We continue our latest series of examining some of the works outside the saga of some of our most beloved actors in a galaxy far, far away.
Today we continue with the young scoundrel, Alden Ehrenreich.
Alden Ehrenreich was born on November 22nd 1989 in Los Angeles, California. He studied acting at various schools across the West Coast before heading to New York City to train at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. A fun story of how Ehrenreich was ‘discovered’ is the stuff of old-school Hollywood legend. Whilst attending a bat mitzvah, none other than Steven Spielberg himself saw a comedy film made on a phone by Ehrenreich and a friend. Spielberg saw a lot of potential and loved the performance he saw. A short while later, Ehrenreich was contacted by DreamWorks Studios for a representation which led to small roles in TV shows such as Supernatural and CSI.
Hail, Caeser! (2016)
This massive comedy hit written and directed by the Coen Brothers would see Ehrenreich become the breakout star of the year and ultimately lead to his casting in Solo. The film boats a starry cast including George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johanson, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. The story, set in 1951, is a fictional account of a real-life studio fixer (someone who covers up scandals) who is sent to try and discover what happened to a film star during the shoot of a biblical epic. The film is hilarious from start to finish and wholly unique in its storytelling of a film within a film. Ehrenreich plays ‘Hobie’ a singing cowboy in the film’s film and the running gag is that Hobie is simply an awful actor and terribly miscast in the film. The grossed 63 million dollars on a 22 million budget and won widespread critical acclaim across the board. Ehrenreich was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Detroit Film Critics Society and at the San Diego Film Critics Society he was nominated for both Best Comedy Performance and Breakthrough Performance of that year. A must watch!
Brave New World (Television series – 2020)
This nine-part limited series is based on the classic book of the same name by Aldous Huxley. The story is set in a dystopian future where society has culled people into intelligence-based hierarchies. The Observer ranked the book as 53rd in the ‘100 greatest novels of all time.’ In the series, Ehrenreich plays John the Savage – the protagonist who challenges the class-based system that the world has come to know. I watched this series as it aired throughout the lockdowns during covid, and it made for decent viewing. Ehrenreich leads the ensemble cast well and shows diverse range in his acting talents.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Christopher Nolan’s big-screen masterpiece won multiple Oscars, was a box office juggernaut and was the other player in the summer phenomenon that became known as Barbenheimer. (This being the trend of seeing both Barbie and Oppenheimer in the same day.) The film features one of the most impressive casts ever put together in recent years with Cillian Murphey, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Kenneth Branagh, Robert Downey Jr, Florence Pugh and Josh Harnett – to name but a few. Alden Ehrenreich plays a supporting role of great importance throughout the film to Downey Jr’s character and steals the scene anytime he’s in it. He really is a chameleon-type actor who can immerse himself into any character. The picture really is a sight to behold and though I must confess I’ve only seen the film on an IMAX screen, I can imagine it loses some of its breathtaking visuals on the small screen at home. The film will no doubt become one of the great works of the decade. A must see on all accounts.
Cocaine Bear (2023)
Elizabeth Banks directed this hit comedy that opened to rave reviews across the board and won a box office of 90 million against a 35-million-dollar budget. You’ll notice a trend here with Ehrenreich’s most popular films – he’s incredibly strong playing with an ensemble cast. On his school report card, you can imagine his teacher writing; “plays well with others.” I saw this film at the cinema last year and it really is great fun and has some inspired laugh-out-loud moments. The story is loosely, and I mean loosely, based on a true story of a black bear who ingested a ton of cocaine that fell from a plane above a National Forest in Georgia, USA. The film also stars fellow Star Wars alumni Keri Russell and features Ray Liotta in one of his final onscreen performances. Ehrenreich is on damn fine form here and displays his innate knack for comedy and timing.
Fair Play (2023)
2023 proved to be a stellar year for Ehrenreich and this film was a big hit for Netflix and won rave reviews upon its release. The film focuses on the cutthroat world of big wig Manhattan finance and the backstabbing that goes on to make it to the top. The main story focuses on two secret lovers, Ehrenreich and Pheobe Dynever, who are competing for the same top job at a corporate hedge fund. It’s knives out from there. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the renowned Sundance Film Festival.
Beautiful Creatures (2013)
This gothic horror film has since gained somewhat cult status since its release. It’s an adaptation of a young adult novel of the same name that was meant to capitalize on the success of the Twilight series at the time. Whilst generally aimed at the younger crowd the film is worthy of note for Ehrenreich in a starring role before he really broke out and became a name in Hollywood. Proving to be a big hit with the young crowd, Ehrenreich was nominated for a Teen Choice Award of that year.
Ehrenreich will next be seen in the 2025 Marvel series Ironheart for Disney+ and, as ever, the campaign to #MakeSolo2Happen continues to have traction. He’s also recently signed onto the 2026 horror film Weapons – again with a slew of big names attached in an ensemble.
- Floyd, James (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 112 Pages - 11/19/2024 (Publication Date) - Chronicle Books (Publisher)
