Alex Pettyfer
Encyclopedia
Alexander Richard "Alex" Pettyfer (born 10 April 1990) is an English actor and model. He appeared in school plays and on television before being cast as Alex Rider
Alex Rider (character)
Alex Rider is a fictional character, and the protagonist and title character of the popular Alex Rider novel series by British author Anthony Horowitz...

, the main character in the 2006 film version of Stormbreaker
Stormbreaker (film)
Stormbreaker is a 2006 British spy film based on Anthony Horowitz's novel of the same name, the first novel in the Alex Rider series. It stars newcomer Alex Pettyfer as the teenage spy alongside actors Mickey Rourke and Bill Nighy...

. Pettyfer was nominated for a Young Artist Award and an Empire Award for his role. He has been seen as a model in several advertising campaigns for Burberry
Burberry
Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house, manufacturing clothing, fragrance, and fashion accessories. Its distinctive tartan pattern has become one of its most widely copied trademarks. Burberry is most famous for its iconic trench coat, which was invented by founder Thomas Burberry...

. His next two starring roles were in the 2011 films I Am Number Four, a science fiction action adventure, and Beastly
Beastly (film)
Beastly is a 2011 romantic fantasy film loosely based on Alex Flinn's 2007 novel of the same name. It is a retelling of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast set in modern-day New York City. The film is written and directed by Daniel Barnz and stars Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer.The plot focuses...

, a modernised retelling of Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale. The first published version of the fairy tale was a rendition by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in La jeune américaine, et les contes marins in 1740...

.

Early life

Pettyfer was born in Stevenage
Stevenage
Stevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1, and is between Letchworth Garden City to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south....

, Hertfordshire, the son of Lee Ireland (née Robinson), an interior decorator, and Richard Pettyfer, an actor. He has a younger half-brother, James Ireland, a junior tennis player, from his mother's re-marriage to Michael Ireland, a property developer.

Pettyfer was raised in Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....

, and began his career as a child fashion model at the age of seven, for Gap
Gap (clothing retailer)
The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...

, after meeting Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.-Early life:...

 in a toy store in New York City. 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
Willy Wonka
This article is about the fictional character. For the candy company, see, The Willy Wonka Candy Company.Willy Wonka is a fictional character in the 1964 Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the film adaptations that followed. The book and the 1971 film adaption both vividly...

 in a production Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a 1964 children's book by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of the eccentric chocolatier, Willy Wonka....

. Pettyfer was educated at two junior independent schools: The Mall School
The Mall School
The Mall School is an independent preparatory school for boys, located in Twickenham, Greater London. The current headmaster is Mr. David Price. The majority of boys go on to some of the leading London day schools, particularly St. Paul's School, Hampton School and King's College School. The others...

, a small school in Twickenham
Twickenham
Twickenham is a large suburban town southwest of central London. It is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan...

, followed by the Lambrook Haileybury school in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

.. He subsequently attended two other independent boarding schools: Millfield School
Millfield
Millfield is an independent school in Street in Somerset, in south-west England.The school currently has a roll of 1,260 pupils, of whom 910 are boarders...

 in Street
Street, Somerset
Street is a small village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. It is situated on a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, south-west of Glastonbury. The 2001 census records the village as having a population of 11,066...

 in Somerset and Shiplake College
Shiplake College
Shiplake College is an independent school in Shiplake, by the River Thames just outside Henley-on-Thames, England. The school, with just over 350 pupils, admits day boys from 11-18 and boarding boys from 13-18. Day and boarding girls join the College in the Sixth Form.The College offers small class...

 near Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...

 in Oxfordshire. After his GCSEs, he left Shiplake College to attend the independent Sylvia Young Theatre School
Sylvia Young Theatre School
Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent fee-paying stage school, in Westminster, London, named after its founder and Principal, Sylvia Young.-Outline:...

.

Career

In 2005, after a modelling career, Pettyfer made his professional acting début in the British television production of Tom Brown's Schooldays
Tom Brown's Schooldays (2005 film)
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 2005 television film adaptation of the Thomas Hughes novel of the same name. It was released on January 1, 2005 and released on DVD 9 days later.-Plot:...

, playing the lead character, Tom Brown
Tom Brown (character)
Tom Brown is a fictional character created by author Thomas Hughes in his semi-autobiographical work Tom Brown's Schooldays which is set at a real English public school — Rugby School for Boys — in the 1830s when Hughes himself had been a pupil there...

; he received positive reviews for the role. In June 2005, he was cast in his most prominent role so far, that of teenage MI6 spy Alex Rider
Alex Rider
Alex Rider is a series of spy novels by British author Anthony Horowitz about a 14-15 year old spy named Alex Rider. The series is aimed primarily at young adults. Nine novels have been published to date, as well as three graphic novels, three short stories and a supplementary book...

 in the film Stormbreaker
Stormbreaker (film)
Stormbreaker is a 2006 British spy film based on Anthony Horowitz's novel of the same name, the first novel in the Alex Rider series. It stars newcomer Alex Pettyfer as the teenage spy alongside actors Mickey Rourke and Bill Nighy...

, based on the novel by Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Craig Horowitz is an English novelist and screenwriter. He has written many children's novels, including The Power of Five, Alex Rider and The Diamond Brothers series and has written over fifty books. He has also written extensively for television, adapting many of Agatha Christie's...

. He was one of 500 who auditioned for the role. Pettyfer chose to appear in the film over a role in the film Eragon
Eragon (film)
Eragon is a 2006 fantasy-adventure film based on the novel of the same name by author Christopher Paolini. The cast includes Edward Speleers in the title role, Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Alun Armstrong, Joss Stone, and the voice...

, noting that he preferred Stormbreaker because it would be filmed in Britain, in the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

, while Eragon would film in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

; Pettyfer is afraid of flying, and he liked the looks of the cast for Stormbreaker. 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", although another noted that he "isn't quite at ease as an actor". Media reports specified that the film was expected to make Pettyfer a "teen idol
Teen idol
A teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or pop singers, but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors...

". Pettyfer will not reprise the role if there is another Alex Rider film because he is now too mature for the role.

He next appeared in Wild Child, a film set in California, Kent and Yorkshire part of which took place at Cobham Hall Girl's School in Kent. He played school boy Freddie Kingsley and he co-starred with Emma Roberts
Emma Roberts
Emma Rose Roberts is an American actress, model and singer. She is the daughter of actor Eric Roberts and niece of Julia Roberts. Roberts became known for her role as Addie Singer in the Nickelodeon television series Unfabulous. She released her debut album, which also served as the show's...

. 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
Tormented (2009 film)
Tormented is a 2009 horror-comedy film starring Alex Pettyfer, April Pearson, Dimitri Leonidas, Calvin Dean and newcomer Tuppence Middleton. Directed by Jon Wright and written by newcomer Stephen Prentice, the film was released on 22 May 2009 in the UK...

.

He starred in the film Beastly
Beastly (film)
Beastly is a 2011 romantic fantasy film loosely based on Alex Flinn's 2007 novel of the same name. It is a retelling of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast set in modern-day New York City. The film is written and directed by Daniel Barnz and stars Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer.The plot focuses...

, based on the novel by Alex Flinn
Alex Flinn
Alex Flinn is an American author of novels for young adults. To date, she has written eight books that have been published.-Personal life:Flinn was born in Glen Cove, New York and grew up...

, alongside Mary-Kate Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen
Mary-Kate Olsen is an American actress, producer, author and fashion designer. She made her career debut in 1987 alongside her twin sister Ashley Olsen in the television series Full House...

, Vanessa Hudgens, and Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris is an American actor, singer, director, and magician.Prominent roles of his career include the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D., Colonel Carl Jenkins in Starship Troopers, the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold...

. He finished filming on 13 August 2009, and the film was released on 4 March 2011. Pettyfer portrayed the main character in I Am Number Four, released in February, 2011. The film co-starred Timothy Olyphant
Timothy Olyphant
Timothy David Olyphant is an American actor whose notable roles in television drama series include Deadwood as Seth Bullock, Justified as Raylan Givens, The Office as Danny Cordray, and Damages as Wes Krulik...

, Dianna Agron
Dianna Agron
Dianna Agron is an American actress, best known for her portrayal of Quinn Fabray on the television series Glee.-Early life:Dianna Agron was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in San Antonio, Texas and San Francisco, California. She is the daughter of Mary and Ronald S. Agron, a general...

, and Teresa Palmer
Teresa Palmer
Teresa Palmer is an Australian actress. She made her film debut in the suicide drama 2:37. Palmer was seen in The Grudge 2 in 2006, in December Boys, alongside Daniel Radcliffe, and in the 2008 children's fantasy Bedtime Stories, with Adam Sandler...

, and was directed by D. J. Caruso
D. J. Caruso
Daniel John "D.J." Caruso is an American director and producer. Caruso has directed the films Disturbia, Two for the Money, Taking Lives, The Salton Sea, Eagle Eye and I Am Number Four. He has also directed television episodes for shows such as The Shield, Over There, Smallville, and Dark Angel...

, produced by Michael Bay
Michael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects...

, and executive produced by Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...

.

It has also been announced that he will portray racing car driver James Hunt
James Hunt
James Simon Wallis Hunt was a British racing driver from England who won the Formula One World Championship in . Hunt's often action packed exploits on track earned him the nickname "Hunt the Shunt." After retiring from driving, Hunt became a media commentator and businessman...

 in the formula 1 biopic Shunt. He will also serve as producer on the movie.

He was offered the part of Jace Wayland in the upcoming portrayal of Cassandra Clare
Cassandra Clare
Cassandra Clare is an American author who has written the bestselling young adult saga The Mortal Instruments.- Personal life :Cassandra Clare was born to American parents in Tehran. As a child Clare traveled frequently, spending time in Switzerland, England, and France...

's best selling book, City of Bones
City of Bones (Mortal Instruments)
City of Bones is the first book in The Mortal Instruments series, a young adult urban fantasy series set in New York written by Cassandra Clare. It was originally published in the US in hardcover on March 27, 2007, and was released in the UK on July 2, 2007. It was also released in paperback in the...

. Jamie Campbell Bower
Jamie Campbell Bower
James "Jamie" Campbell M. Bower is an English actor, singer and former model. Bower is best known for his role as Anthony Hope in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, his role of Caius in The Twilight Saga: New Moon and his role of King Arthur in the Starz original series...

 was later cast as Jace Wayland. Pettyfer had also been offered a part in an upcoming film adaption of Joseph Delaney
Joseph Delaney
Joseph Henry Delaney is a British former educator and currently an author of science fiction and fantasy books.-Life and career:On first leaving school, Delaney started work as an apprentice engineer. Upon the completion of his schooling, he went on to become an English instructor, with his initial...

's The Wardstone Chronicles
The Wardstone Chronicles
The Wardstone Chronicles is a dark fantasy series of books written by British author Joseph Delaney and published by Random House Publishing...

, and has declined the role. He was in line to star in The Paperboy, based on the Pete Dexter
Pete Dexter
Pete Dexter is an American novelist. He was the recipient of the 1988 National Book Award for Fiction for his novel Paris Trout.-Biography:Dexter was born in Pontiac, Michigan...

 novel of the same name, but turned down the role (later filled by Zac Efron
Zac Efron
Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron is an American actor. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and became known with his lead roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray...

).

Personal life

On 14 June 2009, Pettyfer was voted No.35 on the Britain's top 50 most eligible bachelors by British women's magazine Company
Company (magazine)
Company magazine is a monthly fashion, celebrity and lifestyle magazine published in the United Kingdom.It celebrated its 30th birthday in 2008, and in that time has had only six editors: Maggie Goodman, Gil Hudson, Mandi Norwood, Fiona Macintosh, Sam Baker, and the current editor - Victoria...

. In August 2009 the British magazine Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....

ranked him at No.21 on their list of the sexiest men on the planet, as determined by a poll of 2000 British women.

After Pettyfer completed filming Stormbreaker, he did not discuss the film with anyone at his school, citing the advice of his Stormbreaker co-star, Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...

, who told him to keep his personal and professional life separate. Pettyfer has since decided to leave school and concentrate on his film career, whilst studying drama at college, 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".

Pettyfer has seven tattoos, including a Celtic cross
Celtic cross
A Celtic cross is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. In the Celtic Christian world it was combined with the Christian cross and this design was often used for high crosses – a free-standing cross made of stone and often richly decorated...

 on his chest, Tibetian 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, and the letters "ER," the initials of his now ex-girlfriend Emma Roberts
Emma Roberts
Emma Rose Roberts is an American actress, model and singer. She is the daughter of actor Eric Roberts and niece of Julia Roberts. Roberts became known for her role as Addie Singer in the Nickelodeon television series Unfabulous. She released her debut album, which also served as the show's...

 inside interlinking hearts on his right wrist. When Contactmusic
Contactmusic.com
Contactmusic.com is a Leeds UK based entertainment magazine/webzine. The site was launched in April 2000 by a small team and has now expanded to 12 fulltime staff and many freelance contributors from across the globe...

 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 gotten 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.

Filmography

Year Title Role
2004 Teen Agents Henry George
2005 Tom Brown's Schooldays
Tom Brown's Schooldays (2005 film)
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 2005 television film adaptation of the Thomas Hughes novel of the same name. It was released on January 1, 2005 and released on DVD 9 days later.-Plot:...

Tom Brown
Tom Brown (character)
Tom Brown is a fictional character created by author Thomas Hughes in his semi-autobiographical work Tom Brown's Schooldays which is set at a real English public school — Rugby School for Boys — in the 1830s when Hughes himself had been a pupil there...

2006 Stormbreaker
Stormbreaker (film)
Stormbreaker is a 2006 British spy film based on Anthony Horowitz's novel of the same name, the first novel in the Alex Rider series. It stars newcomer Alex Pettyfer as the teenage spy alongside actors Mickey Rourke and Bill Nighy...

Alex Rider
Alex Rider (character)
Alex Rider is a fictional character, and the protagonist and title character of the popular Alex Rider novel series by British author Anthony Horowitz...

2008 Wild Child Freddie Kingsley
2009 Tormented
Tormented (2009 film)
Tormented is a 2009 horror-comedy film starring Alex Pettyfer, April Pearson, Dimitri Leonidas, Calvin Dean and newcomer Tuppence Middleton. Directed by Jon Wright and written by newcomer Stephen Prentice, the film was released on 22 May 2009 in the UK...

Bradley White
2011 I Am Number Four John Smith/Number Four/Daniel Jones
2011 Beastly
Beastly (film)
Beastly is a 2011 romantic fantasy film loosely based on Alex Flinn's 2007 novel of the same name. It is a retelling of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast set in modern-day New York City. The film is written and directed by Daniel Barnz and stars Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer.The plot focuses...

Kyle Kingson/Hunter
2011 In Time
In Time (film)
In Time, previously titled Now and I'm.mortal, is a 2011 dystopian science fiction-thriller film starring Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy, Olivia Wilde, Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Galecki, and Vincent Kartheiser...

Fortis
2012 Magic Mike
Magic Mike
Magic Mike is an upcoming drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film stars Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, and Joe Manganiello.-Premise :Veteran male stripper Magic Mike teaches a new male stripper about the occupation...

The Kid

Modelling

  • 2008: Burberry
    Burberry
    Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house, manufacturing clothing, fragrance, and fashion accessories. Its distinctive tartan pattern has become one of its most widely copied trademarks. Burberry is most famous for its iconic trench coat, which was invented by founder Thomas Burberry...

     – Spring/Summer
  • 2008: Burberry – The Beat For Men eau du cologne
  • 2009: Burberry – Spring/Summer

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 Stormbreaker
Stormbreaker (film)
Stormbreaker is a 2006 British spy film based on Anthony Horowitz's novel of the same name, the first novel in the Alex Rider series. It stars newcomer Alex Pettyfer as the teenage spy alongside actors Mickey Rourke and Bill Nighy...

Empire Award Best Male Newcomer
2010 ShoWest Award Male Star of Tomorrow
2011 MTV Movie Awards
MTV Movie Awards
The MTV Movie Awards is a film awards show presented annually on MTV . It also contains movie parodies that used official movie footage with hosts and other celebrities and music performances. The nominees are decided by producers and executives at MTV. Winners are decided online by the general...

Biggest Badass Star
MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
This is a following list of the MTV Movie Award winners and nominees for Best Breakthrough Performance. In many years, the awards were split into Male and Female categories...

I Am Number Four
Teen Choice Awards
Teen Choice Awards
The Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with...

"Choice Movie: Liplock" (shared with Vanessa Hudgens) Beastly
Beastly (film)
Beastly is a 2011 romantic fantasy film loosely based on Alex Flinn's 2007 novel of the same name. It is a retelling of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast set in modern-day New York City. The film is written and directed by Daniel Barnz and stars Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer.The plot focuses...

"Choice Movie: Breakout Male" Beastly and I Am Number Four

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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