David Jonsson (born 1993/1994) is a British actor and writer. He began his career on the West End. He is known for his roles in the BBC Two and HBO series Industry (2020–) and the film Rye Lane (2023). For the latter, he earned a British Independent Film Award nomination.

In 2022, Jonsson appeared on the Evening Standard list of Londoners to watch ^[1] and was one of British GQ's Men of the Year Honourees. ^[2] He was named a 2023 Bright Young Thing by Tatler ^[3] and a Screen International Star of Tomorrow. ^[4]

Early life

Jonsson grew up in Custom House, an area of the East London Docklands. ^[5] His father was an IT engineer at Heathrow Airport and his mother worked for the Metropolitan Police. Jonsson is the youngest of four, with an older brother and two older sisters. ^[6] He describes his background as Creole with African, Caribbean and Swedish heritage. ^[7]

After getting in trouble at and dismissed from school, Jonsson transferred to a school in Hammersmith. ^[6] He told his mother that he wanted to be an actor. Once he completed his GCSEs, Jonsson spent two years in New York. On returning to London at the age of 18, ^[8] he joined the National Youth Theatre and won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting in 2016. ^[9]

Career

Upon graduating from RADA, Jonsson was cast in his professional stage debut as William Davison in the play Mary Stuart at the Almeida Theatre. ^[10] The production transferred to Duke of York's Theatre in early 2017, marking Jonsson's West End debut. That same year, he appeared in the West End again, this time in Don Juan in Soho alongside David Tennant at Wyndham's Theatre. ^[11]

In 2018, Jonsson made his television debut in two episodes of the ITV detective drama Endeavour. He wrote, directed, and starred in a short film titled Gen Y. The following year, he played the recurring character Isaac Turner in the second series of the Fox UK espionage thriller Deep State. ^[12]

Jonsson starred as Augustus "Gus" Sackey in BBC Two and HBO's 2020 investment banking drama Industry. ^{[13] [14] [15] [16]} To prepare for the role, he visited the character's alma maters Eton College and Oxford University to familiarise himself with such a different background from his own.

In 2021, Jonsson won a Black British Theatre Award for his performance in and breathe... at the Almeida, and presented the Jean Michel Basquiat episode of Great Lives for BBC Radio 4. ^[17]

Jonsson made his feature film debut opposite Vivian Oparah in the romantic comedy Rye Lane, which opened at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim. ^{[15] [16] [18]} He also played the lead character Luke Fitzwilliam in the BBC's 2023 adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder is Easy. ^{[19] [20]}

Jonsson is developing his first television script Hype with Clerkenwell Films. ^[21] In addition, he has upcoming roles in the films God's Spy, Benn/Eubank, ^[22] Bonhoeffer, as well as the Paramount+ series The Road Trip

Acting credits

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

• David Jonsson at IMDb
• David Jonsson at Spotlight