Tye Sheridan

Tye Kayle Sheridan (born November 11, 1996) is an American actor. He made his feature film debut in Terrence Malick's experimental drama film The Tree of Life and had his first leading role in Jeff Nichols's film Mud (2012).

Sheridan gained wider recognition for playing a young Scott Summers / Cyclops in the X-Men film series (2016–2019) and for his starring role in the science fiction film Ready Player One (2018). His other film roles were in the dramas Joe (2013), The Stanford Prison Experiment (2015), The Card Counter, The Tender Bar (both 2021), and The Order (2024).

Early life Sheridan was born in Palestine, Texas. He has a younger sister, Madison. He was enrolled in the Elkhart Independent School District until his film career became a priority focus when he was 16 years old, and he received tutoring on film sets.

Career 2010s

Sheridan made his feature film debut in the Terrence Malick art film The Tree of Life (2011), with Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, and Sean Penn, after an almost year-long casting search involving more than 10,000 children from Texas and Oklahoma. The film premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, and went on to be awarded the Palme d'Or and nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

In 2012, he played the leading role of Ellis in Jeff Nichols' Mud opposite Jacob Lofland and Matthew McConaughey. The coming-of-age drama-thriller film premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and Sheridan received a Critics' Choice Award nomination.

Sheridan played Gary Jones in the film Joe, which stars Nicolas Cage playing an ex-con who meets a 15-year-old boy, the eldest child in a homeless family headed by an alcoholic father, and is faced with the choice of redemption or ruin. For his role he received the Marcello Mastroianni Award for best upcoming young actor at the 70th Venice International Film Festival. That year, he also had a supporting role in the film adaptation of Gillian Flynn's Dark Places and the leading role in the horror comedy Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. Sheridan played the mutant Scott Summers/Cyclops in the film X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), released on May 27, 2016.

In 2017, Sheridan starred in the war drama The Yellow Birds (2017), opposite Alden Ehrenreich, Jack Huston, and Jennifer Aniston. Also that year, Sheridan co-starred with Kaitlyn Dever in Grass Stains, a film written and directed by Kyle Wilamowski. In 2018, Sheridan played Wade Watts, a.k.a. Parzival, the lead character in Steven Spielberg's science fiction blockbuster film Ready Player One. He then reprised the role of Scott Summers/Cyclops in the 2019 film Dark Phoenix.

2020s In 2020, Sheridan starred alongside Ana de Armas, John Leguizamo and Helen Hunt in Michael Cristofer's crime drama film The Night Clerk, which was released on February 21, 2020, by Saban Films and he was cast as the lead role in the survival thriller series Wireless, which premiered on September 13, 2020, on Quibi. In the same year, Sheridan took a voice role in the "Face of the Franchise" mode of Madden NFL 21. Also the same year, he co-founded AI production tools company Wonder Dynamics with visual effects artist Nikola Todorovic. Autodesk acquired the company in May 2024.

In 2021, Sheridan co-starred in the Neil Burger sci-fi thriller Voyagers (2021) with Colin Farrell, Lily-Rose Depp, Isaac Hempstead Wright, and Fionn Whitehead. In the same year, Sheridan starred in the crime drama film The Card Counter opposite Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish and Willem Dafoe, which premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 2, 2021, and was released on September 10, 2021, by Focus Features. Also the same year, Sheridan co-starred Ben Affleck, Lily Rabe and Christopher Lloyd in the coming-of-age movie The Tender Bar directed by George Clooney, in which he played the lead character named JR Maguire.

In 2023, Sheridan starred alongside Sean Penn in the thriller drama film Asphalt City, based on the 2008 novel, "Black Flies", by Shannon Burke, which was released on May 18, 2023. The film originally had the Black Flies name, but was changed prior to its US release.

In 2024, Sheridan joined the cast in the crime thriller film The Order directed by Justin Kurzel, based on the 1989 non-fiction book The Silent Brotherhood by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt, which premiered in competition on August 31, 2024 at the 81st Venice International Film Festival.

In 2026, Sheridan starred in the drama film The Housewife alongside Naomi Watts, Michael Imperioli, Luke Evans, Lena Olin and Debi Mazar, directed by Ben Shirinian, released on September 10, 2026.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2011 The Tree of Life Steve O'Brien 2012 Mud Ellis 2013 Joe Gary Jones 2014 The Forger William “Will” Cutter 2015 Entertainment Eddie the Opener Last Days in the Desert Son The Stanford Prison Experiment Peter Mitchell Dark Places Benjamin “Ben” Day (young) Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse Benjamin “Ben” Goudy 2016 Detour Harper James X-Men: Apocalypse Scott Summers / Cyclops 2017 The Yellow Birds Daniel Murphy All Summers End Conrad Stevens Crow: The Legend Turtle (voice) Short film 2018 Ready Player One Wade Watts / Parzival Age Out Richie Deadpool 2 Scott Summers / Cyclops Cameo appearance The Mountain Andy 2019 Dark Phoenix Scott Summers / Cyclops 2020 The Night Clerk Bartholomew “Bart” Bromley Also producer2021 Voyagers Christopher The Card Counter Cirk The Tender Bar J. R. Moehringer 2023 Asphalt City Ollie Cross Also producer 2024 The Order Jamie Bowen 2026

Television

Video games Year Title Role Notes 2020 Madden NFL 21 Tommy Matthews Also motion capture

Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryWorkResult 2012 Central Ohio Film Critics Association Best Ensemble (shared with The Tree of Life crew) The Tree of Life 2013 Marcello Mastroianni Award at the 70th Venice International Film Festival Best New Young Actor Joe Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award Best Youth PerformanceMud Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2013 Most Promising Performer Phoenix Film Critics Society Award Best Performance by a Youth in a Lead or Supporting Role - Male Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award Youth in Film Georgia Film Critics Association Breakthrough Award Joe, Mud 2014 Robert Altman Award At Independent Spirit Awards Best Ensemble (shared with Mud crew)Mud Critics' Choice Movie Award Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer 2017 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Squad (shared with X-Men: Apocalypse crew) X-Men: Apocalypse 20182018 MTV Movie & TV Awards Best Kiss (with Olivia Cooke)Ready Player One Best On-Screen Team (with Olivia Cooke, all of the Overlook Hotel characters, Philip Zhao, Win Morisaki and Lena Waithe) 2018 Teen Choice Awards Choice Sci-Fi Movie Actor Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Goblet Award for Best Actor Friday's Child