Alex Pettyfer: Get to Know Him

June 23, 6:42 PMChicago Celebrity Headlines ExaminerJenny McCarthy

Previous Next

5 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Chicago Celebrity Headlines Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Credit: CBS Films. Alex Pettyfer, English actor and model.

Alex Pettyfer, 19, is an English actor and model. With impeccable facial structure, physique, and a knack for looking honestly handsome in a suit, Alex has been modeling since the age of seven. Between modeling for the likes of The Gap and starring in commercials and stage plays, Alex found a way to seriously break into acting.

Alex was cast in 2006’s Stormbreaker, an adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s young adult series. Stormbreaker features Alex as Alex Rider, a young man who is thrust into training as spy in MI6 following the death of his uncle. Alex tried returning to school after Stormbreaker and never spoke of filming; he followed the advice of costar Ewan MacGregor in keeping his professional life separate from his private life.

But the lure of acting had Alex leaving school to pursue his film career. He returned in 2008’s Wild Child, starring opposite Emma Roberts, as school boy Freddie Kingsley. Wild Child has yet to receive an American release although it is expected to go straight to DVD.

Credit: CBS Films. Alex Pettyfer as the cursed Kyle Kingsley

Tormented was the next film on Pettyfer’s list. Unlike his previous roles, Tormented called for Alex to access his darker side. “I loved being evil,” he says in a recent interview. “It really challenged me. I’ve always played the pretty boy up until now.”

He’ll have to access that darker side again in his upcoming film Beastly. A modern-day tale of Beauty and the Beast, Alex plays the latter half along side Vanessa Hudgens as his beauty. Alex plays Kyle Kingson, a wealthy, manipulative brat who seemingly has it all. After humiliating goth classmate Kendra (Mary Kate Olsen) at a school dance, she places him under a spell that makes him, well, beastly. Unable to stand his son, Kyle’s father banishes him to Brooklyn with his maid and a blind tutor (Neal Patrick Harris). Will Kyle learn how to break his spell? Will Vanessa Hudgens be the beauty to see beyond his outward appearance?

If the contemporary tale is anything like the classic, then we know how it ends. Regardless, it’s Alex’s first major Hollywood role, one that will surely rocket him to Efron-like fame. Beastly isn’t due for release until the summer of 2010, but until then, you can catch Alex in the latest summer campaign for Burberry.

Are you looking forward to Beastly? To more Alex Pettyfer? Share your thoughts in the comments!