# Nicholas Hoult
**Nicholas Hoult** (Nicholas Caradoc Hoult, born 1989) is an English actor who moved from child stardom in *About a Boy* to a career spanning blockbusters, independent films, and television comedy, and who currently plays [Lex Luthor](https://www.edgepedia.org/lex-luthor) in [James Gunn](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-gunn)'s DC Universe.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989, Wokingham, Berkshire, England[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicholas_hoult) |
| Breakthrough | Marcus, the 11-year-old co-lead opposite Hugh Grant in *About a Boy* (2002)[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jan/02/nicholas-hoult-part-of-your-brain-doesnt-want-to-walk-down-a-corridor-naked) |
| Franchise work | Hank McCoy (Beast) in four *X-Men* films (2011–2019); Nux in *Mad Max: Fury Road* (2015)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicholas_hoult) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0396558) |
| Television | Tony Stonem in *Skins*; Emperor Peter III in *The Great*, which brought a 2021 Golden Globe nomination[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicholas_hoult) • [4](https://time.com/5940766/golden-globes-winners-2021/) |
| Current role | Lex Luthor in James Gunn's DC Universe, first appearing in *Superman* (2025)[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/49134/nicholas-hoult) |
| Real-person roles | J.D. Salinger, Nikola Tesla, and J.R.R. Tolkien in *Rebel in the Rye*, *The Current War*, and *Tolkien*[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicholas_hoult) |
## Early life and start in acting
Hoult was born in Wokingham, Berkshire, to a former [British Airways](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-airways) pilot and a piano teacher; his parents met on a flight to [Tel Aviv](https://www.edgepedia.org/tel-aviv) when his mother was still a cabin attendant[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicholas_hoult) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/apr/14/im-building-a-patchwork-quilt-nicholas-hoult-on-fame-fatherhood-and-playing-draculas-wingman). He was talent-spotted at the age of three while watching his older brother in a play, its director impressed by his ability to concentrate[7](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/may/21/nicholas-hoult-interview). He attended the [Sylvia Young Theatre School](https://www.edgepedia.org/sylvia-young-theatre-school), with three days of academic work and two days of singing, dancing, and acting each week[8](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/passed-failed-an-education-in-the-life-of-nicholas-hoult-actor-6111973.html).
His screen debut came at the age of five in Philip Goodhew's *Intimate Relations* (1996), followed by television guest roles on *Silent Witness* and *Doctors*[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicholas_hoult). At 11 he played Marcus, the boy with the bowl haircut, in the 2002 film adaptation of [Nick Hornby](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-hornby)'s novel *About a Boy*, opposite [Hugh Grant](https://www.edgepedia.org/hugh-grant) and [Toni Collette](https://www.edgepedia.org/toni-collette); the film was a critical and box office success[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicholas_hoult) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jan/02/nicholas-hoult-part-of-your-brain-doesnt-want-to-walk-down-a-corridor-naked). Hoult credits Grant with instilling his work ethic: "Hugh has fun, but he works very hard. He was a great role model"[7](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/may/21/nicholas-hoult-interview).
## Transition to adult roles
In his teens Hoult played the antagonistic [Tony Stonem](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-stonem) for two seasons of the E4 youth drama *Skins* (2007–13), leaving school at 17 because of the show's demanding schedule; he had planned A-levels in English, history, psychology, and biology[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicholas_hoult) • [7](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/may/21/nicholas-hoult-interview). His career pivot, by his own account and his directors', was *A Single Man* (2009), [Tom Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-ford)'s adaptation of [Christopher Isherwood](https://www.edgepedia.org/christopher-isherwood)'s 1964 novel, in which he played a gay college student helping Colin Firth's professor deal with the loss of his longtime companion[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jan/02/nicholas-hoult-part-of-your-brain-doesnt-want-to-walk-down-a-corridor-naked) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicholas_hoult). Ford said Hoult "takes his job very, very seriously" and "could become a very big star"[7](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/may/21/nicholas-hoult-interview).
**Franchise years.** Hoult then moved into blockbusters: Hank McCoy (Beast) in *X-Men: First Class* (2011), reprised in *X-Men: Days of Future Past* (2014), *X-Men: Apocalypse* (2016), and *Dark Phoenix* (2019), alongside [Jennifer Lawrence](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-lawrence), Michael Fassbender, and [James McAvoy](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-mcavoy); the title role in *Jack the Giant Slayer* (2013); the zombie R in *Warm Bodies* (2013); and the scarred, tattooed War Boy Nux in [George Miller](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-miller)'s *Mad Max: Fury Road* (2015), filmed over months in the Namibian desert[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicholas_hoult) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0396558) • [9](https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/nicholas-hoult-laura-bailey-interview-june-issue-2015-british-vogue). *Mad Max: Fury Road* remains his highest-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes at 97 percent, against a low of 22 percent for *Dark Places* (2015)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicholas_hoult).
Alongside the franchise work he kept a parallel line in smaller films and real-person biographies: J.D. Salinger in *Rebel in the Rye* (2017), [Nikola Tesla](https://www.edgepedia.org/nikola-tesla) in *The Current War* (2017), Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, in the Oscar-winning *The Favourite* (2018), and J.R.R. Tolkien in *Tolkien* (2019), opposite Lily Collins as Edith Bratt[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicholas_hoult) • [10](https://time.com/5586711/tolkien-movie-true-story/). Hoult described playing a real person as "amateur sleuth work, where you read his work and about his life, then you put that into the framework of the script"[11](https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/nicholas-hoult-interview).
## The Great and comedy
As Emperor Peter III of Russia in Hulu's *The Great*, written by Tony McNamara, Hoult played a spoilt, impulsive, profane antihero, an exaggerated version of his own accent after deciding his attempt at Russian, repurposed from the Serbian he had used for Tesla, "didn't flow in the right way"[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jan/02/nicholas-hoult-part-of-your-brain-doesnt-want-to-walk-down-a-corridor-naked). The role brought a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy in 2021[4](https://time.com/5940766/golden-globes-winners-2021/). The series ran three seasons on Hulu before cancellation in 2023[12](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nicholas-hoult/).
## Recent and current work
Hoult played the white supremacist leader Robert Jay Mathews opposite Jude Law's FBI agent in *The Order* (2024), Justin Kurzel's thriller based on Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt's nonfiction book *The Silent Brotherhood*[13](https://apnews.com/article/9bb1ff78dc29ffa5bcd498173f8e9b86). He then took on Lex Luthor in James Gunn's DC Universe, first appearing in *Superman* (2025) and set to reprise the role in *Man of Tomorrow* (2027)[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/49134/nicholas-hoult) • [14](https://as.com/meristation/cine/el-tremendo-cambio-fisico-de-nicholas-hoult-para-superman-2-se-viene-el-lex-luthor-mas-cachas-f202602-n/). His upcoming slate listed by IMDb includes *How to Rob a Bank* (2026) and *Cry to Heaven*, Tom Ford's adaptation in which he plays Tonio Treschi[3](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0396558) • [15](https://apnews.com/article/442098a4d98fe4bf1c11894052048002).
He was announced in 2026 as Gilderoy Lockhart for the second season of HBO's *Harry Potter* series, then dropped out over a filming-schedule clash with other projects; Kit Harington was cast in the role instead[16](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/fantasy-shows/supermans-lex-luthor-star-nicholas-hoult-joins-hbos-harry-potter-ahead-of-season-2-but-hes-not-playing-voldemort/).
## References
1. [Nicholas Hoult, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/nicholas_hoult)
2. [Nicholas Hoult: 'Part of your brain doesn't want to walk down a corridor naked', The Guardian (2021)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/jan/02/nicholas-hoult-part-of-your-brain-doesnt-want-to-walk-down-a-corridor-naked)
3. [Nicholas Hoult, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0396558)
4. [See All the Winners of the 2021 Golden Globe Awards, Time](https://time.com/5940766/golden-globes-winners-2021/)
5. [Nicholas Hoult, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/49134/nicholas-hoult)
6. ['I'm building a patchwork quilt': Nicholas Hoult on fame, fatherhood and playing Dracula's wingman, The Guardian (2023)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/apr/14/im-building-a-patchwork-quilt-nicholas-hoult-on-fame-fatherhood-and-playing-draculas-wingman)
7. [Nicholas Hoult: 'Can you not just say I was lighthearted and witty?', The Guardian (2011)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/may/21/nicholas-hoult-interview)
8. [Passed/Failed: An education in the life of Nicholas Hoult, actor, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/news/people/profiles/passed-failed-an-education-in-the-life-of-nicholas-hoult-actor-6111973.html)
9. [Nicholas Hoult Laura Bailey Interview, British Vogue (2015)](https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/nicholas-hoult-laura-bailey-interview-june-issue-2015-british-vogue)
10. [The True Story Behind the Movie Tolkien, Time (2019)](https://time.com/5586711/tolkien-movie-true-story/)
11. [Nicholas Hoult On Still Feeling Like A Newcomer, British Vogue (2019)](https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/nicholas-hoult-interview)
12. [Nicholas Hoult, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/nicholas-hoult/)
13. [Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult lead thriller about the real FBI manhunt for a white supremacist leader, AP News (2024)](https://apnews.com/article/9bb1ff78dc29ffa5bcd498173f8e9b86)
14. [El tremendo cambio físico de Nicholas Hoult para 'Superman 2', AS Meristation (2026)](https://as.com/meristation/cine/el-tremendo-cambio-fisico-de-nicholas-hoult-para-superman-2-se-viene-el-lex-luthor-mas-cachas-f202602-n/)
15. [Adele will make her acting debut in Tom Ford's adaptation of 'Cry to Heaven', AP News (2025)](https://apnews.com/article/442098a4d98fe4bf1c11894052048002)
16. [Superman's Lex Luthor star Nicholas Hoult joins HBO's Harry Potter ahead of season 2, GamesRadar+ (2026)](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/fantasy-shows/supermans-lex-luthor-star-nicholas-hoult-joins-hbos-harry-potter-ahead-of-season-2-but-hes-not-playing-voldemort/)
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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 Gw to H*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 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