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Douglas Booth

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Not to be confused with Sir Douglas Allen Booth, 3rd Baronet.
For Australian academic and former footballer, see Doug Booth.

Douglas Booth
Booth in 2011
Born
Douglas John Booth

(1992-07-09) 9 July 1992 (age 32)
Greenwich, London, England[1]
Education
Occupation(s)Actor, musician
Years active2006–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2023)​
RelativesMark Powley (father-in-law)

Douglas John Booth (born 9 July 1992) is an English actor and musician. He first came to public attention through his performance as Boy George in the BBC Two film Worried About the Boy (2010). He went on to star in the BBC adaptations of Great Expectations and Christopher and His Kind (both 2011), Carlo Carlei's film adaptation of Romeo & Juliet (2013), and the Netflix biopic The Dirt (2019).

Booth also appeared in Darren Aronofsky's Noah and Lone Scherfig's The Riot Club (both 2014) and co-starred in The Wachowskis' Jupiter Ascending (2015).

Early life and education

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Douglas John Booth was born in Greenwich, London,[2][3] to Vivien (née De Cala), a painter, and Simon Booth, a shipping finance consultant and former managing director of both CitiGroup and Deutsche Bank's shipping finance divisions.[4][5] Booth's father is English, and his mother is of Spanish and Dutch ancestry.[6] His older sister, Abigail, is a Chelsea School of Art graduate.[7] Booth spent his early childhood in Greenwich and moved to Sevenoaks, Kent at the age of ten.[6]

Booth is severely dyslexic and found it "very hard" to read or write up until the age of ten; he remains "a really slow reader".[8] He struggled at school, "having to put in double or triple the amount of effort as everyone else" but said the condition made him "more resilient in every sense".[9] He played the trumpet as a child.[10] Booth took his first major roles in musicals presented by the Sackville Children's Choir at the Stag Theatre in Sevenoaks. He played Leader of the Rats in Rats! The Musical, and Uncle Andrew in The Magician's Nephew. He further developed his interest in drama at the age of twelve, after starring in a school production of Agamemnon: "I found myself feeling really engaged for the first time ... I thought, 'I rather like being the centre of attention. This is where I want to be.'"[11][12] By the age of thirteen, he was involved with the National Youth Theatre and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.[13][14]

Booth received both private and state education; he attended Solefield School, a boys' junior independent school in Sevenoaks, followed by Bennett Memorial Diocesan School, a Church of England state Voluntary Aided school in the town of Royal Tunbridge Wells (Kent), and Lingfield Notre Dame School, an independent school in the village of Lingfield in Surrey.[citation needed]

Booth joined the Curtis Brown acting agency at the age of fifteen.[14] He won his first professional acting role at the age of sixteen and quit his AS levels in drama, media studies and English literature.[13]

Career

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Early work

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Booth's first professional role was in the children's adventure film From Time to Time (2009), directed by Julian Fellowes and starring Maggie Smith and Timothy Spall. Following the film's release, Booth signed to the UTA talent agency for American-based representation.[15] He then had a minor role as Prince Eustace in the Channel 4 miniseries The Pillars of the Earth (2010), a medieval saga filmed in Budapest with Ian McShane and Donald Sutherland.[13] Also in 2009 and 2010, Booth modelled in several Mario Testino-shot campaigns for the luxury fashion label Burberry; he starred in the Autumn 2009 campaign with Emma Watson, the Autumn 2010 campaign with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and the Burberry Sport fragrance campaign with Lily Donaldson.[16]

Breakthrough

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Booth rose to prominence in 2010 following his performance as the pop star Boy George in the BBC Two drama Worried About the Boy.[17] He underwent a physical transformation for the role, shaving off his eyebrows and wearing heavy makeup. Booth met Boy George during filming, with the singer remarking: "He just gets it. There's something about him that reminds me of me when I was 17."[18] Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Ceri Radford said Booth delivered a "mesmerising" performance: "He offered a convincing portrayal of O'Dowd as a beautiful young man who oozed ambiguous sex appeal and protected his feelings with a carapace of prickly wit."[17] Mike Higgins of The Independent declared Booth "a discovery": "Moving, witty, he also got the singer's wheezy enunciation down pat."[19]

Booth next played the role of Pip in the BBC One adaptation of Dickens' Great Expectations (2011), alongside Gillian Anderson and Ray Winstone. Broadcast over the Christmas period, the miniseries was a huge ratings success.[20] Anne Billson of The Telegraph felt it was a misstep to cast someone "so distractingly lovely" in the role of Pip: "It's not that Douglas Booth was bad, it's just that one can't imagine Dickens ever intended Pip to be more beautiful than Estella, who, after all, has been brought up to break men's hearts."[21] Mike Hale of The New York Times dismissed Booth as "a CW-style actor whose exceptionally pretty face doesn't convey much beyond puzzlement and petulance."[22] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times, however, found the actor's performance "haunting"[23] while Emma Jones of The Huffington Post dismissed the "debate over the extreme prettiness of Douglas Booth", arguing that "Booth's beauty is only a backdrop to Pip's naivety."[24]

Also in 2011, Booth appeared in the BBC film Christopher and His Kind, which explored novelist Christopher Isherwood's formative years in 1930s Berlin. He played Heinz, a German street-sweeper who became the lover of Matt Smith's Isherwood.[25]

In 2012, Booth starred opposite Miley Cyrus and Demi Moore in the teen drama LOL. He witnessed the paparazzi interest surrounding co-star Cyrus during filming: "It was bizarre and, interestingly, not at all glamorous."[26] Filmed in 2010, when Booth was seventeen, the movie received a very limited theatrical release and unfavourable reviews.[27] Later that year, Booth read selected extracts from David Copperfield as part of Sky Arts's In Love With Dickens documentary; other contributors included Simon Callow and Miriam Margolyes.[28]

In 2013, Booth starred opposite Hailee Steinfeld in Carlo Carlei's film adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.[29] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times praised Booth's memorable performance: "It's not so much that he makes a great Romeo; frankly DiCaprio's was better in Luhrmann's version, as was Leonard Whiting in Zeffirelli's … But it has been a while since a camera has so loved a face ... If anything, the movies in general are too intent on reducing Booth to that singular feature, when he is actually a fine actor."[23] R. Kurt Osenlund of Slant felt that Booth gives "a rather fantastic breakthrough performance, offering a poignant interpretation of one of literature's greatest lovers."[30] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle bemoaned the poor casting of Steinfeld: "And this is especially a shame because Douglas Booth as Romeo is quite good and could have been better, if only he had someone to play off of."[31] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter remarked that Booth "seems to have a grasp of what he's saying and behaves in credibly laddish fashion ... but Booth's vocal range is very narrow, and he speaks in a monotone."[32] Claudia Puig of USA Today found Booth "more skilled" than Steinfeld "in the passionate intonation department"[33] while The Independent's Geoffrey MacNab asserted that Booth "shows a certain star quality."[34]

2014–present

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Booth at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con promoting Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

In March 2014, he appeared as Shem in Darren Aronofsky's biblical epic Noah.[35] Emma Watson played his character's wife; she first met Booth while shooting a Burberry fashion campaign in 2009: "There's something old-mannish about Doug, which he had even then. He knows who he is. He doesn't get intimidated, doesn't hold back, and is generally fearless."[36]

In September 2014, Booth starred alongside Sam Claflin, Max Irons and Freddie Fox in the black comedy The Riot Club, directed by Lone Scherfig.[37] Based on the stage play by Laura Wade, the ensemble piece centres around ten members of an exclusive Oxford University dining club known as The Riot Club, based on the real-life Bullingdon Club.[38] Booth made "friends for life" during the film shoot, and has said of the characters: "When you meet these sort of guys, they're always so charming. It's almost more discomfiting for the audience to be charmed by them, to like them a lot, and to see how far they'll go with them."[37] In February 2015, he appeared in The Wachowskis' science-fiction film Jupiter Ascending, starring Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum and Eddie Redmayne. "They're just the most original people," Booth has said of the Wachowskis. "They've created something very exciting and special and bonkers."[37] He played Mr. Bingley in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016), an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Seth Grahame-Smith.[39][40]

In November 2017, Booth starred in the international film Loving Vincent, as Armand Roulin, one of the models for Vincent van Gogh's Roulin Family portraits. Booth played Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx in the 2019 film The Dirt.[41]

Booth played the writer boyfriend, Don, opposite Margaret Qualley in the 2020 film My Salinger Year.

Personal life

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On 3 July 2021, Douglas announced on his Instagram account that he had proposed to his girlfriend and fellow actress Bel Powley on Primrose Hill, having met in 2016 on the set of Mary Shelley.[42] The wedding took place on 28 October 2023 at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond, followed by an afterparty at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. The couple were married under a chuppah made by Booth's sister, an artist, to honour Powley's Jewish heritage.[43]

Philanthropy

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Booth has been supporting UNHCR since 2015. Booth has supported various UNHCR fundraising events and campaigns.[citation needed]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2006 Hunters of the Kahri Sagar
2009 From Time to Time Sefton
2012 LOL Kyle Ross
2013 Romeo & Juliet Romeo Montague
2014 Noah Shem
The Riot Club Harry Villiers
2015 Jupiter Ascending Titus Abrasax
2016 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Mr. Charles Bingley
The Limehouse Golem Dan Leno
2017 Loving Vincent Armand Roulin
Mary Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley
2019 The Dirt Nikki Sixx
2020 My Salinger Year Don
2023 Unwelcome Jamie
Shoshana Tom Wilkin
2024 Young Werther Werther
TBA The Way of the Wind Post-production

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 Worried About the Boy Boy George Television film
The Pillars of the Earth Eustace IV Miniseries
2011 Christopher and His Kind Heinz Neddermayer Television film
Great Expectations Philip "Pip" Pirrip Miniseries; main role
2012 In Love with Dickens Ham Peggotty Television film
2015 And Then There Were None Anthony Marston Miniseries
2022 That Dirty Black Bag Red Bill Main role
TBA The Sandman Cluracan

Audiobooks

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Year Title Role
2017 Northanger Abbey John Thorpe
Scarlet City Part I, II, III Jonah

References

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  1. ^ [1] Archived 5 October 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Douglas Booth. "Douglas Booth: Celebrity Biography and photos on Glamour.com (Glamour.com UK)". Glamourmagazine.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Douglas worried about his skin". The Belfast Telegraph. 15 May 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  4. ^ "Deutsche Bank further strengthens Deutsche Shipping platform". Db.com. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  5. ^ "Lloyd's List". Lloydslist.com. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  6. ^ a b Lucy Hunter Johnston (27 September 2013). "Alpha Romeo: Douglas Booth on following DiCaprio and leading London's corset crew". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  7. ^ Luaine Lee (1 April 2012). "TV: At 19, Douglas Booth is starring in Dickens story". Press of Atlantic City. McClatchy-Tribune News Service. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  8. ^ "The Movie Star". Interview. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  9. ^ "First News" (PDF). Literacytrust.org.uk. June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  10. ^ "March 2013 archive". Mr Blasberg. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  11. ^ "Douglas Booth on Becoming an Actor". YouTube. 1 April 2012. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  12. ^ "Douglas Booth Interview – Romeo and Juliet Movie". Vogue. UK. 3 January 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  13. ^ a b c "Douglas Booth: the new boy at Burberry". London Evening Standard. 22 October 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  14. ^ a b Randall, Lee (12 December 2011). "Interview: Douglas Booth, actor". The Scotsman. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  15. ^ "Douglas Booth". Variety. 16 September 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  16. ^ Andy Barker (23 October 2009). "Douglas Booth: the new boy at Burberry". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  17. ^ a b Radford, Ceri (17 May 2010). "Worried About the Boy, BBC Two, Review". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
  18. ^ Wickham, Fiona. "Boy George: What I thought of Worried About The Boy". BBC. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  19. ^ Higgins, Mike (23 May 2010). "Worried About the Boy, BBC2 Royal Wedding, BBC2Ashes to Ashes, BBC1". The Independent. London, UK. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  20. ^ "Great Expectations meets BBC's high hopes thanks to young actor Douglas Booth". The Daily Telegraph. London, England. 28 December 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  21. ^ TV and Radio (27 December 2011). "Great Expectations, BBC One, review". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  22. ^ Hale, Mike (30 March 2012). "Gillian Anderson in 'Great Expectations' on PBS". The New York Times.
  23. ^ a b Sharkey, Betsy (10 October 2013). "Review: 'Romeo & Juliet' treads carefully where it should blaze". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  24. ^ "Emma Jones: Great Expectations – the Sleeper Hit of Christmas TV". Huffington Post. 30 December 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  25. ^ "Press Office – Network TV Programme Information BBC Week 12 Christopher And His Kind feature – interview with Matt Smith". BBC. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  26. ^ Wiseman, Eva (18 December 2011). "Douglas Booth: Lines of beauty". The Observer. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  27. ^ "OMG! Miley Cyrus' 'LOL' gets no love from Lionsgate". Los Angeles Times. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  28. ^ "In Love With Dickens". Dickens 2012. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  29. ^ "Julian Fellowes Talks Romeo & Juliet, Downton Abbey Seasons 4 and 5, Gilded Age, and More". Collider. 20 November 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  30. ^ "Romeo and Juliet | Film Review". Slant Magazine. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  31. ^ LaSalle, Mick (27 December 2013). "'Romeo and Juliet' review: A blight on the Bard". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  32. ^ McCarthy, Todd (8 October 2013). "Romeo & Juliet: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  33. ^ Puig, Claudia (10 October 2013). "Oh 'Romeo,' the Bard himself would be bored by remake". USA Today. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  34. ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (10 October 2013). "Film review: Julian Fellowes' Romeo and Juliet is thoroughly lacking in any emotional oomph". The Independent. London. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  35. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (4 June 2012). "Douglas Booth And Logan Lerman Board Boat For 'Noah'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  36. ^ "V Magazine/New School Romeo". Vmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  37. ^ a b c Williams, Holly (8 October 2013). "Douglas Booth: New romantic plays the heartthrob in new film adaptation of Romeo & Juliet – Features". The Independent. London, UK. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  38. ^ "Flaunt Magazine | People: Douglas Booth". Flaunt. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  39. ^ "'Noah's Douglas Booth Joins 'Pride And Prejudice And Zombies'". Deadline Hollywood. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  40. ^ Moran, Sarah (31 October 2014). "'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' First Look Image & Details". Screen Rant. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  41. ^ Blabbermouth (2 December 2018). "Mötley Crüe Biopic 'The Dirt' To Arrive In March". blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  42. ^ Rice, Nicholas (5 July 2021). "Bel Powley and Douglas Booth Are Engaged: We're 'Very, Very Happy!'". People. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  43. ^ Macon, Alexandra (2 November 2023). "Bel Powley Wore An Embellished Miu Miu Dress At Her Wedding To Douglas Booth In London". British Vogue. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
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