George Andrew J. MacKay, born 13 March 1992, is a British actor. He began his career as a child actor. MacKay was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2014.
Early life and education
MacKay was born in Hammersmith, London to Kim Baker, a British costume designer from London, and Paul MacKay, an Australian working in lighting and stage management. He grew up in Barnes with his younger sister. He is of Irish descent on his mother’s side, his maternal grandmother being from Cork.
MacKay attended the Harrodian School. When he was 17, he unsuccessfully auditioned for RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art).
Career
2002–2012: Child acting
In 2002, MacKay was spotted at school when he was 11 by an acting scout who asked him to audition for a role in P.J. Hogan’s 2003 film adaptation of Peter Pan. He attended a workshop and won the role of one of the Lost Boys, Curly, in what was his first professional acting job.
In 2005, at the age of 13, he won the role of Riccio in The Thief Lord, the film adaptation of Cornelia Funke’s best-selling children’s novel. He was also cast in the lead role in Johnny and the Bomb, a BBC three-part television drama adapted from Terry Pratchett’s novel of the same name. MacKay also had some work in television, including roles in Rose and Maloney, Footprints in the Snow and The Brief. In the 2008 film Defiance, MacKay played Aron, the youngest of the four Bielski brothers. In 2009 he portrayed Harry in The Boys Are Back starring Clive Owen. MacKay co-starred in the Marc Evans-directed musical film Hunky Dory opposite Minnie Driver, Aneurin Barnard and Kimberley Nixon, which is set in 1970s Swansea. In 2012, he played the main character, Private Tommo Peaceful, in Private Peaceful, and appeared as a paralyzed soldier in the inspirational film The Best of Men.
2013–present: Young adult career
In 2013, MacKay portrayed Eddie in How I Live Now opposite Saoirse Ronan and directed by Kevin Macdonald, and starred as Davy in the musical film Sunshine on Leith, featuring songs by The Proclaimers, directed by Dexter Fletcher. In 2014, MacKay played the role of Joe, a 20-year-old struggling to come out in a homophobic Britain in 1984 in the film Pride (based on a true story) also starring Bill Nighy. In 2015, Mackay took the lead role as Richard Miller in Eugene O’Neill’s coming-of-age play, Ah, Wilderness! directed by Natalie Abrahami at The Young Vic.
In July 2015, MacKay filled the title role of Lewis Aldridge in the BBC’s two-part television adaptation of Sadie Jones’ debut novel The Outcast. In February 2016, he portrayed the part of Bill Turcotte in the Hulu production of Stephen King’s sci-fi/suspense thriller 11.22.63.
From 29 March to 14 May 2016, MacKay performed the part of Mick in Harold Pinter’s play The Caretaker directed by Matthew Warchus at The Old Vic Theatre in London opposite Timothy Spall and Daniel Mays. In the 2016 film Captain Fantastic, MacKay portrayed Bodevan, eldest son of Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen).
In 2017, he played Jack, the main character in Marrowbone, a psychological horror film directed and written by Sergio G. Sánchez, and also starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton and Mia Goth. MacKay portrayed Prince Hamlet in Ophelia, a 2018 film retelling the story of Shakespeare’s play from the perspective of the young female character Ophelia. The film premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, and included Daisy Ridley, Naomi Watts, Clive Owen, and Tom Felton in the cast.
In the 2018 film Where Hands Touch, MacKay portrayed Lutz, a member of the Hitler Youth in Nazi Germany who falls in love with a biracial girl, portrayed by Amandla Stenberg.
In a 2019 release, MacKay interpreted the role of outlaw Ned Kelly in True History of the Kelly Gang directed by Justin Kurzel. Adapted from the Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name by Peter Carey, the film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.
MacKay played the lead role of Lance corporal William Schofield, a young British World War I soldier in 1917, directed by Sam Mendes. 1917 was nominated for Best Picture in the 92nd Academy Awards, along with nominations in nine other categories, winning three technical awards.
MacKay will star in Nathalie Biancheri’s film Wolf alongside Lily-Rose Depp; principal photography began in Ireland in August 2020, and in Christian Schwochow’s film Munich, with shooting that began in November 2020.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Peter Pan | Curly | P.J. Hogan | ||
| 2006 | The Thief Lord | Riccio | Richard Claus | ||
| 2008 | Defiance | Aron Bielski | Edward Zwick | ||
| 2009 | The Boys Are Back | Harry | Scott Hicks | ||
| 2011 | Hunky Dory | Jake Zeppi | Marc Evans | ||
| 2012 | Private Peaceful | Private Tommo Peaceful | Pat O’Connor | ||
| 2012 | The Devil’s Dosh | Marcus | Zachary Guerra | Short Film | |
| 2013 | How I Live Now | Edmund ‘Eddie’ | Kevin Macdonald | ||
| 2013 | Pieces | Son | Jack Weatherly | Short Film | |
| 2013 | Sunshine on Leith | Davy | Dexter Fletcher | ||
| 2013 | For Those in Peril | Aaron | Paul Wright | ||
| 2013 | Breakfast With Jonny Wilkinson | Jake | Simon Sprackling | ||
| 2014 | Pride | Joe “Bromley” Cooper | Matthew Warchus | ||
| 2014 | Bypass | Tim | Duane Hopkins | ||
| 2015 | Fuel to Fire | Tomas Gant | Sam McMullen | Short Film | |
| 2016 | Captain Fantastic | Bodevan Cash | Matt Ross | ||
| 2016 | Narrated By | Bill Sipowitz | Gur Benshemesh | Short Film | |
| 2017 | French Exchange | Jack | Jacob Perlmutter | Short Film | |
| 2017 | Infinite | Sid | Connor O’Hara | Short Film | |
| 2017 | Marrowbone | Jack | Sergio G. Sánchez | ||
| 2018 | Doublethink | Hope/Hate | Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard | Short Film | |
| 2018 | Where Hands Touch | Lutz | Amma Asante | ||
| 2018 | Been So Long | Gil | Tinge Krishnan | ||
| 2018 | Ophelia | Hamlet | Claire McCarthy | ||
| 2019 | True History of the Kelly Gang | Ned Kelly | Justin Kurzel | ||
| 2019 | A Guide to Second Date Sex | Ryan | Rachel Hirons | ||
| 2019 | 1917 | LCpl.William Schofield | Sam Mendes | ||
| 2020 | Nuclear | Boy | Catherine Linstrum | ||
| TBA | Wolf | Jacob | Nathalie Biancheri | Post-production | |
| TBA | Munich | Hugh Legat | Christian Schwochow | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Rose and Maloney | Young Calum | Episode 1: “Rose and Maloney — Part 1” | |
| 2005 | Footprints in the Snow | Nathan Hill | TV movie | |
| 2005 | The Brief | Zak Farmer | Series 2; Episode 1: “Blame,” Episode 2: “Lack of Affect” | |
| 2006 | Johnny and the Bomb | Johnny Maxwell | Miniseries | |
| 2006 | Tsunami: The Aftermath | Adam Peabody | Miniseries | |
| 2007 | The Old Curiosity Shop | Kit Nubbles | TV movie | |
| 2012 | Birdsong | Private Douglas | TV movie | |
| 2012 | The Best of Men | Private William Heath | Credited as “Richard Mackay” | |
| 2015 | The Outcast | Lewis Aldridge | Miniseries | |
| 2016 | 11.22.63 | Bill Turcotte | Miniseries | |
| 2016 | Neil Gaiman’s Likely Stories | Simon Powers | Episode: “Foreign Parts” | |
| 2018 | To Provide All People | Father | TV movie | |
| 2020 | Ataraxia | Boy | Miniseries |
Stage
| Year | Title | Role | Author | Theatre | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Cement Garden | Jack | Ian McEwan | Heritage Arts Company | |
| 2015 | Ah, Wilderness! | Richard | Eugene O’Neill | The Young Vic Company | |
| 2016 | The Caretaker | Mick | Harold Pinter | The Old Vic |
Audio
| Year | Title | Role | Author | Station | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Living Room | Milo | Part of the BBC POD PLAY1 short-form audio drama series | ||
| 2020 | The Glass Menagerie | Tom | Tennessee Williams | BBC Radio 3 |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | London Critics Circle Film Awards | Young British Actor of the Year | Nominated | ||
| 2013 | BAFTA Scotland | Best Actor / Actress – Film | For Those in Peril | Won | |
| 2014 | British Academy Film Awards | Rising Star Award | Nominated | ||
| Berlin International Film Festival | Shooting Stars Award – Actor | Won | |||
| London Critics Circle Film Awards | Young British Actor of the Year | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Captain Fantastic | Nominated | |
| Cannes Film Festival | Trophée Chopard | Won | |||
| 2019 | Satellite Awards | Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | 1917 | Nominated | |
| 2020 | Santa Barbara International Film Festival | Virtuoso Award | Won | ||
| Georgia Film Critics Association | Breakthrough Award | Nominated | |||
| Online Film & Television Association | Best Breakthrough Performance: Male | Won | |||
| London Critics Circle Film Awards | British / Irish Actor of the Year | Nominated |