Freddie Fox (actor)

Frederick Samson Robert Morice Fox[6] was born in Hammersmith, London. Fox comes from a thespian family: his mother is actress Joanna David (née Joanna Elizabeth Hacking) and his father is actor Edward Fox.[6] His uncle is James Fox and his cousins Jack, Laurence and Lydia also have successful acting careers.[7] His elder sister is the actress Emilia Fox.[8]

Fox was surrounded by actors and writers from a young age. His godfather was the barrister and writer John Mortimer, whom Fox described as "an incredible raconteur".[9] He has also known actor Charles Dance since childhood through his father, and Dance described young Fox as being already "vocally like his father" aged 10.[10] Other acting influences include his godfather John Castle, and the actors Maggie Smith and Phyllida Law.[11]

From 1994 to 2002, Fox was educated at Arnold House School,[12] a preparatory school for boys in the St John's Wood area of London, followed by Bryanston School, a co-educational boarding school in the market town of Blandford Forum (near the village of Bryanston) in Dorset. He then attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, from which he graduated in 2010.[13][14] He appeared in St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold and Agatha Christie's Marple before he left drama school.

While promoting the Channel 4 comedy Cucumber in 2015, Fox said that he does not wish to define his sexuality, adding "I’ve had girlfriends, but I wouldn't wish to say 'I am this or I am that', because at some time in my life I might fall in love with a man." He also expressed that bisexuality is often misunderstood, and that people can have meaningful relationships "no matter what sex they are."[15] In a later interview he drew back from those remarks, saying "my life... is my own business", while adding "I think as an actor you've got to try to preserve some of your mystery so that there’s still an element of surprise about where characters come from."

His political views are not known, although in 2010 he joked "no one with a bad tie is getting my vote. Some Lib Dems wear the most shockingly awful ties."[16] His cousin Laurence Fox has become well known for his anti-progressive beliefs (and the foundation of the conservative Reclaim party[17]). Though Freddie said "I neither want to take sides nor reopen a debate that's already happened", he did acknowledge that "as a white man with a public school education, I am a product of white male privilege".

Fox appeared as Nathaniel in the BBC Radio 3 drama As Innocent As You Can Get (2016) by Rex Obano,[21] and as Lord Byron in the BBC Radio 4 comedy Boswell's Life of Byron (2018) by Jon Canter.

• Freddie Fox at IMDb