Otto Farrant (born 13 November 1996) is an English actor. He is best known for his portrayal of the titular character in Amazon Prime's spy thriller series Alex Rider (2020–2024). He previously had supporting television roles in The White Queen (2013), War & Peace (2016) and Mrs. Wilson (2018). As a theatre actor, he has performed at venues such as the Royal National Theatre and the Young Vic.
Otto Farrant | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 November 1996[1] Hammersmith, London, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2008–present |
Life and career
editFarrant was born in Hammersmith, West London and raised in Tooting, South London. He attended Graveney School.[2] He first became interested in acting after watching a performance of Gavroche in Les Misérables.[3] When he was young, he participated in theatre at Stagecoach Theatre School in Battersea.[4] In 2011, he worked alongside Joanne Froggatt and Joe Cole in a production of Little Platoons at the Bush Theatre.[4]
At 11 years of age, Farrant began performing on stage in productions at the likes of the National Theatre and Shakespeare's Globe theatre.[5][6] In 2010, he made his big screen debut as Young Perseus in Clash of the Titans.[6] In 2013, Farrant starred as Thomas Grey for 5 episodes of BBC historical drama The White Queen.[6] In 2016, he played Petya Rostov in the BBC historical Russian based drama serial War & Peace,[6] then played Nigel Wilson in the 2018 BBC miniseries Mrs. Wilson.[7][8]
In 2019, Farrant was cast in the leading role in Amazon Prime Video's Alex Rider, a television adaptation of Anthony Horowitz's novel series, where a teenage schoolboy is recruited by MI6.[9] Farrant stars alongside Vicky McClure and Stephen Dillane.[10] The show premiered in the UK and Ireland on 4 June 2020, following six months of filming in 2019.[11] The show's second season was produced during the first half of 2021 and released in December 2021.[12] The third and final season began production in October 2022 and released in April 2024.[13][14]
Acting credits
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Clash of the Titans | Young Perseus | |
| 2011 | The Great Ghost Rescue | Barnabus | |
| Salmon Fishing in the Yemen | Joshua Maxwell | ||
| 2012 | Happily Ever After | Son | Short film |
| 2014 | The Departure | Soldier (voice) | Short film |
| 2021 | Edge of the World | Charley |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The Bill | Archie Powell | Episode: "Who Dares Wins" |
| 2013 | The White Queen | Thomas Grey | 5 episodes |
| 2014 | National Theatre Live: A Streetcar Named Desire | Young Collector | Live theatre via satellite |
| Silk | Harry Stephens | Episode: "Heavy Metal" | |
| 2016 | Marcella | Evan Jones | 2 episodes |
| War & Peace | Petya Rostov | 3 episodes | |
| 2018 | Mrs. Wilson | Nigel Wilson | 3 episodes |
| 2020 | Strike Back: Vendetta | Nadal Topal | 2 episodes |
| 2020–2024 | Alex Rider | Alex Rider | Main role; 24 episodes |
Stage
edit| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Merry Wives of Windsor | Robin | Shakespeare's Globe Theatre: June – July 2008 | [15] | |
| Oedipus | Eteocles | Royal National Theatre – Olivier: October 2008 – January 2009 | [16] | ||
| 2009 | The Habit of Art | Charlie | Royal National Theatre – Lyttelton: November 2009 – January 2010 | Original production | [6] |
| 2011 | Little Platoons | Sam | Bush Theatre: January – February 2011 | Original production | [4] |
| 2014–2016 | A Streetcar Named Desire | The Young Collector | Young Vic Theatre: July – September 2014 | Filmed for NT Live | [17] |
| St. Ann's Warehouse: April – June 2016 | New York transfer | [6] | |||
| 2016–2017 | Spool | Mind | Edinburgh Fringe Festival: August 2016 | Co-writer and co-director | [18][19][20] |
| International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival: May 2017 | |||||
| 2016 | Once In A Lifetime | Rudolph Kammerling / Ernest | Young Vic Theatre: November 2016 – January 2017 | [6] |
References
edit- ^ Alex Rider TV. "Happy Birthday to our lead agent, Otto Farrant!". Retrieved 3 December 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ Watson, Keith (2 June 2020). "TV to Go: Meet Otto Farrant, the actor bringing teen hero Alex Rider to the screen". Metro Newspaper UK. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
...how does a lad from Tooting come to be called Otto?
- ^ "11 Questions with the cast of Once in a Lifetime - Otto Farrant". Young Vic website. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ a b c "Little Platoons". bushtheatre.co.uk. 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
Otto is currently training at Stagecoach Theatre School, Battersea
- ^ "Meet Otto Farrant – the latest young actor to take on teenage super-spy Alex Rider". NME. 4 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Otto Farrant CV". Curtis Brown Group. curtisbrown.co.uk. 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ "Otto Farrant is the new Alex Rider". anthonyhorowitz.com. 23 April 2019.
- ^ Madden, Emma (27 November 2018). "Who is Otto Farrant? The Actor Who Plays Nigel in 'Mrs Wilson' is a Stage Regular". Bustle. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Meet Otto Farrant – the latest young actor to take on teenage super-spy Alex Rider". denofgeek.com. 26 May 2020.
- ^ "Stars Vicky McClure and Otto Farrant on new Alex Rider TV series". irishnews.com/. 3 June 2020.
- ^ Kanter, Jake (13 May 2020). "'Alex Rider': Amazon Snags UK Rights To Anthony Horowitz Spy Franchise". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 29 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- ^ Petski, Denise (10 November 2020). "'Alex Rider' Renewed For Season 2 By IMDb TV". Deadline. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- ^ Daniels, Nia (14 October 2022). "Alex Rider 3 becomes first major production to shoot at new studio TBY2". KFTV. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "Alex Rider season 3 will be the last. | News". Anthony Horowitz. 2 March 2024. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ "The Merry Wives of Windsor Return to the London Globe, a CurtainUp London re- review". curtainup.com. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ "Oedipus" (PDF). Discover: National Theatre. 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2020.
- ^ "A Streetcar Named Desire". Young Vic website. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ "Spool". Murmurations. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ Curtis, Alastair (31 August 2016). "Edinburgh Fringe Review: Spool, Greenside at Nicolson Square". A Younger Theatre. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ "Review 2017: Spool". International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2020.