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Olly Alexander
Oliver Alexander Thornton (born 15 July 1990) is an English singer, actor and LGBTQ activist who rose to prominence as the lead singer of the English pop band Years & Years, achieving two No. 1 albums on the UK Albums Chart, a No. 1 single and five Top 10 entries on the UK Singles Chart. Between 2021 and 2023 he continued to release music under the name until their dissolution in 2024. During their career Years & Years were nominated for six Brit Awards.
As an actor he rose to critical acclaim for his performance as Ritchie Tozer in the Channel 4 drama series It's a Sin (2021), earning Best Actor nominations at the British Academy Television Awards, Critics' Choice Television Awards and Independent Spirit Awards. Alexander represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden, with his song "Dizzy", which marked his first release under his own name; in the grand final, he finished in 18th place with 46 points. His debut solo album Polari was released on 7 February 2025.
Alexander was born on 15 July 1990, in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. His mother, Vicki Thornton, was one of the founders of the Coleford Music Festival. Alexander attended St John's Primary School in Coleford and Monmouth Comprehensive School. While at Monmouth Comprehensive School, he acted in two school plays: Guys and Dolls, as Benny, and The Caucasian Chalk Circle, as the Corporal. After completing his GCSEs Alexander studied Performing Arts at the Hereford College of Arts. The New York Times reported that he wrote his first song on his father's Casio keyboard aged 10. His parents separated when he was 13, and he and his brother Ben, were thereafter brought up solely by his mother.
He obtained the services of an agent when he was 16, while auditioning for a part in British TV series Skins. Alexander said he dropped out of the Hereford College of Arts to pursue his acting career as parts were offered, stating: "I started acting when I was young; it just sort of happened. I dropped out of school to work around the world, which was amazing." "I really wanted to become a singer or a musician ... All of a sudden I was an actor. It was never something I'd set my heart on being. I'm still trying to work it out ... I really hated school because I was totally bullied. But you're never bullied in drama class because the weird kids do well in drama class. That's a safe place". Alexander also experienced bulimia as an adolescent.
Alexander starred in CBBC's Summerhill in 2008. The show was about the radical Summerhill School in Leiston in Suffolk, and was subsequently nominated for three children's BAFTA awards. His first film Bright Star was nominated for an Academy Award in the United States for Best Achievement in Costume Design. He also acted in the 2009 films Tormented starring Alex Pettyfer and Enter the Void. In 2010, Alexander played Evan in the Bush Theatre production of The Aliens. Alexander contributed to the script and music for the independent film The Dish & the Spoon, released in early 2011. In 2012, he appeared in the theatre production of Mercury Fur, taking the part of Naz at The Old Red Lion, Islington.
From March to June 2013 Alexander starred as Peter Pan in the West End play Peter and Alice acting alongside Ben Whishaw and Judi Dench. Alexander also had a supporting role in the final series of Skins, playing Cassie Ainsworth's stalker in the two-part episode "Skins Pure", which aired in July 2013. Also in 2013, Google Analytics released an internal corporate video which featured Alexander as a demanding shopper under the sub-heading "That is what happens when you save on usability".
Alexander also appeared in The Riot Club, the film adaptation of Laura Wade's stage play Posh alongside British actors Sam Claflin, Max Irons and Douglas Booth. He briefly portrayed the vampire Fenton in the British-American horror series Penny Dreadful in 2014. In the independent film Funny Bunny, which first premiered at SXSW 2015, Alexander played Titty, a troubled teenager. The film was directed and written by Alison Bagnall, who directed The Dish & the Spoon, while Alexander was a co-writer together with the other two leads. The film was shown at art houses during the summer and was theatrically released on 13 November 2015.
In January 2021 Alexander appeared in a leading role in the Channel 4 and HBO Max drama It's a Sin, which depicted gay life in the 1980s and early 1990s, and the onset of HIV/AIDS. The show and Alexander's performance earned critical acclaim, with some critics expressing their desire for Alexander to win a BAFTA for his performance. In 2024, Alexander made a cameo appearance as himself in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, in an episode that aired on 2 May.
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Olly Alexander
Oliver Alexander Thornton (born 15 July 1990) is an English singer, actor and LGBTQ activist who rose to prominence as the lead singer of the English pop band Years & Years, achieving two No. 1 albums on the UK Albums Chart, a No. 1 single and five Top 10 entries on the UK Singles Chart. Between 2021 and 2023 he continued to release music under the name until their dissolution in 2024. During their career Years & Years were nominated for six Brit Awards.
As an actor he rose to critical acclaim for his performance as Ritchie Tozer in the Channel 4 drama series It's a Sin (2021), earning Best Actor nominations at the British Academy Television Awards, Critics' Choice Television Awards and Independent Spirit Awards. Alexander represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö, Sweden, with his song "Dizzy", which marked his first release under his own name; in the grand final, he finished in 18th place with 46 points. His debut solo album Polari was released on 7 February 2025.
Alexander was born on 15 July 1990, in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. His mother, Vicki Thornton, was one of the founders of the Coleford Music Festival. Alexander attended St John's Primary School in Coleford and Monmouth Comprehensive School. While at Monmouth Comprehensive School, he acted in two school plays: Guys and Dolls, as Benny, and The Caucasian Chalk Circle, as the Corporal. After completing his GCSEs Alexander studied Performing Arts at the Hereford College of Arts. The New York Times reported that he wrote his first song on his father's Casio keyboard aged 10. His parents separated when he was 13, and he and his brother Ben, were thereafter brought up solely by his mother.
He obtained the services of an agent when he was 16, while auditioning for a part in British TV series Skins. Alexander said he dropped out of the Hereford College of Arts to pursue his acting career as parts were offered, stating: "I started acting when I was young; it just sort of happened. I dropped out of school to work around the world, which was amazing." "I really wanted to become a singer or a musician ... All of a sudden I was an actor. It was never something I'd set my heart on being. I'm still trying to work it out ... I really hated school because I was totally bullied. But you're never bullied in drama class because the weird kids do well in drama class. That's a safe place". Alexander also experienced bulimia as an adolescent.
Alexander starred in CBBC's Summerhill in 2008. The show was about the radical Summerhill School in Leiston in Suffolk, and was subsequently nominated for three children's BAFTA awards. His first film Bright Star was nominated for an Academy Award in the United States for Best Achievement in Costume Design. He also acted in the 2009 films Tormented starring Alex Pettyfer and Enter the Void. In 2010, Alexander played Evan in the Bush Theatre production of The Aliens. Alexander contributed to the script and music for the independent film The Dish & the Spoon, released in early 2011. In 2012, he appeared in the theatre production of Mercury Fur, taking the part of Naz at The Old Red Lion, Islington.
From March to June 2013 Alexander starred as Peter Pan in the West End play Peter and Alice acting alongside Ben Whishaw and Judi Dench. Alexander also had a supporting role in the final series of Skins, playing Cassie Ainsworth's stalker in the two-part episode "Skins Pure", which aired in July 2013. Also in 2013, Google Analytics released an internal corporate video which featured Alexander as a demanding shopper under the sub-heading "That is what happens when you save on usability".
Alexander also appeared in The Riot Club, the film adaptation of Laura Wade's stage play Posh alongside British actors Sam Claflin, Max Irons and Douglas Booth. He briefly portrayed the vampire Fenton in the British-American horror series Penny Dreadful in 2014. In the independent film Funny Bunny, which first premiered at SXSW 2015, Alexander played Titty, a troubled teenager. The film was directed and written by Alison Bagnall, who directed The Dish & the Spoon, while Alexander was a co-writer together with the other two leads. The film was shown at art houses during the summer and was theatrically released on 13 November 2015.
In January 2021 Alexander appeared in a leading role in the Channel 4 and HBO Max drama It's a Sin, which depicted gay life in the 1980s and early 1990s, and the onset of HIV/AIDS. The show and Alexander's performance earned critical acclaim, with some critics expressing their desire for Alexander to win a BAFTA for his performance. In 2024, Alexander made a cameo appearance as himself in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders, in an episode that aired on 2 May.