Joe Alwyn
Joseph Matthew Alwyn (born 21 February 1991) is an English actor. 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). In 2022, he starred in the Hulu drama series Conversations with Friends and the period comedy film Catherine Called Birdy.
Joe Alwyn
Born in Kent and raised in North London, Alwyn developed an interest in acting during his teenage years. 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 worked with Swift on ten of her songs released from 2020 to 2022, including "Exile" from Swift's eighth studio album, Folklore, which won the Album of the Year at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. He won a Trophée Chopard at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and appeared on the 2022 Time 100 Next list of rising stars.
Early life and education
Joseph Matthew Alwyn was born on 21 February 1991 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England.[1] Raised in North London,[2][3] Alwyn is the son of a psychotherapist mother and a documentary filmmaker father.[4] He is the great-grandson of composer William Alwyn.
Alwyn was educated at the City of London School.[2] He briefly took guitar lessons, and was part of a school band called Anger Management. He later played football and rugby at school.[5] Although an "introverted" child,[6] Alwyn pursued a desire to become an actor.[7] He auditioned for a small role in Love Actually, a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film, but did not get the role.[4] He became a member of the National Youth Theatre in his late teens.[8] While pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English literature and drama at the University of Bristol,[6] he acted in two student productions at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.[9] He graduated in 2012. After applying for four drama schools, he was accepted by the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama,[10] where he completed a BA in acting.[8] During the third year of the course, Alwyn signed with an agent who had come across Alwyn at a student showcase. 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.[5]
Career
Acting
In early 2015,[11][12] Alwyn was cast in the lead role of Taiwanese director Ang Lee's 2016 war drama film, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk,[13][14] which is a film adaptation of the 2012 novel of the same name by American writer Ben Fountain.[15] Lee stated that he selected Alwyn because of his "ability to communicate the book's paradox of war with just his facial expressions".[16] Alwyn came to the United States for the first time after passing the film's auditions. He stated that he didn't "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.[17] In reviews of the film, critics praised Alwyn's performance for its naturalism.[10] Journalists went on to describe the film as his "breakout".[18][12] He then played a supporting role in the 2017 mystery drama film The Sense of an Ending, directed by Indian filmmaker Ritesh Batra.[18]
Personal life
Alwyn was in a relationship with Taylor Swift from 2016 to 2023.[49][note 2] It was subject to intense tabloid scrutiny.[53] Alwyn keeps his personal life private, which he described as a "knee-jerk response to the culture we live in".[5][54] GQ labelled Alwyn a "notoriously low-key actor".[55]
