David Jonsson (born 1993/1994) is a British actor. He began his career in the West End. He is known for his roles in the

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and

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series ''

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'' (2020–) and the film '' Rye Lane'' (2023). For the latter, he earned a

British Independent Film Award The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...

nomination. In 2022, Jonsson appeared on the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' list of Londoners to watch and was one of British ''GQ'''s Men of the Year Honourees. He was named a 2023 Bright Young Thing by ''

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'' and a ''

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'' Star of Tomorrow.

Early life

Jonsson grew up in

Custom House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...

, an area of the East London Docklands. His father was an IT engineer at

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

and his mother worked for the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

. Jonsson is the youngest of four, with an older brother and two older sisters. He describes his background as Creole with African, Caribbean and Swedish heritage. After getting in trouble at and dismissed from school, Jonsson transferred to a school in Hammersmith. He admitted to his mother that he wanted to be an actor. Once he completed his

GCSEs The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

, Jonsson spent two years in New York. On returning to London at the age of 18, he joined the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and registered charity in London. Its aim is to develop and nurture young people through creative arts and theatrical productions. Founded in 1956 as the world's first youth th ...

and won a scholarship to study at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...

(RADA), graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Acting in 2016.

Career

Upon graduating from RADA, Jonsson was cast in his professional stage debut as William Davison in the play '' Mary Stuart'' at the

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...

. The production transferred to

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

in early 2017, marking Jonsson's West End debut. That same year, he appeared in the West End again, this time in ''

Don Juan in Soho ''Don Juan in Soho'' is a play by the British playwright Patrick Marber after Molière (see '' Dom Juan''). Production history Original production Directed by Michael Grandage, it premiered at the Donmar Warehouse theatre in London on 6 Dece ...

'' alongside

David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...

Wyndham's Theatre Wyndham's Theatre is a West End theatre, one of two opened by actor/manager Charles Wyndham (the other is the Criterion Theatre). Located on Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, it was designed c.1898 by W. G. R. Sprague, the archit ...

. In 2018, Jonsson made his television debut in two episodes of the

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detective drama '' Endeavour''. He wrote, directed, and starred in a short film titled ''Gen Y''. The following year, he played the recurring character Isaac Turner in the second series of the Fox UK espionage thriller '' Deep State''. Jonsson starred as Augustus "Gus" Sackey in

and

's 2020 investment banking drama ''

''. To prepare for the role, he visited the character's alma maters

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

to familiarise himself with such a different background from his own. In 2021, Jonsson won a Black British Theatre Award for his performance in ''and breathe...'' at the Almeida, and presented the

Jean Michel Basquiat Jean-Michel Basquiat (; December 22, 1960 – August 12, 1988) was an American artist who rose to success during the 1980s as part of the Neo-expressionism movement. Basquiat first achieved fame as part of the graffiti duo SAMO, alongside Al ...

episode of ''Great Lives'' for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

. Jonsson made his feature film debut opposite

Vivian Oparah Vivian Nneka O. Oparah (born 30 December 1996) is a British actress and musician. She is known for her work in theatre, earning an Off West End Award nomination, and her roles in the BBC Three ''Doctor Who'' spin-off ''Class'' (2016) and the film ...

in the romantic comedy '' Rye Lane'', which opened at the

2023 Sundance Film Festival The 2023 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 to 29, 2023. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 7, 2022. Films U.S. Dramatic Competition * ''The Accidental Getaway Driver'', directed by Sing J. Lee * ...

to critical acclaim. He also played the lead character Luke Fitzwilliam in the BBC's 2023 adaptation of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

's Murder is Easy. He has upcoming roles in the films ''God's Spy'', ''Benn/Eubank'', ''

Bonhoeffer Dietrich Bonhoeffer (; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have ...

'', as well as the

Paramount+ Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

series ''The Road Trip''.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

*
David Jonsson
at Spotlight {{DEFAULTSORT:Jonsson, David Living people 1990s births Alumni of RADA Black British male actors English people of Swedish descent Male actors from London National Youth Theatre members Actors from the London Borough of Newham