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He’s up for a Rising Star award at this year’s BAFTAs, but David Jonsson has already gone interstellar.
Since his acting debut at Islington’s Almeida theatre in 2018, the Docklands native quickly built a memorable portfolio of roles. He was south London sadboi Dom in the already beloved 2023 romcom Rye Lane, Alien: Romulus’s doe-eyed android – sorry, synthetic human – with a secret, Andy, and Industry’s wolfishly ambitious hedge fund manager Gus.
Over a black Americano in Covent Garden, he’s thoughtful, funny, passionate and annoyingly sensible about what he can (and can’t) say about the stack of upcoming films he’s got lined up – including a new Frank Ocean project that’s just given the internet a conniption. He bats away the semi-obligatory question about playing James Bond – ‘No comment,’ he says, when the current Betfair odds are produced in front of him (he’s 20/1). But he’s an open about how his journey to this point – from an East London childhood, school in Hammersmith and a expulsion for fighting, to drama school, the stage, TV, and now film stardom – has forged him as an actor, filmmaker-to-be and person.
Congrats on the BAFTA Rising Star nomination. It almost feels like your star has already risen. What does the accolade mean to you?
It's a funny thing: it’s when people choose to notice you, which I don’t tend to pay too much attention to. As an actor you’re doing what feels right. I’m aware it’s in the public eye, but when you get things like this, you realise people were paying attention. It means a lot.
Have you got a big campaign behind you?
(Laughs) Fucking hell, no. No mate. I'm working, I've got no time.
Surely your mates are out there with the ‘vote David’ placards?
My family went a bit crazy with it – they're very ‘vote David’. But with Marisa (Abela), Mikey (Madison) and the others, it’s a wonderful cohort to be part of.
Your family has been there from the beginning. It must be a proud moment for them?
You know what, it is. Way before I was an actor, we’d sit down, get a takeaway and watch the BAFTAs together on the telly. I remember when Jack O'Connell won the Rising Star. Tom Hardy, as well. My family is super proud.
Going back to your early years, you lived in Docklands and went to school in Hammersmith. Did you feel like a child of the DLR at that time of your life?
It’s a long time to look at people! But I'm so grateful for that time. To one person it’s a very, very long journey and a bit absurd; to me, it was a saving grace to see London and how other people lived. It was a big inspiration for my ambition and drive. Three trains a day! And the DLR was so shit. You know when you need to change seven times just to get to Canning Town?
Were you a front rider on the DLR?
Yeah! It’s like you’re on a ride (laughs).
You old Industry co-star Marisa Abela is also nominated for the Rising Star award. Have you been texting each other?
Yeah, we sent each other messages. It’s really nice to be part of this new wave of talent. I love that kind of thing, you know, Britpop, the Young British Artists. It's nice to be part of a moment. We're new and we’re doing things that feel cool.
Are you still on the Industry WhatsApp group?
I’m really bad with texts. But if you’ve got my number you know where to find me.
Have you watched the last season?
I haven’t had time. But Industry was one of those scripts that always read amazingly and I have no doubt that it's brilliant. It’s a special show to me – it’s where we all started. Before that I just had theatre. Industry was my first real foray into TV. For it to be doing what it's doing is legacy, it’s awesome.
I don’t think I’ve ever played it safe, I don’t think I ever will.
You went to visit Eton to prep for your role in Industry. What was that like?
It was bizarre. These kids that move entirely differently to how I move and grew up – they wear tail suits and walk around like it’s a tracksuit (laughs). That’s part of the fun of that character: you find what feels uncomfortable to you but super-comfortable to another human being. Visiting Eton really gave me that.
Leaving Industry at its peak suggests real self-assurance. Did your agent share that or was there a ‘what are you doing?!’ moment.
The ‘what are you doing?’ moment came from my family. What they really want for me is stability and a regular life, but that’s not why I came into this. You say self-assurance but I'm not sure it really is, it’s just really important to try new things. As much as I love that show, you know it in your bones when you need to move and change lanes. It’s a risk but that's what this whole game is. I don’t think I’ve ever played it safe, I don’t think I ever will.
People love Rye Lane, your Peckham romcom. What’s been the afterlife of that film for you?
Honestly, it’s one of those movies that I’m [always] going to hold so dear to my heart. We had no idea what we were doing when we were making it, we were just having fun making this film in Peckham that we knew was a little bit different, because it wasn't about gangs and violence. It was another London that we hadn’t seen on screen but it felt true to my experiences. People stop me all the time and talk to me about Rye Lane. For my first film to have a place in people’s hearts is the sweetest. Everyone smiles when they say its name.
Is there a ‘before’ and ‘after’ with a blockbuster like Alien: Romulus? Do people suddenly recognise you more?
Definitely. When Alien came out I was filming in Winnipeg, so I missed a lot of what was happening. Then I had to go to LA and my cab driver kept looking in the rearview. I thought someone was following us, but when we stopped at the hotel, he took out my bags and said: ‘I just want to say, you were amazing in Alien.’ I was like: Oh, this is different now. I feel it here in London, which is home, but I definitely feel in America now. Alien has given me something new.
How do you deal with that?
I don’t think too much about that. Especially with a character like Andy in Alien: Romulus, where people have taken him into their hearts. It’s not like people are coming up to me and going: ‘You were really evil!’ (Laughs).
Tell me about delivering the classic line: ‘Get away from her, you bitch.’ It sounds like you were a bit reluctant to do it?
For me and [my co-star] Cailee (Spaeny), the whole aim was not to make an Alien film. The script read like an independent sci-fi, so our whole aim was to make it a family drama. So occasionally (director) Fede Álvarez would pull us back and remind us that it was an Alien film. So – spoiler – I kill an alien and he said: ‘Say: “Get away from her, you bitch” with a little stutter,’ and I said: ‘Come on, man, that’s Aliens.’ We did it twice and he ended up using the second take. But I’m glad he did. It worked. He makes it sound like I really hated it (laughs).
People love a cheesy line.
I’m learning that!
You’re working with a lot of first-time directors – Colman Domingo, Frank Ocean, David Harewood – experienced people but without big filmmaking back catalogues. Is that about taking chances for you?
I’m not doing it consciously, it’s just ‘best idea wins’. I had a meeting with Steven Spielberg – sorry, that’s a big name drop! – and we sat on two couches in his office and had a lovely chat. I was trying not to melt but I kept a good enough cool. I asked him what makes a good actor, and he said to me: ‘Take risks – the greatest always do.’ I remember that. I didn't do this to be famous; I have loads of things inside me that I want to get out, so working with talented people who want to do that, it’s like: ‘Cool, if I can give myself to that, why wouldn’t I?’
Do you get starstruck?
I’m trying not to – they're just people – but a little bit, sometimes. Spielberg? Yes. 100 percent.
Was he wearing a baseball cap?
He was! Were you there? (Laughs)
You’ve written your own TV show called Hype. Is writing and filmmaking something you’ve always wanted to do?
Yeah. This industry has given me so much. I’m a kid from East London, I got kicked out of school for acting up, and then found my way into theatre and all sorts, and that was through people’s weird and wonderful minds giving back – people like Shane Meadows in independent cinema. You have to contribute to this industry because if you just take, it’s going to go dry. Especially for someone like me – a young, Black Londoner whose parents are immigrants. It’s important to add something.
Was that case with Rye Lane? Trying to move the dial on representation in a romcom?
Exactly. That would never have gotten made without people banging down doors and trying to get people on the same page as you. If you’re not fighting for something, then why are you here? I used to think that all the doors had been broken down and I could just walk straight through, and a lot have but there's still doors to break down for others.
You’re playing the boxer Chris Eubank in Benn/Eubank. What can you say about that?
I don’t know how much I can say about that, but it’s happening and it’s just a question of when because I’m really busy at the moment. I’d love to meet Chris Eubank – at the right time. I feel a bit of a duty, because it is his story, but as an actor that stuff isn’t always helpful.
It’s important to do what you can with the time you have
You’re co-starring with Cooper Hoffman in an adaptation of Stephen King’s dystopian sci-fi The Long Walk. Tell me about that.
It’s an amazing story. Stephen King is a master of the novella and this is one that people hold dear, probably for all the wrong reasons because it's brutal.
The plot is that you have to keep walking along a road…
... or you die. I did it to get fit for beach season (laughs).
Your step count must have been crazy.
We were walking at least 30 miles a day, every day, for around eight weeks. We shot in chronological order for a reason – we lost a lot of weight. They were giving us protein bars between takes.
There’s movie versions of The Monkey, Running Man and The Long Walk this year. Does Stephen King feel like the perfect storyteller for the current moment?
Yeah, our one definitely is a comment on war and how we look at our young men. Frances Lawrence has done The Hunger Games, these massive pieces, and this one is almost tiny in comparison. He’s got these indie actors in myself and Cooper Hoffman leading it. I think it’ll be a special Stephen King.
It’s at the ‘Hard R’ end of the spectrum?
Yeah, I think so. Don’t take your kids.
How did you feel when the Frank Ocean script came through?
What I can say – which is not a lot – is that he’s a special human being and we're making a special piece that’s going to surprise a lot of people. I feel immensely privileged to be a big part of what that's going to be. The reaction [to the announcement] has been a bit ‘whooooh!’ for an indie film. He’s a massive movie buff, and so am I. We spent a lot of time taking about movies.
You make a playlist for every role you do. Which one would work best for a house party?
That’s a good question. Definitely not Andy in Alien: Romulus. That's not going to get the mood going, it’s very strange. Probably the best one would be Dom from Rye Lane. He likes a lot of Wu-Tang and old-school hip hop. That would keep people on their feet at a party.
Lastly, which actor has most inspired you in your career?
Recently it’s been Chadwick Boseman. I think it's because he did so much with so little time and I often feel like I don’t have much time. It's important to do what you can with the time you have.
David Jonsson is nominated for the EE BAFTA Rising Star Award. You can vote here until 12pm, Fri Feb 14.
The EE BAFTA Film Awards take place at 7pm, Sun Feb 16.