Alex Lawther

Alexander Jonathan Lawther (born 4 May 1995) is an English actor, writer, and director. He made his professional acting debut originating the role of John Blakemore in Sir David Hare's South Downs in the West End. He made his feature film debut playing a young Alan Turing in the Academy Award-winning film The Imitation Game, for which he received the London Film Critics' Circle Award for "Young British Performer of the Year" and was declared one of BAFTA's 2015 Breakthrough Brits.

He achieved more mainstream success for his role as Kenny in "Shut Up and Dance", an episode of the Netflix anthology series Black Mirror (2016), and for portraying the lead role of James in the Channel 4 series The End of the F***ing World (2017–2019). His other notable work includes his roles in Freak Show, Howards End, Goodbye Christopher Robin, Ghost Stories, The Last Duel, Andor, and Alien: Earth. On screen, he is known for his frequent portrayals of outsiders and eccentric characters.

Early life Lawther was born in Winchester, Hampshire and raised in Petersfield. He is of English and Irish descent, possessing dual British and Irish citizenship through his Irish father, who is from Northern Ireland. The son of two lawyers, As the youngest of three children, he said that his aspiration to be an actor came from having to make up his own games to entertain himself as a child. Both of his siblings live and work in the United States, with his older brother, Cameron Lawther, being a Hollywood film producer, and his older sister Ellie Lawther working in public policy.

Lawther was educated at Churcher's College, an independent school in Petersfield. After getting into trouble for creating an illegitimate drama club at his school with friends, Lawther became heavily involved in the drama programme when an official one was started. He played Ratty in The Wind in the Willows, Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night, and Lucas in The Third Bank of the River, and received the Sir Daniel Day-Lewis Award by the Petersfield Town Council. In 2009, a fourteen-year-old Lawther was allowed to write and direct his own full-length play based on a song by Sara Bareilles entitled Rejected Fairytales as part of his drama club involvement, where he received laudatory coverage in the local press as a "theatrical whiz kid" who would end up working as an actor in the West End.

In 2010, he joined the National Youth Theatre, where he received his only formal training as an actor. He also collaborated with his brother as an actor on his short film The Fear, made when the elder Lawther was applying to film school. He did not study drama at GCSE or A level.

Career 2011–2016: early roles Lawther's professional debut came at the age of 16, when he appeared as John Blakemore in Sir David Hare's South Downs at Chichester Festival Theatre. Lawther found out about an open audition for the play through his school, as the casting directors were scouting real students attending elite private schools in the South Downs for the play's public school setting. He travelled to London, where he beat hundreds of other young actors for the lead role. After a local trial run, the play then went to the West End, where he performed the role at the Harold Pinter Theatre in sold out runs whilst still studying for his A Levels. Lawther received his breakthrough film role as a young Alan Turing during his time at Sherborne School in the Academy Award-winning film The Imitation Game (2014), with Benedict Cumberbatch portraying the older Turing. The role won him the London Film Critics' Circle Award for "Young British Performer of the Year". Subsequently, he appeared in a supporting role as a maths prodigy in the critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama film X+Y, alongside Asa Butterfield and Sally Hawkins. He also starred as a young castrato in Virtuoso, a pilot produced for HBO by Alan Ball, but the show was not picked up by the network. He returned to the theatre doing various small productions in London during this period, playing a sexually precocious young gay man in The Glass Supper, and the lead in the post-apocalyptic Crushed Shells and Mud.

In 2015, he starred alongside Juliet Stevenson in his first lead film role, playing Elliot in the British film, Departure, the debut film of director Andrew Steggall, filmed in a mixture of French and English.

2016–present: wider recognition

In 2016, Lawther played the main character Kenny in "Shut Up and Dance", an episode from series three of the British science fiction anthology series Black Mirror. While the episode overall received mixed reviews, he received universal acclaim and significant recognition for his performance. He also performed in the mockumentary film Carnage, directed by his frequent collaborator, comedian Simon Amstell.

In 2017, Lawther played Tibby Schlegel in Howards End, a BBC One adaptation of the E.M. Forster novel that starred Hayley Atwell, as well as the lead role of Billy Bloom in Trudie Styler's Freak Show, where he was supported by Bette Midler, Abigail Breslin, AnnaSophia Robb, Lorraine Toussaint and Larry Pine. Freak Show marked his first (and thus far only) appearance in an American film.

Later that same year, he also starred, alongside Jessica Barden, as James in the Peabody Award-winning television series The End of the F***ing World. The role also brought Lawther more acclaim from critics and further raised his profile in the entertainment industry. He would go on to reprise this role during the show's second and final season, which received a BAFTA Award for Best Drama. He also originated the role of Sam in the Stephen Daltry-directed play The Jungle, which focused on the refugee crisis in Calais, in both its London and New York productions. Lawther spent time in France meeting with refugees for this job, and ultimately found it to be one of his most challenging roles due to his character's right-wing views which were antithetical to his own. Subsequently, Lawther played the lead role of Amberson in Toby MacDonald's debut film Old Boys, as well as a supporting role in the horror film Ghost Stories.

In 2020, Lawther played the lead role in Régis Roinsard's thriller, Les Traducteurs (The Translators), his first non-English language film. As a result of fans of both Lawther and English singer-songwriter Declan McKenna frequently pointing out their resemblance, Lawther made an appearance in the music video for McKenna's song "The Key to Life on Earth". In 2021, Lawther appeared in Ridley Scott's The Last Duel, Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch, and Lucile Hadzihalilovic's Earwig. He starred as Ariel in a French production of Shakespeare's The Tempest at Les Bouffes du Nord directed by Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne and replaced Andrew Scott in the titular role of Hamlet when Robert Icke's adaptation was brought to New York City, after previously being delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He appeared in the Star Wars spin-off series Andor as rebel operative Karis Nemik. In 2022 he provided the voice of Abacus Woodlouse in Aardman Animations' Lloyd of the Flies and in 2023 he also voiced of Bird-Bee and Mr. Beak-Bee in Adventures of ArachnoFly, Lloyd of the Flies''' spin-off.

Directing In 2021, Lawther made his directorial debut with the music video for "Fountainhead" by Linus Fenton, starring Roman Griffin Davis and sponsored by CALM. In 2022, he wrote and directed the short film For People in Trouble, produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon and starring Emma D'Arcy and Archie Madekwe. His short film Rhoda, starring Emma D'Arcy and Juliet Stevenson was selected for the BFI London Film Festival in 2024.

Personal life Lawther stopped using social media as he began to take more high-profile roles and considers himself to be "technophobic". He has described himself as politically left-wing, and generally tries to avoid discussing his private life when possible. He considers his biggest inspirations as an actor to be Ben Whishaw, Sally Hawkins, and Andrew Scott.

Lawther has been a Francophile and a fan of French cinema from a young age. He speaks fluent French and previously lived in Paris. Lawther currently lives with his partner in London.

Activism In 2020, Lawther co-signed an open letter to the government of the United Kingdom to ban conversion therapy for LGBT youth. In 2023, he co-signed an open letter alongside more than 1,000 artists in the British film industry calling on the arts and culture sector to demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza during the Gaza war, amplify Palestinian voices, and protect artists who speak out in favor of Palestinians. He has also been involved in climate activism with Extinction Rebellion. He is a feminist and has critiqued the lack of diversity in the film industry. He became involved with causes supporting refugees following his work in The Jungle and supports the charity Choose Love.

Recognition After seeing a sixteen-year-old Lawther's West End debut in South Downs'', Dame Maggie Smith reportedly remarked to him that "most of us spend our lives trying to do what you've achieved".

Lawther was named as one of BAFTA's Breakthrough Brits for 2015. His acting style has been compared favourably to actor Ben Whishaw,

Acting credits

Film Year Title RoleNotes 2013 Benjamin Britten: Peace and Conflict Benjamin Britten Docudrama 2014 The Imitation Game young Alan Turing X+Y Isaac Cooper Released in the U.S. as A Brilliant Young Mind 2017 Freak Show Billy Bloom Credited as "Alex J. Lawther" Goodbye Christopher Robin Christopher Robin Milne (aged 18) 2018 Ghost Stories Simon Rifkind Old Boys Martin Amberson 2019 The Translators Alex Goodman French: Les Traducteurs2021 The French Dispatch Morisot The Last Duel Charles VI Earwig Laurence 2022 For People in Trouble Writer and director Sam Trabucco Post-production

Theatre Year Title Role Venue 2011 South Downs John Blakemore Chichester Festival Theatre 2012 South Downs John Blakemore Harold Pinter Theatre 2013 Fault Lines Ryan Hampstead Theatre 2014 The Glass Supper Jamie Hampstead Theatre 2015 Crushed Shells and Mud Derek Southwark Playhouse 2017–2019 The Jungle Sam Young Vic Theatre & Playhouse Theatre (2018) St. Ann’s Warehouse 2021 The Tempest Caliban/Ferdinand Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord 2022 Hamlet Hamlet Park Avenue Armory 2023 Le Conte d’hiver Léontes La Scène nationale 61 à Alençon 2026 Summerfolk Vlass Mikhailich Royal National Theatre

Radio Year Title Role Notes 2013 South Downs John Blakemore2014 How to Say Goodbye Properly Toby BBC Radio 4 Rock Me Amadeus Charlie BBC Radio 4 2015 Decline and Fall Peter Beste-Chetwynde BBC Radio 4 2020 Murmurs Lloyd Episode: "Man's Best Friend"

Podcasts Year Title Role Notes 2018 The London Necropolis Railway Barney Main role, 7 episodes 2020 The Painkiller Podcast Leo Episode: "Object"

Music videos Year Title Artist Album Role Notes 2020 "The Key to Life on Earth" Declan McKenna Zeros Himself 2021 "Fountainhead" Linus Fenton Director

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result Refs. 2013 WhatsOnStage Awards Best Newcomer South Downs 2014 BFI London Film Festival Best British NewcomerThe Imitation Game 2015 London Critics' Circle Film Awards Young British Performer of the Year 2016 Audi Dublin International Film Festival Best ActorDeparture Dinard British Film Festival Special Mention - Actors 2018 International Online Cinema Awards Best Actor in a Comedy Series The End of the F***ing World Fright Meter Awards Best Supporting Actor Ghost Stories 2019 Obie Awards Special Citation - Cast and Creative Team The Jungle 2024 London Critics' Circle Film Awards British/Irish Short Film of the Year For People in Trouble Annie Awards Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Media Production The Velveteen Rabbit