Johnny Flynn is a British actor and musician, famous for his roles of young Einstein and a blue-eyed hunter in a shocking psychological thriller Beast. He will also portray young David Bowie in the biopic Stardust.
Johnny Flynn
Johnny is not a typical celebrity: he doesn’t post selfies on Instagram, he doesn’t pose for glossy magazines, he seldom does interviews and he has been faithful to one woman his whole life.
Childhood
Johnny was born on March 15, 1982, in Johannesburg, South Africa. He is one of five children of Eric Flynn, a British musician, and actor. Johnny’s mother, Caroline Forbes, is an artist and sculptor. Johnny has a sister, Lillie, two half-brothers, and a half-sister.
Johnny Flynn was born in Johannesburg, South Africa
When the boy turned two, he was badly bitten by a Staffordshire terrier, so the whole family had to move back to Britain. Although Johnny received medical treatment, his face still bears the scars from the incident. The doctors suggested doing cosmetic surgery to remove the scars as soon as Johnny turned 15 (when the growth of the skull bones stop). However, growing up, he refused to have the scars removed.
Eric Flynn was a sought-after musical production actor; both sons from his first marriage went to a drama school. Famous actors and musicians were frequent visitors in the house. Consequently, Johnny grew up in an artistic environment and knew he would be an actor since he was a small boy. He went to school in the city of Winchester in Hampshire, learned to play the trumpet and violin; he also sang in the school choir.
Johnny Flynn fell in love with music at school
At the age of 11, Johnny was walking home from school one day when he suddenly heard a song playing and immediately fell in love with it. He walked into the music shop, where the tape was playing and asked to buy the recording of the song. This turned out to be Bob Dylan’s album The Freewheelin; it made such an impression on Johnny that he started dreaming of his own band and began learning guitar.
At the age of 14, Johnny won a scholarship to the famous Bedales School; Lily Allen and Sir Daniel Day-Lewis graduated from that school. It was there that Flynn developed a flair for drama and started participating in student productions.
Young Johnny Flynn
He graduated in 2001 and enrolled in the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Career. The Beginning
Although he never left his dream of starting his own band, he saw music only as a hobby and gave preference to an acting career. After graduating from the Academy, Johnny played in a few episodes of the popular British series Holby City and Murder in Suburbia.
Johnny played in a few episodes of the popular series Holby City
In 2005, Johnny started his own band The Sussex Wit, joined by his sister Lillie and a few friends from the Bedales School. The band played folk-rock and made a pretty good living.
Johnny Flynn and The Sussex Wit
In 2006, the actor played in the movie Crusade in Jeans, where his character accidentally ends up in the Dark Ages and finds his love there. The time-traveler’s mother is played by Emily Watson, and Stephanie Leonidas plays the girl he falls in love with.
Johnny Flynn in the movie Crusade in Jeans
After the movie’s release, Johnny worked in a theatre for two years and achieved some good results; he was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for his role in the Twelfth Night production. However, the actor realized he couldn’t combine music, cinema, and theatre, so he left Ed Hall’s troupe.
Johnny Flynn and Laura Marling - The Water
In 2009, Flynn played in a few episodes of the famous Kingdom series, starring brilliant Stephen Fry in the role of a solicitor who always ends up in ridiculous situations. Later the same year, Flynn got the leading role in the comedy series Lovesick.
Flynn played the leading role in the comedy series Lovesick
From 2010 to 2013, the movies Salvation Boulevard, Real Steel, Something in the Air, and a few others were added to the actor’s filmography. In the 2013 artistic movie, Lotus Eaters Johnny plays a young wastrel Charlie, alongside Benn Northover, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, and Amber Anderson.
Best Roles
In the 2014 movie, Song One Johnny portrays a musician who tries to use his music to save his friend and his girlfriend’s brother. This romantic story received mixed reviews, though the audiences enjoyed Johnny and Anne Hathaway’s duo.
Song One - trailer
In the 2015 refined psychological drama Clouds of Sils Maria the actor co-stars with Juliette Binoche, Chloë Grace Moretz and Kristen Stewart. The movie was named the best film of the year.
A scene from Clouds of Sils Maria
In 2016 Lydia Wilson became Flynn’s partner in the comedy-drama Love Is Thicker Than Water, a modern version of Romeo and Juliet; Henry Goodman also plays in the movie.
Johnny Flynn in the movie Love Is Thicker Than Water
In 2017, the filming of the first season of the Genius series (an anthology of people who changed the course of history) was completed. The season was dedicated to Albert Einstein.
Johnny Flynn portraying Albert Einstein
It is worth mentioning that Johnny received the role without going through any auditions. He recorded a video where he outlined his vision of the young Einstein’s character and sent it to Ron Howard, the director, who immediately reserved the role for Flynn and only then contacted him on Skype. The second interesting fact about this series is that Johnny and the great scientist share a birthday, but the actor only learned this during the making of the movie. Geoffrey Rush plays Einstein in later life, and Emily Watson plays his wife. The critics praised Flynn’s acting for managing to convey the scientist’s rebellious spirit, boldness, and genius.
The drama thriller Beast (2017) became the focus of all festivals and generated a huge stir due to its unique interpretation of the Beauty and the Beast story. In this riddle-story with many unknowns, the viewer is left to wonder who the true monster is: the girl, her mother, or the handsome blue-eyed hunter, played by Flynn. The critics noticed Jessie Buckley’s and Geraldine James’ brilliant acting, but they specifically admired Johnny, who managed to demonstrate the beast’s dark side and the pain he had once encountered.
Johnny Flynn in the movie Beast
Johnny Flynn’s Personal Life
The actor doesn’t appear at gala parties, seldom does interviews, and leads quite a secluded life.
Johnny Flynn leads a secluded life and doesn’t talk about his personal life
Johnny met Beatrice Minns at Bedales school. The teenage love relationship stood the test of time and distance. Flynn studied in London, and Beatrice stayed in Winchester. The couple moved in together after finishing their education and got married in 2011. The actor says that Bea is the only woman in his life and they were destined to be together forever.
Johnny Flynn is married with three children
Their first son Gabriel was born in 2012; in 2016 Bea gave birth to a girl, Ida. Their third child was born at the end of 2018.
When Flynn lost his father to cancer in 2002, it hit him hard. In his own words, his family and music helped him through his grief.
Johnny Flynn and his sister Lillie
Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit band, founded by Johnny, is now one of Britain’s leading folk-bands; the band has released 6 albums so far.
Johnny Flynn Now
In 2018 the actor worked on the set of the mini-series Vanity Fair, together with Frances de la Tour, Olivia Cooke, and Michael Palin.
In the TV series Les Misérables, based on Victor Hugo’s novel, Johnny plays the rich prodigal Felix Tholomyès. The filming of the series was completed at the beginning of 2019. Other actors starring in Les Misérables are Lily Collins, Olivia Colman, and Sir Derek Jacobi.
Johnny Flynn will portray David Bowie
In the biopic Stardust, focusing on one of the most prominent periods of David Bowie’s creative life, Flynn will play the legendary musician himself. The filming of the movie began in the summer of 2019. It is known that Marc Maron will also star in the movie, and Jena Malone will play Bowie’s wife. The premiere is scheduled for 2021.
In 2020, the comedy-drama film "Emma" will premiere, in which Johnny Flynn will play George Knightley.
