Will Poulter

Early life and education

William Jack Poulter was born on 28 January 1993 in Hammersmith, London, the son of Neil Poulter, a professor of preventive cardiovascular medicine at Imperial College London, and Caroline (née Barrah), a former nurse who was brought up in Kenya.

He was a pupil at Harrodian School, whose well-known acting graduates include George MacKay and Robert Pattinson. He struggled in school due to dyslexia and developmental coordination disorder, but found that he loved drama, which "gave [him] a sense of purpose".

Poulter began studying drama at the University of Bristol in 2012, before leaving after a year when he got offered a part in The Maze Runner.

Career

2007–2012: Early work

Poulter played the role of Lee Carter in the 2007 film Son of Rambow, alongside his co-star Bill Milner. He performed with other young comedic actors in School of Comedy, which aired its pilot on Channel 4's Comedy Lab on 21 August 2008, before being commissioned for a full series in 2009.

In 2010 he played the role of Eustace Scrubb in the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which was filmed in Queensland, Australia, and was accompanied by some members of his family. In 2010 he appeared in the BBC Three pilot The Fades, a 60-minute supernatural thriller written by Jack Thorne. The pilot was picked up as a six-part series in 2011, of which Poulter was not included.

In 2011 Poulter starred alongside Charlie Creed-Miles as Bill's son Dean, in the British independent film Wild Bill, directed by Dexter Fletcher. The cast included a host of British talent with Leo Gregory, Neil Maskell, Liz White, Iwan Rheon, Olivia Williams, Jaime Winstone, Andy Serkis, and Sean Pertwee, and scored a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer. In 2012 Poulter began studying drama at the University of Bristol where he lived in Badock Hall. He dropped out after a year in order to pursue acting full-time.

2013–present: Breakthrough and expansion

In 2013 Poulter played Kenny in We're the Millers, starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis. He also appeared as a caretaker in the music video for Rizzle Kicks' song "Skip to the Good Bit". He unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Augustus Waters in The Fault in Our Stars.

In 2014 he played Fordy in the crime film Plastic, directed by Julian Gilbey and starring Ed Speleers, Alfie Allen, Sebastian De Souza and Emma Rigby. The same year, he played Gally in the film adaptation of The Maze Runner, alongside Dylan O'Brien and Kaya Scodelario. Poulter went on to describe the film, and his role in it, as "a turning point" in his career.

In 2015 Poulter starred as Shane in the Irish indie film Glassland, directed by Gerard Barrett and co-starring Jack Reynor and Toni Collette.

In 2014 Poulter won the BAFTA Rising Star Award, voted for by the public. The same year, he also won the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (shared with his co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Emma Roberts) for his performance in We're the Millers.

In 2014 Poulter was chosen as one of 23 upcoming actors to feature in July's issue of Vanity Fair, with all actors being named "Hollywood's Next Wave".

Poulter played Jim Bridger in the revenge-thriller The Revenant (2015), directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy. The film centres on an 1820s frontiersman on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling. In 2017 he played the racist police officer Philip Krauss in the film Detroit, about the 1967 Detroit riots. His performance was praised by Metros Matt Prigge, who called him "terrifyingly confident".

Poulter was originally cast as Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the two supernatural horror films It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019), both based on Stephen King's 1986 epic supernatural horror novel of the same name. However, it was announced in June 2016 that Bill Skarsgård had been cast instead as Poulter became unavailable after the departure of its initial director Cary Fukunaga.

In 2018 Poulter reprised his role as Gally in Maze Runner: The Death Cure, the third and final instalment of the Maze Runner film series. Later that year, he starred in the film The Little Stranger, as Roderick "Roddy" Ayres, a facially disfigured, haunted war veteran; and as game developer Colin Ritman in Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, a standalone interactive film of the Black Mirror television series.

In 2019, he played the character of Mark in Ari Aster's horror film Midsommar. That year, he and Asim Chaudry presented Lee Mack with the Best Entertainment Performance award at the BAFTA TV awards for Would I Lie to You. In 2020 he participated in filming The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope, an interactive choice game created by Supermassive Games, in which he portrays Andrew, Anthony, and Abraham.

Poulter played the role of OxyContin sales representative Billy Cutler in Hulu's 2021 drama miniseries Dopesick. Poulter's performance was nominated for a 2022 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for this role.

In October 2021, Poulter was cast as Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which released on 5 May 2023. and joined upcoming miniseries Rabbit Rabbit

Other ventures

In September 2024, Poulter was named as an ambassador of dementia charity Alzheimer's Research UK.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Radio

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. Rose, Mike. (28 January 2023). "Today's famous birthdays list for January 28, 2023 includes celebrities Ariel Winter, Will Poulter".
2. "Professor Neil Poutler".
3. Williams, Sally. (22 March 2008). "Son of Rambow: ready for action". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
4. "Will Poulter".
5. Gilbey, Ryan. (25 September 2018). "Will Poulter: 'I'm a white, straight, middle-class male. I'm aware I take things for granted'". The Guardian.
6. (9 July 2020). "Will Poulter: "I'm a scaredy cat – I'll always avoid confrontation"".
7. Poulter, Will. (9 September 2012). "I'm going to Bristol to study Drama, whilst {{as written".
8. (3 January 2019). "Meet Will Poulter, the Bristol dropout starring in the latest episode of Black Mirror".
9. Poulter, Will. (1 May 2023). "Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Star Will Poulter Answers Your Question: Actually Me".
10. Lee, Robin. (16 August 2007). "School of Comedy". [[The List (magazine).
11. "Comedy Lab: Comedy Lab".
12. link. (13 January 2009 at www.narniaweb.com (accessed 22 June 2008))
13. link. (29 October 2013 at www.comingsoon.net (accessed 22 June 2008))
14. Sibayan, Genevieve. (29 August 2010). "Touch – A new supernatural drama series for BBC3 {TV}". Frost Magazine.
15. (9 November 2010). "Narnia stars switch on London's Christmas lights!".
16. "Wild Bill - 2011, Drama, 1h 38m". rottentomatoes.com.
17. Lamont, Tom. (6 October 2014). "Will Poulter: 'Hanging out in Soho House LA, that's my worst nightmare'". [[The Guardian]].
18. Rigby, Sam. (10 October 2013). "Rizzle Kicks unveil 'Skip To The Good Bit' music video - watch". Digital Spy.
19. Peele, Anna. (20 December 2017). "Detroit's Will Poulter Talks Making Out with Jennifer Aniston and Being Miserable with Leonardo DiCaprio". [[GQ]].
20. (14 December 2023). "Will Poulter Credits". TV Guide.
21. (16 February 2014). "Bafta Film Awards 2014: Full list of winners". [[BBC News]].
22. Reynolds, Simon. (8 January 2014). "BAFTA Film Awards 2014 – nominations in full". [[Digital Spy]].
23. (13 April 2014). "Will Poulter, Emma Roberts & Jennifer Aniston Win MTV Best Kiss".
24. Smith, Krista. (11 June 2014). "Hollywood's Next Wave". [[Vanity Fair (magazine).
25. Kroll, Justin. (25 June 2014). "We're the Millers' Will Poulter Joins Leonardo DiCaprio in 'The Revenant' (Exclusive)". [[Variety (magazine).
26. Prigge, Matt. (23 July 2017). "'Detroit' is a nightmarish history lesson about trauma". [[Metro (British newspaper).
27. (2 June 2016). "Stephen King's 'It' Adaptation Finds Its Pennywise the Clown (Exclusive)". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
28. Allen, Ben. (31 December 2018). "Meet the cast of Black Mirror's interactive film Bandersnatch". [[Radio Times]].
29. (12 May 2019). "Lee Mack Wins Entertainment Performance for Would I Lie To You? {{!}} BAFTA TV Awards 2019".
30. "Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Miniseries Or A Movie Nominees / Winners 2022".
31. Kroll, Justin. (11 October 2021). "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: Will Poulter To Play Adam Warlock In The Next Installment Of The Marvel Franchise". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
32. Davids, Brian. (2023-05-12). "'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' Star Will Poulter Talks Adam Warlock's Arc and His "Momentous" Scene with Chris Pratt".
33. (28 January 2026). "Odessa Young And Will Poulter Join Adam Driver In Netflix Hostage Thriller Series ‘Rabbit, Rabbit’".
34. (19 September 2024). "Ruth Wilson and Will Poulter Named Ambassadors of Alzheimer's Research UK". The Carer UK.
35. Ruby, Jennifer. (2016-06-21). "''Kids in Love'' trailer – exclusive: First look at Will Poulter and Cara Delevingne as young bohemian Londoners in new coming-of-age film".
36. Kroll, Justin. (2015-08-20). "Will Poulter Joins Brad Pitt in Netflix's ''War Machine''".
37. Kroll, Justin. (2016-08-04). "Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit Riots Film Casts Will Poulter, Ben O'Toole, Jack Reynor (Exclusive)".
38. Lodderhose, Diana. (2017-05-23). "Focus Features Acquires Lenny Abrahamson's ''The Little Stranger''".
39. Jackson, Angelique. (2019-07-11). "''Midsommar'' Star Jack Reynor Debuts Trailer For His Directorial Debut ''Bainne''".
40. Sneider, Jeff. (2018-07-30). "Exclusive: Jack Reynor, Will Poulter to Star in Ari Aster's Follow-Up to ''Hereditary''".
41. Barraclough, Leo. (2020-02-21). "WestEnd Boards Heist Musical ''The Score'', Starring Johnny Flynn, Will Poulter, Naomi Ackie (Exclusive)".
42. Kroll, Justin. (2021-10-11). "''Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3'': Will Poulter To Play Adam Warlock In Next Installment Of Marvel Franchise".
43. Kroll, Justin. (2023-02-28). "Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, Diego Calva And Sasha Calle To Star In Adaptation Of ''On Swift Horses'' From Ley Line Entertainment And FirstGen Content".
44. Cordero, Rosy. (2024-03-28). "Kit Connor, Cosmo Jarvis, Will Poulter & Finn Bennett Round Out Lead Cast Of Ray Mendoza And Alex Garland's ''Warfare''".
45. Orquiola, John. (2018-12-28). "''Black Mirror: Bandersnatch'' Cast & Character Guide".
46. Petski, Denise. (15 September 2020). "Will Poulter Joins ''Dopesick'' Hulu Limited Series".
47. White, Peter. (10 June 2021). "Will Poulter & Lucy Boynton Star In Hugh Laurie's Adaptation Of Agatha Christie's 'Why Didn't They Ask Evans?' For BritBox U.S". Deadline Hollywood.
48. Zelden, Tristan. (2023-06-19). "Will Poulter Joins Cast of 'The Bear' Season 2".
49. (29 December 2025). "RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs. the World: Series 3 celebrity guest judges and special guests revealed". [[BBC Media Centre]].
50. (30 December 2025). "Black Mirror's Will Poulter among RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs the World: Season Three guest judges". [[PinkNews]].
51. Weber, Rachel. (8 July 2020). "The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope's Hollywood star Will Poulter on witchcraft, screaming, and his three characters". [[GamesRadar+]].
52. (March 2023). "Will Poulter Awards". IMDB (Index source only).
53. (3 November 2025). "British Independent Film Awards: 'My Father's Shadow' and 'Pillion' Lead Nominations".
54. "Primetime Emmys 2022: The full list of winners and nominees".
55. (17 July 2024). "76th Emmy Awards Complete Nominations List".