Alex Pettyfer

Alex Pettyfer
Born Alexander Richard Pettyfer
(1990-04-10) 10 April 1990
Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, UK
Residence Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education Millfield School
Shiplake College
Alma mater Sylvia Young Theatre School
Occupation Actor, model
Years active 2005–present
Home town Slough, Berkshire

Alexander Richard "Alex" Pettyfer (born 10 April 1990)[1] is an English actor and model. He appeared in school plays and on television before being cast as Alex Rider, the main character in the 2006 film version of Stormbreaker; Pettyfer was nominated for a Young Artist Award and an Empire Award for his role.[2] He has been seen as a model in several advertising campaigns for Burberry.[3] His next two starring roles were in the 2011 films I Am Number Four, a science fiction action adventure, and Beastly, a modernised retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Pettyfer also starred in the 2012 film Magic Mike, and played a supporting role in 2013's film The Butler. He appeared in the 2014 romantic drama film Endless Love.

Early life

Pettyfer was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire,[1] the son of Lee Ireland (born Lee Robinson), an interior decorator, and Richard Pettyfer, an actor.[4][5] He has a younger half-brother, James Ireland, a junior tennis player, from his mother's remarriage to Michael Ireland, a property developer.[4][6]

Pettyfer was brought up in Slough, Berkshire, and began his career as a child fashion model at the age of seven, for Gap, after meeting Ralph Lauren in a toy store in New York.[4] He also did advertisements for some yogurt brands. His first commercial was at age six.

As a schoolboy, he performed in plays, including in the role of Willy Wonka in a production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Jack in his school play "Jack and the Beanstalk" and Robin Hood in the adaptation of The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Pettyfer was educated at two junior independent schools: The Mall School, a small school in Twickenham, followed by the Lambrook Haileybury school in Berkshire.[7] He subsequently attended two other independent boarding schools: Millfield School in Street, Somerset and Shiplake College near Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.[4] After his GCSEs, he left Shiplake College to attend the independent Sylvia Young Theatre School in London.[8]

Career

In 2005, after a modelling career,[4] Pettyfer made his professional acting début in the British television production of Tom Brown's Schooldays, playing the lead character, Tom Brown; he received positive reviews for the role.[9] In June 2005, he was cast in his most prominent role so far, that of teenage MI6 spy Alex Rider in the film Stormbreaker, based on the novel by Anthony Horowitz. He was one of 500 who auditioned for the role.[6] Pettyfer chose to appear in the film over a role in the film Eragon, noting that he preferred Stormbreaker because it would be filmed in Britain, in the Isle of Man, while Eragon would film in Hungary; Pettyfer is afraid of flying, and he liked the looks of the cast for Stormbreaker.[4] Stormbreaker was released on 21 July 2006 in the United Kingdom, on 6 October 2006 in the United States and on 21 September 2006 in Australia.

One review of Pettyfer's performance described him as playing the role with an "earnest intensity",[10] although another noted that he "isn't quite at ease as an actor".[11] Media reports specified that the film was expected to make Pettyfer a "teen idol".[9] Pettyfer will not reprise the role if there is another Alex Rider film because he is now too mature for the role.[12]

He next appeared in Wild Child, a film set in California, Kent and Yorkshire part of which took place at Cobham Hall Girls' School in Kent. He played schoolboy Freddie Kingsley and he co-starred with Emma Roberts. In 2009, he played the callous ringleader of a group of cool but cruel teenagers who are picked off one by one by the ghost of one of their former victims, in the horror-comedy, Tormented.

He starred in the film Beastly, based on the novel by Alex Flinn, alongside Mary-Kate Olsen, Vanessa Hudgens and Neil Patrick Harris. He finished filming on 13 August 2009,[13] and the film was released on 4 March 2011.[14] Pettyfer portrayed the main character in I Am Number Four, released in February 2011. The film co-starred Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron and Teresa Palmer,[15] and was directed by D.J. Caruso, produced by Michael Bay and executive produced by Steven Spielberg.[16]

He was offered the part of Jace Wayland in the upcoming portrayal of Cassandra Clare's best selling book, City of Bones. Jamie Campbell Bower was later cast as Jace Wayland.[17][18] Pettyfer had also been offered a part in an upcoming film adaption of Joseph Delaney's The Wardstone Chronicles, and has declined the role.[19] He was in line to star in The Paperboy, based on the Pete Dexter novel of the same name, but turned down the role (later filled by Zac Efron). In 2012 he played Adam, a 19-year-old who enters the world of male stripping in Magic Mike.[20]

In 2013, Pettyfer had a small role as Thomas Westfall in The Butler.[21] In 2014, He starred in the romantic drama Endless Love alongside actress Gabriella Wilde, where they play love interests.[22] In 2016, Pettyfer played the role of Jerry Schilling in the biography film Elvis & Nixon alongside Kevin Spacey and Michael Shannon.[23]

Personal life

In June 2009, Pettyfer was voted number 35 on British women's magazine Company's list of the top 50 most eligible bachelors.[24] In August 2009, the British magazine Glamour ranked him number 21 on their list of the sexiest men on the planet.[25]

After Pettyfer completed filming Stormbreaker, he did not discuss the film with anyone at his school, citing the advice of his Stormbreaker star Ewan McGregor, who told him to keep his personal and professional lives separate. Pettyfer has since decided to leave school and concentrate on his film career,[26] while studying drama at college,[9] saying that "When you have already experienced going out and working in the real world, and you come back to school, you just see it as a playground and you don't want to be there any more".[27]

Pettyfer was briefly engaged to the actress Riley Keough in 2012, Elvis Presley's granddaughter, whom he met on the set of their film, Magic Mike.[28]

Pettyfer has seven tattoos, including a Celtic cross on his chest, Tibetan script on the inside of his right arm, the words "What Goes Around Comes Around" on his right shoulder, a Katakana script on his lower waist,[29] and the letters "ER," the initials of ex-girlfriend Emma Roberts inside interlinking hearts on his right wrist. When Contactmusic asked him about the "ER" tattoo he said "I don't know how to say it, she's a lovely, lovely girl, we had a spell of something that is over now, but we're on good terms. She's beautiful, she's great; we're really good friends." The actor had Roberts' name tattooed on his wrist while the two were dating. "I'm going to get asked about this, aren't I? I thought it was just between me and her," he said when asked about the tattoo.[30]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Tom Brown's Schooldays Tom Brown TV film
2006 Stormbreaker Alex Rider
2008 Wild Child Freddie Kingsley
2009 Tormented Bradley White
2011 I Am Number Four John Smith/Number Four/Daniel Jones
2011 Beastly Kyle Kingson/Hunter
2011 In Time Fortis
2012 Magic Mike Adam/"The Kid"
2013 Butler, TheThe Butler Thomas Westfall
2014 Endless Love David Elliot
2016 Elvis & Nixon Jerry Schilling

Modelling

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2007 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in an International Feature Film Leading Young Actor or Actress[31] Stormbreaker Nominated
2007 Empire Award Best Male Newcomer[2] Stormbreaker Nominated
2010 ShoWest Award Male Star of Tomorrow Won
2011 MTV Movie Awards Biggest Badass Star[32] I Am Number Four Nominated
2011 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie: Liplock (shared with Vanessa Hudgens) Beastly Nominated
2011 Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie: Breakout Male[33] Beastly and I Am Number Four Won
2014 Acapulco Black Film Festival Best Ensemble Cast The Butler Nominated
2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture[34] The Butler Nominated

References

  1. 1 2 "Alex Pettyfer AKA Alexander Richard Pettyfer". NNDB.com. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Empire Readers Awards 2007". Empire Online. 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "Burberry.com". Burberry. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lyall, Sarah (18 July 2006). "He Was a Teenage Spy, Surrounded by Treacherous Adults". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
  5. ↑ "I Am Number Four Alex Pettyfer Interview". Movies.about.com. 18 February 2011. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  6. 1 2 "Scotsman.com". Calm amid the storm. Archived from the original on 21 August 2006. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
  7. ↑ Matthews, Emma. "Alex Pettyer: The New Movie Hero". Portrait Magazine. Retrieved 8 July 2012
  8. ↑ "Alex Pettyfer Biography". Glamour Magazine. Retrieved 8 July 2012
  9. 1 2 3 "ICWales.co.uk". Going down a storm. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
  10. ↑ "ScreenDaily.com". Stormbreaker. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
  11. ↑ Quinn, Anthony (21 July 2006). "The Independent". Stormbreaker (PG). London. Retrieved 22 July 2006.
  12. ↑ Hudson, Fiona (24 September 2006). "The Sunday Mail". Young star cruising. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2006.
  13. ↑ @BeastlyMovie (13 August 2009). "That's a wrap! Had fun sending you tweets from the set! Stay tuned for more updates on BEASTLY!". Twitter.
  14. ↑ "E! Online". Vanessa Hudgens' New British Import. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  15. ↑ "Timothy Olyphant Joins I Am Number Four". reelzchannel.com. 13 May 2010. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  16. ↑ "Alex Pettyfer confirmed for I am Number Four". Coming Soon. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  17. ↑ Brodesser, Claude (29 February 2012). "Alex Pettyfer Offered Another Young-Adult Movie Franchise, The Mortal Instruments – Vulture". Nymag.com. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  18. ↑ "Alex Pettyfer Reportedly Offered Jace Wayland Role In 'Mortal Instruments'!". Hollywoodcrush.mtv.com. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  19. ↑ "Alex Pettyfer Likely Won't Star In 'Mortal Instruments'". Hollywoodcrush.mtv.com. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  20. ↑ Brian Gallagher (18 February 2011). "The Paperboy Eyes Sofia Vergara, Bradley Cooper, and Alex Pettyfer". MovieWeb.com. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  21. ↑ Finke, Nikki (2012-06-18). "Alex Pettyfer Joins Lee Daniels' 'The Butler'". Deadline. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  22. ↑ Kroll, Justin (2013-03-21). "Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde Find 'Love' at Universal (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  23. ↑ "Colin Hanks, Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Knoxville Join 'Elvis & Nixon' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
  24. ↑ "Alex Pettyfer No.35 on Britain's 50 most eligible bachelors". US Post Today. 10 December 2009. Archived from the original on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  25. ↑ "50 Sexiest Men". Glamour. CondéNetUK. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  26. ↑ "ContactMusic". Pettyfer Puts McGregor's Advice Into Practice. 20 July 2006. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
  27. ↑ "PRInside". Stormbreaker Star Quits School. 18 July 2006. Archived from the original on 19 February 2007. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
  28. ↑ "Alex Pettyfer Engaged to Riley Keough, Granddaughter of Elvis Presley [PHOTOS]". International Business Times. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
  29. ↑ Barker, Andy (15 August 2008). "Alex The Great". Evening Standard Magazine.
  30. ↑ "Alex Pettyfer had a fling with Julia Roberts niece". 26 August 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
  31. ↑ "28th Annual Young Artist Awards". Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  32. ↑ "2011 MTV Movie Awards | Biggest Badass Star". MTV. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  33. ↑ "Teen Choice Awards winners". Forbes. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  34. ↑ "Nominees and Recipients - 20th Annual Screen Actors Guild Award - Cast in Motion Picture". SAG. Retrieved 21 January 2014.

External links

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