# Callan McAuliffe
**Callan McAuliffe** (full name Callan Ryan Claude McAuliffe) is an Australian actor and author, born in 1995 in Sydney, best known for his roles as Bryce Loski in *Flipped* (2010), Sam Goode in *I Am Number Four* (2011), the teenage [Jay Gatsby](https://www.edgepedia.org/jay-gatsby) in *The Great Gatsby* (2013), and Alden on AMC's *The Walking Dead* from 2017 to 2022.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/127121/callan-mcauliffe) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2786608/) He is a native of the Sydney suburb of Clontarf and is based in New York City and Sydney.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/127121/callan-mcauliffe)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1995, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2786608/) |
| Breakthrough role | Bryce Loski in Rob Reiner's *Flipped* (2010), after Reiner hand-picked him for the romantic lead[3](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead/cast/callan-mcauliffe--1033093) |
| Signature television role | Alden on *The Walking Dead*, 2017–2022, 55 episodes[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/127121/callan-mcauliffe) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2786608/) |
| Awards | Young Artist Award for young Gatsby; Break Out actor recognition at the Toronto International Film Festival for *Beneath the Harvest Sky*; GQ Breakthrough of the Year, 2012–2013[3](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead/cast/callan-mcauliffe--1033093) |
| Writing | First novel *The Hill Ghost*, about a Tibetan Mastiff and a delusional seagull[3](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead/cast/callan-mcauliffe--1033093) |
| Advocacy | UNICEF Australia Ambassador; youngest Ambassador for Tourism Australia's Friends of Australia Campaign[3](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead/cast/callan-mcauliffe--1033093) |
## Early life and discovery
McAuliffe was born in Sydney and raised in Perth, according to a 2017 profile in *The West Australian*.[4](https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/tv/perth-actors-career-resurrected-by-the-walking-dead-ng-b88690756z) His entry into acting began unpromisingly: he told *The Untitled Magazine* in 2015 that he applied to a modeling agency in Sydney because he wanted to buy a dog and had no pocket money.[5](https://untitled-magazine.com/callan-mcauliffe-on-his-unconventional-road-to-success-exclusive-interview/)
Director [Rob Reiner](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-reiner) discovered him and hand-picked him for the romantic lead in the Warner Bros. feature *Flipped*, launching his United States career around 2009.[3](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead/cast/callan-mcauliffe--1033093) • [4](https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/tv/perth-actors-career-resurrected-by-the-walking-dead-ng-b88690756z) In Australian television before his American film work, he appeared in *Cloudstreet* as young Quick Lamb and in *Packed to the Rafters*, and played the prime suspect in *Underground: The Julian Assange Story* (2012), directed by Robert Connolly.[6](https://scoutmanagement.com.au/talent/callan-mcauliffe/) • [7](https://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/callan-mcauliffe/10032483/filmography/) His first short film, *Franswa Sharl* (2009), in which he played Greg Logan, won nine international awards including one at the Berlin Film Festival, according to his management profile.[6](https://scoutmanagement.com.au/talent/callan-mcauliffe/)
## Film career
After *Flipped*, McAuliffe played Sam Goode in DreamWorks' science-fiction adventure *I Am Number Four* (2011), a production associated with [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg) and [Michael Bay](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-bay).[3](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead/cast/callan-mcauliffe--1033093) • [8](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/callan-mcauliffe/) In Baz Luhrmann's *The Great Gatsby* (2013) he played the teenage Jay Gatsby opposite [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://www.edgepedia.org/leonardo-dicaprio)'s adult Gatsby, a performance that won him a Young Artist Award.[3](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead/cast/callan-mcauliffe--1033093)
**Festival and ensemble work.** He starred as Dominic in the coming-of-age film *Beneath the Harvest Sky* (2013) alongside [Emory Cohen](https://www.edgepedia.org/emory-cohen), earning recognition as a Break Out actor at the [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival).[3](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead/cast/callan-mcauliffe--1033093) He played Henry Ward in *The Stanford Prison Experiment* (2015), directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez, part of an ensemble including [Ezra Miller](https://www.edgepedia.org/ezra-miller), Billy Crudup, and Thomas Mann; the film is his highest-rated feature on Metacritic, with a Metascore of 67.[3](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead/cast/callan-mcauliffe--1033093) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/callan-mcauliffe/) Other credits include the crime drama *Kite* (2014) with Samuel L. Jackson, the U.K. feature *Robot Overlords* (2015) with Ben Kingsley, *Hacker* (2016) as Alex Danyliuk, *Summer Night* (2019) for writer-director Joseph Cross, and *The Legend of Ben Hall* (2016) as Daniel Ryan.[3](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead/cast/callan-mcauliffe--1033093) • [7](https://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/callan-mcauliffe/10032483/filmography/)
In 2023 he played the lead role in Amazon's romantic period drama *About Him & Her*, based on a true story, and the lead role of Woody in *The Duel*, co-starring Dylan Sprouse.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/127121/callan-mcauliffe) Upcoming projects listed on IMDb include *[Greyhound 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/greyhound-2)* as Chaplain Mefford, *Expectations* as Pip Pirrip, and the psychological horror film *Deluxe Ocean View* as journalist Ethan Everett.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2786608/) • [10](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2786608/news/)
## Television
McAuliffe's most prominent television role is Alden on AMC's *The Walking Dead*, which he played from 2017 to 2022 across seasons 8 through 11, appearing in 55 episodes according to IMDb.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/127121/callan-mcauliffe) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2786608/) The casting came at a useful moment: in a 2017 interview he described having struggled to pay rent in Los Angeles despite his film credits, and called the season 8 role his saving grace.[4](https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/tv/perth-actors-career-resurrected-by-the-walking-dead-ng-b88690756z)
His other television credits include a guest role as Tim on *[Homeland](https://www.edgepedia.org/homeland-tv-series)* (episode "Long Time Coming," 2014), Lockwood in *Point of Honor* (2015), Carson Price on *Big Sky* (2022), narrator of the documentary series *Bomber: Terror of WWII* (2022), and Abel Mayfair in three episodes of *Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches* in 2025.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/127121/callan-mcauliffe) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2786608/)
## Writing, music, and advocacy
McAuliffe published his first novel, *The Hill Ghost*, a story about the adventures of an old [Tibetan Mastiff](https://www.edgepedia.org/tibetan-mastiff) dog and a delusional seagull; TVmaze dates its release to 2018, while his management profile states it came out in 2019 to five-star reviews and went into a second print run in 2021.[1](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/127121/callan-mcauliffe) • [3](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead/cast/callan-mcauliffe--1033093) • [6](https://scoutmanagement.com.au/talent/callan-mcauliffe/)
He is also a musician. He sang a cappella in the season 9 premiere of *The Walking Dead* and is credited as a performer on the soundtrack of *The Duel* ("Lady's Refrain") and on *Franswa Sharl* ("I'm Always Chasing Rainbows").[6](https://scoutmanagement.com.au/talent/callan-mcauliffe/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2786608/) His management profile describes him as a multi-instrumentalist, playing mandolin, fiddle, banjo, guitar, piano, and the Chinese erhu, and a tenor vocalist.[6](https://scoutmanagement.com.au/talent/callan-mcauliffe/)
His public-facing work extends beyond entertainment. He became the youngest Ambassador for Tourism Australia's Friends of Australia Campaign and holds a position as a UNICEF Australia Ambassador, an role he has held since his teens; he also supports The Wolf Connection in California, which mentors at-risk youth through rescued wolf-dogs.[3](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead/cast/callan-mcauliffe--1033093) • [6](https://scoutmanagement.com.au/talent/callan-mcauliffe/)
## References
1. [Callan McAuliffe, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/127121/callan-mcauliffe)
2. [Callan McAuliffe, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2786608/)
3. [Callan McAuliffe | The Walking Dead Bios, AMC](https://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead/cast/callan-mcauliffe--1033093)
4. [Perth actor's career resurrected by The Walking Dead, The West Australian (2017)](https://thewest.com.au/entertainment/tv/perth-actors-career-resurrected-by-the-walking-dead-ng-b88690756z)
5. [Callan McAuliffe on His Unconventional Road to Success, The Untitled Magazine (2015)](https://untitled-magazine.com/callan-mcauliffe-on-his-unconventional-road-to-success-exclusive-interview/)
6. [Callan McAuliffe, Scout Management](https://scoutmanagement.com.au/talent/callan-mcauliffe/)
7. [Callan McAuliffe Filmography, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/celebrity/callan-mcauliffe/10032483/filmography/)
8. [Callan McAuliffe, MN2S Booking Agency](https://mn2s.com/booking-agency/talent-roster/callan-mcauliffe/)
9. [Callan McAuliffe, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/callan-mcauliffe/)
10. [Callan McAuliffe News, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2786608/news/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › Australian actors › Surnames L to N*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; 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