From Skins to Superman: The 8 Best Nicholas Hoult Films & Shows

He might have only been 12-years-old when About a Boy was filmed, but Nicolas Hoult already had a hefty CV of television work by then thanks to British staples like Holby City and The Bill. This makes sense, as the performance he gives alongside Hugh Grant in the movie boasts the confidence of someone twice his age. 

The story is told from the POV of Grant’s nepo baby layabout Will Freeman (note the nominative determinism) — a man still living off the royalties of his father’s Christmas number one — but it’s Hoult who steals the show. The duo naturally make for a charming odd couple, which makes their inevitable bonding all the more moving.

Five years after his About a Boy breakout, Hoult made the often precarious transition into mature roles look easy with his iconic turn as Tony Stonem in Skins, a wildly influential Channel 4 show that essentially defined a generation while launching the careers of many future stars — including Dev Patel, Jack O’Connell and Daniel Kaluuya.

For that first generation (Seasons 1 & 2), however, there was no doubting who was the main man, and Hoult played him with enough charm that you could still empathise with him, despite the iffy decisions and bad behaviour.

After his run on Skins ended, Hoult didn’t take long to find his feet as a mature actor in Hollywood. First on the docket was a remarkable supporting turn in A Single Man, Tom Ford’s endlessly stylish directorial debut about a university professor’s (Colin Firth) relationship with a young male student (Hoult) in the 1960s.

The movie was an arthouse success and a significant player on that year’s awards circuit — where Firth ended up bagging a nomination for Lead Actor at the Oscars. Hoult was unlucky not to join him.

Hoult’s steady upward trajectory in the industry hit an early peak in 2011 with X-Men: First Class, the first movie in what became a mostly consistent and beloved prequel franchise to the original Patrick Stewart X-Men.

Stewart’s Charles Xavier was, of course, played by James McAvoy, alongside a brilliant Michael Fassbender as Magneto. Yet it was Hoult’s touching performance as Hank McCoy/Beast (taking over from Kelsey Grammer) and his tender romance with Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique that really gave the movie its emotional core.

Hoult would go on to play McCoy for four more movies, but this original turn is still the best.

Anyone who was involved in the hellish production of Mad Max: Fury Road deserves to be considered a legend of cinema in my books, and Hoult certainly did his fair share to make that movie into the generational moment that it was — and still is. 

As Nux the War Boy, Hoult more than held his own alongside Tom Hardy’s Max and Charlize Theron’s iconic Imperator Furiosa. This was also a role that allowed the actor to show a lot more of his wild side — all shiny, chrome and glorious.

What more can you say? The movie is a modern masterpiece, and Hoult deserves a good slice of credit.

If there is one thing missing from Hoult's career, it’s a few more of those shiny golden statuettes. That said, he’s certainly been involved in his fair share of awards-hogging movies over the years. 

The best so far (if we’re not counting Fury Road) was probably Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite — a gloriously repugnant period drama for which Olivia Coleman cemented her legacy with a hauntingly petulant portrayal of Queen Anne. Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz play two cousins vying for her attention, but Hoult steals more than a few scenes as the hapless suitor Robert Harley.

Following that Lanthimos smash, Hoult brought a similar vibe to the Hulu series The Great before starring as Dracula’s unlikely apprentice in the 2023 comedy Renfield. He then more or less combined those projects for his portrayal of Thomas Hutter in Robert Eggers’ hit 2024 reimagining of Nosferatu. 

This was Eggers’ fourth feature after amassing a substantial fanbase for his meticulously crafted gothic fables: The Witch, The Lighthouse and The Northman. If you’ve seen any one of them, you’ll know what kind of atmosphere to expect here and why Hoult is so perfectly suited to it.

Despite playing Beast in four Marvel movies, Hoult never quite made it into the MCU. He’s since made up for that by locking down a central role in James Gunn’S DCU as the follically underserved villain Lex Luthor.

Hoult's first appearance as the character came in Gunn’s popular, franchise-launching Superman reboot from 2025, and he’s already appeared in Peacemaker since then. Hoult will reprise the role in Man of Tomorrow next summer.