British musician and singer-songwriter Olly Alexander is presently a member of the synth-pop group “Years & Years.” Years & Years, a group that was formed in 2010, is known for its electronic pop, R&B, and 90s house influences. He is an actor as well. Alexander, a native of Yorkshire, developed a keen interest in performing very early in childhood. When he was ten years old, he wrote his first song and participated in school performances. He obtained representation when he was 16 years old, quit school, and started an acting career. He debuted on the big screen in the 2008 telefilm “Summerhill.” He made his debut on television a year later in the ITV detective drama “Lewis.” He has since played a variety of parts in movies like “Enter the Void,” “Gulliver’s Travels,” “Great Expectations,” and “Funny Bunny.” He has also performed on stage, making appearances in the plays “The Aliens,” “Mercury Four,” and “Peter and Alice.” In addition to singing for Years & Years, he performs keyboard, piano, and synthesizer duties for the group. To far, the band has put out two studio albums and four extended plays. Alexander is a strong supporter of safer sex, HIV testing, and LGBT rights.
Early Childhood & Life
Olly Alexander was born on July 15, 1990, in Harrogate, Yorkshire. Vicki Thornton, who co-founded Coleford Music Festival, is Olly Alexander’s mother. He attended Monmouth Comprehensive School after St John’s Primary School in Coleford to further his education before enrolling at Hereford College of Arts to pursue a career in the performing arts.
He took part in two theatre performances while a student at Monmouth, portraying Benny in “Guys and Dolls” and the Corporal in “The Caucasian Chalk Circle” respectively.
The New York Times claims that when Alexander was just ten years old, he wrote his first song on his father’s Casio keyboard. Alexander’s parents divorced three years later, and his mother thereafter raised him as a single parent.
He found a representative when he was 16 years old. He eventually left school in an effort to become an actor.
He is homophobic. When he was 20 years old, he came out to his mother, who was completely supportive. Since he had not spoken to his father in a long time due to his parents’ separation, he never felt the need to tell him.
Olly’s Acting Career Alexander’s debut appearance was as Ned in the 2008 television film Summerhill. He made his acting debut in the 2009 British-French-Australian romantic biographical drama “Bright Star.” He was chosen to play Tom Keats, brother of poet John Keats.
He also made his television debut in 2009, in the ITV police drama “Lewis.” The same year, Alexander produced three more movies: “Tormented,” “Enter the Void,” and “Dust.”
He co-starred in the financially successful movie “Gulliver’s Travels” with Jack Black, Jason Segel, and Emily Blunt in 2010 as well as appearing in “The Fades” as himself. His first leading role came in Alison Bagnall’s comedy-drama “The Dish & the Spoon” in 2011.
He collaborated with Elizabeth McGovern, Luke Treadaway, and Felicity Jones on the comedy-drama “Cheerful Weather for the Wedding,” which was released in 2012. He was chosen to play Herbert Pocket in the film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ book “Great Expectations” that same year.
He made two episodes of the highly regarded E4 teen drama “Skins” and starred in Roger Michell’s film “Le Week-End” in 2013.
Alexander was hired to play a songwriter in the musical drama “God Help the Girl” from 2014. At the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, the movie received him and other cast members the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award (Ensemble). He performed three songs for the movie’s soundtrack, including “I Dumped You First,” “If You Could Speak,” and “Pretty Eve in the Tub,” in addition to one of the key parts.
In the 2014 drama “The Riot Club,” he portrayed an older student by the name of Toby Maitland. In the horror drama TV series “Penny Dreadful,” he also played the recurring role of Fenton. He portrayed Titty in the comedy-drama ‘Funny Bunny’ in 2015. ‘Olly Alexander: Growing Up Gay’ was a 2017 television movie that he hosted and presented.
He has so far made appearances in three productions on the London theater scene. In 2010, he was given a role in the Bush Theatre production of “The Aliens.” In 2012, he participated in the staging of Philip Ridley’s play “Mercury Fur” at the Old Red Lion Theatre. In the 2013 performance of John Logan’s “Peter and Alice” at the Nol Coward Theatre, he appeared alongside actors including Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw.
Career in Music
Olly Alexander and guitarist Mikey Goldsworthy founded the band Years & Years in 2010. Alexander’s voice had caught Goldsworthy’s attention in the shower because it was distinctive and intriguing. As a result, he hired him as a vocalist. Emre Türkmen, Noel Leeman, and Olivier Subria were also members of the band.
In 2012, they released their first single, “I Wish I Knew.” Their first EP, “Traps,” which was made available through Kitsuné Records in September 2013, came next.
In 2013, Leeman and Subria left the band. Three additional EPs have since been made available by the group: “Real” in February 2014, “Take Shelter” in August 2014, and “Y & Y” in February 2015. In 2015, they released their debut studio album, titled “Communion.” Their second studio album, “Palo Santo,” was made available on July 6, 2018. It charted in a number of other nations, including Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, and Sweden, and peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart.
Major Works The group’s debut album, “Communion,” is their best-selling effort to date. It was released on July 10, 2015, through Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and other countries, and Interscope Records in the United States only. It has 13 tracks. Over a million copies of the album were sold globally. It was also awarded gold by IFPI SWE and platinum by BPI certifications. It also topped the music charts in the UK, Scotland, and Ireland.
Individual Life of Olly Alexander
Olly Alexander and Neil Amin-Smith, the violinist for Clean Bandit, had a very public relationship. They made out on stage at the U.K. festival Jersey Live in September 2015 in front of a roaring crowd. However, Alexander revealed their breakup to the Attitude magazine in December. Additionally, he and a previous boyfriend maintained an open relationship.
Alexander, a self-described “real-left winger,” has admitted that he had harbored feelings for Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party. He has aggressively advocated for HIV testing, safer sex, and LGBTQ rights. Since he was 13 years old, he has dealt with depression and anxiety, and he has been open about these issues.
He has discussed his bulimia while serving as the host of “Olly Alexander: Growing Up Gay.” He joined celebrities including Stephen Fry and Nadiya Hussain in Sport Relief’s 2018 campaign to raise awareness of mental illness.
Net Worth of Olly Alexander
The estimated net worth of Olly Alexander is around $1 million.