Alex Lawther

Lawther's professional debut came at the age of 16, when he appeared as John Blakemore in David Hare's South Downs at Chichester Festival Theatre. After finding out about an open audition for the part through his school, Lawther had his mother drive him to London to audition, where he beat out hundreds of other young actors for the part. 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.[5] He received critical acclaim for his performance, and felt encouraged to continue with acting and pursue a career in film and theatre. Shortly thereafter, he signed a contract with a film agent.

After several minor roles on television, he made his feature film debut as the young Benjamin Britten in a docudrama by Tony Britten, Benjamin Britten: Peace and Conflict (2013), also featuring John Hurt as the narrator.[12] This was followed by Lawther playing the young Alan Turing in the Academy Award-winning film The Imitation Game (2014), with Benedict Cumberbatch portraying the older Turing.[5][13][14][15] The role won him the London Film Critics' Circle Award for "Young British Performer of the Year" in 2015.[16] Subsequently, he appeared in a supporting role in the critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama film X+Y, alongside Asa Butterfield and Sally Hawkins, the latter of whom he considers to be one of his idols. 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 2016, he starred alongside Juliet Stevenson in his first lead role, playing Elliot in the British film, Departure, the debut film of director Andrew Steggall. This highly sexualized role required him to perform an extended, underwater nude scene, helping establish his reputation as a sex symbol in the popular consciousness. Lawther was required to undergo extensive training in order to safely film these scenes, including developing the ability to hold his breath under water for over fifteen minutes at a time; he was able to breathe only about ten times during the three- to four-hour period that these scenes were shot.[17]

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.[18] While the episode overall received mixed reviews, and Lawther himself later expressed lukewarm feelings for the episode, 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. During shooting, he permanently adopted a strict vegan diet.

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; Lawther has expressed a lack of interest in performing in more American films.

Later that same year, he also starred, alongside Jessica Barden, as James in the Peabody Award-winning television series The End of the F***ng 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.[19] 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 one of the main protagonists in Régis Roinsard's thriller, Les Traducteurs (The Translators), his first non-English language film. To prepare for this role, he became completely fluent in French within the span of only one month, having little experience with the language prior. 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". Lawther was expected to replace Andrew Scott in the titular role of Hamlet when Robert Icke's adaptation was brought to New York City, but this revival was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]

In 2020, Lawther is expected to make a brief appearance in Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch, though Lawther has questioned whether or not his scenes would end up "on the cutting room floor". In 2021, Lawther will appear in Ridley Scott's The Last Duel, in which he will be playing a young King Charles VI and is slated to star in his second French film, Earwig, directed by Lucile Hadzihalilovic. Lawther will also be playing both Caliban and Ferdinand in a French production of Shakespeare's The Tempest at Les Bouffes du Nord directed by Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne.[21]

In 2020, Lawther co-signed an open letter to the government of the United Kingdom to ban conversion therapy for LGBT youth.[26] 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".[27]