Nicholas Hoult's Real Name: Nicholas Caradoc Hoult

Quick answer: Nicholas Hoult's full name is Nicholas Caradoc Hoult, the form given in a Library of Congress name-authority variant. He was born on December 7, 1989, in Wokingham, Berkshire, England. He is usually billed as Nicholas Hoult. He drew notice as a child in About a Boy (2002) and later played Beast in the X-Men films and Nux in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) (Britannica).

Real name and early life

Britannica lists him as Nicholas Hoult, born December 7, 1989, in Wokingham, and gives an expanded form in its "in full" line. The Library of Congress heading is "Hoult, Nicholas, 1989-," with the official variant "Hoult, Nicholas Caradoc, 1989-." Britannica spells the middle name Carandoc, while Library of Congress records use Caradoc. This page follows the catalog spelling and notes the difference.

His father was a commercial pilot and his mother taught piano. He is a great-nephew of the British stage and screen star Anna Neagle, and his three siblings also had acting experience. Britannica says a director noticed him at age three while he watched his brother, James, in a play.

Career highlights

He made his feature-film debut in Intimate Relations (1996). International attention came with his second film, About a Boy (2002), made when he was 12. In the comedy, adapted from a Nick Hornby novel, he played a shy boy taken under the wing of a character played by Hugh Grant.

After a growth spurt ended the usual run of child roles, he portrayed Tony Stonem in the British television drama Skins (2007–08). Designer Tom Ford then cast him in Ford's first film as a director, A Single Man (2009), opposite Colin Firth.

He played Hank McCoy, also called Beast, in X-Men: First Class (2011) and later films in that series. In Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) he was Nux. Other credits include Warm Bodies (2013), Jack the Giant Slayer (2013), The Favourite (2018), and the Hulu series The Great (2020– ). In The Favourite he appeared in a historical black comedy; The Great is a comic take on the Russian court. One Library of Congress note gives a 1990 birth year; Britannica and the other catalog notes use December 7, 1989.

Name notes for searchers

Nicholas Hoult is the billing name. Library of Congress records support Nicholas Caradoc Hoult. Britannica's "in full" line uses the spelling Carandoc. He is sometimes called Nick Hoult in informal mentions.