Douglas John Booth (born 9 July 1992) is an English actor and musician. He first came to public attention through his performance as
Boy George
George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...
in the
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
film ''
Worried About the Boy'' (2010). He went on to star in the BBC adaptations of ''
Great Expectations
''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by English author Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. The novel is a bildungsroman and depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens' second novel, after ''Dav ...
'' and ''
Christopher and His Kind
''Christopher and His Kind'' is a 1976 memoir by Anglo-American writer Christopher Isherwood, first printed in a 130-copy edition by Sylvester & Orphanos, then in general publication by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. In the text, Isherwood candidly exp ...
'' (both 2011), Carlo Carlei's film adaptation of ''
Romeo & Juliet
''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' (2013), and the
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
biopic ''
The Dirt
''The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band'' () is a collaborative autobiography of Mötley Crüe by the band – Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx – and ''New York Times'' writer Neil Strauss. First publishe ...
'' (2019).
Booth also appeared in
Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker. His films are noted for their surreal, dramatic, and often disturbing elements, frequently in the form of psychological realism. His accolades include a Golden Lion ...
's
''Noah'' and
Lone Scherfig
Lone Scherfig () (born 2 May 1959) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. She is especially known for her films '' Italian for Beginners'' (2000) and '' An Education'' (2009), and is also known for her romantic comedies, such as '' One Day ...
's ''
The Riot Club
''The Riot Club'' is a 2014 British thriller drama film directed by Lone Scherfig and written by Laura Wade, based on Wade's 2010 play ''Posh''. The film stars Sam Claflin, Max Irons and Douglas Booth. It is set among the Riot Club, a fictio ...
'' (both 2014) and co-starred in
The Wachowskis
Lana Wachowski (born Larry Wachowski, June 21, 1965) and Lilly Wachowski (born Andy Wachowski, December 29, 1967) are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans women.
Together known as the Wacho ...
' ''
Jupiter Ascending
''Jupiter Ascending'' is a 2015 space opera film written, directed and co-produced by the Wachowskis. Starring Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis with Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne and Douglas Booth in supporting roles, the film is centered on Jupiter Jo ...
'' (2015).
Early life and education
Douglas John Booth was born in
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...
, London, to Vivien (''née'' De Cala), a painter, and Simon Booth, a shipping finance consultant and former managing director of both
CitiGroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...
and
Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
...
's shipping finance divisions. Booth's father is English, and his mother is of Spanish and Dutch ancestry.
His older sister, Abigail, is a
Chelsea School of Art
Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art and design university in London, England.
It offers further and higher education courses in fine art, graphic design, interior design, produ ...
graduate. Booth spent his early childhood in Greenwich and moved to
Sevenoaks, Kent
Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London; the town is from Charing Cross, the traditio ...
at the age of ten.
Booth is severely
dyslexic
Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writ ...
and found it "very hard" to read or write up until the age of ten; he remains "a really slow reader". He struggled at school, "having to put in double or triple the amount of effort as everyone else" but said the condition made him "more resilient in every sense". He played the trumpet as a child. Booth took his first major roles in musicals presented by the Sackville Children's Choir at the Stag Theatre in Sevenoaks. He played Leader of the Rats in ''Rats! The Musical'', and Uncle Andrew in ''The Magician's Nephew''. He further developed his interest in drama at the age of twelve, after starring in a school production of
''Agamemnon'': "I found myself feeling really engaged for the first time ... I thought, 'I rather like being the centre of attention. This is where I want to be.'" By the age of thirteen, he was involved with the
National Youth Theatre
The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...
and the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...
.
Booth received both private and state education; he attended Solefield School, a boys' junior
independent school
A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...
in Sevenoaks, followed by
Bennett Memorial Diocesan School
Bennett Memorial Diocesan School is an all ability co-educational academy in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, which caters for students from age 11 to 18.
History
The school was founded on 17 October 1951 by Lady Elena Bennett of Matfield ...
, a Church of England state
Voluntary Aided school
A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation) contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...
in the town of
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sand ...
(Kent), and
Lingfield Notre Dame School
Lingfield College is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school situated in Lingfield, Surrey, Lingfield in the English county of Surrey, for pupils aged six months to eighteen years old. It was originally a boarding school for ...
, an
independent school
A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...
in the village of
Lingfield Lingfield can refer to:
* Lingfield, County Durham, England, a village
* Lingfield, Surrey, England, a village
** Lingfield Park Racecourse
** Lingfield Cricket Club, prominent in the 18th century
** Lingfield railway station, serving the villag ...
in
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
.
Booth joined the
Curtis Brown
Curtis Lee "Curt" Brown Jr. (born March 11, 1956) is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Air Force colonel.
Background
Colonel Brown was born March 11, 1956. He graduated from East Bladen High School in Elizabethtown, North Carolin ...
acting agency at the age of fifteen.
He won his first professional acting role at the age of sixteen and quit his
AS levels in drama, media studies and English literature.
Career
Early work
Booth's first professional role was in the children's adventure film ''
From Time to Time'' (2009), directed by
Julian Fellowes
Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford (born 17 August 1949), known professionally as Julian Fellowes, is an English actor, novelist, writer, producer, film director, and Conservative peer. He has received nume ...
and starring
Maggie Smith
Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (28 December 1934 – 27 September 2024) was a British actress. Known for her wit in both comedic and dramatic roles, she had List of Maggie Smith performances, an extensive career on stage and screen for over seve ...
and
Timothy Spall
Timothy Leonard Spall ( ; born 27 February 1957) is an English actor. He gained recognition for his character actor roles on stage and screen.
In 2000, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II.
S ...
. Following the film's release, Booth signed to the
UTA
Uta or UTA may refer to:
Universities
*University of Texas at Arlington, in the United States
*University of Texas at Austin, in the United States
*University of Tarapacá, in Chile
*University of Tampere, in Finland
Sports
* FC UTA Arad, a R ...
talent agency for American-based representation. He then had a minor role as Prince Eustace in the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
miniseries
''The Pillars of the Earth'' (2010), a medieval saga filmed in Budapest with
Ian McShane
Ian David McShane (born 29 September 1942) is an English actor. His television performances include the title role in the BBC series ''Lovejoy'' (1986–1994), Al Swearengen in '' Deadwood'' (2004–2006) and its 2019 film continuation, and M ...
and
Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...
.
Also in 2009 and 2010, Booth modelled in several
Mario Testino
Mario Eduardo Testino Silva Order of the British Empire, OBE Royal Photographic Society#Distinctions and qualifications, HonFRPS (born 30 October 1954) is a Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer.
His work has featured internationally in ...
-shot campaigns for the luxury fashion label
Burberry
Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry and headquartered in London, England. It designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats, leather accessories, and footwear. It is l ...
; he starred in the Autumn 2009 campaign with
Emma Watson
Emma Charlotte Duerre Watson (born 15 April 1990) is an English actress. Known for her roles in both Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Emma Watson, ...
, the Autumn 2010 campaign with
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Rosie Alice Huntington-Whiteley (born 18 April 1987) is an English model and actress. She is best known for her work for lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret, formerly being one of their brand "Angels", for being the face of Burberry's 2011 bra ...
, and the Burberry Sport fragrance campaign with
Lily Donaldson.
Breakthrough
Booth rose to prominence in 2010 following his performance as the pop star
Boy George
George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...
in the
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...
drama ''
Worried About the Boy''.
He underwent a physical transformation for the role, shaving off his eyebrows and wearing heavy makeup. Booth met Boy George during filming, with the singer remarking: "He just gets it. There's something about him that reminds me of me when I was 17." Writing in ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', Ceri Radford said Booth delivered a "mesmerising" performance: "He offered a convincing portrayal of O'Dowd as a beautiful young man who oozed ambiguous sex appeal and protected his feelings with a carapace of prickly wit."
[ Mike Higgins of '']The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' declared Booth "a discovery": "Moving, witty, he also got the singer's wheezy enunciation down pat."
Booth next played the role of Pip in the BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
adaptation
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...
of Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the great ...
' ''Great Expectations
''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by English author Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. The novel is a bildungsroman and depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens' second novel, after ''Dav ...
'' (2011), alongside Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress, writer, and activist. She is best known for her roles as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the sci-fi series ''The X-Files'' (1993–2002; 2016–2018), Lily Bart in the dr ...
and Ray Winstone
Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage, and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is known ...
. Broadcast over the Christmas period, the miniseries was a huge ratings success. Anne Billson
Anne Billson (born 1954) is a writer, photographer, and film critic who was born in Southport, England. Her fiction is characterized by the combination of horror with satire and includes the novels ''Suckers'' (1993), ''Stiff Lips'' (1997), ''The E ...
of ''The Telegraph'' felt it was a misstep to cast someone "so distractingly lovely" in the role of Pip: "It's not that Douglas Booth was bad, it's just that one can't imagine Dickens ever intended Pip to be more beautiful than Estella, who, after all, has been brought up to break men's hearts." Mike Hale of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' dismissed Booth as "a CW-style actor whose exceptionally pretty face doesn't convey much beyond puzzlement and petulance." Betsy Sharkey of the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', however, found the actor's performance "haunting" while Emma Jones of ''The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
'' dismissed the "debate over the extreme prettiness of Douglas Booth", arguing that "Booth's beauty is only a backdrop to Pip's naivety."
Also in 2011, Booth appeared in the BBC film ''Christopher and His Kind
''Christopher and His Kind'' is a 1976 memoir by Anglo-American writer Christopher Isherwood, first printed in a 130-copy edition by Sylvester & Orphanos, then in general publication by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. In the text, Isherwood candidly exp ...
'', which explored novelist Christopher Isherwood
Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (26 August 1904 – 4 January 1986) was an Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. His best-known works include '' Goodbye to Berlin'' (1939), a semi-autobiographical ...
's formative years in 1930s Berlin. He played Heinz, a German street-sweeper who became the lover of Matt Smith
Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is known for playing the Eleventh Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Prince Philip in Netflix's historical series ''The Crown ( ...
's Isherwood.
In 2012, Booth starred opposite Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus ( , born Destiny Hope Cyrus, November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and director. Regarded as a contemporary pop icon, Cyrus has been recognized for her evolving artistry and image reinventions. She is ...
and Demi Moore
Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...
in the teen drama ''LOL
LOL, or lol, is an initialism for laughing out loud, and a popular element of Internet slang, which can be used to indicate amusement, irony, or double meanings. It was first used almost exclusively on Usenet, but has since become widesprea ...
''. He witnessed the paparazzi interest surrounding co-star Cyrus during filming: "It was bizarre and, interestingly, not at all glamorous." Filmed in 2010, when Booth was seventeen, the movie received a very limited theatrical release and unfavourable reviews. Later that year, Booth read selected extracts from ''David Copperfield
''David Copperfield''Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work; see is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from infancy to matur ...
'' as part of Sky Arts
Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, films, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...
's ''In Love With Dickens'' documentary; other contributors included Simon Callow
Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (born 15 June 1949) is an English actor. Known as a character actor on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Olivier Award and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for two BAFT ...
and Miriam Margolyes
Miriam Margolyes ( ; born 18 May 1941) is a British and Australian actress. Known for her work as a character actor across film, television, and stage, she received the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Mrs. Mingott in Marti ...
.
In 2013, Booth starred opposite Hailee Steinfeld
Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She had her breakthrough with the western film ''True Grit (2010 film), True Grit'' (2010), which earned her List of awards and nominations received by H ...
in Carlo Carlei's film adaptation
A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...
of Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's ''Romeo and Juliet
''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
''. Betsy Sharkey of the ''Los Angeles Times'' praised Booth's memorable performance: "It's not so much that he makes a great Romeo; frankly DiCaprio's was better in Luhrmann's version, as was Leonard Whiting
Leonard Whiting (born 30 June 1950) is a British semi-retired actor and singer widely known for his teenage role as Romeo in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film version of ''Romeo and Juliet'', a role which earned him the Golden Globe Award for N ...
in Zeffirelli's … But it has been a while since a camera has so loved a face ... If anything, the movies in general are too intent on reducing Booth to that singular feature, when he is actually a fine actor." R. Kurt Osenlund of ''Slant
Slant can refer to:
Bias
*Bias or other non- objectivity in journalism, politics, academia or other fields
Technical
* Slant range, in telecommunications, the line-of-sight distance between two points which are not at the same level
* Slant ...
'' felt that Booth gives "a rather fantastic breakthrough performance, offering a poignant interpretation of one of literature's greatest lovers." Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle (born May 7, 1959) is an American film critic and the author of two books on pre-Code Hollywood. Up to March 2008, he had written more than 1,550 reviews for the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' and he has been podcasting them since Sep ...
of the ''San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' bemoaned the poor casting of Steinfeld: "And this is especially a shame because Douglas Booth as Romeo is quite good and could have been better, if only he had someone to play off of." Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy (born February 16, 1950) is an American film critic and author. He wrote for '' Variety'' for 31 years as its chief film critic until 2010. In October of that year, he joined ''The Hollywood Reporter'', where he subsequently served ...
of ''The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' remarked that Booth "seems to have a grasp of what he's saying and behaves in credibly laddish fashion ... but Booth's vocal range is very narrow, and he speaks in a monotone." Claudia Puig of ''USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' found Booth "more skilled" than Steinfeld "in the passionate intonation department" while ''The Independents Geoffrey MacNab asserted that Booth "shows a certain star quality."
2014–present
In March 2014, he appeared as Shem
Shem (; ''Šēm''; ) is one of the sons of Noah in the Bible ( Genesis 5–11 and 1 Chronicles 1:4).
The children of Shem are Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram, in addition to unnamed daughters. Abraham, the patriarch of Jews, Christ ...
in Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker. His films are noted for their surreal, dramatic, and often disturbing elements, frequently in the form of psychological realism. His accolades include a Golden Lion ...
's biblical epic ''Noah''. Emma Watson played his character's wife; she first met Booth while shooting a Burberry fashion campaign in 2009: "There's something old-mannish about Doug, which he had even then. He knows who he is. He doesn't get intimidated, doesn't hold back, and is generally fearless."
In September 2014, Booth starred alongside Sam Claflin
Samuel George Claflin (; born 27 June 1986) is a British actor. After graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2009, he began his acting career on television and had his first film role as Philip Swift in '' Pirates of t ...
, Max Irons
Maximilian Paul Diarmuid Irons (born 17 October 1985) is an English and Irish actor. He is known for his roles in films such as ''Red Riding Hood (2011 film), Red Riding Hood'' (2011), ''The White Queen (miniseries), The White Queen'' (2013), '' ...
and Freddie Fox in the black comedy ''The Riot Club
''The Riot Club'' is a 2014 British thriller drama film directed by Lone Scherfig and written by Laura Wade, based on Wade's 2010 play ''Posh''. The film stars Sam Claflin, Max Irons and Douglas Booth. It is set among the Riot Club, a fictio ...
'', directed by Lone Scherfig
Lone Scherfig () (born 2 May 1959) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. She is especially known for her films '' Italian for Beginners'' (2000) and '' An Education'' (2009), and is also known for her romantic comedies, such as '' One Day ...
. Based on the stage play by Laura Wade, the ensemble piece centres around ten members of an exclusive Oxford University dining club known as The Riot Club, based on the real-life Bullingdon Club
The Bullingdon Club is a private all-male dining club for Oxford University students. It is known for its wealthy members, grand banquets, and bad behaviour, including vandalism of restaurants and students' rooms. The club selects its members ...
. Booth made "friends for life" during the film shoot, and has said of the characters: "When you meet these sort of guys, they're always so charming. It's almost more discomfiting for the audience to be charmed by them, to like them a lot, and to see how far they'll go with them." In February 2015, he appeared in The Wachowskis
Lana Wachowski (born Larry Wachowski, June 21, 1965) and Lilly Wachowski (born Andy Wachowski, December 29, 1967) are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans women.
Together known as the Wacho ...
' science-fiction film ''Jupiter Ascending
''Jupiter Ascending'' is a 2015 space opera film written, directed and co-produced by the Wachowskis. Starring Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis with Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne and Douglas Booth in supporting roles, the film is centered on Jupiter Jo ...
'', starring Mila Kunis
Milena Markovna "Mila" Kunis (born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. Born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, and raised in Los Angeles, she was Jackie Burkhart on ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006) and has voiced Meg Griffin on ''Family Guy'' since ...
, Channing Tatum
Channing Matthew Tatum (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut in the drama ''Coach Carter'' (2005), and had his Breakthrough role, breakthrough with the sports comedy film ''She's the Man'' (2006) and t ...
and Eddie Redmayne
Edward John David Redmayne OBE (; born 6 January 1982) is an English actor. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Olivier Awards.
Redmayne began his professional ac ...
. "They're just the most original people," Booth has said of the Wachowskis. "They've created something very exciting and special and bonkers." He played Mr. Bingley in ''Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
''Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'' is a 2009 parody novel by Seth Grahame-Smith. It is a mashup combining Jane Austen's classic 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice'' with elements of modern zombie fiction, crediting Austen as co-author. It was f ...
'' (2016), an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Seth Grahame-Smith
Seth Grahame-Smith (born Seth Jared Greenberg; January 4, 1976) is an American writer and film producer, best known as the author of ''The New York Times'' best-selling novels '' Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'' and '' Abraham Lincoln, Vampire ...
.
In November 2017, Booth starred in the international film ''Loving Vincent
''Loving Vincent'' is a 2017 experimental animated historical drama film about the life of the painter Vincent van Gogh, in particular the circumstances of his death. It is the first fully painted animated feature film. The film, written and d ...
'', as Armand Roulin, one of the models for Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...
's Roulin Family portraits. Booth played Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...
bassist Nikki Sixx
Nikki Sixx (born Frank Carlton Serafino Feranna Jr.; December 11, 1958) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and radio personality, best known as the co-founder, bassist, primary songwriter, and only constant member of the hea ...
in the 2019 film ''The Dirt
''The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band'' () is a collaborative autobiography of Mötley Crüe by the band – Tommy Lee, Mick Mars, Vince Neil and Nikki Sixx – and ''New York Times'' writer Neil Strauss. First publishe ...
''.
Booth played the writer boyfriend, Don, opposite Margaret Qualley
Sarah Margaret Qualley ( ; born October 23, 1994) is an American actress. A daughter of actress Andie MacDowell, she trained as a ballet dancer in her youth. She made her acting debut in the 2013 drama film ''Palo Alto'' and gained recognitio ...
in the 2020 film ''My Salinger Year
''My Salinger Year'' (also known as ''My New York Year'') is a 2020 drama film written and directed by Philippe Falardeau, based upon the memoir of the same name by Joanna Rakoff. It stars Margaret Qualley, Sigourney Weaver, Douglas Booth, Seán ...
''.
Personal life
On 3 July 2021, Douglas announced on his Instagram account that he had proposed to his girlfriend and fellow actress Bel Powley
Isobel Dorothy Powley Booth (born 7 March 1992) is an English actress. Born and raised in London, Powley was educated at Holland Park School. She began acting as a teenager on television, starring on the CBBC action television series ''M.I. Hig ...
on Primrose Hill
Primrose Hill is a Grade II listed public park located north of Regent's Park in London, England, first opened to the public in 1842.Mills, A., ''Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) It was named after the natural hill in the centre of t ...
, having met in 2016 on the set of ''Mary Shelley
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...
''. The wedding took place on 28 October 2023 at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, a city in the United States
* Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
, followed by an afterparty at the Institute of Contemporary Arts
The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an modernism, artistic and cultural centre on The Mall (London), The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps a ...
. The couple were married under a chuppah
A ''chuppah'' (, ) is a canopy under which a Judaism, Jewish couple stand during their Jewish wedding, wedding ceremony. It consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes manually held u ...
made by Booth's sister, an artist, to honour Powley's Jewish heritage.
Philanthropy
Booth has been supporting UNHCR
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and Humanitarian protection, protect refugees, Internally displaced person, forcibly displaced communities, and Statelessness, s ...
since 2015. Booth has supported various UNHCR fundraising events and campaigns.
Filmography
Film
Television
Audiobooks
References
External links
*
Douglas Booth
at Curtis Brown
Curtis Lee "Curt" Brown Jr. (born March 11, 1956) is a former NASA astronaut and retired United States Air Force colonel.
Background
Colonel Brown was born March 11, 1956. He graduated from East Bladen High School in Elizabethtown, North Carolin ...
''Evening Standard'' interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Douglas
Living people
1992 births
21st-century English male actors
Actors from the Royal Borough of Greenwich
Actors with dyslexia
Models with dyslexia
Musicians with dyslexia
English people with disabilities
English feminists
English male child actors
English male film actors
English male models
English male television actors
English people of Dutch descent
English people of Spanish descent
Male actors from Kent
British male feminists
National Youth Theatre members
People from Sevenoaks
Male actors from London
People from Greenwich
Models from London
Models from Kent
Actors from Sevenoaks District