The actor who played the role 'Beast' of the 'X Men' movie series: Who is Nicholas Hoult?

His full name is Nicholas Caradoc Hoult, he was born on December 7, 1989 in Wokingham, Berkshire. He was born to his mother, piano teacher Glenis Brown, and his father, commercial pilot Roger Hoult. Hoult's great-aunt is theater and film actress Dame Anna Neagle. He also has three siblings, an older brother who is a biology student, and two sisters, both of whom are actors. Hoult, who spent most of his childhood at his parents' home in Wokingham, Sindlesham, took acting and dance lessons from an early age with his siblings. In addition, he also auditioned, thus developing his interest in acting.

As a child, Hoult spent most of his time with his mother and sisters, as his father worked away from home and his brother went to school. First educated at The Coombes Infant and Nursery School, Hoult then attended the Arborfield Church of England Junior School. Hoult also performed ballet with his sisters and acted with the English National Ballet in the productions of "Swan Lake" and "The Nutcracker". Hoult, who played the trombone as a child, was also a member of the local choir. In 2002, Hoult decided to attend acting school at the Sylvia Young Theater School, initially seeking advanced certifications in English, Biology and Psychology. However, Hoult, who did not want to pursue acting as a profession, dropped out of school at the age of 14.

Hoult's acting potential was discovered at the age of three by the theater director in a play by his brother. The director was impressed with Hoult's talent and offered him a role in his next theatrical production, "The Caucasian Chalk Circle." Hoult began auditioning and his first feature film role came when he was five years old when he starred in the movie "Intimate Relations". Later, he starred in the medical drama series "Casualty", the crime drama TV series "Silent Witness" and the cop style TV series "The Bill". He then appeared in the legal drama TV series "Judge John Deed" and the medical soap opera "Doctors".

Hoult said he initially considered acting more a hobby than a potential career option. His next feature film came at the age of eleven, starring as Marcus in the romantic comedy-drama film "About a Boy" (2002), directed by Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz. A commercial success, the film grossed more than $130 million worldwide and received critical acclaim. Hoult's performance was also well received.

In 2005, he starred as Ralph Compton, who had to deal with the breakup of his family in the semi-autobiographical comedy-drama film "Wah-Wah" (2005), directed by Richard E. Grant. The film ended up with mixed reviews from critics and a box office failure. Later that year, Hoult made his Hollywood debut with Gore Verbinski's black comedy-drama film "The Weather Man" (2005). He made his appearance in the movie as the son of a television weather presenter (Nicolas Cage) who is having a midlife crisis. While the film received mixed reviews, Hoult's performance went unnoticed. Both films performed poorly at the box office.

The following year, while a student at Sixth Form College Farnborough, he appeared in the lead role of the television teen drama TV series "Skins." Hoult's character, whose performance was well received, became popular and thus received a great deal of attention. The series won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Philip Audience Award, while Hoult earned a Golden Fairy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Drama Series for his performance. Hoult, who decided to drop out of school at the end of his first drama, chose to focus solely on acting.

Hoult starred as Stefan Fredman in the pilot episode of the British television series "Wallander". He later made his West End theater debut as Mark, the protagonist of William Sutcliffe's coming-of-age play "New Boy." The play, which premiered at Trafalgar Studios, achieved record-breaking ticket sales. This record is mostly associated with Hoult's popularity with the audience of "Skins". Hoult's performance received mixed reviews from critics.

Hoult starred as Kenny Potter in the romantic drama film "A Single Man" (2009), directed by Tom Ford and based on the novel of the same name, with Colin Firth, Matthew Goode, and Julianne Moore. Hoult's role in the film has been described by media outlets as his "first adult role". He also worked on the Hoult accent as the role was his first role as an American character. The film nevertheless received wide acclaim and was a box office success. Additionally, for his performance, he was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award at the 2010 ceremony.

It was then planned to star in the fantasy action adventure movie "Clash of the Titans"(2010), which was scheduled to shoot in mid-2010. The film, which was criticized negatively and mixed by critics, was a success at the box office and grossed approximately $500 million worldwide.

The following year, he landed the role of Hank McCoy/Beast in the superhero movie "X-Men: First Class," a prequel to previous films in the series directed by Matthew Vaughn. Working for the role, Hoult took physical training and weight to adapt to his character. The film was highly appreciated by the critics for its script and the performances of the actors. It also performed moderately at the box office, grossing $353 million against a production budget of $160 million. Despite being the lowest-ranking film in the entire series financially, it has been interpreted as "an excellent start for a new chapter in the franchise".

Hoult was scheduled to star as Nux in the post-apocalyptic action movie "Mad Max: Fury Road" directed by George Miller. The fourth film in the 'Mad Max' series faced financial difficulties and spent several years in the project's development period. Filming was scheduled for mid-2010, and heavy rains caused severe delays during pre-production. For the role, Hoult shaved his head and followed a strict diet because he needed to lose a lot of weight. Released on May 14, 2015, the film received great acclaim and grossed worldwide. Thus, it became the highest-grossing film in the Mad Max franchise. The film received critical acclaim, particularly for its technical aspects and stunt sequences, and is credited with rekindling interest in the series. Also in 2012, it was included in the "Forbes 30 under 30" list.

Hoult starred in two major movies in 2013. The first of these, he played a zombie character named R in the romantic comedy zombie movie "Warm Bodies," written and directed by Jonathan Levine and based on the novel of the same name, which hit theaters on February 1. The film, which received positive reviews from critics and audiences, achieved a successful commercial gain at the box office. The film was nominated for multiple awards, while Hoult earned a Teen Choice Award nomination for Best Actress Romance - Comedy and a Teen Choice Award for Best Feature Film for his performance.

His second film, "Jack the Giant Slayer"(2013), a fantasy adventure movie directed by Bryan Singer and adapted from the British fairy tale, starred alongside Eleanor Tomlinson, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy and Ewan McGregor. The film, which failed at the box office, received mixed reviews from critics. Hoult's performance was received poorly by some film critics.

He later starred in the action science fiction movie "Young Ones" (2014), directed by Jake Paltrow. Set in a dystopian future where water is scarce, Hoult plays the role of a young man, Flem Lever. Hoult, who read the novels written by S.E.Hinton to prepare for the role, said that it was not like his previous roles and that it was difficult to shoot in hot weather conditions in South Africa, but it was better for telling the film. The film, which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, garnered mixed reviews.

Later that year, Hoult reprized the role of Beast in Bryan Singer's sequel superhero movie "X-Men: Days of Future Past." Filmed with a large cast, the film received generally positive reviews. grossing more than $747 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of the series and Hoult's career at the time. The film earned awards and nominations in various fields and categories, as well as Hoult's Young Hollywood Awards nomination in the superhero category.

In 2015, he starred with Charlize Theron, Christina Hendricks and Chloë Grace Moretz in the mystery film "Dark Places", based on the novel of the same name and written and directed by Gilles Paquet-Brenner. The film failed both critically and at the box office. That same year, he appeared in the black comedy crime thriller "Kill Your Friends," directed by Owen Harris and based on the novel of the same name, with Craig Roberts, Tom Riley, and Georgia King. The film, which received mixed and negative reviews from critics, was released on November 6, 2015. His last movie of the year, he co-starred with Kristen Stewart in the sci-fi romantic drama movie "Equals" directed by Drake Doremus. Likewise, this film was not successful both as criticism and at the box office. Also, reactions to Hoult's performance in "Equals" were better than others.

Later, Hoult returned with the sequel, "X-Men: Apocalypse," the superhero movie directed by Bryan Singer. The film, which received mixed reviews upon its release, became the third-ranked X-Men franchise film with worldwide box office receipts. It was also the highest-grossing production outside the United States, with a gross of $540 million.

The following year, he appeared alongside Felicity Jones, Marwan Kenzari, Ben Kingsley, and Anthony Hopkins in the action thriller "Collide," starring Hoult as a drug dealer. Released in February 2017, the film received poor reviews from viewers and critics. It also showed a dismal box office performance. Hoult's next production came with Laia Kosta in the romantic drama movie "Newness." Responses to the movie were more positive. The film, which had its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, was directed by Drake Doremus.

In the same year, he played J.D. Salinger in the biographical drama film "Rebel in the Rye" (2017), directed by Danny Strong and about the life of American writer J.D. Salinger. The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2017, received mixed to average reviews.

Later that year, he co-starred with Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon and Tom Holland in the historical drama film "The Current War," a dramatization of the feud between electrical pioneers Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. In the movie, Hoult played the role of Nikola Tesla, where he grows a mustache and attends science classes on electromagnetism and dynamos. Also for the role, he lost weight by following a strict diet. The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2017, received mixed reviews and box office failure.

Later, Hoult broke up with biographical drama issues and took the lead role as an American soldier in a war drama movie "Sand Castle" (2017). The film was directed by Fernando Coimba, while Henry Cavill, Logan Marshall-Green, Tommy Flanagan and Glen Powell also took part in the film. Released on Netflix in 2017, the film received mixed to average reviews.

The following year, he had a supporting role in "The Favorite", a critically acclaimed black comedy period drama about Queen Anne of Great Britain, co-starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz. The film won many awards and nominations in various categories. He then voiced Fiver in the animated adventure fantasy drama TV series "Watership Down" directed by Noam Murro, based on the novel of the same name. In 2019, Hoult co-starred with Lily Collins, Colm Meaney, and Derek Jacobi in the biographical drama film "Tolkien," playing the lead role of writer J.R.R. Tolkien. While it received mixed reviews from critics, it failed to even meet the production budget at the box office.

Later that year, he reprized the role of Hank McCoy in the superhero sequel "Dark Phoenix." The movie, which was released in theaters in the United States on June 7, 2019, became one of the biggest box office bombs of all time with its revenue after marketing and distribution costs, while being able to meet the production budget. Additionally, it garnered generally negative reviews from critics.

The following year, he appeared in the Hulu comedy-drama TV series "The Great" (2020) as King Peter III of Russia. The series and performance were critically acclaimed, with Hoult receiving two Golden Globe Award nominations and Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series. In 2021, he played a villain with Angelina Jolie and Finn Little in Taylor Sheridan's action thriller "Those Who Wish Me Dead," based on the novel of the same name. The film had both mixed reviews and moderate box office success.

In 2022, Hoult appeared with Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy in the black comedy horror film "The Menu" directed by Mark Mylod. The film achieved positive reviews and successful commercial gains. After that, he got the lead role in the comedy-horror movie "Renfield". The film, which had its world premiere at the Overlook Film Festival on March 30, 2023, received mixed reviews and failed to meet the production budget.

In 2024, it has been reported that he will be voicing a voice in the animated comedy "Garfield". Hoult was also rumored to star in the gothic horror movie "Nosferatu," written and directed by Robert Eggers. In the summer of 2023, it was announced that he will play the lead role in the movie "The Order" directed by Justin Kurzel and "The 2nd Juror" directed by Clint Eastwood.

Personal life

Hoult began a relationship in 2010 while filming "X-Men" with actress Jennifer Lawrence, and the couple separated in 2014. Since March 2017, he has been in a relationship with American model Bryana Holly and the couple has two children. 

Hoult, who played basketball for the Reading Rockets team, which played in the English Basketball League during his childhood, was then appointed as the ambassador of the club. Hoult, who also follows Formula 1 races, also participated in many Grand Prix events. A philanthropist, Hoult is associated with supporting numerous charities and organizations that support children.