Keiynan_Lonsdale

Keiynan Lonsdale

Keiynan Lonsdale

Nigerian-Australian actor and singer


Keiynan Lonsdale (/ˈknən/ KEE-nən;[3] born 19 December 1991) is an Australian actor, dancer, and singer-songwriter. He is known for roles such as Oliver Lloyd in the ABC series Dance Academy (2012–2013), Wally West/Kid Flash in the CW series The Flash (2015–2023) and Legends of Tomorrow (2017–2018), and Abraham "Bram" Greenfeld in the film Love, Simon (2018). His other films include The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015) and The Finest Hours (2016). Lonsdale has also worked as an MTV VJ and released original music recordings, including a studio album in 2020.

Quick Facts Born, Occupations ...

Early life

Lonsdale was born in Sydney to a Nigerian father of Edo descent and an Australian mother of Irish and Danish descent.[4][5] He has eleven siblings.[6][7]

Career

Lonsdale's first acting job was in 2007, with a dancing part in the film Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance. The following year, he appeared in an episode of the Australian television medical drama All Saints. Lonsdale became a recurring member of the cast of the Australian teen drama series Dance Academy in the 2012 second season as the character Oliver Lloyd, who became a regular in the third and final season.

Lonsdale was a VJ on MTV for two and a half years.[8] He released a single on iTunes titled "One and Only" in 2014. He then played a supporting role as Uriah Pedrad in The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015), the second film in the series,[9] later briefly reprising said role in The Divergent Series: Allegiant (2016). In 2016, his single "Higher" was included on Connor Franta's curated album Common Culture, volume 5.[10] Lonsdale next appeared in the historical drama The Finest Hours (2016) as Eldon Hanon, the youngest sailor involved in a rescue at sea.

In 2015, Lonsdale auditioned for the role of Jefferson Jackson, but the role was given to Franz Drameh.[11] Instead, he was cast as Wally West (the previously unknown son of Joe West) on CW's The Flash and became a regular supporting character in season two and as Kid Flash in season three.[12] In 2017, the character left The Flash and debuted on season three of Legends of Tomorrow.[13] That year, Lonsdale also appeared in an episode of Supergirl.[14]

In 2018, Lonsdale starred as Bram in the film Love, Simon, based on the novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli about a teenage boy who struggles to come out. Lonsdale later said the role helped in coming to terms with his own sexuality.[15] Upon release, the film received positive reviews from critics,[16] and was dubbed historically significant, as it is the first film ever released by a major studio to focus on a gay teenage romance.[17][18]

In 2019, Lonsdale starred in Camila Cabello's music video for "Liar".[19] He has also released musical recordings, including "Higher" in 2015, "Good Life" in 2017, "Kiss the Boy" in 2018, and "Preach" in 2018. Lonsdale also released a single "Rainbow Dragon" in 2019.[20]

Lonsdale released Lonely point of view in 2023.

Personal life

In 2017, Lonsdale came out on Instagram saying "I like girls, & I like guys".[21] Lonsdale previously did not self-identify with a specific sexuality label, but came out as gay in a 2022 interview for BuzzFeed.[22][23]

Discography

Studio albums

More information Title, Album details ...

Extended plays

More information Title, EP details ...

Singles

More information Title, Year ...

Filmography

More information Year, Title ...
More information Year, Title ...

Awards and nominations

More information Year, Award ...

References

  1. "Keiynan Lonsdale's 'Kiss The Boy' is the sweet, queer love song we deserve". ProjectTV. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  2. "True Urban Culture Magazine, Under The Radar: Keiynan Lonsdale". tucmag.net. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  3. Anderson, Tre'vell (20 March 2018). "'Love, Simon's' Keiynan Lonsdale on playing Kid Flash and LGBTQ representation in Hollywood". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  4. "Keiynan Lonsdale on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  5. "The Family Dynamic of Keiynan Lonsdale". Television Academy. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  6. "From MTV VJ to Insurgent star in nine months". NewsComAu. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  7. "Instagram". Instagram. 29 April 2016. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  8. Goldman, Eric (5 August 2015). "The Flash: Wally West Cast for Season 2". IGN.com. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  9. "Keiynan Lonsdale Leaves The Flash for Legends of Tomorrow". TV Guide. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  10. "'Love, Simon' Star Keiynan Lonsdale Talks Coming Out on Set". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  11. Lang, Brent (9 March 2018). "'Love, Simon' Stars Say Gay Teen Romance Will Save Lives". Variety. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  12. Calvario, Liz (11 September 2019). "Camila Cabello Drops Theatrical 'Liar' Music Video – Watch". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  13. Julia (15 May 2020). "Keiynan Lonsdale Releasing Debut Album May 29". Nerds and Beyond. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  14. Garofalo, Alex (28 September 2015). "'The Flash' Star Keiynan Lonsdale on His Music Career: Record Labels Said 'I Was Too Black For Pop And Not Black Enough For This'". International Business Times. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  15. Longhetti, Chloe-Lee (15 May 2014). "Keiynan Lonsdale headed for the US in hope to sign record label". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  16. Ellenbogen, Rachael (31 August 2017). "'The Flash' Star Keiynan Lonsdale Drops New Single 'Good Life'". International Business Times. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  17. Riddell, Rose (29 May 2018). "Interview: Keiynan Lonsdale on his single, 'Kiss The Boy'". Coup de Main. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  18. Moore, Matt (30 June 2018). "Keiynan Lonsdale releases music video for his latest single Preach". Gay Times. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  19. Radic, Randy (18 September 2019). "Keiynan Lonsdale Releases Fearless New Single "Rainbow Dragon"". Pop Dust. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  20. "See You There (single)". Apple Music. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  21. "SINGLES TO RADIO ISSUE 1356". themusicnetwork.com. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  22. N'Duka, Amanda (2 July 2019). "Jordan Fisher, Drew Ray Tanner, Michelle Buteau Join Sabrina Carpenter in Netflix Dance Comedy 'Work It'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  23. Schulman, Alissa (18 June 2018). "2018 MTV Movie & TV Award Winners". MTV News. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  24. Evans, Greg (22 June 2018). "Teen Choice Awards: 'Black Panther', 'Solo', 'Riverdale' Lead Nominations – List". Deadline. Retrieved 22 June 2018.

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Keiynan_Lonsdale, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.