Joe Alwyn

Within a fortnight of his graduate showcase, in early 2015,[12][13] Alwyn was cast in the lead role of Taiwanese director Ang Lee's 2016 war drama film, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk,[14][15] which is a film adaptation based on the 2012 novel of the same name by American writer Ben Fountain.[16] Lee stated he selected Alwyn because of his "ability to communicate the book's paradox of war with just his facial expressions".[17] In the film's reviews, critics praised Alwyn's performance for its naturalism.[11] Journalists went on to describe the film as his "breakout".[18][13] He then played a supporting role in the 2017 mystery drama film, The Sense of an Ending, directed by Indian filmmaker Ritesh Batra.[18]

Alywn in August 2018

Alwyn appeared in a number of 2018 films. He played the British nobleman Samuel Masham, alongside actors Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone and Nicholas Hoult, in the period black comedy film, The Favourite,[19] directed by Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos.[20] The film garnered 10 nominations at the 91st Academy Awards.[21] He portrayed Klaus Eichmann, son of German Nazi official Adolf Eichmann, in Chris Weitz's historical drama Operation Finale, featuring Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley in the lead roles,[22][23] and a minor role in Joel Edgerton's Boy Erased—a biographical drama film based on a 2016 memoir by American LGBT+ activist Garrard Conley.[22] Alwyn then appeared as English statesman Robert Dudley, the favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, in the historical drama Mary Queen of Scots, alongside Saoirse Ronan as Queen Mary and Margot Robbie as Elizabeth.[24][25] Acknowledging his talent, Alwyn was awarded the Trophée Chopard alongside Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.[26]

In 2019, Alwyn played a slave owner named Gideon Brodess in Harriet, a biographical drama about American abolitionist Harriet Tubman, starring Cynthia Erivo and Janelle Monáe.[27] He appeared as Bob Cratchit in the dark fantasy television miniseries A Christmas Carol, based on the 1843 novella of the same name by English writer Charles Dickens.[28] In 2021, he had a minor role in drama film The Souvenir Part II,[29] and played a 1960s industrialist in the film adaptation of English novelist Jojo Moyes' 2008 romantic novel, The Last Letter from Your Lover, alongside Felicity Jones, Callum Turner and Shailene Woodley.[30]

Leading opposite Jemima Kirke and Sasha Lane, Alwyn appeared in the 2022 drama series Conversations with Friends—a Hulu adaptation of the 2017 novel of the same name by Irish author Sally Rooney.[31] He also appeared in two 2022 films: paired with Margaret Qualley in the romantic thriller film Stars at Noon, directed by French filmmaker Claire Denis,[32] and as the uncle of the titular character (played by Bella Ramsey) in Lena Dunham's medieval comedy film, Catherine Called Birdy, based on the 1994 children's novel of the same name by American writer Karen Cushman;[33] both the films were met with generally positive reviews,[34][35] with the former premiering at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and winning the Grand Prix.[36]

Alwyn has been cast alongside Riz Ahmed in Aneil Karia's upcoming "modern" adaptation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet,[37] as well as in And, an upcoming anthology film directed by Greek filmmaker Yorogos Lanthimos, also starring Stone, Qualley and Willem Dafoe.[38]

Alwyn explored his music prospects with American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. He explained that he had not planned on working with Swift, but "it came about from messing around on a piano, and singing badly," and then "being overheard by Swift, and being, like, 'Let's see what happens if we get to the end of it together'."[39] He co-produced the songs "Exile", "Betty", "My Tears Ricochet", "August", "This Is Me Trying" and "Illicit Affairs" on Swift's eighth studio album, Folklore (2020);[40] he also co-wrote "Exile" and "Betty", under the pseudonym William Bowery.[41] "Exile" reached the top 10 of the charts in various countries, including number six on the US Billboard Hot 100[42] and number eight on the UK Singles Chart.[43] At the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2021, "Exile" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance, while Folklore won the Album of the Year, garnering Alwyn his first Grammy win.[44] He (as Bowery) also co-wrote "Champagne Problems", "Coney Island" and the title track on Swift's second 2020 album, Evermore.[45] In April 2022, Alwyn revealed to The Wall Street Journal that the name "William Bowery" was derived from the first name of his great grandfather William Alwyn, who was a music composer, and the last name in honor of the New York City neighbourhood Bowery, where he had spent "a lot of time" when he first arrived to the U.S.[6] He worked with Swift on her tenth studio album, Midnights (2022), as well, co-writing its penultimate track, "Sweet Nothing", as Bowery.[46]