Joe Alwyn

Watch Joe Alwyn's Masham in The Favourite (2018): his physical comedy earns him a place in an ensemble dominated by three central performances. Yorgos Lanthimos gives him a useful setting for that precision, with court rivalry played for laughs without softening its cruelty. We laughed and then felt uncomfortable, because Olivia Colman made the consequences of that cruelty hurt. Alwyn belongs in that company, even if the film gives its greatest opportunities to others.

He began as a leading actor, playing Billy Lynn for Ang Lee in Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016). The move into period-film supporting parts was already apparent in 2018, followed by television work in Conversations with Friends (2022). We would not treat smaller roles as evidence of retreat. His naturalism and slight vulnerability suit an actor who has to establish himself without taking over a film. The question is whether each part gives those qualities enough to do.

Brady Corbet gives him a more abrasive task in The Brutalist (2024), casting him as the entitled Harry Lee. That is a useful test of an actor whose quieter work can otherwise seem merely agreeable. Adrien Brody carries the film, and its second half wanders, but Alwyn's part offers a clear reason to watch him within it. Chloé Zhao's Hamnet (2025) uses him more modestly as Agnes's brother Bartholomew, a solid supporting performance in a film carried by Jessie Buckley. We respect that steadiness without finding it, on its own, a reason to choose the film.

Lanthimos's Kinds of Kindness (2024) gives us more reason for caution, with Alwyn appearing in its overlong third story. The film has already made its point about obedience twice, and his presence cannot make a third telling more rewarding. We would not blame him for the repetition. We would like more opportunities for the comic timing, and fewer parts that leave us discussing the director instead. For the clearest introduction to what he can add to an ensemble, start with The Favourite.