Connor Ryan Swindells (born 19 September 1996) is an English actor and model. He is best known for his role as Adam Groff in the Netflix original series Sex Education.
Early life
Swindells was born in Lewes, East Sussex. His mother passed away when he was 7. In light of the tragedy, he and his father went to live with Connor’s paternal grandparents in West Chiltington until moving out to Billingshurst, both in the Horsham District of West Sussex. Swindells attended Rydon Community College and Steyning Grammar School.
Career
He started acting when he saw an audition poster for a local play and his friend dared him to audition; he got the lead role. He then acted in two more local plays and got an agent at the end of the third play.
In 2017, he guest-starred in an episode of Harlots, portraying Mostyn. He also appeared in an episode of Sky One drama Jamestown, playing Fletcher.
In March 2017, Swindells was cast to replace Joe Alwyn as Donald in The Vanishing, a Scottish psychological thriller film directed by Kristoffer Nyholm, starring Gerard Butler and Peter Mullan. Principal photography started in April 2017, it was released on 4 January 2019.
He starred as Adam in the 2018 drama film VS. directed by Ed Lilly.
In 2019, he appeared alongside Asa Butterfield and Gillian Anderson in the Netflix comedy-drama series Sex Education as Adam Groff, the headmaster’s son, a bully who has a tense relationship with his father.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | VS. | Adam |
| 2019 | The Vanishing | Donald McArthur |
| 2020 | Emma. | Robert Martin |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Harlots | Mostyn | Episode #1.3 |
| Jamestown | Fletcher | Episode #1.5 | |
| 2019–present | Sex Education | Adam Groff | Series regular; 14 episodes |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Screen International | Stars of Tomorrow | Himself | Won | |
| 2019 | MTV Movie Awards | Best Kiss (with Ncuti Gatwa) | Sex Education | Nominated |