# Alex Wolff

Alexander Draper Wolff (born November 1, 1997), known by his nickname and professionally as Alex Wolff, is an American actor, musician, and singer-songwriter. He first gained recognition for starring alongside his older brother, Nat, in the Nickelodeon musical comedy series The Naked Brothers Band (2007–2009) that was created by their mother, Polly Draper. Wolff's father, Michael Wolff, co-produced the series' soundtrack albums The Naked Brothers Band (2007) and I Don't Want to Go to School (2008), both of which were placed on the Billboard 200 charts.
After the Nickelodeon series ended, Wolff and his brother formed a music duo called Nat & Alex Wolff, and they released the albums Black Sheep (2011), Public Places (2016) and Table for Two (2023). He focused his career on film roles, portraying Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Patriots Day (2016) and John "Derf" Backderf in My Friend Dahmer (2017). Wolff made his directorial debut with the drama film The Cat and the Moon (2019). His other acting roles include My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), Hereditary (2018), Pig (2021), Old (2021), and A Quiet Place: Day One (2024).

## Early and personal life

Wolff was born on November 1, 1997, in Manhattan, New York, to actress Polly Draper and jazz pianist Michael Wolff. He is the younger brother of actor and musician Nat Wolff. His father is Jewish and mother is Christian. Wolff is a maternal grandson of venture capitalist and civic leader William Henry Draper III, a nephew of venture capitalist Tim Draper, a cousin to Jesse Draper, and a great-grandson of banker and diplomat William Henry Draper Jr.
Wolff has Tourette's syndrome, which he inherited from his father.
When Alex and his older brother, Nat, were toddlers, they climbed out of the bathtub shouting, "We're the naked brothers band!", which inspired the name of the subsequent Nickelodeon TV series. As a young child, Alex taught himself how to play saxophone, as well as drums by viewing footage of Ringo Starr.
Although the Nickelodeon TV show The Naked Brothers Band remained successful over three seasons, the network proposed to film a 30 TV movie fourth season during the school year, leading his parents to cancel the series in 2009. From the beginning, they were hesitant to expose Alex and Nat to stardom at a young age and later agreed to the series spin-off on the provision that filming would take place only during the summer and early fall, which allowed him and his brother to proceed with their enrollment at private school in New York City.

## Career

Wolff began his acting career at the age of 6 in the musical comedy film The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie that was written and directed by his mother and screened at the Hamptons International Film Festival in 2005. It was commissioned by a former Nickelodeon executive as the pilot to the television series The Naked Brothers Band (2007–2009), which was also created, showran, written, and directed by his mother. He contributed lyrics, vocals, and instrumentation for both the film and series; their father produced and supervised the music. The show released two soundtrack albums that were placed on the Billboard 200 charts and the song "Crazy Car" ranked #83 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
In 2007, he portrayed the young boy in the Fall Out Boy music video "The Take Over, the Breaks Over". Wolff made a cameo in the Nickelodeon TV movie Mr. Troop Mom and the USA police-procedural, comedic television drama Monk, both in 2009. He also wrote and starred in the play What Would Woody Do? at The Flea Theater—which was directed by his mother—and the HBO medical drama In Treatment, both in 2010. Wolff later appeared in the comedy film The Sitter (2011) and starred alongside Brendan Fraser in the independent film HairBrained (2012).
In 2015, he starred in the indie drama Coming Through the Rye. In 2016, he had a supporting role in the comedy sequel My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 and played terrorist Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the drama Patriots Day, about the Boston Marathon bombing.
In 2018, Wolff starred in the supernatural horror film Hereditary. He made his directorial debut with The Cat and the Moon (2019), which he also wrote and starred in.
In 2020, Wolff participated in Acting for a Cause, a live classic play and screenplay reading series, created, directed and produced by Brando Crawford. Wolff played Algernon in The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and Warren Straub in This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan. The reading raised funds for non-profit charities including Mount Sinai Medical Center. Wolff co-produced the second reading.
Since 2024, Wolff and his brother are touring with Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and musician Billie Eilish as the opening act for her concerts across the United States.

## Awards

For Wolff's work on The Naked Brothers Band series and film, he obtained the Audience Award for a Family Feature Film at the Hamptons International Film Festival in 2005, a Broadcast Music, Inc. Cable Award in 2007, and was nominated for a Young Artist Award both in 2008 and 2009. He also received a Certificate of Outstanding Achievement for Best Actor at the Brooklyn International Film Festival for his lead role in the film HairBrained in 2013. On October 11, 2018, Wolff received the Auteur Award at the San Diego International Film Festival.
He received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Actor at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards in 2021, for his performance in the film Castle in the Ground.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie | Alex Wolff | |
| 2011 | From Up on Poppy Hill | Riku Matsuzaki (voice) | English dub |
| 2011 | The Sitter | Clayton | |
| 2012 | The Empty Room | Allen | Short film |
| 2013 | A Birder's Guide to Everything | Timmy Barsky | |
| 2013 | Hair Brained | Eli Pettifog | |
| 2015 | Coming Through the Rye | Jamie Schwartz | |
| 2015 | Boots | Noah | Short film |
| 2016 | My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 | Bennett | |
| 2016 | The Standoff | Zane | |
| 2016 | Patriots Day | Dzhokhar Tsarnaev | |
| 2017 | Thoroughbreds | Party Friend | Uncredited |
| 2017 | The House of Tomorrow | Jared Whitcomb | |
| 2017 | My Friend Dahmer | John 'Derf' Backderf | |
| 2017 | Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle | Spencer Gilpin | |
| 2018 | Hereditary | Peter Graham | |
| 2018 | Dude | Noah | |
| 2018 | Stella's Last Weekend | Oliver | |
| 2019 | The Cat and the Moon | Nick | Also writer and director |
| 2019 | Castle in the Ground | Henry Fine | |
| 2019 | Bad Education | Nick Fleishman | |
| 2019 | Human Capital | Ian | |
| 2019 | Jumanji: The Next Level | Spencer Gilpin | |
| 2021 | Pig | Amir | |
| 2021 | Old | Trent Cappa | |
| 2022 | Susie Searches | Jesse | |
| 2023 | A Good Person | Mark | |
| 2023 | The Line | Tom Backster | |
| 2023 | Oppenheimer | Luis Walter Alvarez | |
| 2024 | A Quiet Place: Day One | Reuben | |
| 2025 | Magic Farm | Jeff | Completed |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2007–2009 | The Naked Brothers Band | Alex Wolff | Main cast |
| 2009 | Mr. Troop Mom | Alex Wolff | Television film |
| 2009 | Monk | Brian Willis | Episode: "Mr. Monk Goes Camping" |
| 2010 | In Treatment | Max Weston | 7 episodes |
| 2016 | Divorce | Cole | 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Red Oaks | Director | Episode: "Summer in the City" |
| 2017 | Crash & Burn | Gabriel | Television film |
| 2020 | Acting for a Cause | Algernon / Warren Straub | 2 episodes |
| 2024 | So Long, Marianne | Leonard Cohen | |

### Music videos

| Year | Song | Artist | Role |
| 2024 | "Lithonia" | Childish Gambino | Drummer |