Avan Jogia

Early life

Avan Tudor Jogia was born on February 9, 1992, in Vancouver, British Columbia, the son of Wendy and Mike Jogia. His father is a British-Indian, and his mother is of English, German, and Welsh descent. He is the younger brother of Ketan Jogia, a music producer in London.

Besides English, Jogia speaks some Gujarati and French.

According to The Start, Jogia was a student at Killarney Secondary School until age 17 when he left to pursue acting full-time, having already gained a number of small television credits. In an interview, he said that his parents withdrew him from middle school in favor of home schooling. He moved to Los Angeles, California on the trial-basis ultimatum that he would land a role within a six-month period – or return to schooling.

Jogia has cited British actor Tim Curry as one of his early acting inspirations, particularly Curry's role as Long John Silver in the 1996 musical adventure comedy film, Muppet Treasure Island. British actor Sir Ben Kingsley is another of Jogia's inspirations; the two would later appear in the 2015 miniseries Tut, and work together on the 2016 short film Of Dogs and Men.

Career

2006–2013: ''Caprica'' and ''Victorious''

His first role came in 2006 when he portrayed Danny Araujo–the younger brother of teenage transgender woman Gwen Araujo–in the biographical television film A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story, directed by Agnieszka Holland. In 2007, he had a recurring role in The CW television sitcom Aliens in America as the character Sam, and appeared in the Canadian horror television movie Devil's Diary. He next appeared in the 2008 Nickelodeon network original film Gym Teacher: The Movie, as Champ Sinclair, a role opposite Law & Order: Special Victims Unit actor Christopher Meloni. He returned to the network the following year, starring in the 2009 film Spectacular! as Tajid, alongside future Victorious co-star Victoria Justice.

From 2009 to 2010, Jogia had a recurring role in the television series Caprica, a spin-off of Battlestar Galactica, on Syfy. Cast as the role of Ben Stark in August 2008, with production of the series' pilot episode completed by the conclusion of that year. In late 2009, he joined the cast of Nickelodeon television series Victorious. Starring alongside Victoria Justice, Ariana Grande, and Elizabeth Gillies, Jogia played Beck Oliver, the boyfriend of Jade West (played by Gillies). This was the actor's first main role in a television series; a role, which lasted from the series' inception in March 2010, through to the conclusion of the 4th and final season of the show in 2013. Jogia sang background vocals on several cast songs in the show's soundtrack, and had a brief prominent part in the song "Finally Falling" in the episode "Tori the Zombie". Jogia also appeared as Beck in the Nickelodeon film, iParty with Victorious, a Victorious crossover movie with iCarly.

Throughout his tenure on Victorious, Jogia starred in various films. In 2010, he appeared in the drama film Triple Dog, and the gang-crime film Finding Hope Now (filmed back in 2009) as the lead character, Santos Delgado. Jogia later directed and starred in Alex, a short film; this marked his first project he directed. During the following year, he appeared in the 2012 Nickelodeon television movie Rags, along with Keke Palmer and Drake Bell, portraying Finn Covington.

2013–2016: ''Twisted'', ''Tut'' and other projects

Jogia was cast in the lead role of Danny Desai on the ABC Family mystery–thriller series Twisted (originally titled Socio), in October 2012. The role saw Jogia opposite main cast members Maddie Hasson and Kylie Bunbury, and supporting cast members including Denise Richards, Sam Robards and Kimberly Quinn. The series pilot was greenlit in August 2012, and was filmed in October in New York City. In February 2013, ABC Family ordered the show as a series and production commenced in Studio City the following month, on April 3, 2013. On the themes of the series, Jogia remarked, "Twisted is similar to Pretty Little Liars in that it's about trying to find out who did it, but it's more about the human relationships between characters and the strain that things can put on them. It's also a little bit of a social commentary piece, because it covers very timely issues." The series premiered on June 11, 2013, and ran for 19 episodes; for his role as Desai, Jogia received two nominations at the 2013 and 2014 Teen Choice Awards, in the categories "Summer TV Star: Male" and "Actor: Drama", respectively. ABC Family opted not to renew Twisted for a second season, in August 2014.

In 2014, Jogia was cast in the Spike TV miniseries, Tut, alongside English actor Sir Ben Kingsley. In the lead role of the titular Pharaoh Tutankhamun, Jogia was reunited with Twisted actress Kylie Bunbury, who portrayed Suhad –Tutankhamun's love interest. On the casting of Bunbury, Jogia noted that, "[i]t was cool to be able to work with someone [Bunbury] you have built-in chemistry with. Going into this situation, I had no idea what it was going to be like, so knowing I was taking this on with someone I knew really helped." The miniseries, filmed in Morocco, premiered on Spike on July 19, 2015, and concluded on July 21, 2015.

Jogia returned to cinema after joining the cast of multiple films throughout 2014. In February of that year, Deadline reported that Jogia would star in Ten Thousand Saints, an adaption of the 2011 novel of the same name by Eleanor Henderson. Released in 2015, the film also starred Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld and Ethan Hawke. In August 2014, he landed a role in I Am Michael. Based on Benoit Denizet-Lewis' New York Times Magazine article "My Ex-Gay Friend" in 2011, the film's cast includes James Franco, Zachary Quinto and Emma Roberts, along with Jogia who portrays Nico, a gay Buddhist the protagonist (Franco) briefly falls in love with. Principal photography on the film commenced on August 11, 2014, in New York City and concluded later that month. The film was released at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, before a limited release and through video on demand in January 2017. Later in 2015, Jogia appeared as Dark in the short film, Here Now. Further in 2015, he released a trailer for a horror–thriller short film he directed, entitled Of Dogs and Men. The short film had appearances by Sir Ben Kingsley, who previously worked with Jogia on Tut.

Jogia's next credit was the 1970s–based crime drama film Shangri-La Suite (also known as Killing the King), together with Luke Grimes and Emily Browning. He appeared as Bones, in the 2016 web series short Last Teenagers of the Apocalypse. The four-part series, which was released on April 21, 2016, was produced and directed by Jogia.

2017–present: Films, ''Now Apocalypse'' and ''Mixed Feelings''

In 2017, he starred in the psychological thriller The Drowning (previously, Border Crossing), directed by Bette Gordon, with Julia Stiles and Josh Charles. Adapted from Pat Barker's 2001 novel Border Crossing, Jogia portrayed the central character, Danny, who was rescued from drowning by the man (Charles) who aided his conviction for murder 12 years earlier. Jogia starred in the comedy film The Outcasts, alongside lead actress Victoria Justice. Later, Jogia appeared in The Year of Spectacular Men, a film directed by Lea Thompson. Thompson is the mother of Zoey Deutch, who also appears in the film opposite Jogia. He played Sebastian, the "loving boyfriend" of a movie star (Deutch), followed by a role in A Midsummer Night's Dream, a contemporary film adaption of the comedy of the same name written by William Shakespeare. Jogia starred in Syfy's 13-episode series titled Ghost Wars that premiered in 2017, and it was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, but it was canceled at the beginning of 2018.

Jogia also landed a co-lead role with Eve Hewson in Rebecca Addelman's directorial debut, Paper Year. Production on the project commenced in October 2016, and was released in 2018. He portrays Matt in the 2018 romantic comedy, The New Romantic, which stars Jessica Barden and Camila Mendes. That year, Jogia was also cast in the upcoming dramatic film The Artist's Wife, together with Bruce Dern and Lena Olin. The film is scheduled to premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival in December 2019. In June 2018, Jogia was chosen to lead the Starz comedy series Now Apocalypse, alongside Kelli Berglund, Beau Mirchoff, and Roxane Mesquida. Jogia portrayed Ulysses Zane, who, along with his friends "are on various quests pursuing love, sex and fame while navigating the strange and oftentimes bewildering city of Los Angeles." The series, which marked Jogia's second project with writer and director Gregg Araki (after Here Now), aired in March 2019, and was later cancelled after one season. That same year, he appeared in the action comedy Shaft, and had a bigger role, as a laid-back musician, in the sequel Zombieland: Double Tap.

In September 2019, Jogia published a book, Mixed Feelings, on growing up with a mixed-race identity, and whether there is a correlation in the experiences of those of mixed race. The book comprises a series of personal stories and poems about Jogia's life. He noted, "there was a massive appetite for this conversation", and having reached out to his social media following, he "was able to sort of communicate with these people, interview with them, sort of to take parts of their stories [...] and mash them up within the book." He released a follow up to that in 2025 called Autopsy of an Ex-Teen Heartthrob. He started a band with his brother called Saint Ivory in 2018, and released a few songs and one album

Personal life

Jogia describes himself as "spiritual", having spent months as a Buddhist and has roots in Hinduism. Jogia maintains that he has "looked at all kinds of ways of being, because I'm curious about what it takes to be human". Jogia is also a dual citizen of Canada and the United Kingdom.

In a 2019 interview with Attitude, Jogia said he does not feel comfortable labeling his sexuality.

Relationships

In 2012, Jogia began dating Zoey Deutch when they were first spotted attending the Kid's Choice Awards. The couple broke up in 2017 after being together for five years. Jogia dated Cleopatra Coleman from 2017 to 2021. Since 2023, Jogia has been in a relationship with American singer Halsey. Halsey announced their engagement in September 2024.

Activism

In 2011 Jogia co-founded the online PSA organization Straight But Not Narrow with Heather Wilk and Andre Pochon with the support of fellow actor Josh Hutcherson. The non-profit organization aims to change the attitudes and viewpoints of heterosexuals about the LGBTQIA+ community. Jogia believed that "there was no one making straight youth responsible for their apathy. When you see a bully beating up a kid and you stand idle, that's as loud, or louder, than the actual oppression."

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Web

Director

Discography

Albums

With Saint Ivory

Singles

Books

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. (June 25, 2013). "Meet Danny – Twisted". Freeform.
2. (2025-02-11). "Autopsy (of an Ex-Teen Heartthrob): Poems of rage, love, sex, and sadness". Gallery Books.
3. (2015-04-30). "Young Hollywood: Avan Jogia Interview".
4. (2020-02-10). "Get to Know: AVAN JOGIA".
5. "Avan Jogia > Music (Saint Ivory)".
6. (February 9, 2014). "Happy 22ND Birthday Avan Jogia...".
7. Goldberg, Lesley. (August 5, 2014). "'Twisted,' 'Victorious' Star to Play King Tut for Spike TV (Exclusive)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
8. "Avan Jogia".
9. Stagnitta, Ali. (July 14, 2017). "Avan Jogia: 5 Things To Know About The Front-Runner For Live-Action 'Aladdin'".
10. Porter, Ryan. (July 6, 2015). "The Vancouver Actor Who Would be King". The Star.
11. (December 12, 2013). "Avan Jogia: Just Jared Spotlight of the Week (Exclusive!)". [[Just Jared]].
12. Tishgart, Sierra. (October 27, 2012). "What was your reaction to finding out Victorious was cancelled?". [[Teen Vogue]].
13. Lawrence, Vanessa. (July 14, 2015). "King Avan Jogia: The actor plays Tut in Spike's new miniseries". [[W (magazine).
14. Nat. (July 16, 2017). "Five Things You Didn't Know About Avan Jogia".
15. (February 5, 2014). "'Twisted' Star Avan Jogia Signs With ICM (Exclusive)".
16. "Devil's Diary {{!}} TV Guide".
17. Moore, Frazier. (September 12, 2008). "Chris Meloni tries hand at comedy in 'Gym Teacher'". southcoasttoday.com.
18. Perry, Byron. (August 13, 2008). "Avan Jogia". [[Variety (magazine).
19. "Victoria Justice Is Ready To Be 'Victorious'". Shine On Media.
20. "Avan Jogia Interview: "Some surprises for Beck"". The Star Scoop.
21. "Avan Jogia".
22. "Avan Jogia". [[Rotten Tomatoes]].
23. Araiza, Andres. (May 25, 2009). "Film Crew Took Over Fresno's Fulton Mall". [[KFSN-TV.
24. "Alex". SandcastlePictures.
25. "J-14 Q&A with 'Rags' Avan Jogia". [[J-14 (magazine).
26. Ng, Philiana. (October 5, 2012). "'Victorious' Star Lands Lead in ABC Family Drama Pilot 'Socio' (Exclusive)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
27. Ng, Philiana. (October 12, 2012). "Denise Richards Joins ABC Family Drama Pilot 'Socio'". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
28. Andreeva, Nellie. (February 6, 2013). "Jennifer Lopez-Produced 'The Fosters' And 'Twisted' Get ABC Family Series Orders".
29. Kondolojy, Amanda. (October 24, 2012). "ABC Family Begins Production on Drama Pilot 'Socio' Starring Avan Jogia and Denise Rchards". [[TV by the Numbers]].
30. Laurel, Brown. (February 6, 2013). "ABC Family picks up dramas 'The Fosters' and 'Twisted' to air in the summer". [[Zap2It]].
31. Lewis, Casey. (June 11, 2013). "Avan Jogia Spills About His New ABC Family Thriller 'Twisted'". [[Teen Vogue]].
32. MTV News Staff. (August 11, 2013). "2013 Teen Choice Awards: The Winners List". [[MTV]].
33. Huggins, Sarah. (August 10, 2014). "2014 Teen Choice Awards full winners list". [[Zap2It]].
34. Kondolojy, Amanda. (August 13, 2014). "'Twisted' Cancelled After One Season by ABC Family". [[TV by the Numbers]].
35. Bell, Crystal. (August 13, 2014). "Twisted Cancelled By ABC Family — Avan Jogia Tweets Heartfelt Thank You to Fans". [[Wetpaint]].
36. Swift, Andy. (August 19, 2014). "Twisted Reunion: Kylie Bunbury Joins Avan Jogia's King Tut Event Series". [[TVLine]].
37. Swift, Andy. (July 2, 2014). "Tut's Avan Jogia Talks Twisted Cliffhanger, Shares Pitch for Season 2". [[TVLine]].
38. Andrea, Morabito. (July 11, 2015). "First look at Avan Jogia as 'Tut'". [[New York Post]].
39. (February 6, 2014). "'Twisted's Avan Jogia Ropes Roles In 'Ten Thousand Saints' & 'Shangri-La Suite'".
40. Ristau, Reece. (August 12, 2015). "Hailee Steinfeld, Avan Jogia Dive Into '80s Punk Scene at 'Ten Thousand Saints' L.A. Premiere". [[Variety (magazine).
41. (August 15, 2014). "Avan Jogia Joins James Franco In 'Michael'; Oliver Platt Has 'The Ticket'; Carra Patterson Heads To 'Compton'".
42. (August 11, 2014). "First Look: James Franco Goes Christian in Gus Van Sant's 'Michael'". firstshowing.net.
43. Debruge, Peter. (January 24, 2015). "Sundance Film Review: 'I Am Michael'". [[Variety (magazine).
44. N'Duka, Amanda. (November 29, 2016). "Brainstorm Media Acquires Sundance Pic 'I Am Michael', Sets January Theatrical Release Date".
45. Stansfield, Ted. (July 3, 2015). "Watch Gregg Araki's new film for Kenzo". [[Dazed]] Digital.
46. (November 22, 2015). "Of Dogs and Men – Trailer".
47. (October 28, 2016). "'Shangri-La Suite': Film Review". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
48. Grant, Stacey. (April 21, 2016). "Victorious Star Avan Jogia Is Completely Unrecognizable In New Role". [[MTV]].
49. Hannah, Orenstein. (April 22, 2016). "You Won't Recognize Avan Jogia in His Newest Role". [[Seventeen (American magazine).
50. Kenny, Glenn. (May 9, 2017). "Review: A Psychologist Is Put in the Hot Seat in 'The Drowning'". The New York Times.
51. (May 20, 2015). "Cannes: Electric to sell 'Border Crossing'". [[Screen International.
52. "The Drowning".
53. (May 13, 2014). "Victoria Justice Starring in High-School Comedy".
54. "The Year of Spectacular Men".
55. (September 18, 2015). "Lea Thompson Directing Daughters in 'Year of Spectacular Men'".
56. (April 23, 2016). "'Midsummer Night's Dream' Movie Stars Rachael Leigh Cook, Paz De La Huerta".
57. (May 3, 2017). "'Ghost Wars' Starring Vincent D'Onofrio & Kim Coates Set At Syfy— AFM".
58. Ramos, Dino-Ray. (April 22, 2018). "'Ghost Wars' Canceled After One Season At Syfy".
59. (October 31, 2016). "Avan Jogia & Eve Hewson To Star In Rebecca Addelman's 'Paper Year' — AFM".
60. (October 31, 2016). "AFM: Eve Hewson, Avan Jogia Starring in Romance-Drama 'Paper Year'".
61. Reilly, Kaitlyn. (September 20, 2018). "The New Romantic Is A Different Kind Of Rom-Com With All Your Favorite People".
62. N'Duka, Amanda. (February 20, 2018). "Avan Jogia Joins Tom Dolby's 'The Artist's Wife'".
63. Barylski, Nicole. (October 8, 2019). "INTERVIEW: Filmmaker Tom Dolby On "The Artist's Wife," Filming In The Hamptons, And More".
64. (November 14, 2019). "''Now Apocalypse'': Avan Jogia To Topline Starz Comedy Series From Gregg Araki & Steven Soderbergh".
65. (November 14, 2019). "''Now Apocalypse'': Kelli Berglund, Beau Mirchoff, Roxane Mesquida Join Starz's Coming-Of-Age Comedy".
66. Otterson, Joseph. (July 26, 2019). "'Now Apocalypse' Canceled After One Season at Starz".
67. "'Shaft' Lands Prime Summer 2019 Release, Followed by 'The Goldfinch' in Fall". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
68. (November 30, 2018). "Avan Jogia Boards Sony's 'Zombieland' Sequel". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
69. Massabrook, Nicole. (September 18, 2019). "'Zombieland: Double Tap' Star Avan Jogia Gets Personal In New Book".
70. Ranasinghe, Shalomi. (September 29, 2019). "Avan Jogia's book tour hits Toronto".
71. (2025). "Autopsy (Of an Ex-Teen Heartthrob): Poems of Rage, Love, Sex, and Sadness". Gallery Books.
72. "Saint Ivory".
73. "Saint Ivory on Apple Music".
74. (July 5, 2015). "Hot List: Avan Jogia".
75. Fuentes, Tamara. (2019-05-07). "8 Facts About Avan Jogia That Will Make You Swoon".
76. (April 3, 2019). "'Now Apocalypse' star Avan Jogia doesn't feel 'comfortable' labelling his sexuality".
77. (14 January 2017). "Zoey Deutch and Boyfriend Avan Jogia Breakup After 5 Years Together".
78. (21 September 2023). "Avan Jogia's Relationship History Was Short and Sweet Before Dating Halsey: See His Ex-Girlfriends".
79. Dailey, Hannah. (2024-04-04). "Halsey & Avan Jogia Make Their Red Carpet Debut as a Couple: See Photo".
80. Delgado, Sara. (2024-09-12). "Halsey & Avan Jogia Are Engaged!".
81. Gandhi, Neha. (March 15, 2011). "Avan Jogia's Straight But Not Narrow Campaign".
82. "Straight But Not Narrow".
83. (July 24, 2015). "Tut Star Avan Jogia Talks Gay Bullying".
84. Lang, Brent. (May 4, 2021). "Quiver Distribution Nabs 'The Exchange,' Comedy Starring Justin Hartley and Avan Jogia (EXCLUSIVE)".
85. Otterson, Joe. (30 March 2022). "Netflix Orders Interactive Rom-Com 'Choose Love' From Josann McGibbon". Variety.
86. (July 10, 2025). "Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell & Avan Jogia Join A24 & Chernin Entertainment Sci-Fi Horror Pic ''The Backrooms''".
87. "Orphan Black: Echoes (TV Series 2023– ) ⭐ 6.5 {{!}} Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller".
88. "Saint Ivory".
89. (2019). "Mixed feelings". Andrews McMeel Pub.
90. (2025). "Autopsy (Of an Ex-Teen Heartthrob): Poems of Rage, Love, Sex, and Sadness". Gallery Books.