Alden Ehrenreich

American actorTemplate:SHORTDESC:American actor

**Alden Caleb Ehrenreich** (/ˈɛərənraɪk/; born November 22, 1989) is an American actor. He began his career by appearing in *Supernatural* (2005), and Francis Ford Coppola's films *Tetro* (2009) and *Twixt* (2011). Following supporting roles in the 2013 films *Blue Jasmine* and *Stoker*, he starred in the Coen brothers comedy *Hail, Caesar!* (2016), for which he gained praise. He went on to play Han Solo in the space Western film *Solo: A Star Wars Story* (2018) and starred in the dystopian television series *Brave New World* (2020).

## Early life

Ehrenreich was born in Los Angeles, California. He is the only child of Sari (née Newmann), an interior designer, and Mark Ehrenreich, an accountant. He is named after the director Phil Alden Robinson, a family friend. His stepfather, Harry Aronowitz, is an orthodontist. Ehrenreich is Jewish; his ancestors were Jewish emigrants from Austria, Hungary, Russia, and Poland, and he was raised in Reconstructionist Judaism.

Ehrenreich began acting at the Palisades Elementary School in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, and continued doing so at Crossroads School in Santa Monica, California. After graduating from high school, he studied acting at New York University at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, but never finished his degree. In 2009, he co-founded "The Collectin" with his friend Zoë Worth, a group of New York City actors, writers, producers and directors who collaborate on films and theater performances.

## Career

Ehrenreich was discovered at a friend's bat mitzvah reception by Steven Spielberg, who watched a comedy video created by Ehrenreich and a friend, "which began in the present and eventually cut to 20 or 30 years later, with Mr. Ehrenreich, in a kimono, screaming to stop a wedding." Ehrenreich has described the comedic performance he gave in the movie as, "I ran around as a skinny little punk, trying on girls' clothes and eating dirt." He was then contacted by DreamWorks, a studio which Spielberg helped found, and met with its casting director. Spielberg said of Ehrenreich:

>
> [He] was in a bat mitzvah video that my daughter acted with him in for their best friend. They showed me the video and I loved it and I got him an agent. That's sort of how it all began ... I thought he had a lot of promise in comedy ... I didn't know he was going to rogue [into] drama. He was so funny in this video, I thought, "I have found the next really funny comedian." But most of his choices have been in drama and people don't know how really funny he is.
>
>
>
>

The meeting with Spielberg led to acting roles on television shows such as *Supernatural* and *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation*.

In 2007, Ehrenreich won the role of Bennie Tetrocini in Francis Ford Coppola's *Tetro*. Coppola asked Ehrenreich to read a passage from *The Catcher in the Rye* for his main audition. The film was released in limited release in 2009 and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Ehrenreich's performance. In 2011, he played a minor role in Coppola's subsequent film *Twixt* and appeared alongside Natalie Portman in the Sofia Coppola-directed Miss Dior Cherie commercial.

In 2013, he starred as Ethan Wate in the film adaptation of the novel *Beautiful Creatures*, and appeared as Whip Taylor in Park Chan-wook's thriller film *Stoker*. He then played the stepson of Cate Blanchett in the Woody Allen-directed drama film *Blue Jasmine*. In 2016, Ehrenreich became more widely known for his co-leading role as Hobie Doyle in the Coen brothers film *Hail, Caesar!*, alongside a cast that included Josh Brolin and George Clooney. Many critics praised Ehrenreich's performance in particular. That same year, Ehrenreich starred in the leading role of Frank Forbes in Warren Beatty's romantic comedy-drama *Rules Don't Apply*. He then starred in *The Yellow Birds* with Tye Sheridan, Jack Huston, and Jennifer Aniston, which premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

Ehrenreich starred as Han Solo in the *Star Wars* anthology film *Solo: A Star Wars Story* (2018), following Solo's early life before the events of the original 1977 *Star Wars*. He headlined the *Brave New World* series on NBC, based on the 1932 novel of the same name by Aldous Huxley.

Ehrenreich's upcoming projects include *Cocaine Bear*, directed by Elizabeth Banks, *Oppenheimer*, directed by Christopher Nolan, and will have a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries *Ironheart*.

## Filmography

### Television

Key

 2006
 2020
 2023

## References

1. ↑ "Alden Ehrenreich's Explains the Story Behind His Unusual Name" on YouTube
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Alden Caleb Ehrenreich.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kvell Corner.
4. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Pappademas, Alex (April 24, 2018). "Alden Ehrenreich Is Ready to Prove He's Worthy of Han Solo". *Esquire*. Retrieved May 30, 2018. His father died when he was just seven years old under tragic circumstances that he won’t discuss. His mother is an interior designer who loves movies.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Allen, Robert (May 24, 2018). Alden Ehrenreich: Going Solo.
6. ↑ Motika, Libby (May 9, 2016). Ehrenreich Earns Raves for Acting.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Martin, Michael (May 1, 2010). Alden Ehrenreich.
8. ↑ Keeps, David A. (December 1, 2005). Tradition, but with a twist.
9. ↑ Barshad, Amos (April 24, 2018). Alden Ehrenreich can be your intergalactic hero. *The Fader*.
10. ↑ Ayers, Mike (February 5, 2016). Alden Ehrenreich's Road to the Coen Brothers and 'Hail, Caesar!'.
11. ↑ Collectin Consciousness (July 12, 2010).
12. ↑ Sancton, Julian (April 7, 2010). Alden Ehrenreich's Magic Show.
13. ↑ Grierson, Tim (February 4, 2016). Meet the Coen Brothers' New Breakout Star: Alden Ehrenreich.
14. ↑ Schneier, Matthew (May 6, 2016). The Man Who Would Be Han Solo.
15. ↑ Johnson, Zach (May 6, 2016). Alden Ehrenreich Cast as Young Han Solo: 5 Things to Know About Star Wars' Newest Star.
16. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Tatna, Meher (May 23, 2018). "Alden Ehrenreich hits big time and flies Solo in A Star Wars Story". *The New Paper*. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
17. ↑ Boone, John (June 10, 2016). EXCLUSIVE: Steven Spielberg on Discovering Young Han Solo: 'People Don't Know How Really Funny He Is'. *Entertainment Tonight*.
18. ↑ Hill, Logan (June 9, 2009). Francis Ford Coppola's New Star Alden Ehrenreich on Not 'Trickling Up' Vulture. Paste.
19. ↑ Patel, Jay (April 15, 2016). Alden Ehrenreich is tipped to star as Han Solo but who is he?. *BBC*.
20. ↑ Hill, Logan (March 30, 2009). Blessed.
21. ↑ Corliss, Richard (June 11, 2009). Coppola's Tetro: An Offer You Can Refuse.
22. ↑ Ebert, Roger (June 17, 2009). Tetro Movie Review.
23. ↑ Han, Angie (February 22, 2011). Watch the Sofia Coppola-directed Miss Dior Cherie TV Commercial Starring Natalie Portman.
24. ↑ Kroll, Justin (September 2, 2014). Alden Ehrenreich Joins Cast of Coen Brothers' 'Hail Caesar!' (EXCLUSIVE).
25. ↑ 'Hail, Caesar!': Hooray For the Coen brothets' Hollywood Homage.
26. ↑ Busch, Anita (February 24, 2014). Warren Beatty's Untitled Howard Hughes Pic Finally Takes Flight Financed By Billionaire Boys' Club; Ehrenreich, Collins To Star In Love Story.
27. ↑ Busch, Anita (October 6, 2015). Jack Huston & Jennifer Aniston Join War Pic 'The Yellow Birds'.
28. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Andreeva, Nellie (16 April 2019). "'Solo' Star Alden Ehrenreich To Headline NBCU Series 'Brave New World'". *Deadline Hollywood*.
29. ↑ Keri Russell, O'Shea Jackson, Ray Liotta, Alden Ehrenreich and Jesse Tyler Ferguson To Star in Elizabeth Banks' *Cocaine Bear* For Universal (July 1, 2021).
30. ↑ Kit, Borys (February 22, 2022). *Oppenheimer*: Alden Ehrenreich, David Krumholtz Join Christopher Nolan Drama (Exclusive).
31. ↑ Kroll, Justin (July 12, 2022). 'Ironheart': Alden Ehrenreich Latest To Join Cast of Marvel Series.

## External links

* Alden Ehrenreich at IMDb

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