# Alex Roe
**Alex Roe** (born Alexander Michael Roe-Brown, 1990) is a British actor known for playing Evan Walker in the science-fiction film *The 5th Wave* (2016), Liam Page in *[Forever My Girl](https://www.edgepedia.org/forever-my-girl)* (2018), and Ben Pownall in the Freeform series *[Siren](https://www.edgepedia.org/siren-tv-series)* (2018–2020).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1025139/) Born in Westminster, London, he began acting as a child in British television before moving to Los Angeles to pursue film work.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alex_roe) A different Alex Roe is a New York theater director, treated in a separate section below.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander Michael Roe-Brown; alternative name Alex Roe-Brown[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1025139/bio/) |
| Born | Westminster, London, England, 1990; IMDb gives 1990, while Rotten Tomatoes, Fandango, and TV Insider give 1990[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1025139/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alex_roe) |
| Breakthrough | Evan Walker, the mysterious farm boy, in *The 5th Wave* (2016), opposite Chloë Grace Moretz[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alex_roe) |
| Television leads | Jay Keaton in *The Fugitives* (CITV, 2005); Elliott Baden in *The Cut* (BBC Two, 2009–2010); Ben Pownall in *Siren* (2018–2020, 36 episodes); Pat Garrett in *Billy the Kid* (2022–2025, 18 episodes)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alex_roe) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1025139/) |
| Films | *Rings* (2017, Holt), *Hot Summer Nights* (2017, Hunter), *Forever My Girl* (2018, Liam Page), *Bone Lake* and *Depravity* (2024), *Hazard* (2025, also producer)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alex_roe) |
| Highest-rated film | *Hazard* (2025) at 90% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer; lowest is *Rings* (2017) at 7%[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alex_roe) |
## Early life and start in acting
Roe grew up in [Ladbroke Grove](https://www.edgepedia.org/ladbroke-grove) in west London. His mother moved to London to train as a ballerina, and his family background was working class; one grandfather was a fairground boxer and the other a coal miner who landed on the Normandy beach on D-Day.[4](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/alex-roe-introducing-the-new-hollywood-star-a3163026.html) • [5](https://www.justjared.com/2016/01/20/the-5th-waves-alex-roe-talks-filming-his-own-stunts-his-celeb-crush-more-for-jj-portrait-session/) He has a twin sister.[5](https://www.justjared.com/2016/01/20/the-5th-waves-alex-roe-talks-filming-his-own-stunts-his-celeb-crush-more-for-jj-portrait-session/)
**Football came first.** At age ten he attended an open audition and won his first acting part, in the straight-to-video horror film *The Calling* (2000), where he is credited as Dylan St. Clair.[4](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/alex-roe-introducing-the-new-hollywood-star-a3163026.html) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alex_roe) But football was his real passion, and he played semi-professionally at Chalfont St Peter before concluding that a professional career was out of reach.[4](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/alex-roe-introducing-the-new-hollywood-star-a3163026.html) His sporting record and early acting work won him a sixth-form scholarship to Latymer Upper School in [Hammersmith](https://www.edgepedia.org/hammersmith), a school whose acting alumni include [Hugh Grant](https://www.edgepedia.org/hugh-grant), Lily Cole, Alan Rickman, and [Imogen Poots](https://www.edgepedia.org/imogen-poots).[4](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/alex-roe-introducing-the-new-hollywood-star-a3163026.html)
The actress and writer [Jennifer Saunders](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-saunders) saw him in a school performance of *Our Country's Good* and approached him afterward to audition for her television comedy *Jam and Jerusalem*, which he credits with kicking off his career.[4](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/alex-roe-introducing-the-new-hollywood-star-a3163026.html) He then played the lead role of Jay Keaton, a teenager who uncovers illegal child cloning, in the CITV children's science-fiction series *The Fugitives* (2005), and the popular high school swimmer Elliott Baden in the [BBC Two](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-two) teen drama *The Cut* (2009–2010), with guest parts in *Holby City*, *Doctors*, *Hollyoaks*, and *The Jury*.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alex_roe) • [6](https://www.sidewalkstv.com/interview-jessica-rothe-and-alex-roe/) After these British television appearances he moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting further.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alex_roe)
## Film breakthrough
After a failed tennis pilot, *Unstrung* (2014), and a minor role in the direct-to-video action sequel *Sniper: Legacy* (2014), Roe's profile grew considerably when he was cast as Evan Walker, a mysterious farm boy, opposite [Chloë Grace Moretz](https://www.edgepedia.org/chloe-grace-moretz) in the young adult adaptation *The 5th Wave* (2016).[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alex_roe) Later that year he took the male lead, Holt, in *Rings*, the third installment of the horror franchise begun with *The Ring*, and played Hunter Strawberry in the [Cape Cod](https://www.edgepedia.org/cape-cod) coming-of-age drama *Hot Summer Nights* (2017), appearing alongside [Timothée Chalamet](https://www.edgepedia.org/timothee-chalamet).[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alex_roe)
**A country-music lead.** In *Forever My Girl* (2018) Roe played Liam Page, a performer who returns to his Louisiana hometown to reconcile with his father and former fiancée. An Englishman with no singing experience, he started with the accent: he listened to country music every day for about three months and watched interviews with country artists to absorb their mannerisms.[7](https://www.dmagazine.com/arts/2018/01/how-a-non-singing-brit-transformed-into-a-big-screen-country-music-star/) The romantic drama, co-starring Jessica Rothe, was released in theaters in January 2018.[6](https://www.sidewalkstv.com/interview-jessica-rothe-and-alex-roe/)
## Television and recent work
From 2018 to 2020 Roe played marine biologist Ben Pownall in *Siren*, Freeform's series about murderous mermaids, appearing in 36 episodes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1025139/) • [8](https://www.hercampus.com/culture/alex-roe-talks-hot-summer-nights-working-maia-mitchell-dealing-grief-exclusive/) He then took the recurring role of [Pat Garrett](https://www.edgepedia.org/pat-garrett) in the MGM+ series *Billy the Kid* (2022–2025, 18 episodes).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1025139/)
His recent film work includes *[Depravity](https://www.edgepedia.org/depravity-film)* and *[Bone Lake](https://www.edgepedia.org/bone-lake-film)* (2024, as Will) and *Hazard* (2025, as Will), on which he is also credited as producer.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1025139/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alex_roe) *Hazard* stands at 90% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, the highest rating of his listed films, against 7% for *Rings*.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alex_roe) Fandango lists him in a slate of upcoming 2026 releases including *Whalefall*, *The Social Reckoning*, *Sense and Sensibility*, *Street Fighter*, *Other Mommy*, *Verity*, *[Heart of the Beast](https://www.edgepedia.org/heart-of-the-beast)*, and *Resident Evil*.[9](https://www.fandango.com/people/alex-roe-575134/film-credits)
## The theater director Alex Roe
A separate Alex Roe is an American theater director based in New York. A professional director for 38 years, he studied literature and theater at Harvard and began his career directing, acting, writing, and teaching for theaters across the United States and abroad.[10](https://nycafp.org/Portals/0/Alex_Roe_bio.pdf) In 2001 he became Producing Artistic Director of the Metropolitan Playhouse, a New York City company devoted to exploring the culture and history of the United States through its theater, and he has directed 36 productions there; under his leadership the theater received a 2011 OBIE Award and a 2014 award for Outstanding Performing Arts Group from the Victorian Society of New York.[10](https://nycafp.org/Portals/0/Alex_Roe_bio.pdf) Since March 2020 he has run a "virtual" playhouse, streaming a reading of a one-act play each week free of charge and broadcasting on WBAI FM.[10](https://nycafp.org/Portals/0/Alex_Roe_bio.pdf) His acting and training record, listed on Backstage, includes a Harvard BA in comparative literature, SITI Company Viewpoints training with Anne Bogart, and memberships in Actors' Equity and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.[11](https://www.backstage.com/u/alex-roe/)
## References
1. [Alex Roe (I), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1025139/)
2. [Alex Roe Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/alex_roe)
3. [Alex Roe – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1025139/bio/)
4. [Alex Roe, interview: 'I try to avoid being friends with actors', London Evening Standard](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/alex-roe-introducing-the-new-hollywood-star-a3163026.html)
5. [The 5th Wave's Alex Roe Talks Filming His Own Stunts, Just Jared](https://www.justjared.com/2016/01/20/the-5th-waves-alex-roe-talks-filming-his-own-stunts-his-celeb-crush-more-for-jj-portrait-session/)
6. [Interview: Jessica Rothe and Alex Roe, Sidewalks Entertainment](https://www.sidewalkstv.com/interview-jessica-rothe-and-alex-roe/)
7. [How a Non-Singing Brit Transformed Into a Big-Screen Country Music Star, D Magazine](https://www.dmagazine.com/arts/2018/01/how-a-non-singing-brit-transformed-into-a-big-screen-country-music-star/)
8. [Alex Roe Talks 'Hot Summer Nights,' Working With Maia Mitchell, Her Campus](https://www.hercampus.com/culture/alex-roe-talks-hot-summer-nights-working-maia-mitchell-dealing-grief-exclusive/)
9. [Alex Roe Filmography and Movies, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/people/alex-roe-575134/film-credits)
10. [Alex Roe bio, Producing Artistic Director, Metropolitan (Virtual) Playhouse, NYC AFP](https://nycafp.org/Portals/0/Alex_Roe_bio.pdf)
11. [Alex Roe – Professional Profile, Backstage](https://www.backstage.com/u/alex-roe/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Q to Se*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license