George MacKay (born 13th March 1992, in Hammersmith, London) is an English actor.
He began acting as a child, with his debut role being one of the Lost Boys in the 2003 adaptation of Peter Pan. He continued acting throughout his teenage years and gained wider recognition in adulthood, particularly for his starring role in 1917.
Filmography includes:
- Peter Pan (2003) as Curly
- The Thief Lord (2006) note as Riccio
- Defiance (2008) as Aron Bielski
- How I Live Now (2013) as Edmond
- Pride (2014) as Joe "Bromley" Cooper
- Captain Fantastic (2016) as Bodevan Cash
- 11/22/63 (2016) as Bill Turcotte (miniseries adaptation)
- Marrowbone (2017) as Jack
- Ophelia (2018) note as Hamlet
- Where Hands Touch (2018) as Lutz
- True History of the Kelly Gang (2019) as Ned Kelly
- 1917 (2019) as Lance Corporal William "Will" Schofield
- Munich - The Edge of War (2022) as Hugh Legat
- I Came By (2022) as Toby Nealey
- Femme (2023) as Preston
Tropes associated with his roles include:
- Fake American: As Bodevan Cash in Captain Fantastic.
- Fake Australian: As Australian outlaw Ned Kelly in True History of the Kelly Gang, although MacKay's father is from Australia and he also has Irish ancestry, as did the real Ned Kelly.
- Fake Nationality: He plays Danish prince Hamlet in Ophelia, Polish Jew Aron Bielski in Defiance and German Lutz in Where Hands Touch (ironically, Aron Bielski was part of a Jewish resistance movement who fought the Nazis, while Lutz starts out as a loyal member of the Hitler Youth).
- Period Piece: He's appeared in a lot of films set in the past, particularly in films set during or shortly before World War II. Ophelia is set in The Late Middle Ages, Pride is set in 1984, True History of the Kelly Gang is set in the 1870s and no prizes for guessing when 1917 is set.
- What Could Have Been:
- He screen-tested for the role of Henry Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which eventually went to Brenton Thwaites.
- He was one of a few actors considered for the role of Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, with Will Poulter ultimately getting the part.
