Joe Alwyn

He appeared as Bob Cratchit in the dark fantasy television miniseries A Christmas Carol, based on Charles Dickens' 1843 novella of the same name.

In 2021, he had a minor role in drama film The Souvenir Part II, and played a 1960s industrialist in the film adaptation of Jojo Moyes' 2008 romantic novel, The Last Letter from Your Lover.

In 2022, Alwyn starred in the drama series Conversations with Friends—a Hulu adaptation of the 2017 novel of the same name by Irish author Sally Rooney.

Joseph Matthew Alwyn (born 21 February 1991) is an English actor.

Joseph Matthew Alwyn was born on 21 February 1991 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England.

Raised in North London, Alwyn is the son of a psychotherapist mother and a documentary filmmaker father.

He is the great-grandson of composer William Alwyn.

Alwyn was educated at the City of London School.

He briefly took guitar lessons, and was part of the school band called Anger Management.

He later played football and rugby at school.

Although an "introverted" child, Alwyn pursued a desire to become an actor.

He auditioned for a small role in Love Actually, a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film, but did not get the role.

He became a member of the National Youth Theatre in his late teens.

While pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English literature and drama at the University of Bristol, he acted in two student productions at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The film garnered 10 nominations at the 91st Academy Awards.

Lauren McCarthy of W magazine praised Alwyn's physical humour and silly acting style in the film, in contrast to his "boy-next-door-meets-movie-star-hearthrob looks".

He acted in student productions at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and obtained BA degrees in English literature and drama, and acting, from the University of Bristol (2012), and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (2015), respectively.

Alwyn dated American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for six years.

He graduated in 2012.

After applying for four drama schools, he was accepted by the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, where he completed a BA in acting.

During the third year of the course, Alwyn signed with an agent who had come across Alwyn at a student showcase.

In early 2015, Alwyn was cast in the lead role of Taiwanese director Ang Lee's 2016 war drama film, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, which is a film adaptation of the 2012 novel of the same name by American writer Ben Fountain.

Lee stated that he selected Alwyn because of his "ability to communicate the book's paradox of war with just his facial expressions".

Alwyn came to the United States for the first time after passing the film's auditions.

He stated that he did "exactly fit" the casting requirements of the role, which were "a 19-year-old U.S. Army grunt"; Alwyn said he had long blond hair and was "a lot skinnier" when he auditioned.

In reviews of the film, critics praised Alwyn's performance for its naturalism.

Journalists went on to describe the film as his "breakout".

Alwyn made his feature film debut as the titular character in Ang Lee's 2016 war drama, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, and has since played roles in films such as The Favourite (2018), Boy Erased (2018), Mary Queen of Scots (2018), and Harriet (2019).

Born in Kent and raised in North London, Alwyn developed an interest in acting during his teenage years.

Soon after, the agent informed Alwyn that a production company was looking to cast the title character of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016), which would become Alwyn's debut in a feature film.

He played a supporting role in Chris Weitz's historical drama Operation Finale, and a minor role in Joel Edgerton's Boy Erased—a biographical drama film based on a 2016 memoir by American LGBT+ activist Garrard Conley.

Alwyn then appeared as English statesman Robert Dudley in the historical drama Mary Queen of Scots.

He then played a supporting role in the 2017 mystery drama film The Sense of an Ending, directed by Indian filmmaker Ritesh Batra.

His accolades also include a Trophée Chopard at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

Alwyn appeared in a number of 2018 films.

He played a supporting role as the British nobleman Samuel Masham in the period black comedy film The Favourite, directed by Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos.

Alwyn won the Trophée Chopard alongside Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2019, Alwyn played a slave owner in Harriet, a biographical drama about Harriet Tubman.

He worked with Swift on ten of her songs released from 2020 to 2022, including "Exile" from Swift's eighth studio album, Folklore, which won Alwyn the Album of the Year at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.

In 2022, he starred in three adaptations—Hulu drama series Conversations with Friends, the romantic thriller film Stars at Noon, and the period comedy film Catherine Called Birdy. He appeared on the 2022 Time 100 Next list of rising stars.