Biography
Date of Birth
28 December 1993, England, UK
Birth Name
William Jack Poulter
Height
6' 3¼" (1.91 m)
Mini Biography
Will Poulter is an English actor, recognized for his performances as Lee Carter in Son of Rambow (2007), Eustace Scrubb in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010), and Kenny Rossmore in We're the Millers (2013). Will was born in Hammersmith, London, the son of Caroline (Barrah), a nurse, and Neil Poulter, a professor of cardiology. His mother was raised in an Anglo family in Kenya, where her own father was a prominent game warden at the Maasai Mara wildlife sanctuary.
Poulter was educated at The Harrodian School, where he participated in drama. He said in an interview that his drama teacher (Laura Lawson) encouraged his audition for the Hammer and Tongs film, Son of Rambow (2007), by knocking on his English class window and mouthing "auditions" while pointing at a flier. He was later cast as the spiky-haired delinquent "Lee Carter". Laura Lawson was also responsible for the E4 comedy sketch show, School of Comedy (2009), in which Poulter appears portraying various roles, such as "Mr. Mills" and a South African security guard. Beginning as an after-school club, School of Comedy (2009) involves children parodying the world of adults. The show was taken to The Edinburgh Festival Fringe and, in 2009, it was adapted into a 6-part television series for E4. The show has, so far, run for two seasons. In 2008, Poulter was cast as "Eustace Clarence Scrubb" in the third film of the "Narnia" franchise, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010). "Dawn Treader" was filmed in Queensland, Australia. During his almost six-month stay in Australia, Poulter was accompanied by his mother and younger sister. His father was not able to stay the entire time because of work, and his older siblings were able to stay for about two weeks, until they had to return to England. Poulter noted that, though it was hard to be separated from his family, they were able to keep in touch through phone calls and emails. More recently, Poulter appeared in the British independent film Wild Bill (2011), directed by Dexter Fletcher, and played Kenny Rossmore, his first American film character, in the comedic We're the Millers (2013), a major box office hit in the United States. His upcoming roles include The Maze Runner (2014), opposite Dylan O'Brien, and the lead in iBoy (2017).
Trivia
He loves acting, and playing football.
Is good friends with his "Narnia" co-star, Ben Barnes.
Co-wrote some material for School of Comedy (2009) with Beth Rylance.
Supports the British film industry.
Stated in an interview that his favorite film is Stand by Me (1986).
He has a brother and two sisters.
Is close friends with Youtuber Jack Harries.
Filming a British independent called Wild Bill (2011), directed by Dexter Fletcher. [December 2010]
His mother was raised in an Anglo family in Kenya, where her own father, Jack Barrah, was a prominent game warden who helped preserve the Maasai Mara wildlife sanctuary.
Will was slated to play Pennywise in It (2017), but was forced to drop out when production delays led to scheduling conflicts. He was replaced by Bill Skarsgård.
Known for his ability to nail different accents.
Quotes
I asked if I could keep Ben, but his agent told me to go away.
I joined the after-school club, School of Comedy, which progressed wildly, and in quite a Hollywood way. It sounds like 'School of Rock', right up to trying to raise money to pay for a venue in Edinburgh.
The thing I get a lot is, 'You've got a very recognisable face.' I'm never quite sure what to make of it.
I absolutely love Leonardo DiCaprio.
I need to try and get away from that brat role, or people are going to think I'm a natural brat.
Somehow I got a place at Bristol University. I'm still waiting for the phone call to say that they made a mistake and got the wrong person.
Seeing the actual, 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe', I absolutely loved it. It became one of my favourite films. It was a real Christmas classic and it was one of the most popular films ever in British history. So I think if someone told me that I'd be part of the franchise, then I would have thought they were mad.
My teacher told my mum, 'I think William has dyspraxia,' and Mum asked what that meant. She said, 'Well, if I put a chair in the middle of the room and asked every child in the class to walk around it, William would be the only child in the class to walk into it.' Mum was like, 'Yeah, that's my boy'.
I think what makes Narnia a magical place is that it offers escapism - escapism from a world that is so different from the reality known by the characters and the reality known by the fans.
[when asked if he would be portraying Pennywise in It (2017)] I don't know. I don't know. I was once when Mr Fukunaga was directing, but the circumstances at New Line are such that a new director's attached now. I think, with all due respect to him of course, I was selected by Cary and subscribed to Cary's vision for the movie, and so I haven't had a chance to connect with that [new] director. Of course, I have a relationship with New Line so I'm grateful to them for taking a punt on me - both for We're The Millers and It. But my involvement remains to be seen.
I have pretty major social anxiety. It wasn't until I just spoke to a buddy of mine who deals in anxiety that I realized I do, which is nothing I'm ashamed of whatsoever. I find now that in between roles I'm just trying to be comfortable with who I am and trying to establish who Will is, without that sounding sort of really pretentious. Otherwise I just find myself psychologically recovering from one role before I have to psychologically prepare for the next, and that's quite an unstable and unhealthy way to live.
