Toby Finn Regbo (born 18 October 1991) is an English actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his role as young Nemo Nobody in the science fiction drama ''
Mr. Nobody'' (2009), as
Francis II of France
Francis II (; 19 January 1544 – 5 December 1560) was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1559 to 1560. He was also List of Scottish consorts, King of Scotland as the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, from 1558 until his death in ...
in ''
Reign
A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., King of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia, List of Belgian monarchs, Belgium, Co-princes of Andorra, Andorra), of a people (e.g., List of Frankish kin ...
'' (2013–2017),
Æthelred in ''
The Last Kingdom'' (2017–2020), Tommaso Peruzzi in ''
Medici: Masters of Florence'' (2019) and Jack Blackfriars on ' (2022) and he starred in ''
Platform 7'' (2023).
Early life
Toby Regbo was born 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 ...
, England. His father's family is of
Norwegian origin. His maternal grandfather was an Italian cruise ship captain, and his maternal grandmother was an Australian
ballerina
A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancer ...
; his mother was brought up in London.
He attended
Latymer Upper School
Latymer Upper School is a public school in Hammersmith, London, England, on King Street. It derives from a charity school, and is part of the same 1624 Latymer Foundation, from a bequest by the English legal official Edward Latymer. There ...
in West London.
His interest in acting started with plays at school; later on, he attended Young Blood Theatre Company.
[ ]
Career
Regbo started his acting career with a small role in 2006
ITV television film ''
Sharpe's Challenge''.
In 2007, he played American teen spy Chad Turner in an episode of
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 ...
children's spy-fi adventure series ''
M.I. High
''M.I. High'' is a British action television series produced by Kudos for CBBC and created by Keith Brumpton. The series focused on a team of undercover teenage spies working for the fictional British secret intelligence agency MI9 who had to ...
''.
He continued to pursue his acting career in 2009, when he played Michael Walton in
Stephen Poliakoff
Stephen Poliakoff (born 1 December 1952) is a British playwright, Film director, director and screenwriter. In 2006 Gerard Gilbert of ''The Independent'' described him as the UK's "pre-eminent TV dramatist" and that he had "inherited Dennis Po ...
's period drama ''
Glorious 39
''Glorious 39'' is a 2009 British war thriller film written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff, starring Romola Garai, Bill Nighy, Julie Christie, Jeremy Northam, Christopher Lee, David Tennant, Jenny Agutter, Eddie Redmayne and Charlie Cox. Th ...
''.
One of his most notable roles was in a
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
drama ''
Mr. Nobody'', premiered in 2009. He played eponymous character Nemo Nobody (in his teenage years).
He also played young
Albus Dumbledore
Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a fictional character in the ''Harry Potter'' series of novels by J. K. Rowling. For most of the series, he is the headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts. He is also the founder and ...
in the film ''
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' is a 2010 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film is the first of two cinematic parts based on the 2007 novel ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallo ...
''
and reprised the role in the 2018 film ''
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald''. He made his stage début as Eliot in ''Tusk Tusk'', a 2009 play by
Polly Stenham, at the
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...
in London.
Regbo played James Sveck in the
film version of Peter Cameron's novel ''
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You'', shot in the summer 2010 in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
.
In 2013, Regbo played John in drama-thriller film ''
uwantme2killhim?'' directed by Andrew Douglas and produced by
Bryan Singer
Bryan Jay Singer (born September 17, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Bad Hat Harry Productions and has produced almost all of the films he has directed, as well as multiple television series.
After graduating from the Univ ...
. He was originally cast in
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
's ''
Maleficent
Maleficent ( or ) is a fictional character who first appears in Walt Disney Productions' animated film, ''Sleeping Beauty (1959 film), Sleeping Beauty'' (1959). Maleficent is the self-proclaimed "Dark lord, Mistress of All Evil" based on the Wic ...
'' as young Stefan, but was ultimately replaced by Michael Higgins as the directors decided they wanted a younger boy to play the part.
He starred in The CW's original show
''Reign'' as
Francis II of France
Francis II (; 19 January 1544 – 5 December 1560) was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1559 to 1560. He was also List of Scottish consorts, King of Scotland as the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, from 1558 until his death in ...
. In 2016, he played
Æthelred on BBC Two UK's series ''
The Last Kingdom''.
Regbo was set to be part of the cast of the planned ''Game of Thrones''
prequel
A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work.
The term ...
titled "
Bloodmoon" but the pilot did not get picked up.
In 2023, he played a main role in the
ITV1
ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...
psychological thriller ''
Platform 7'', alongside actors
Phil Davis and
Jasmine Jobson.
Critical reception
''Mr. Nobody''
Film critic Eric Lavallée listed Regbo as one of his "Top 10 New Faces & Voices" of
2009 Toronto International Film Festival
The 34th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 10 and September 19, 2009. The opening night gala presented the Charles Darwin biography '' Creation''. ''The Young Victoria'', based ...
. He noted that "newbie Toby Regbo might easily be Mr. Nobody's most 'alive' character. Playing Nemo at age 16, the actor is mostly paired with Juno Temple - their unique love story is the film's heart pumping portions and plays a lot better than the artery clogging other brushes of romance."
''
Variety''s Boyd van Hoeij praised Regbo and
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
as well, saying "Regbo, as the teenage Nemo, and Juno Temple, as the teenage Anna, are impressive, bringing the hormonal battles of adolescence vividly to life".
''Tusk Tusk''
His portrayal of Eliot in ''Tusk Tusk'' received praise from a broad spectrum of theatre critics.
Michael Billington from ''
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 ...
'' called him an "astonishing actor".
Robert Tanitch from ''
Morning Star'' praised both his and co-star Bel Powley's "impressive performances" and predicted that "''Tusk Tusk'' should, all things being equal, play to full houses because of them".
Matt Wolf, writing for ''
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 ...
'', was also very complimentary about the pair, concluding: "... these newfound talents inhabit every mercurial point on a spectrum that makes them one another's protectors and their destroyers, enemies and allies. Will you be more shaken by Ms. Powley ..., or Mr. Regbo, whose face is chillingly capable of shutting down? It's difficult to say, though one thing is clear: ''Tusk Tusk'' is beyond tears in a production beyond praise."
''Uwantme2killhim?'' (Also known as ''U Want Me 2 Kill Him?'')
Critical reception for ''
uwantme2killhim?'' produced by
Bryan Singer
Bryan Jay Singer (born September 17, 1965) is an American filmmaker. He is the founder of Bad Hat Harry Productions and has produced almost all of the films he has directed, as well as multiple television series.
After graduating from the Univ ...
, typically centered upon Regbo and his co-star
Jamie Blackley
Jamie Alexander Blackley (born 8 July 1991) is a Manx born British actor. He is known for his role as Adam Wilde in the film '' If I Stay''.
Biography
Blackley was born in Douglas, Isle of Man, and was raised in London, England, with his fathe ...
's acting, with the
Screen Daily
''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''.
The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...
commenting that the two delivered "strong performances".
''Variety'' praised his performance commenting "The impressive Regbo is on surer footing as a meek geek with some surreptitious social skills". Maitland McDonagh, from ''
Film Journal International
''Film Journal International'' was a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It was a sister publication of '' Adweek'', '' Billboard'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'', and other periodical ...
'', also complimented the duo noting "Stars Blackley and Regbo are the film's core strength, despite long scenes in which they speak aloud what they're typing into their computers that would tax the skills of many older and more experienced actors".
The film premiered at the
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival.
EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...
, where the two actors won the "Best performance in a British feature film" award.
Filmography
Film
Television
Theatre
Video games
Awards and nominations
Notes
External links
*
* Toby Regbo on
Instagram
Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...
@tobyregbo
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regbo, Toby
1991 births
21st-century English male actors
English male child actors
English male film actors
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English male video game actors
English people of Australian descent
English people of Italian descent
English people of Norwegian descent
Living people
People educated at Latymer Upper School
Male actors from London
People from Hammersmith
Actors from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham