Craig Haydn Roberts (born 21 January 1991) is a Welsh actor and director.[1] He is best known for lead roles as Oliver Tate in the coming-of-age comedy-drama film Submarine (2010) and David Meyers in the series Red Oaks (2014–2017), and for playing Rio Wellard in the television series The Story of Tracy Beaker (2004–2006).[2][3]
Craig Roberts | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Roberts in 2013 | |
| Born | Craig Haydn Roberts 21 January 1991 |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, director |
| Years active | 2000–present |
Early life edit
Roberts was born on 21 January 1991,[4] the son of Alison (Bishop) and Haydn Roberts. He was raised in Maesycwmmer, Caerphilly and attended Lewis School, Pengam.[5][6] Roberts has a sister, Chelsea, and two half-sisters, Natalee and Angharad.
Career edit
Roberts began his television career in the dramas Care (2000) and Little Pudding (2003). After these he was given roles in the series The Story of Tracy Beaker (2004–2006) and Casualty (2005–2008), and played vampire fanatic Robin Branagh in Young Dracula (2006–2008). He also appeared in the dramas Kiddo (2005) and Scratching (2006).
On stage, Roberts toured Britain in 2008 with Y Touring Theatre Company, playing young Ryan in Full Time, a play that explores racism, sexism and homophobia in football; in January 2009 he played the evil queen's sidekick Drax in the pantomime Snow White at Worthing.
In 2010, Roberts had worldwide success with the teenage lead role in the film Submarine,[7] based on the 2008 novel by Joe Dunthorne. It was directed by Richard Ayoade and also starred Paddy Considine and Yasmin Paige.[8][9]
Since then Roberts has appeared in the BBC Three television show Being Human (2011, 2012) and in the online spin-off series Becoming Human (2011) as Adam.[10]
In 2012, he starred in The Killers' music video for "Here with Me" with Winona Ryder, directed by Tim Burton.[11] He also starred in Kassidy's music video for "One Man Army" in 2012.[12]
In late 2012, Roberts started working on a short television comedy he wrote and directed, entitled The Sheepish Approach.[13] In 2014, he starred in the film Jolene: The Indie Folk Star alongside Charlotte Ritchie and Rosamund Hanson. He played the role of Dom in the seventh series of the TV show Skins, and "Assjuice" in the 2014 film Neighbors. He also appeared in the Manic Street Preachers video for "Show Me the Wonder" and directed the music video for the Los Campesinos! single "Avocado, Baby" from their album No Blues.
In 2015, Roberts made his feature-director debut with Just Jim, which he also wrote and starred in.[14]
On 9 October 2015, Amazon Studios released season 1 of Red Oaks, an original comedy series where Roberts stars alongside Paul Reiser. Season 2 was released in late 2016, after which the show was renewed for a third and final season.[15]
Roberts starred in the 2016 film The Fundamentals of Caring alongside Paul Rudd. He played Trevor, a quick-witted 18-year-old boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The film premièred at the Sundance Film Festival in January and was released on Netflix in June.
In 2019, Roberts appeared in the film Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans as Emperor Nero.[16]
Filmography edit
Film edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Scratching | Mike | Short film |
| 2010 | Submarine | Oliver Tate | |
| 2011 | Jane Eyre | John Reed | |
| 2012 | Red Lights | Ben | |
| The First Time | Simon Daldry | ||
| Comes a Bright Day | Sam Smith | ||
| 2013 | Benny & Jolene | Benny | |
| The Power Inside | Neil | ||
| The Double | Detective | ||
| 2014 | Neighbors | Gary "Assjuice" | |
| 22 Jump Street | Spencer | ||
| TEOTFW | James | Short film | |
| Premature | Stanley | ||
| Sunday Roast | Arthur Bird | Short film | |
| 2015 | Kill Your Friends | Darren | |
| Just Jim | Jim | Also writer and director | |
| 2016 | The Fundamentals of Caring | Trevor | |
| 2017[17] | The Current War | Robert Lane | |
| 2019 | Tolkien | Sam Hodges | |
| Bittersweet Symphony | Bobby | ||
| Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans | Emperor Nero | ||
| Eternal Beauty | — | Writer and director | |
| 2021 | The Phantom of the Open | — | Director |
Television edit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Care | Craig, Pauline's Child | Television film |
| 2003 | Little Pudding | Television film | |
| 2005–2006 | The Story of Tracy Beaker | Rio Wellard | 36 episodes |
| 2005 | Kiddo | Jay | Television film |
| 2005, 2008 | Casualty | Darren Smith / Jordan Philpot | 2 episodes |
| 2006–2008 | Young Dracula | Robin Branagh | 27 episodes |
| 2011 | Being Human | Adam | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Skins | Dominic | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Playhouse Presents | Carl | Episode: "Cargese" |
| 2014 | Under Milk Wood | Nogood Boyo | Television film |
| 2014–2017 | Red Oaks | David Myers | 26 episodes |
| 2015 | Hoff the Record | Josh Brooke-Webb | Episode: "The Movie" |
| 2023 | Still Up | Danny | Main role[18] |
Music videos edit
| Year | Title | Role | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | "Here with Me" | Wax Boy | The Killers | |
| 2012 | "One Man Army" | Kassidy | ||
| 2013 | "Avocado, Baby" | N/A | Los Campesinos! | Director |
| 2013 | "Show Me the Wonder" | N/A | Manic Street Preachers | |
| 2019 | "Rom-Com Gone Wrong" | N/A | Matt Maltese | Director |
Awards and nominations edit
British Independent Film Awards edit
| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | British Independent Film Award | Most Promising Newcomer | Submarine | Nominated | [19] |
London Critics Circle Film Awards edit
| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | ALFS Award | Young British Performer of the Year | Submarine | Won | [20] |
Empire Awards edit
| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Empire Award | Best Male Newcomer | Submarine | Nominated | [21] |
BAFTA Awards, Wales edit
| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | BAFTA Cymru Award | Best Actor | Submarine | Won | [22] |
| 2016 | BAFTA Cymru Award | Best Writer | Just Jim | Nominated | [23] |
Fantasporto film festival Awards edit
| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Director's Week Special Jury Award | Best actor | Just Jim | Won | [24] |
| Director's Week Award | Best film | Just Jim | Nominated |
References edit
- ^ Tom Seymour. "Craig Roberts: the Richard Ayoade protege turned debonair director". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- ^ Jacob Stoleworthy. "Red Oaks actor Craig Roberts: 'I'll always look like I'm coming of age'". The Independent. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
- ^ Jess Hardiman. "Rio Wellard From 'The Story Of Tracy Beaker' Is Now A Hollywood Star". LADbible. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
- ^ Rose, Lacey; O'Connell, Michael; Sandberg, Bryn Elise; Stanhope, Kate; Goldberg, Lesley (28 August 2015). "Next Gen Fall TV: 10 Stars Poised for Breakouts". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ "Maesycwmmer teen lands role in Ben Stiller film". Campaign Series. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
- ^ Williams, Kathryn (16 August 2014). "What Craig Roberts did when he came home from Hollywood". Wales Online.
- ^ Henry Barnes (15 March 2011). "'I love deadpan': Richard Ayoade and Craig Roberts on Submarine". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
- ^ White, James (6 November 2009). "Paddy Considine starring in Submarine". TotalFilm.com. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
- ^ "Submarine stars Craig Roberts and Yasmin Paige: Q&A". Film4. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 15 March 2012.
- ^ "BBC Three – Being Human, Series 3, Adam's Family". BBC.
- ^ Lewis, Randy (18 December 2012). "Tim Burton directs the Killers' new 'Here With Me' video". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
- ^ Balla, Reemul (17 June 2021). "The Tracy Beaker actor you never knew went on to appear in Hollywood blockbuster comedies". mylondon.news. MyLondon. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ The Sheepish Approach Teaser. Vimeo.
- ^ Nick Levine. "'Submarine' Actor Craig Roberts On How Eminem Inspired His Directorial Debut, 'Just Jim". NME. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ^ Adam Starkey. "season of Amazon's Red Oaks, Halloween reboot and being 'pigeonholed' as an actor". Metro UK. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
- ^ Harrison, Ellie (3 October 2018). "Horrible Histories: The Movie is officially happening". Radio Times.
- ^ The film was initially intended for release in October 2017 and it was premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017, but it was not released publicly in theatres until 2019.
- ^ "Apple TV+ announces new 'Still Up' comedy for September". appleinsider.com. 9 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ Most Promising Newcomer 2011
- ^ Laura Chamberlain. "Craig Roberts scoops award for Submarine role". BBC. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
- ^ "Best Male Newcomer". Empireonline.com. Bauer Consumer Media. 2012. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- ^ "BAFTA in Wales Announces The Winners of the 2012 British Academy Cymru Awards". Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ "British Academy Cymru Awards Winners in 2016". Retrieved 30 November 2016.
- ^ "FANTASPORTO 2016 36th OPORTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL PRÉMIOS AWARDS JURI INTERNACIONAL CINEMA FANTÁSTICO FANTASY INTERNATIONAL JURY". Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
