What You Didn't Know About Nicholas Hoult

He may only be 31 years old, but Nicholas Hoult got his start in the film industry early. He's been nominated for a Golden Globe as best TV actor in a musical or comedy series for his character in The Great. It'd be fair to say that the historical Russian drama is like nothing Hoult's ever been in before. However, GQ highlights that his CV is seriously varied. He revealed to The Guardian that he got some acting tips from a Hollywood great when he was just 11 years old which have stuck with him. He nearly didn't get a role that Hollywood Insider noted took him from a child star to acting sensation.

You may recognize Nicholas Hoult from the X-Men franchise, Mad Max, or The Great, but he got his break into show business much earlier. He'd been onscreen before, but The Guardian outlined that Hoult really started to get industry attention when he played Marcus Brewer in About a Boy. "I remember doing SMTV Live and being at a shopping center later that day and being recognized," he told Esquire. "You know that thing where you're going down an escalator and people see you? It's obviously slightly weird."

He's been famous for nearly two decades. Here are some things you may not know about Nicholas Hoult.

GQ reported that getting the chance to share screen space with one of Hollywood's most recognizable actors wasn't lost on Hoult as an 11-year-old. He revealed that while they didn't stay in touch after filming About a Boy, Hugh Grant "was great. He was a brilliant first role model in filmmaking, both in terms of work ethic and in terms of how he interacted with people. It was a good example to be set by him."

In an interview with The Guardian, Hoult explained that it wasn't words of wisdom that Hugh Grant passed on but the way he was on set. Hoult was able to watch him, and it shaped the way he worked. "I was only a kid when I worked with him, but he was so hard-working and diligent -– neurotic, almost. I can remember him being very specific about beats on the set, and trying things and getting it right. I think you have to be," he said.

Despite being in the limelight for nearly two decades, Nicholas Hoult has managed to keep his private life just that. In 2018, People reported that Hoult had welcomed his first baby with girlfriend Bryana Holly. A source told the publication, "They have kept the news under wraps, but are so happy and excited."

In a rare interview about parenthood, Hoult told W Magazine, "The levels of tiredness are extreme. No one warns you about it! But the level of love that comes with it outweighs everything. It's phenomenal. I'm loving it. And it evolves all the time. They change so much, every day is different. It fills you up as a human completely."

Having a family can change so much. In an interview with GQ, Hoult outlined that fatherhood had made him think differently about some of the roles he's taken on in the past. In 2019, he played Constable Fitzpatrick in The True History of the Kelly Gang. He said, "I remember there was a scene in The Kelly Gang where I had to hold a gun to a baby's head. My son was around the same age, and it was really difficult in many ways. It was actually quite horrible to do that. I was glad to not be playing that character anymore, if I'm honest, because it was just doing horrible things every day at work. And that's not something that sat too well."

After he starred opposite Colin Firth in A Single Man, The Guardian "announced Hoult as a serious performer." He's been anything but typecast. However, in an interview with the publication, he revealed that he very nearly wasn't in the film at all. "That role was originally meant to be someone else and I don't know exactly what happened, but it didn't work out. I got a phone call at 3 am, and they said, 'Can you get on a plane tomorrow and come and meet Tom?'" His chance of being in the movie depended on if he could get a visa. Luckily he did, and it worked out.

He didn't just gain critical acclaim for his performance. In another interview with The Guardian, Hoult said that Colin Firth gave him some advice on set that he carries with him to this day. He said, "when your career's on the up, you'll have loads of friends and you'll feel great. But when things aren't going so well, a lot of people will disappear -– so your family are the most important thing."

The Evening Standard reports that Hoult was cast in the first two seasons of edgy teen drama Skins. The show had a reputation of being risky and showcasing teenage rebellion in all its glory. While Hoult had spent much of his teenage years on a film set, he told GQ that one of his favorite jobs was outside of his acting work.

"My best friend and I used to DJ children's birthday parties when we were still in school, which was really fun," he told the publication. "He'd be on the CD decks and if he needed, like, CD number 45, I'd scan through. He'd be like: 'Oops Upside Your Head is on – lead the dance!'"

While that was as far as Hoult's music career went, he did get the chance to play a record label executive in Kill Your Friends. "It is interesting as the music industry has changed quite a lot and it is just brilliant to see these A&R (artists and repertoire) characters who aren't creative," Hoult told the BBC. "They don't really know what the public want but also have such a low regard for them."

After starring in some of the biggest movie franchises and working opposite some great Hollywood talent, it'd be wrong to say that Hoult is still a new actor. He's established himself as a great lead. However, he told Vogue that he still feels new to the game because he never lets himself get bored or complacent.

"Each job feels like you're starting again -– you're working with new people, you're playing a new character. You don't know what you're doing. You turn up on day one like, what are we going to do here? And then it happens and finishes, and you think, 'I wish I could go back and do it again because now I know what I'm doing.' I guess the thing is the process of learning, you have to learn from your mistakes," he told the publication. "And, even though I've been doing it for a long time, I still feel like I'm pretty new to it."