Fionn Whitehead

Fionn Whitehead (/fɪn/; born 18 July 1997)[1] is an English actor, known for playing the lead role in the 2017 film Dunkirk.[2] His first acting credit was in the 2016 ITV miniseries Him.

Fionn Whitehead
Whitehead at the premiere of Dunkirk in 2017
Born (1997-07-18) 18 July 1997[1]
Richmond, London, England
OccupationActor
Years active2016–present

Life and career

Whitehead was born on 18 July 1997.[1] He was born in Richmond, London, to Linda and Tim Whitehead, a jazz musician.[3][4][5] He was named after Irish folk legend Fionn mac Cumhaill.[6] Whitehead has three older siblings and was raised "in an artistic household".[7][8] Growing up, he dreamed of being a breakdancer.[3][9] He began acting at the Orange Tree Theatre when he was 13 years old.[10] Later he went to Orleans Park School.[4] He then went to Richmond College and entered the National Youth Theatre's summer course.[10] By 2015, he was an aspiring actor working at a coffee shop in Waterloo, London. He starred in the 2016 British miniseries Him.[11] He also acted in a stage performance of Glenn Waldron's Natives.[12]

He was cast as the protagonist of Christopher Nolan's film Dunkirk, which was released in early 2017. Nolan compared Whitehead to actor Tom Courtenay in his youth.[11] Weeks after Whitehead finished with Dunkirk, he began work with Richard Eyre's film The Children Act, opposite Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2017.[13] He also starred in one of eight monologues in the TV series Queers that aired in 2017.[14]

In 2018, Whitehead starred in the Black Mirror TV series’ interactive stand-alone film Bandersnatch, as lead character Stefan Butler. He also appeared in Sebastian Schipper's drama Roads in April 2019.[13]

Credits
Year Title Medium Role Notes
2016 Him Miniseries Him
2017 Dunkirk Film Tommy
2017 Queers TV series Andrew "A Grand Day Out" monologue (one of eight monologues)[14]
2017 The Children Act Film Adam Henry
2018 Black Mirror: Bandersnatch Film Stefan Butler Stand-alone interactive film of Black Mirror[15]
2019 Roads Film Gyllen
2019 Port Authority Film Paul
2020 Inside No. 9 TV series Gabriel Episode: "Misdirection"[16]
2020 The Duke Film
2020 Don't Tell a Soul Film Matt [17]
TBD Voyagers Film Jack In post-production

Accolades
Year Film Award Ceremony Result Ref.
2017 Dunkirk Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer 23rd Empire Awards Nominated [18]
London Film Critics' Circle Award for Young British/Irish Performer of the Year 38th London Film Critics' Circle Awards Nominated [19]
The Children Act London Film Critics' Circle Award for Young British/Irish Performer of the Year 39th London Film Critics' Circle Awards Nominated [20]

References
  1. "UPI Almanac for Thursday, July 18, 2019". upi.com. UPI. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  2. MacKenzie, Steven (20 July 2017). "Fionn Whitehead: 'Dunkirk set the mood for the rest of the war'". The Big Issue. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  3. Ritman, Alex (18 July 2017). "Hollywood's Next Big Thing: 'Dunkirk' Star Fionn Whitehead Goes From London Barista to Leading Actor". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  4. Staff (26 October 2017). "Is Fionn Whitehead Gay? The Actor Who Keeps His Age, Sexuality, Possible Dating Affairs And Girlfriends At Bay". Liverampup.com. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  5. Sullivan, Kevin P. (27 December 2016). "Meet the young star of Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  6. Jones, Ellen E. (February 2017). "HIM actor Fionn Whitehead: 'You don't have to like me – just watch what I'm in'". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  7. Polowy, Kevin (15 February 2017). "Meet Fionn Whitehead, the Lead of Christopher Nolan's Highly Anticipated Battle Epic 'Dunkirk'". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  8. Chu, Ben (10 October 2003). "Wealth Check: 'I am a jazz fanatic so it's time I faced the music'". The Independent. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  9. Bramesco, Charles (11 May 2017). "Fionn Whitehead Shines in 'Dunkirk'". Nylon. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  10. Sandwell, Ian (3 October 2016). "Fionn Whitehead, Stars of Tomorrow 2016". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  11. Rottenberg, Josh (21 April 2017). "How Fionn Whitehead went from washing dishes to starring in Christopher Nolan's 'Dunkirk'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  12. N'Duka, Amanda (28 April 2017). "'Dunkirk's Fionn Whitehead Inks With UTA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  13. Croot, James (3 December 2018). "Dunkirk star Fionn Whitehead's heart-wrenching new role mirrors life". Stuff. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  14. Staff (31 July 2017). "Everything you need to know about BBC4's Queers". Radio Times. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  15. Zack Sharf (27 December 2018). "'Black Mirror: Bandersnatch' Photo Features Will Poulter and Fionn Whitehead, Netflix Lists 90 Min Runtime". IndieWire. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  16. "BBC Two - Inside No. 9, Series 5, Misdirection". bbc.co.uk. BBC. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  17. Turchiano, Danielle (20 February 2020). "Rainn Wilson Cast in Amazon's 'The Power' (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  18. Travis, Ben (18 January 2018). "Star Wars The Last Jedi and Thor Ragnarok Lead Empire Awards 2018 Nominations". Empire. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  19. Tartaglione, Nancy (19 December 2017). "'Three Billboards' Leads London Critics' Circle Film Award Nominations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  20. Ritman, Alex (18 December 2018). "'The Favourite' Leads Nominations for London Critics' Circle Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
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