do my own stunts is very beneficial. [laughs]

AJT: Did you ever think about going into martial arts rather than acting?
SL: I always knew acting was the career for me, but I did do competitive martial arts on the tournament circuit. There’s a nice family culture within the martial arts world, and I was able to meet a lot of cool and exciting people.

AJT: Is there anyone you look up to in the acting world who does their own stunts?
SL: Tom Cruise is the first person I’m going to say. Mission: Impossible is so iconic. But [stunts] are a rare art form these days, for sure. I think Ryan Gosling did a lot of his own for The Fall Guy, which is really cool, he’s another one of those artists integrating it into his work.

AJT: And you still keep up with martial arts now?
SL: I do stunt training. I’ll go with my friends to open [air] gyms out here in LA. In terms of competitive martial arts, I’ve pretty much retired from that. I do a lot of boxing now, which is really nice, but some people in my boxing gym want me to do amateur fighting. [laughs] With my career I can’t do that. But it’s a great form of therapy for me and keeps me rooted in what I grew up in.

AJT: What can you tell us about your upcoming film, Bugs?
SL: That was a really fun shoot. The director [Chloe Ray] is a close friend and they had such a specific vision for the film. It’s a very stylistic, independent production. Basically, my character Kai works at this science lab that makes designer babies. Then three sisters discover that they were made in the lab and go on an adventure to discover the truth. I have this turning point where I’m like, “OK, let me help these sisters on their journey and take down the big, bad scientists.”

AJT: Sounds fun! What else have you got coming up?
SL: I have a film called The Midway Point that’s currently doing the independent circuit across the States, and hopefully globally at some point.

AJT: You’re also into your music – you play bass?
SL: I do. I’m discovering my voice as a musician, which is a really fun process to go through.

AJT: What sort of music are you into?
SL: Lately, one of my favourites is Dijon, what he’s doing is really interesting and unique. I don’t think there’s anyone like him right now. And of course my Texas roots have a little bit of country in there.

AJT: Country is having a really cool revival right now.
SL: Country’s back. Quite honestly, I wasn’t into it for so long but I rediscovered it recently and really started getting into it. I grew up on a lot of Johnny Cash, and then now you have Tyler Childers and all these fresh voices.

AJT: Do you write your own music?
SL: Yeah, I’ve been writing my own stuff. I want to start putting my stuff out and get an EP going.

AJT: And you’re also making your own short films and music videos…
SL: Yeah, I’ve been writing and directing films for some time. When I was thirteen, I applied to Ghetto Film School, which is a programme outside of the standard school system – I found my voice in that scene. Then I really got into music videos. I’ve also written two feature films that I’d love to get made one day.

AJT: What sort of stories are they?
SL: I wrote the first one when I was fifteen, I was like, “Let’s make a stoner comedy.” Something crazy and wild. I’ve freshened it up over the years and given it a mature voice, but at the end of the day it’s still a stoner comedy. The other one is this coming-of-age thriller about three kids from the Valley who rob a house and then something bad happens and it’s about how that affects their lives afterwards. I was listening to friends around me and things from my own past, and I was like, I really want to be honest about what it means to grow up in these times. That script is my passion project.

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