Alex Pettyfer - Career

Career

In 2005, after a modelling career, Pettyfer made his professional acting début in the British television production of Tom Brown's Schooldays, playing the lead character, Tom Brown; he received positive reviews for the role. In June 2005, he was cast in his most prominent role so far, that of teenage MI6 spy Alex Rider in the film Stormbreaker, based on the novel by Anthony Horowitz. He was one of 500 who auditioned for the role. Pettyfer chose to appear in the film over a role in the film Eragon, noting that he preferred Stormbreaker because it would be filmed in Britain, in the Isle of Man, while Eragon would film in Hungary; Pettyfer is afraid of flying, and he liked the looks of the cast for Stormbreaker. Stormbreaker was released on 21 July 2006 in the United Kingdom, on 6 October 2006 in the United States and on 21 September 2006 in Australia.

One review of Pettyfer's performance described him as playing the role with an "earnest intensity", although another noted that he "isn't quite at ease as an actor". Media reports specified that the film was expected to make Pettyfer a "teen idol". Pettyfer will not reprise the role if there is another Alex Rider film because he is now too mature for the role.

He next appeared in Wild Child, a film set in California, Kent and Yorkshire part of which took place at Cobham Hall Girls' School in Kent. He played school boy Freddie Kingsley and he co-starred with Emma Roberts. In 2009, he played the callous ringleader of a group of cool but cruel teenagers who are picked off one by one by the ghost of one of their former victims, in the horror-comedy, Tormented.

He starred in the film Beastly, based on the novel by Alex Flinn, alongside Mary-Kate Olsen, Vanessa Hudgens, and Neil Patrick Harris. He finished filming on 13 August 2009, and the film was released on 4 March 2011. Pettyfer portrayed the main character in I Am Number Four, released in February 2011. The film co-starred Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron, and Teresa Palmer, and was directed by D. J. Caruso, produced by Michael Bay, and executive produced by Steven Spielberg.

It has also been announced that he will portray racing car driver James Hunt in the formula 1 biopic Shunt. He will also serve as producer on the film.

He was offered the part of Jace Wayland in the upcoming portrayal of Cassandra Clare's best selling book, City of Bones. Jamie Campbell Bower was later cast as Jace Wayland. Pettyfer had also been offered a part in an upcoming film adaption of Joseph Delaney's The Wardstone Chronicles, and has declined the role. He was in line to star in The Paperboy, based on the Pete Dexter novel of the same name, but turned down the role (later filled by Zac Efron).

In mid 2012, it was announced that Pettyfer would star in The Butler, alongside Nicole Kidman, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Cuba Gooding Jnr and Forest Whitaker. Also, he has been cast in Diamond Dogs, although nothing is yet known about the movie, which is based on a book by Alan Watt. He is set to star in Nick Cassavetes' upcoming thriller Cali opposite Amber Heard who is in talks to replace Kristen Stewart who abruptly dropped out of the film.