Toby Regbo

Toby Regbo
Regbo at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International
Born	Toby Finn Regbo (1991-10-18) 18 October 1991 London, England, UK
Occupation	Actor, Musician
Years active	2006–present

Toby Finn Regbo (born 18 October 1991) is an English actor and musician who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his role as young Nemo Nobody in the science fiction drama Mr. Nobody and King Francis II of France on The CW series Reign.

Early life

Regbo was born in London, England.^[1] His father's family is of Norwegian origin. Regbo is a made-up name chosen by an ancestor to replace the common Norwegian name of Hansen, and he is related to all of the twenty or so Regbos that there are in the world, as of 2011. His maternal grandfather was an Italian cruise ship captain, and his maternal grandmother was an Australian ballerina; his mother was brought up in London.^[2] Regbo has a younger brother named Louis.

He attended Latymer Upper School in West London.^[3]

His interest in acting started with plays at school; later on, he attended Young Blood Theatre Company.^[4]

Career

Regbo at the premiere of Mr. Nobody at the 2009 Venice Film Festival

Regbo started his acting career with a small role in 2006 ITV television film Sharpe's Challenge.^[5] In 2007, he played American teen spy Chad Turner in an episode of CBBC children's spy-fi adventure series M.I. High.^[6] He continued to pursue his acting career in 2009, when he played Michael Walton in Stephen Poliakoff's period drama Glorious 39.^[7] One of his most notable roles was in a science fiction drama Mr. Nobody, premiered in 2009. He played eponymous character Nemo Nobody (in his teenage years).^[8] He also played young Albus Dumbledore in the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.^[9] He made his stage début as Eliot in Tusk Tusk, a 2009 play by Polly Stenham, at the Royal Court Theatre in London.^{[10][11][12][13]} Regbo played James Sveck in the film version of Peter Cameron's novel Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You, shot in the summer 2010 in New York.^[14] In 2013, Regbo played John in drama-thriller film uwantme2killhim? directed by Andrew Douglas and produced by Bryan Singer. He was originally cast in Disney's Maleficent (film) as young Stefan, but was ultimately replaced by Michael Higgins as the directors decided they wanted a younger boy to play the part.^[15]

He starred in The CW's original show Reign as Francis II of France.

Critical reception

Mr. Nobody

Film critic Eric Lavallée listed Regbo as one of his "Top 10 New Faces & Voices" of 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. He notes that "newbie Toby Regbo might easily be Mr. Nobody's most "alive" character. Playing Nemo at age 16, the actor is mostly paired with Juno Temple - their unique love story is the film's heart pumping portions and plays a lot better than the artery clogging other brushes of romance."^[16] Variety's Boyd van Hoeij praises Regbo and Temple as well, saying "Regbo, as the teenage Nemo, and Juno Temple, as the teenage Anna, are impressive, bringing the hormonal battles of adolescence vividly to life".^[17]

Tusk Tusk

His portrayal of Eliot in Tusk Tusk received praise from a broad spectrum of theatre critics.^[18] Michael Billington from The Guardian called him an "astonishing actor".^[10] Robert Tanitch from Morning Star praised both his and co-star Bel Powley's "impressive performances" and predicted that "Tusk Tusk should, all things being equal, play to full houses because of them".^[12] Matt Wolf, writing for The New York Times, was also very complimentary about the pair, concluding: "... these newfound talents inhabit every mercurial point on a spectrum that makes them one another's protectors and their destroyers, enemies and allies. Will you be more shaken by Ms. Powley ..., or Mr. Regbo, whose face is chillingly capable of shutting down? It's difficult to say, though one thing is clear: Tusk Tusk is beyond tears in a production beyond praise."^[13]

Uwantme2killhim? (Also known as U Want Me 2 Kill Him?)

Critical reception for uwantme2killhim? produced by Bryan Singer, typically centered upon Regbo and his co-star Jamie Blackley's acting,^[19] with the Screen Daily commenting that the two delivered "strong performances". Variety praised his performance commenting "The impressive Regbo is on surer footing as a meek geek with some surreptitious social skills".^[20] Maitland McDonagh, from Film Journal International, also complimented the duo noting "Stars Blackley and Regbo are the film's core strength, despite long scenes in which they speak aloud what they're typing into their computers that would tax the skills of many older and more experienced actors".^[21]

The film premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, where the two actors won the Best performance in a British feature film award.^[22]

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Notes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Toby Regbo.

• Toby Regbo at the Internet Movie Database
• Toby Regbo on Twitter