# Fionn Whitehead

Fionn Whitehead (/fɪn/; born 18 July 1997) is an English actor. He portrayed the lead role in the 2017 film Dunkirk and the 2018 film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. His first acting credit was in the 2016 ITV miniseries Him.

## Life

Whitehead was born on 18 July 1997 in the Richmond area of London, to jazz musicians Tim and Linda Whitehead. He was named after Irish folk legend Fionn mac Cumhaill. Whitehead has two older sisters, Maisie, a performance artist and Hattie, a singer, and one older brother, Sonny. Whitehead was raised "in an artistic household". As a child, he aspired to become either a guitarist or a breakdancer. He began acting at the Orange Tree Theatre aged thirteen. He then went to Richmond College and entered the National Youth Theatre's summer course. By 2015, he was an aspiring actor working at a coffee shop in Waterloo, London.

## Career

In 2016, Whitehead starred in the British miniseries Him. In 2017 he acted in a stage performance of Glenn Waldron's Natives.
He was cast as the protagonist of Christopher Nolan's film Dunkirk, which was released in 2017. Nolan compared Whitehead to actor Tom Courtenay in his youth. Weeks after Whitehead finished with Dunkirk, he began work with Richard Eyre's film The Children Act, opposite Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2017. He also starred in one of eight monologues in the television series Queers that aired in 2017.
In 2018, Whitehead starred in the Black Mirror television series’ interactive stand-alone film Bandersnatch, as lead character Stefan Butler. In 2019, Whitehead appeared in Sebastian Schipper's drama Roads, and the Martin Scorsese produced Port Authority. He later appeared in The Duke and Don’t Tell a Soul (both 2020). He co-stars as Branwell Bronte in the Emily Bronte biopic Emily (2022), and in a television adaptation of Great Expectations (2023), playing the lead role of Pip.

## Filmography

Movies & Television :
| Year | Title | Medium | Role | Notes |
| 2016 | Him | Miniseries | Him | |
| 2017 | Dunkirk | Film | Thomas "Tommy" Jensen | |
| 2017 | Queers | TV series | Andrew | "A Grand Day Out" monologue (one of eight monologues) |
| 2017 | The Children Act | Film | Adam Henry | |
| 2018 | Black Mirror: Bandersnatch | Film | Stefan Butler | Stand-alone interactive film of Black Mirror |
| 2019 | Roads | Film | Gyllen | |
| 2019 | Port Authority | Film | Paul | |
| 2020 | Inside No. 9 | TV series | Gabriel | Episode: "Misdirection" |
| 2020 | The Duke | Film | Jackie Bunton | |
| 2020 | Don't Tell a Soul | Film | Matt | |
| 2021 | Voyagers | Film | Zachary "Zach" | |
| 2022 | Emily | Film | Branwell Brontë | |
| 2023 | Great Expectations | TV series | Pip | Main role |

## Accolades

Whitehead's accolades :
| Year | Film | Award | Ceremony | Result |
| 2017 | Dunkirk | Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer | 23rd Empire Awards | Nominated |
| 2017 | Dunkirk | London Film Critics' Circle Award for Young British/Irish Performer of the Year | 38th London Film Critics' Circle Awards | Nominated |
| 2017 | The Children Act | London Film Critics' Circle Award for Young British/Irish Performer of the Year | 39th London Film Critics' Circle Awards | Nominated |
| 2022 | Emily | British Independent Film Awards' Award for Best Supporting Performance | 25th British Independent Film Awards | Nominated |
| 2022 | Emily | British Independent Film Awards' Award for Best Ensemble Performance | 25th British Independent Film Awards | Nominated |