Claim: Louis Tomlinson was in a boy band.

Louis William Tomlinson -LRB- born Louis Troy Austin ; 24 December 1991 -RRB- is an English singer-songwriter and actor . He is known as a member of the pop boy band One Direction .   Tomlinson began his career as an actor , initially appearing in ITV drama Fat Friends as an extra . He also went on to appear in another ITV drama film If I Had You and the BBC drama Waterloo Road . In 2010 , he became a founding member of One Direction after auditioning as a solo artist on The X Factor . Following the band 's hiatus , Tomlinson released the single `` Just Hold On '' with Steve Aoki in December 2016 .   In 2013 , he was signed as a footballer by Doncaster Rovers of the Football League Championship on a non-contract basis . The same year he also formed his own record label , Triple Strings Ltd. . He appeared on Debrett 's 2017 list of the most influential people in the UK .