Frederick Samson Robert Morice Fox (born 5 April 1989) is an English film and stage actor. His prominent screen performances include roles as singer Marilyn in the BBC's

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 ...

biopic '' Worried About the Boy'' (2010), Freddie Baxter in series ''

Cucumber The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.Banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

'' (2015),

Jeremy Bamber Jeremy Nevill Bamber (born Jeremy Paul Marsham; 13 January 1961) is a British convicted mass murderer. He was convicted of the 1985 White House Farm murders in Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex, in which the victims included Bamber's adoptive parents, N ...

in '' White House Farm'' (2020) and Spider Webb in ''

Slow Horses ''Slow Horses'' is a British spy thriller television series based on the '' Slough House'' series of novels by Mick Herron, created by Will Smith. It follows an MI5 unit where disgraced or failed agents are consigned, under the supervision of J ...

'' (2022-2023). His theatre credits include starring as Simon Bliss in ''

Hay Fever Allergic rhinitis, of which the seasonal type is called hay fever, is a type of rhinitis, inflammation in the nose that occurs when the immune system overreacts to allergens in the air. It is classified as a Allergy, type I hypersensitivity re ...

'' (2012) at the

Noël Coward Theatre The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's ...

; as

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's young lover Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas in '' The Judas Kiss'' (2012–2013) at the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. History The original ''Hampstead Theatre Clu ...

, during a UK tour, and in a West End transfer; as

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lord Montague, Lord Montague and his wife, Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Montague, Lady Montague, he ...

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 ...

(2015) at the

Sheffield Crucible The Crucible Theatre, or simply The Crucible, is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1971. Its name refers to Crucible steel#History of production in England, crucible steel, which was developed in Sheffield in 174 ...

and in

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh ( ; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Reading, Berkshire, Branagh trained at RADA in London and served as its president from 2015 to 2024. List of award ...

's 2016 production at the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ...

; as

Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, c ...

in ''

Travesties ''Travesties'' is a 1974 play by Tom Stoppard. It centres on the figure of Henry Wilfred Carr, Henry Carr, an old man who reminisces about Zürich in 1917 during World War I, the First World War, and his interactions with James Joyce when he w ...

'' (2016–2017) at the

Menier Chocolate Factory The Menier Chocolate Factory is a 180-seat Off-West End theatre, which comprises a bar and theatre offices. It is located at the rear of a former 1870s Menier Chocolate, Menier Chocolate Company factory at 53 Southwark Street, a major street i ...

and

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

; as Lord Goring in ''

An Ideal Husband ''An Ideal Husband'' is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde that revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. It was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1895 and ran for ...

'' (2018) at the

Vaudeville Theatre The Vaudeville Theatre is a West End theatre on the Strand in the City of Westminster. Opening in 1870, the theatre staged mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days. The theatre was rebuilt twice, although each new buildin ...

; and as

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with th ...

in Edmond de Bergerac (2019) at the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

and during a UK tour. Fox appeared on the big screen in ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' (2011), '' The Riot Club'' (2014), ''

Pride Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

'' (2014), ''

Victor Frankenstein Victor Frankenstein is a fictional character who first appeared as the titular main protagonist of Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. He is an Italian-born Swiss scientist who, after studying chemical proces ...

'' (2015), '' King Arthur: Legend of the Sword'' (2017), '' Black '47'' (2018) and '' Fanny Lye Deliver'd'' (2019).

Early life and education

Frederick Samson Robert Morice Fox was born on 5 April 1989 in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He was raised between London and the family home in Kimmeridge Bay,

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

and was surrounded by actors and writers from a young age. He is the son of actress

Joanna David Joanna David (born Joanna Elizabeth Hacking; 17 January 1947) is an English people, English actress, best known for her television work. Early life and education David was born in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, England, daughter of Major Jo ...

(née Joanna Elizabeth Hacking) and actor Edward Fox. He is the younger brother of actress

Emilia Fox Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox (born 31 July 1974) is an English actress and presenter whose career is primarily in British television. Her feature film debut was in Roman Polanski's film ''The Pianist (2002 film), The Pianist'' (2002). Her other m ...

and the half-brother of Lucy Arabella Preston (the Viscountess Gormanston), the grandson of actress Angela Worthington Fox and theatrical agent

Robin Fox Robin Fox (July 15, 1934 – January 18, 2024) was a British-American anthropologist who wrote on the topics of incest avoidance, marriage systems, human and primate kinship systems, evolutionary anthropology, sociology and the history of ide ...

, and the great-grandson of the playwright

Frederick Lonsdale Frederick Lonsdale (5 February 1881 – 4 April 1954) was a British playwright known for his librettos to several successful musicals early in the 20th century, including '' King of Cadonia'' (1908), '' The Balkan Princess'' (1910), '' Betty'' ...

. He is the nephew of producer Robert Fox and actor James Fox, and a cousin to actors

Laurence Laurence is in modern use as an English masculine and a French feminine given name. The modern English masculine name is a variant of Lawrence and originates from a French form of the Latin ''Laurentius'', a name meaning "man from Laurentum" ...

, Jack and Lydia Fox. He was named after

Fred Zinnemann Alfred Zinnemann (April 29, 1907 – March 14, 1997) was an American film director and producer. He won four Academy Awards for directing and producing films in various genres, including thriller film, thrillers, western (genre), westerns, film ...

, who directed his father in '' The Day of the Jackal'', and after his great-great-grandfather Victorian industrialist

Samson Fox Samson Fox, Justice of the peace, JP (11 July 1838 – 24 October 1903) was an English engineer, industrialist and philanthropist. He was elected Mayor of Harrogate in Yorkshire and the building of the Royal College of Music in London was funded ...

, who invented the corrugated boiler flue and built

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and civil parish in the North Yorkshire District, district and North Yorkshire, county of North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist de ...

's former Kursaal now known as the Royal Hall. Asked if he believes in his acting gene, he said, "I used not to until my sister Milly was on the BBC's '' Who Do You Think You Are?''" where they discovered the thespian thread goes back 100 years. From 1994 to 2002, Fox was educated at Arnold House School, a preparatory school for boys in the

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...

area of London, where he was

head boy The two Senior Prefects, individually called Head Boy (for the male), and Head Girl (for the female) are students who carry leadership roles and are responsible for representing the school's entire student body. Although mostly out of use, in some ...

. He was

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

during secondary school at

Bryanston School Bryanston School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the ...

, a boarding school in

where he perfected his elocution and overcame fairly serious dyslexia. During his time there, he portrayed a headmaster in ''A Risky Business'', a play written especially for him by a classics master. He then attended 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 ...

in London and graduated in 2010. His drama teachers praised his talent for acting.

Career

Beginnings

Fox's first screen appearance was at age seven as an extra in the 1997 TV adaptation of ''Rebecca''. In 2009, he appeared in '' St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold'' as head boy and in ''

Agatha Christie's Marple ''Agatha Christie's Marple'' (or simply ''Marple'') is a British ITV television programme loosely based on books and short stories by British crime novelist Agatha Christie. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first t ...

'' as Tom Savage. In 2010, he starred as Jamie in the musical '' The Last Five Years'' at the Silk Street Theatre and, after a sell-out success, at the Barbican Pit Theatre.

2010–2015: ''Worried About the Boy'', ''Cucumber'', ''Banana''

Fox starred in his first breakthrough role as the androgynous 1980s pop star Marilyn in '' Worried About The Boy'' based on the life of the singer

. He appeared as Peter Scabius in '' Any Human Heart'' and as Guy Wells in ''Rosamunde Pilcher's Shades of Love''. He played cleft-palated Camille Chandebise in '' A Flea in Her Ear'' at

The Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. It was established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

, Tony Davenport in the stage play revival of ''

Cause Célèbre A ( , ; pl. ''causes célèbres'', pronounced like the singular) is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning, and heated public debate. The term is sometimes used positively for celebrated legal cases for th ...

'' at

, and Ratallack in '' The Shadow Line''. His international film debut came through his role as King

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

of France in ''

'' (2011). In 2012, he played the title role in ''

The Mystery of Edwin Drood ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' is the final novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published in 1870. Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, it focuses more on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a precentor, choirm ...

''. He appeared in ''

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

'' as Sebastian Dromgoole and in

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (; born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

's critically acclaimed period drama ''

Parade's End ''Parade's End'' is a tetralogy of novels by the British novelist and poet Ford Madox Ford, first published from 1924 to 1928. The novels chronicle the life of a member of the English gentry before, during and after World War I. The setting is ...

'' as Edward Wannop. He then played Simon Bliss in ''

'' at the

and made an early career impact as

's young lover Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas in '' The Judas Kiss'' (2012–2013) at the

, during a UK tour, and in its West End transfer. Fox voiced

Prince Louis of Battenberg Louis Alexander Mountbatten, 1st Marquess of Milford Haven (24 May 185411 September 1921), formerly Prince Louis Alexander of Battenberg, was a British naval officer and German prince related by marriage to the British royal family. Although ...

in Margy Kinmonth's '' Royal Paintbox'' with HRH The Prince of Wales featuring the artworks of the British royal family across centuries. He also starred as Sandy Irvine in ''Words of Everest''. In

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'' (2014) Fox played James Leighton-Masters, the outgoing president of the ten-member elite Oxford University club. Based on Laura Wade's hit play ''

Posh Posh is today an informal adjective for "upper class". It may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Posh'' (album), a 1980 album by Patrice Rushen *" Posh!", a 1968 song from the musical ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' * ''Posh'' (2006 TV series), a 2006 ...

'', it tackles class and social structure as a commentary on the

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 ...

. He appeared as Jeff Cole in the critically acclaimed historical comedy-drama ''

'' and starred in Anthony Fabian's ''Freeze-Frame'' (2014) commissioned by the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

to promote collaboration between China and UK's film industries. In 2015, he played the breakout 'bisexual nympho' Freddie Baxter 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 ...

hit series ''

Banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

'', and appeared as himself in ''

Tofu or bean curd is a food prepared by Coagulation (milk), coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', and ''extra (or super) firm''. It originated in Chin ...

''. Both ''Cucumber'' and ''Banana'' were nominated for the

GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Movie or Limited Series The GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series is an annual award that honors miniseries and anthology series for excellence in the treatment of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) characters and themes. It is one ...

in 2016. ''

i-D ''i-D'' is a British biannual magazine dedicated to fashion, music, art, film and youth culture. The magazine was launched in 1980 by Terry Jones, originally as a hand-stapled fanzine it has since evolved into a glossy publication. In 2023 the ...

'' said of Fox, "you can't deny he's a connoisseur at picking the parts which have maximum impact." Fox then played the wealthy aristocrat Finnegan, the benefactor of the title character's Prometheus creation in ''

''.

2015–2017: ''Romeo and Juliet'', ''Travesties'', ''Dennis and Gnasher: Unleashed!''

In June 2016, he was announced as third prize winner at the 2015

Ian Charleson Awards The Ian Charleson Awards are theatrical awards that reward the best classical stage performances in Britain by actors under age 30. The awards are named in memory of the British actor Ian Charleson, and are run by the '' Sunday Times'' newspaper ...

, having played the role of

in ''

'' (2015) to great acclaim at the

. His proficiency with the role led him to be called into service again as

's 2016 production at the

on short notice when the preceding Romeo and his understudy were both injured. With just a 2-day rehearsal after he was cast, Fox took over the role on 26 July and performed it until the end of the play's run on 13 August, garnering rave reviews and impressing cast and crew.Longman, Will
"Richard Madden will not return to Kenneth Branagh's ''Romeo and Juliet''"
''

WhatsOnStage.com WhatsOnStage is a UK-based theatre website providing news, reviews, interviews, and a comprehensive listings database of performances across the country. The platform claims to list over 5,000 performances at any given time and also operates a tick ...

''. 3 August 2016. He then starred in ''The Northleach Horror'' as the maverick scientist Whitsuntide and led the cast of ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' at

Southwark Playhouse Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London with two venues, both located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations. History The Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson. They ident ...

as Nick Bottom / Demetrius. He performed as poet

, one of the founders and central figures of the

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

movement, in

's ''

'' from September until November 2016 at the

, the play being listed in

The Arts Desk ''The Arts Desk'' (theartsdesk.com) is a British arts journalism website containing reviews, interviews, news, and other content related to music, theatre, television, films, and other art forms written by journalists from a variety of tradition ...

's ''Best of 2016: Theatre''. The following year, it ran for a West End revival from February to April 2017 at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

to widespread acclaim, subsequently earning Fox nominations at the

Laurence Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

for

Best Actor in a Supporting Role Best Actor in a Supporting Role may refer to: * AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role * BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role * Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Male * Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a ...

and the

WhatsOnStage Awards The WhatsOnStage Awards (WOS Awards), formerly known as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, are organised by the theatre website WhatsOnStage.com. The awards celebrate outstanding achievements in UK theatre, with categories covering both regional p ...

for Best Supporting Actor in a Play. He then voiced Dennis in the animated series '' Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed!'', in its launch becoming the highest-rated animated show on

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

for 6 to 12 year olds and one of the top 10 shows for kids across all channels. Its first season received nominations at the 2018 British Animation Awards as Best Children's Series, the 2019 Kidscreen Awards as Best Animated Series, and the 2018 International Emmy Kids Awards in the Animation category. He then appeared as Rubio in '' King Arthur: Legend of the Sword'' (2017) directed by

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter known primarily for British comedy gangster films and large-scale action-adventure films. Ritchie left school at the age of 15, and worked in e ...

. Fox played key scenes as Mr. Sloane in ''Joe Orton Laid Bare'', voiced a character/s in '' Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2'', and voiced Corvin in ''

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 ''Xenoblade Chronicles 2'' is a 2017 action role-playing game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the third installment in the '' Xenoblade Chronicles'' series and the sixth main entry in the ''X ...

''.

2018–2019: ''The Ice King'', ''An Ideal Husband'', ''Hero'', ''Edmond de Bergerac'', ''Fanny Lye Deliver'd''

In February 2018, Fox starred as the British Commander Pope in '' Black '47'', Ireland's first historical film on the Great Famine of 1847. Released in the same month at the CPH:DOX to great acclaim was

James Erskine James Erskine may refer to: *James Erskine, 6th Earl of Buchan (died 1640) *James Erskine, 7th Earl of Buchan (died 1664), Earl of Buchan *Sir James Erskine, 2nd Baronet (c. 1670–1693), of the Erskine baronets *James Erski ...

's ''The Ice King'' narrated by Fox which profiles the life of

John Curry John Anthony Curry, (9 September 1949 – 15 April 1994) was a British figure skater. He was the 1976 European, World and Olympic Champion. He was noted for combining ballet and modern dance influences into his skating. Early life Curry was ...

who revolutionised ice skating from a dated sport into an exalted art form and became the first openly gay Olympian. '' Little White Lies'' remarks, "Fox affects Curry's distinctive accent with remarkable accuracy." In ''

'', which ran from May to July 2018 at the

to critical acclaim, Freddie starred with his father

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

for the first time playing fictional father and son the Earl of Caversham and Lord Goring. According to ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'', Freddie "effortlessly delivers that mix of insouciance and gravity" and, for ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'',"embodies the Wildean spirit of modernity". In the same year was his directorial debut through the short film ''Hero'' (2018), which he co-wrote and co-produced, centred on an isolated young boy and a decaying old film star brought together by their shared love of the silver screen. It premiered in August at the

Rhode Island International Film Festival Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) takes place every year in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island as well as satellite locations throughout the state. Started in 1997, the Festival is produced by Flickers, the Newpor ...

where he won the Grand Prize (Short) for Directorial Discovery Award. It was subsequently selected at the

Kerry Film Festival The Kerry Film Festival is an annual film festival that takes place in County Kerry, Ireland, during October / November. The Kerry Film Festival is funded by Kerry County Council, Fáilte Irelandthe Arts Councilas well as having corporate sponsors ...

and the Linea d'Ombra Film Festival, and released on

Amazon UK Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

and

ITunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

in multiple countries in November 2019. In 2019, he headlined the English production of '' Edmond de Bergerac'' playing the titular role playwright

at the

before touring the UK to great acclaim. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' raved that as Edmond, Fox is "by turns a jangle of nerves, a lead weight of despondency and a blaze of success." Fox then voiced Captain Holly in ''

Watership Down ''Watership Down'' is an adventure novel by English author Richard Adams, published by Rex Collings Ltd of London in 1972. Set in Hampshire in southern England, the story features a small group of rabbits. Although they live in their natur ...

'' and played the characters Jokannen,

Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is an 1890 philosophical fiction and Gothic horror novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical ''Lippincott's Monthly M ...

, and Lord Goring in ''

The Importance of Being Oscar ''The Importance of Being Oscar'' is a one man show devised by the ''soi-disant'' Irish people, Irish actor Micheál Mac Liammóir and based on the writings of Oscar Wilde. It intersperses excerpts from Wilde's plays and other writings with biogra ...

''. He starred as Detective Sargeant Wilbur Strauss in the highly rated Victorian comedy '' Year of the Rabbit'', which he described as his "first real comedy show" and "a total lesson in improvised and situational comedy" that he had never had before. He also rendered dramatic performances in "The Class Ceiling" episode of ''Novels That Shaped Our World''. Thomas Clay's '' Fanny Lye Deliver'd'' then premiered to positive reviews as a new cult classic set in 1657 Shropshire where Fox played Thomas Ashbury. ''

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 ...

'' said that he "gives Thomas a flash of predatory charisma," and according to ''

The Irish News ''The Irish News'' is a Compact (newspaper), compact daily newspaper based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's largest-selling morning newspaper and is available throughout Ireland. It is broadly Irish nationalist in its viewp ...

'', "preaches 'perfect libertinism' in captivating sermons".

2020–present: ''White House Farm''

At the start of 2020, Fox delivered a persuasive performance in his role as the convicted mass murderer

in the ITV crime drama '' White House Farm'' based on the

White House Farm murders The White House Farm murders took place near the village of Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex, England, during the night of 6–7 August 1985. Nevill and June Bamber were shot and killed inside their farmhouse at White House Farm along with their adopte ...

in August 1985. In preparation, he created a psychology as convincing and enigmatic as the character should be "to leave the viewer asking questions". The ''

London Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...

'' praised Fox's "ambiguous, wide-eyed look that hovers between angelic and devious, that it's hard to know whether to feel sympathy or suspicion." ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' remarked that he managed to be both "revealing and inscrutable, which can't be easy." The series won as Best New Drama at the 2020

TV Choice Awards ''TV Choice'' is a British weekly TV listings magazine published by H. Bauer Publishing, the UK subsidiary of family-run German company Bauer Media Group. A double issue is released to cover the Christmas & New Year period at a higher price. ...

leading to its international release on

HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

in September 2020 and on

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 ...

in February 2021. Subsequently, he appeared on his co-star Cressida Bonas' podcast ''Fear Itself'', where he expressed his fear of not reaching his full potential. In the same year, Fox guest-starred as the alcoholic busker Miles Stevens in '' McDonald & Dodds'' and as King Hugo of Sweden in

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

's critically acclaimed comedy-drama series '' The Great'' (2020). He reprised his voice-over role as Dennis in the second season of ''Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed!'' from which select episodes were condensed into the film '' Dennis and Gnasher: Unleashed! On the Big Screen''. He then portrayed

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...

's son

Mark Thatcher Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet (born 15 August 1953) is an English businessman. He is the son of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, and Sir Denis Thatcher, 1st Baronet; his sister is Carol Thatcher. His ...

in season 4 of the award-winning Netflix historical drama series ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

'' (2020). In 2021, Fox opened The Golden Era of Broadway episode of ''The Theatre Channel'', singing an arrangement of " Willkommen" and "

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are: m ...

" from ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

'', and starred as Tony Kroesig, a Bullingdon club member and aristocrat banker turned politician, in ''

The Pursuit of Love ''The Pursuit of Love'' is a novel by Nancy Mitford, first published in 1945. It is the first in a trilogy about an upper-class English family in the interwar period focusing on the romantic life of Linda Radlett, as narrated by her cousin, Fa ...

''. In April 2023, it was announced that Fox had been cast as Ser Gwayne Hightower in the second season of ''

House of the Dragon ''House of the Dragon'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal for HBO. A prequel to ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), it is the second television series in Martin's ''A Song of Ice and F ...

''. In March 2025, it was announced that he had been cast as a villain in the fifteenth series of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''.

Philanthropy

Fox is a patron of the St Giles Trust and Future 5 – a campaign by Prostate Cancer Research Centre. He is also an honorary vice president of the Story of Christmas Appeal. In March 2015, he became the face of

Live Below The Line Live Below the Line is an annual anti-poverty campaign run by the Oaktree Foundation. The campaign began as a challenge in which participants would feed themselves on the equivalent of the extreme poverty line for five days to gain an insight int ...

. An avid runner himself, he supported the St James's Place Foundation Triathlon and Duathlon in 2016 which raised £1.3m for Hope and Homes for Children. He was involved with the charity when he visited orphanages in Rwanda in 2015 and in Uganda in 2018 which he wrote about in a two-part blog entry, "Love is Everything—Freddie Fox in Uganda". He is a frequent supporter and reader at fundraising activities and charity events of The Poetry Hour, Breast Cancer Now, the Brain Tumour Research Campaign, The Story of Christmas Appeal, and The National Brain Appeal among others. In 2020, he participated in a charity reading of

's ''

The Real Inspector Hound ''The Real Inspector Hound'' is a short, one-act play by Tom Stoppard. The plot follows two theatre critics named Moon and Birdboot who are watching a ludicrous setup of a country house murder mystery, in the style of a whodunit. By chance, t ...

'' that was produced by Lockdown Theatre in association with The Royal Theatrical Fund. In 2021, he performed with

Alfie Boe Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe (born 29 September 1973) is an English actor and singer who performs primarily in musical theatre. Boe is best known for his performances as Jean Valjean in the musical ''Les Misérables'' at the Queen's Theatre ...

on a global livestream concert, ''Alfie Boe & Friends Live at the Savoy "Lockdown Edition"'', which sold tickets to donate to Hospitality Action and the Connection at St. Martin's.

Public image

Fox was described by ''

'' as "deliciously debonair" and "at age 23, is all responsive intelligence and poised charm and is unguarded – as people happy in their own skins often are." "He is almost tyrannically polite and charming," says ''

'', and, "raised in a pack of upper-class thespians, his every utterance comes as a measured, um-less paragraph." Often branded as an acting royalty, he comes from a family whose decades-long performances formed a dynasty which he now fronts as the latest scion. Amidst inevitable assumptions, he clarifies that though his parents' ties may have opened doors to agents, it is "not a masonic back door to every job". ''

Another Magazine ''Another Magazine'', styled ''AnOther'', is an international fashion and culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, bel ...

'' remarked that at the age of 23, Fox "has surprisingly well-formed opinions on men's style." According to ''The Gentleman's Journal'', whose cover he headlined on their Autumn 2014 issue, Fox "continues to impress commentators with his suave, dandy-esque style." He was featured in ''

The Chap ''The Chap'' is a British humorous men's lifestyle magazine published quarterly. It was founded in 1999 by Gustav Temple and Vic Darkwood, and is still edited by Temple. The magazine proposes that men everywhere return to a more gentlemanly wa ...

''s Summer 2018 edition in what the magazine boasts of as their best edition, saying that "no previous issue has so comprehensively gathered so many vital strands of 'anarcho-dandyism'". Fox launched the opening of ''White Shirt Week'' in St James's, London in 2013. His commentary on the role his costume played in '' The Riot Club'' was featured in the ''

''. Averse to social media, he said that he keeps a boundary while talking about things he is interested in to preserve his mystery as an actor "so that there's still an element of surprise about where characters come from."

Personal life

Fox dated Tamzin Merchant, his co-star in ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'', for two years until September 2013. In June 2020, it was reported that he was dating ''

Sex Education Sex education, also known as sexual education, sexuality education or sex ed, is the instruction of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, sexual reproduction, safe sex, birth ...

'' star Tanya Reynolds, whom he met in 2016 during production of ''Fanny Lye Deliver'd''. While promoting ''

Cucumber The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.