Alex Pettyfer is a British actor, model and director who is known for appearing in Burberry fashion campaigns and starring in 2012’s Magic Mike.

ALEX PETTYFER BIO: AGE, EARLY LIFE, EDUCATION

Pettyfer was born on April 10, 1990 (Alex Pettyfer current age: 31) in Stevengate, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, to parents Richard Pettyfer and Lee Ireland. He was raised in Windsor, where his father worked as an actor and his mother an interior designer. His parents later separated and his mother remarried to Michael Ireland, a property developer. She gave birth to Pettyfer’s only sibling and half-brother, James Ireland, who is three years younger. He’s a junior tennis player.

Pettyfer attended various private schools, one of which was located in Twickingham, England, The Mall School. Later, he attended the Lambrook Haileybury school in Winkfield, Berkshire. He subsequently attended two other independent boarding schools: Millfield School in Street, Somerset and Shiplake College in Oxfordshire. After sitting for his General Certificate of Secondary Education exams, he left Shiplake College to attend the independent Sylvia Young Theatre School in London.

The young actor portrayed Willy Wonka in a school production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Jack in his school play Jack and the Beanstalk and Robin Hood in the adaptation of The Adventures of Robin Hood. 

After filming Stormbreaker, upon returning to school he realized he was no longer interested: “When you have already experienced going out and working in the real world, and you come back to school, you just see it as a playground and you don’t want to be there anymore.” With this, he finished school at 16-years-old.

ALEX PETTYFER BIO: MODELING AND ACTING CAREERS

After meeting fashion designer Ralph Lauren in a New York toy store, Pettyfer began his professional modeling career at the age of 7 for Gap. One year prior, he had already filmed his first commercial. He later went on to model for Burberry as well.

In 2005, he made his acting debut as lead role Tom Brown in the British television production of Tom Brown’s Schooldays. Pettyfer was later cast for the role as teenage spy Alex Rider in Stormbreaker, a film based on Anthony Horowitz‘s novel of the same title. The 15-year-old was chosen out of 500 auditioners. He was also cast in the movie Eragon (2006), which was filmed in Hungary. Pettyfer reportedly denied the role because he has a fear of flying and favored Stormbreaker‘s outlook.

Next, Pettyfer starred in 2008’s Wild Child, a teen comedy with Emma Roberts. The following year, he played a “bad boy” role in Tormented, a horror-comedy film. Pettyfer also starred in 2011’s Beastly with Vanessa Hudgens, Neil Patrick Harris and Mary-Kate Olsen. In the same year, he claimed the protagonist role in I Am Number Four, which was executive produced by Steven Spielberg.

Over the years, Pettyfer declined several roles including parts in City of Bones, The Wardstone Chronicles and The Paperboy, which were all based on different books.

He returned to the screen in 2012 as Adam in Magic Mike. He also starred in films The Butler (2003), Endless Love (2014), biopic Elvis & Nixon (2016) and The Strange Ones (2017). Most recently, Pettyfer portrayed Stephen Underwood in 2018’s The Last Witness, a post-WWII thriller.  

ALEX PETTYFER BIO: RECOGNITION

British women’s magazine Company ranked Pettyfer number 35 on their list of top 50 most eligible bachelors in 2009. Just two months later, Glamour ranked him number 21 on their list of the sexiest men on the planet.

Pettyfer was nominated for two awards for his performance in Stormbreaker: Young Artists Awards’ Best Performance in an International Feature Film Leading Young Actor or Actress and Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer. Reviewers also felt the film made Pettyfer into a “teen idol.”

In 2010, he won the ShoWest Award for Male Star of Tomorrow. The actor was also nominated for his roles in The Butler. In 2011, he won the Teen Choice Award for Breakout Male for his performances in Beastly and I Am Number Four. Three years later, he was named Best Lead Actor for Endless Love by Brasov International Film Festival & Market.

ALEX PETTYFER BIO: EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW ON DIRECTING ‘BACK ROADS’

Pettyfer’s first shot at directing was with 2018’s Back Roads, which centers on a Pennslyvania man who takes care of his three sisters after their abusive father is shot and the arrest of his mother. He also stars as the protagonist.

“Stepping into the role of being a filmmaker and having a different perspective is a collaborative experience, and everyone’s putting their heart into the film,” Pettyfer told uInterview exclusively. “Working with people — like the grips and sounds, the production design, the actors — everyone’s so invested into putting their take and their touch, and it’s a humbling experience because you really realize that to make a film, it’s a collaboration. It’s a family. It’s everyone putting themselves into it, and so that was a very humbling experience. I really enjoyed that.”

He also revealed how he ended up directing Back Roads, which wasn’t originally planned. However, he’s pleased with the outcome.

“About two, maybe two and a half years ago, I got the opportunity to produce something at HBO and it gave me the confidence to kind of want to go and produce more things, and I’d always thought about Back Roads as a film. I thought it was a very important piece of material and something that I loved. So I reapproached the producer that had the rights, and I said, ‘I would love to be a part of this, to produce,’” Pettyfer said. “I went out to directors — two directors, two very good directors — who both said yes, but through unfortunate events couldn’t make the film. So out of that circumstance, I ended up in the director’s chair, which I feel very lucky about.”

ALEX PETTYFER BIO: PERSONAL LIFE, FIANCÉ, GIRLFRIENDS, NET WORTH, QUOTES

Pettyfer stands at 5’11”. He’s had multiple Hollywood relationships with actresses including Emma Roberts and Dianne Argon. He actually has Roberts’ name tattooed on his ring finger from when they dated years ago. Pettyfer dated Argon from 2010-11 after they met on the set of I Am Number Four.

For a short time, Pettyfer was engaged to Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, actress Riley Keough, in 2012. The two first met on the set of Magic Mike.

He’s now engaged to model Marloes Horst. They got engaged in 2016 and are still together.

Pettyfer’s net worth is an estimated $3.5 million. He can be found on Instagram and Twitter as @alexpettyfer.

The actor is inked with seven different tattoos, one being Roberts’ name. He also has a Celtic cross on his chest, Tibetan script on the inside of his right arm, the words “What Goes Around Comes Around” on his right shoulder, a Katakana script on his lower waist and the word “little lamb” on the outside of his arm, which was dedicated to ex-girlfriend Argon. Last but not least, he’s also indicated he has the words “Thank You” above his penis, “in case I forget to say it,” Pettyfer said.

Quotes:

“I think you have to be very secure as an actor to escape yourself – to revisit someone’s past, whether you’re portraying another person or creating someone, and then to come back to who you are and not bring those emotions with you.”

“I think my Wikipedia is full of bulls––t because I actually don’t have anything cool or interesting to be said about me. I’ve heard I’m called a bad boy, or difficult-maybe that’s because I don’t take any bulls––t.”

“Parties don’t thrill me. I like sitting at home with a tub of Chunky Monkey ice cream watching Big Brother: USA or Friends.”

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Alex Pettyfer, Age News