Christopher William Young (born 1994) is a British actor. He began his career in theatre, earning an

Ian Charleson Award The Ian Charleson Awards are theatrical awards that reward the best classical stage performances in Britain by actors under age 30. The awards are named in memory of the renowned British actor Ian Charleson, and are run by the '' Sunday Times'' n ...

nomination. He starred as Jesper Fahey in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

fantasy series ''

Shadow and Bone ''Shadow and Bone'' is a young adult fantasy adventure and debut novel written by Israeli-American author Leigh Bardugo. It was published by Macmillan Publishers on June 5, 2012. The novel is narrated by Alina Starkov, a teenage orphan who grows ...

'' (2021–2023). His films include '' The School for Good and Evil'' and ''

Out of Darkness ''Out of Darkness'' is a 1994 American made-for-television drama film starring singer-actress Diana Ross. The movie was distributed and released by ABC on January 16, 1994, in the United States, Germany, Spain, France, Greece, Italy and Portuga ...

'' (both 2022).

Early life and education

Young was born in

Oxford 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 a Scottish father and a Ugandan mother and raised in

Abingdon-on-Thames Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England, on the River Thames. Historic counties of England, Historically the ...

. He attended

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

from 2008 to 2013; he was a member of the

Abingdon Film Unit The Abingdon Film Unit (known as the AFU) is an organisation based at Abingdon School, Abingdon-on-Thames, in Oxfordshire, England that enables pupils to make their own short documentary or animated films under the guidance of a team of industry ...

and played the lead role in the school's 2012 senior production of ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

''. Young was a member of 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 ...

. He had a few minor and ensemble roles, such as in the television film ''Walter's War'' and the

Oxford Playhouse Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F.G.M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum. History The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road, North Oxfor ...

productions of '' Cinderella'' and ''

Dick Whittington Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal, City of London, was an English merchant and a politician of the late medieval period. He is also the real-life inspiration for the English folk tale ''Dick ...

''. He went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (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 2017.

Career

Post graduation from

RADA 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 Senat ...

, Young played the lead in ''The Extraordinary Cabaret of Dorian Gray'' at the 2017 Underbelly Theatre Festival in

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

. He also joined the UK tour of '' The Real Thing'' as Billy. In 2018, he played Octavius in a production of ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

'' at the Bridge Theatre, the Journalist in a production of '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' at Donmar Warehouse, and Malcolm in ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' at the

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is an indoor theatre forming part of Shakespeare's Globe, along with the Globe Theatre on Bankside, London. Built making use of 17th-century plans for an indoor theatre, the playhouse recalls the layout and style of th ...

at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

. Young made his television debut in 2019 with a guest role in ''

Endeavour Endeavour or endeavor may refer to: People Fictional characters * Endeavour Morse, central character of the ''Inspector Morse'' novels by Colin Dexter * Endeavor, the hero name for the character Enji Todoroki from the anime series ''My Hero A ...

''. He also appeared in the

Dylan Holmes Williams Dylan Holmes Williams (born in December 1992) is a British film director and screenwriter based in London. Biography His first short film, ''The Nightmare on Deskteeth Street'', premiered at BFI London Film Festival 2017. In 2020, his sec ...

directed short ''

The Devil's Harmony ''The Devil's Harmony'' is a live action short film directed by Dylan Holmes Williams in 2019. In 2020, it won the Jury Prize for International Fiction at Sundance Film Festival. In 2019, it won the Best UK Short Jury Prize at Raindance Film ...

''. That spring and summer, he played

Lysander Lysander (; grc-gre, Λύσανδρος ; died 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an en ...

in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'' at Bridge Theatre alongside

Gwendoline Christie Gwendoline Tracey Philippa Christie (born 28 October 1978) is an English actress who is best known for portraying Brienne of Tarth in the HBO fantasy-drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2012–2019). She is also widely known for her role the Firs ...

, which earned him an

nomination. In October 2019, it was announced Young would star as Jesper Fahey the 2021

series ''

'', an adaptation of fantasy book series ''

The Grisha Trilogy Leigh Bardugo ( he, לי ברדוגו) is an Israeli-American fantasy author. She is best known for her young adult Grishaverse novels, which include the '' Shadow and Bone'' trilogy, the ''Six of Crows'' duology, and the '' King of Scars'' duol ...

'' and the '' Six of Crows Duology'' by Leigh Bardugo. His performance was singled out by several publications. The series was cancelled by Netflix after two successful seasons, but fans are currently campaigning to get it back, reaching more than 200.000 signatures asking to save it. He has film roles in ''The Origin'' and the Netflix adaptation of '' The School for Good and Evil''.

Filmography

Film

Televisions

Music videos

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Kit Living people 1994 births 21st-century English male actors Male actors from Oxford Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Black British male actors English male Shakespearean actors English male stage actors English male television actors English people of Scottish descent English people of Ugandan descent National Youth Theatre members People educated at Abingdon School People from Abingdon-on-Thames