Joe Alwyn
Birthdate: Feb 21, 1991
Birthplace: London, England, UK
Getting your first movie role as the lead in an Ang Lee production would seem to be like winning the lottery, but even though Joe Alwyn (birthname: Joseph Matthew Alwyn) was unlucky enough for that movie to be the box-office bomb, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (2016), he has gone on to amass an impressive roster of credits in the past five years. Joe Alwyn capped this run with another lead role, in Claire Denis’ thriller set during the Nicaraguan revolution, Stars at Noon (2021), with John C. Reilly and Margaret Qualley.
Though trained in theater, Alwyn scored the lead in Billy Lynn straight out of drama school. He landed a plum role alongside the stunning ensemble of Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, and Nicholas Hoult, in Yogos Lanthimos’ acid-sharp court comedy, The Favourite (2018), nominated for ten Oscars.
Alwyn portrayed a run of historical figures in subsequent movies: As the son of Adolf Eichmann in Chris Weitz’s Operation Finale (2018), with Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley; as Henry Wallace in Joel Edgerton’s drama, Boy Erased (2018), with Nicole Kidman, Lucas Hedges, and Edgerton; as British statesman Robert Dudley in Josie Rourke’s Mary, Queen of Scots (2018) with Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie; and as slaveowner Gideon Brodess in Kasi Lemmons’ slave history thriller, Harriet (2019), with Cynthia Erivo as Harriet Tubman.
In 2022, Alwyn also appears in Lena Dunham’s medieval British comedy, Catherine Called Birdy, with Bella Ramsay. Alwyn is also set to play opposite Riz Ahmed, as Laertes, in a contemporary version of Hamlet directed by Anell Karia.
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Personal Details
Born in the Kent region of England and raised in North London by author-psychotherapist Elizabeth and non-fiction filmmaker Richard Alwyn, Joe Alwyn comes from a distinguished family tree. His grandfather, Jonathan Alwyn, was a producer-director, while his great-grandfather, William Alwyn, was a composer-conductor. His great-uncle was one of the leaders in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Bruce Kent.
After attending the City of London School, Alwyn joined the U.K.’s National Youth Theatre and earned a Bachelor’s in English literature from the University of Bristol in 2012, and another degree in drama and acting from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2015. Alwyn has been in a relationship with Taylor Swift since 2016. Alwyn’s height is 6’ 2½”.
Filmography
actor
Previous (7)
- 2024 | The BrutalistasHarry Lee
The Brutalist
When visionary architect László Toth and his wife Erzsébet flee post-war Europe in 1947 to rebuild their legacy and witness the birth of modern America, their lives are changed forever by a mysterious and wealthy client.
- 2024 | Kinds of KindnessasCollectibles Appraiser
Kinds of Kindness
A man seeks to break free from his predetermined path, a cop questions his wife's demeanor after her return from a supposed drowning, and a woman searches for an extraordinary individual prophesied to become a renowned spiritual guide.
- 2021 | The Souvenir: Part II
The Souvenir: Part II
In the aftermath of her tumultuous relationship, Julie begins to untangle her fraught love for him in making her graduation film, sorting fact from his elaborately constructed fiction.
- 2019 |
- 2018 | Mary Queen of ScotsasRobert Dudley
Mary Queen of Scots
Mary Stuart's (Saoirse Ronan's) attempt to overthrow her cousin Elizabeth I (Margot Robbie), Queen of England, finds her condemned to years of imprisonment before facing execution.
- 2018 | Operation FinaleasKlaus Eichmann
Operation Finale
A team of secret agents set out to track down the Nazi officer who masterminded the Holocaust.
- 2017 | The Sense of an EndingasAdrian Finn
The Sense of an Ending
A man becomes haunted by his past and is presented with a mysterious legacy that causes him to re-think his current situation in life.
Some Facts About Joe Alwyn
Rejected: Joe Alwyn was rejected by every drama school he applied to, except one: Royal Central School of Speech & Drama.
Long Wait: After auditioning and failing to land a role at age 11 in Love, Actually (2003), Alwyn didn’t land a movie role until the lead in Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (2016).
Grammy Winner: Unusually for an actor, before he has won any major acting awards, Joe Alwyn is co-winner (as co-songwriter) of the Grammy’s top award, Album of the Year, with artist and girlfriend, Taylor Swift.
