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Brenton Thwaites

Brenton Thwaites (born 1988 or 1989) is an Australian actor. Beginning his career in his home country in 2011, he had a starring role on the series Slide and later appeared on the soap opera Home and Away. Since moving to the United States, Thwaites has had major roles in the films Blue Lagoon: The Awakening (2012), Oculus (2013), The Giver (2014), Gods of Egypt (2016), and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). He starred as Dick Grayson / Robin / Nightwing in the DC Universe / HBO Max series Titans from 2018 to 2023.

Brenton Thwaites
Thwaites in 2020
Born1988/1989 (age 35–36)
Cairns, Queensland, Australia
OccupationActor
Years active2010–present
PartnerChloe Pacey (2015–present)
Children5

Early life

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Thwaites was born in Cairns, Queensland.[1] He has a sister. He graduated from Cairns State High School in 2006.[1]

During his youth, Thwaites was drawn to the idea of becoming a policeman or a firefighter, having been interested in movies involving the latter. However, his interests changed to filmmaking and "letting [one's] personality shine through so many different characters". At the age of 16, Thwaites gave his first performance in front of a live audience in Romeo and Juliet.[2]

Thwaites studied acting at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) for three years, before graduating in 2010.[3][4][5] He then relocated to Sydney to join the long-running soap opera Home and Away before moving to the United States in 2011/12 to pursue his career in acting.[6][7][8]

Career

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2010–2011: Early career

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Prior to graduating from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Thwaites made his film debut in Charge Over You, a 2010 independent film.[9] After he graduated, Thwaites appeared in an episode of Sea Patrol and in the short film Headsmen.[10][11]

In November 2010, Thwaites was cast in a new Fox8 Australian teen drama series, Slide.[12][13] The show follows five Brisbane teenagers making their way to adulthood.[13][14] Thwaites believes his character, Luke Gallagher, "stands back a bit. He watches. He's struggling with family issues. He's drawn in as it was a chance to find better friends and an opportunity to be part of a group. He's a cool, accepted kid. Some friends he can love and help him mature."[10] Thwaites made his first appearance on Slide in the series' premiere episode on 16 August 2011. The series ran one season.[13]

Shortly after Thwaites moved to Sydney in April 2011, he was given a five-month recurring role of Stu Henderson in the 24th season of Home and Away.[5][7] Thwaites called the show a great learning experience and said his co-stars were easy to work with.[8] Thwaites made his first appearance as Stu, a member of the River Boys, on 23 August 2011.[7] Tristan Swanwick of The Courier-Mail said Thwaites was a "bit too pretty to be a bad-ass River Boy" but that some fake tattoos would balance that impression.[5] Of his character, Thwaites said, "Stu's awesome, he has some fights, he gets the girls, it's awesome fun."[5][15]

2012–2016: Film roles and continued success

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Following Thwaites' relocation to the United States, he signed on to play the male lead in the 2012 television film Blue Lagoon: The Awakening opposite Indiana Evans.[16] The film received generally mixed reviews, with Zap2it praising both Thwaites and Evans' "(mostly) believable" acting[17] and The New York Times saying their performances were superior to those of the leads in the first film of the series.[18]

 
Thwaites at the premiere of Oculus, Toronto Film Festival, 8 September 2013

In 2013, Thwaites starred in the psychological/supernatural horror film Oculus as the male lead Tim Russell. Production on the film began in October 2012 in Alabama, and was completed a few weeks later.[19] The film was first released on 5 September 2013, at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival,[20] and received a worldwide theatrical release on 11 April 2014.[21] His performance as Russell was well received by Indiewire, which claimed that Thwaites maintained a "credibly frightened demeanor" throughout the film.[22]

In 2014, Thwaites briefly returned to Australia for the filming of crime thriller Son of a Gun. Primarily shot in Perth, Kalgoorlie and Melbourne,[23] Thwaites had to audition for the part of JR "up to 10 times before landing the role." Regarding his character, Thwaites said, "I jumped at the opportunity to audition when this came up and I found the character was a very vulnerable kid amongst strange men that are in some way an inspiration. I just thought that was interesting as a young man myself."[24] Thwaites received critical acclaim for his portrayal of JR, with Variety contending that he "makes a suitably keen-eyed, clean-scrubbed lead, retaining a kind of porous naivete even as the character gets his blood up"[25] and The Sydney Morning Herald praising his role as the embattled hero of the plot.[26] The film premiered in Australia on 16 October 2014.[27]

 
Thwaites in 2014

In 2014, Thwaites appeared in Maleficent as Prince Phillip.[28] A Maleficent sequel was released in 2019, but Harris Dickinson was recast in Thwaites' role as he was unable to return due to scheduling conflicts.[29] Additionally, he starred in The Signal as the male lead, Nic Eastman. The film opened at the Sundance Film Festival in January, seven months after shooting on location in the desert of New Mexico.[30][31] Thwaites received praise in a review by The Plain Dealer that noted his performance in The Signal was "as a compelling presence in the driver's seat as things get freakier and freakier around him."[32]

Later in the year, Thwaites also had the lead role in The Giver, playing Jonas.[33] Primarily filmed in South Africa,[6] the film was met with generally mixed to negative reviews, with The Telegraph criticising Thwaites' portrayal for "he [struggled] to give us the layered, conflicted hero this film [needed]".[34] However, his portrayal was well received by the Huffington Post, who commended Thwaites' acting[35] and by The Plain Dealer, which noted that the "fast-rising Thwaites...does a nice job with the lead role."[36] He was awarded the Australians in Film "Breakthrough Award" for his role in The Giver.[37]

Thwaites starred in Gods of Egypt. He played Bek, a human thief.[38] Principal photography on the film began on 20 March 2014 at the Fox Studios in Sydney, Australia, and the film was released worldwide on 26 February 2016.[39]

2017–present: Pirates of the Caribbean and Titans

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Thwaites starred in the fantasy-adventure sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which was released on 26 May 2017.[40][41][42][43] Thwaites portrays Henry Turner, the son of franchise characters Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann.[44][45][46] Shooting of the film commenced in February 2015, on the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia.[47][48]

Following Pirates, Thwaites had a leading role in the 2017 Christian film, An Interview with God, portraying a young journalist, Paul Asher.[49] Thwaites was then cast as Dick Grayson / Robin in the DC Universe series Titans[50] which began airing in 2018.

Personal life

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Thwaites has been in a relationship with Chloe Pacey since 2015,[51][52] after they both lived in the same sharehouse in Australia while Thwaites was filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.[53] After a stint in Los Angeles, Thwaites returned to Queensland.[54] Thwaites and Pacey became engaged on 26 July 2023. The couple have five children.[55]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 Charge Over You Sam
2012 Save Your Legs! Mark Cow
2013 Oculus Tim Russell
2014 The Giver Jonas
Maleficent Prince Phillip
Ride Angelo
The Signal Nic Eastman
Son of a Gun JR
2015 Ruben Guthrie Chet
That Sugar Film Himself Documentary film[56][57]
2016 Gods of Egypt Bek
2017 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Henry Turner
2018 Office Uprising Desmond Also executive producer
2019 An Interview with God Paul Asher
A Violent Separation Norman
2020 Ghosts of War Chris
2020 I Met a Girl Devon Also executive producer
2024 We Bury the Dead Clay Post-production
2024 How to Make Gravy Dan

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2011 Sea Patrol Leigh Scarpia Episode: "Black Flights"
Slide Luke Gallagher Main role; 10 episodes
Rove LA Himself Part of the studio audience[58][59]
2011–2012 Home and Away Stu Henderson Recurring role
2012 Blue Lagoon: The Awakening Dean McMullen Television film
2018–2023 Titans Dick Grayson / Robin / Nightwing Main role

Awards and nominations

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Award Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
AiF Breakthrough Award 2014 Up-and-coming talent The Giver Won [37]
EuroCinema Kawananakoa Award Rising star – Won [60]
GQ Men of the Year Breakthrough Actor – Won [61]
Teen Choice Awards 2017 Choice Action Movie Actor Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Nominated [62]
2019 Choice Action TV Actor Titans Nominated [63]

References

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  1. ^ a b Strudwick, Daniel (27 July 2011). "Cairns actor Brenton Thwaites trades Far North for a role in Home and Away". The Cairns Post. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  2. ^ Barker, Lauren (11 September 2014). "Brenton Thwaites, actor, The Giver". The Weekend Edition. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  3. ^ "SLiDE Behind The Scenes Episode 5 – Luke" (Official YouTube video). Fox8. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Underbelly coup for QUT acting grads". Queensland University of Technology. 18 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d Swanwick, Tristan (9 July 2011). "Brenton soaps up well for role". The Courier-Mail. Queensland Newspapers. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Brenton Thwaites on Son of a Gun". Time Out. 25 August 2014. Archived from the original on 26 April 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  7. ^ a b c "Big break calls Thwaites back". Gold Coast Mail. APN News & Media. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  8. ^ a b Dennehy, Luke (21 August 2011). "Thwaites' to star in Home and Away". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  9. ^ "The Project". Charge Over You. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  10. ^ a b "A SLiDE Show of Teen Drama – Meet Brenton Thwaites". Q News. 16 August 2011. Archived from the original on 11 October 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  11. ^ "Episode 062 – Black Flights". Sea Patrol. 7 June 2011. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  12. ^ "SliDE starts production for Foxtel". Throng. 9 November 2010. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  13. ^ a b c Knox, David (15 August 2011). "SLiDE". TV Tonight. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  14. ^ "A new drama series for Fox8 – SLiDE". Austar. 8 November 2011. Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
  15. ^ Richards, Holly (6 September 2011). "No job wait for Thwaites". The West Australian. Seven West Media Limited. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  16. ^ "Blue Lagoon: The Awakening". mylifetime.com. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  17. ^ "Blue Lagoon: The Awakening – The Most Watchable Lifetime Movie Ever?". Zap2it. 17 June 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2012.[permanent dead link]
  18. ^ Hale, Mike (15 June 2012). "Smile! It's Time for a Guilty Plunge Into Summer TV". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2018. ... 'The Awakening' offers occasional honest moments of humor and adolescent angst: Ms. Evans and Mr. Thwaites are in their early 20s and better actors than Ms. Shields and Mr. Atkins were in their teens.
  19. ^ "'Oculus', starring Katee Sackhoff & Karen Gillan, filming underway in Alabama". On Location Vacations. 24 October 2012. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  20. ^ Barone, Matt (10 September 2013). "TIFF Review: The Smart, Inventive "Oculus" Is the Best Horror Film of the Festival". Complex. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  21. ^ "UPDATE: New 'Oculus' theatrical poster debuts". WWE. 10 March 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  22. ^ "Review: Why 'Oculus' Is One of the Scariest American Horror Movies In Years". Indiewire. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  23. ^ McHugh, Jillian (22 July 2013). "Ewan McGregor | Son of a Gun | movie | Western Australia". smh.com.au. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  24. ^ Moran, Jonathon (7 October 2014). "Hunky Aussie actor Brenton Thwaites: 'I'm not born to fit into the Hollywood lifestyle'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  25. ^ "Film Review: 'Son of a Gun'". Variety. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  26. ^ "Film reviews in brief: Julius Avery's thriller Son of a Gun plus Liam Neeson's latest and more". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  27. ^ "Global deals for Son of a Gun". If.com.au. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  28. ^ Fowler, Tara (31 May 2012). "'Maleficient' casts 'Home and Away's Brenton Thwaites as prince". digitalspy.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  29. ^ Kroll, Justin (2 May 2018). "'Trust' Star Harris Dickinson to Play the Prince in Disney's 'Maleficent 2' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  30. ^ "The Signal – Festival Program". Sundance Film Festival. Archived from the original on 21 January 2014. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
  31. ^ Heisel, Angela (14 May 2013). "The New Mexico Film Office Announces "The Signal" filming in New Mexico" (PDF). New Mexico Film Office Press Release. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  32. ^ "'The Signal': Intense sci-fi thriller with Laurence Fishburne and Brenton Thwaites (review)". cleveland.com. The Plain Dealer. 12 June 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  33. ^ Busis, Hillary (27 September 2013). "Taylor Swift will co-star in long-awaited adaptation of 'The Giver'". Entertainment Weekly.
  34. ^ "The Giver, review: 'mundane sci-fi'". The Telegraph. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  35. ^ "'The Giver' Movie Is Quite Different From The Book You Remember From Middle School, And Here's Why". Huffington Post. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  36. ^ "'The Giver': Jeff Bridges, Brenton Thwaites and the danger of memories (review)". cleveland.com. The Plain Dealer. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  37. ^ a b "The Australians in Film Awards & Benefit Gala Dinner 2014". Australians in Film. 26 October 2014. Archived from the original on 3 December 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  38. ^ Kroll, Justin (7 October 2013). "Brenton Thwaites Board Summit's 'Gods of Egypt'". variety.com. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  39. ^ "Summit Entertainment Dates Allegiant, Gods of Egypt and Step Up All In". comingsoon.net. 16 December 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  40. ^ "Geoffrey Rush talks about new and old projects". TV Guide. December 2014.
  41. ^ McCarthy, Tyler (16 December 2014). "'Pirates Of The Caribbean 5' Casting Rumors: Five Actresses Up For Romantic Lead In 2017 'Dead Men Tell No Tales'". International Business Times.
  42. ^ Kroll, Justin (15 December 2014). "Young Actresses Lining Up for Key Role in Pirates 5 (Exclusive)". Variety.
  43. ^ Ge, Linda; Sneider, Jeff (21 November 2014). "Brenton Thwaites in Talks to Join 'Pirates of the Caribbean 5' (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Archived from the original on 3 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  44. ^ Fuller, Becky (28 March 2017). "Pirates 5: Will Turner's Son Confirmed". Screen Rant. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  45. ^ "Brenton Thwaites Nabs Key 'Pirates 5' Role". The Hollywood Reporter. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  46. ^ "Brenton Thwaites Boards 'Pirates 5′ Ship For Disney". Deadline Hollywood. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  47. ^ "Cairns-born actor Brenton Thwaites lands coveted Pirates of the Caribbean role". The Courier-Mail. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  48. ^ "Raise a Black Flag! A New Pirates of the Caribbean Film Is Coming". Disney Insider. 23 July 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  49. ^ "David Strathairn And Brenton Thwaites Join Faith-Based Drama "An Interview With God" (Exclusive)". The Tracking Board. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  50. ^ Petski, Denise (1 December 2017). "Titans: Brenton Thwaites As Robin In DC Superhero Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  51. ^ "Brenton Thwaites' girlfriend reveals baby bump". The Courier-Mail. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  52. ^ "SEE THE PICS: Did You Know That Brenton Thwaites Is Having a Baby?". J-14. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  53. ^ "Brenton Thwaites". Interview. 26 February 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  54. ^ Shearer, Geoff (3 November 2018). "Thwaites' journey from pirate to family man". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  55. ^ "Chloe Pacey's Instagram". 15 October 2024.
  56. ^ "First Taste of Damon Gameau's That Sugar Film". Cinema Australia. 15 November 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  57. ^ "Aussie filmmaker's shocking sugar experiment". The West Australian. Seven West Media. 19 November 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  58. ^ Swanwick, Tristan; Cooper, Nathanael (9 September 2011). "Home and Away star Brenton Thwaites busted by Rove McManus writing in his journal in audience of Rove LA". The Sunday Times. News Limited. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  59. ^ "Actor Brenton Thwaites busted by Rove in awkward moment". Herald Sun. 19 September 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  60. ^ "2014 Brenton Thwaites On The Red Carpet". EuroCinema Hawaii. 8 November 2014. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  61. ^ "2014 Breakthrough Actor: Brenton Thwaites". GQ Australia. 19 November 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
  62. ^ Ceron, Ella (19 June 2017). "Teen Choice Awards 2017: See the First Wave of Nominations". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  63. ^ Moreau, Jordan (19 June 2019). "'Avengers: Endgame,' 'Riverdale,' 'Aladdin' Top 2019 Teen Choice Award Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
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