Joe Alwyn

Joseph Matthew Alwyn is an English actor. He made his feature film debut as the titular character in Ang Lee's 2016 war drama Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. He is known for his roles in feature films such as The Favourite (2018), Boy Erased (2018), Mary Queen of Scots (2018), Harriet (2019), Catherine Called Birdy (2022), The Brutalist (2024), and Hamnet (2025), as well as the television drama series Conversations with Friends (2022).

Alwyn was born on 21 February 1991 in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, and raised in North London. He is the son of a psychotherapist mother and a documentary filmmaker father, the great-grandson of composers William Alwyn and Olive Alwyn, and the great-nephew of priest and peace activist Bruce Kent. Alwyn attended the City of London School, played guitar, football, and rugby, and joined the National Youth Theatre in his late teens. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and drama from the University of Bristol in 2012, where he acted in student productions at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and later completed a BA in acting at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in 2015.

During his third year at drama school, Alwyn signed with an agent who helped him land his breakout debut in Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. He subsequently played a supporting role in the 2017 drama film The Sense of an Ending. In 2018, Alwyn appeared in several films, including the period comedy film The Favourite, the historical drama Operation Finale, the biographical drama Boy Erased, and the historical drama Mary Queen of Scots.

Alwyn's career continued with roles in Harriet (2019) and the television miniseries A Christmas Carol (2019). He had roles in The Souvenir Part II (2021) and The Last Letter from Your Lover (2021). In 2022, he starred in the series Conversations with Friends, the romantic thriller Stars at Noon, the medieval comedy Catherine Called Birdy, and the short project A Very Short Film About Longing. In 2024, he played supporting roles in the anthology film Kinds of Kindness and the film drama The Brutalist.

In 2025, Alwyn made his professional stage debut as Heath in a modern adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea at the Bridge Theatre in London. Later that year, he portrayed Bartholomew in Chloé Zhao's film Hamnet and starred as Laertes in a modern film adaptation of Hamlet. For his stage work in The Lady from the Sea, he received a nomination for Best Supporting Performer in a Play at the 2026 WhatsOnStage Awards.

In addition to acting, Alwyn worked with American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift on ten of her songs released from 2020 to 2022, often using the pseudonym William Bowery. He co-produced and co-wrote tracks on her album Folklore, which won Album of the Year at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2021, earning him a Grammy Award. He also co-wrote songs for her albums Evermore and Midnights. Among his accolades, Alwyn won a Trophée Chopard at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and appeared on the 2022 Time 100 Next list. In his personal life, Alwyn was in a relationship with Taylor Swift from 2016 to 2023, and has been in a relationship with actress Sarah Pidgeon since 2026.