BioGraphy

Alex Pettyfer was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, the son of actor Richard Pettyfer and former model Lee Robinson (currently known as "Lee Ireland"); he has a younger half-brother, James Ireland, from his mother's re-marriage to Michael Ireland, a real-estate developer. Stormbreaker author Anthony Horowitz described Pettyfer as coming from "an astonishing gene pool". Pettyfer began his career as a child model at the age of seven, modelling for labels such as GAP, after meeting Ralph Lauren in a toy store in New York City. He attended the Mall, a small public school in Twickenham and as a schoolboy, performed in plays, including in the role of Willy Wonka in a production Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
In 2005, Pettyfer, after ending his modelling career, made his professional acting debut in the British television production of Tom Brown's Schooldays, playing the lead character, Tom Brown; he received positive reviews for the role. In June 2005, he was cast in his most prominent role so far, that of teenage MI6 spy Alex Rider in the film Stormbreaker, based on the novel by Anthony Horowitz. He was one of 500 who auditioned for the role. Pettyfer chose to appear in the film over a role in the upcoming film Eragon, noting that he preferred Stormbreaker because it would be filmed in England and the Isle of Man while Eragon would film in the Czech Republic, and Pettyfer is afraid of flying. Stormbreaker was released on July 21, 2006 in the United Kingdom, and will be released on October 6, 2006 in the United States and on September 21, 2006 in Australia. A review of Pettyfer's performance described him as playing the role with an "earnest intensity", although another noted that he "isn't quite at ease as an actor". Media reports have specified that the film is expected to make Pettyfer a "teen idol".
Anthony Horowitz, the author of 'Stormbreak', practically handpicked Alex for the role of Alex Rider in the film version of the book after seeing his impressive performance in Tom Brown's Schooldays (2005) (TV)
According to Peter Samuelson, a producer of Stormbreaker, Pettyfer will likely not reprise his role in any potential sequels, because Pettyfer's character is supposed to remain the same age during the sequels.
Pettyfer, who has described himself as "athletic", lives in Windsor, Berkshire, and attended boarding school Shiplake College near Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. When not working, Pettyfer's hobbies include skiing, ballet, dancing and hockey. Pettyfer reportedly dated co-star Sarah Bolger on the set of Stormbreaker, though the two are no longer together.
After Pettyfer completed filming on Stormbreaker, he did not discuss the film with anyone at his school, citing the advice of his Stormbreaker co-star, Ewan McGregor, who told him to keep his personal and professional life separate. Pettyfer has since decided to leave school and concentrate on his film career, as well as study drama full time at college,[3] saying that "When you have already experienced going out and working in the real world, and you come back to school, you just see it as a playground and you don't want to be there any more".

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