Jay Lycurgo
Jay Lycurgo | |
|---|---|
| Occupation(s) | Stage, television and film actor |
| Notable work | Titans, The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself |
Jay Lycurgo is a British actor known for Titans and The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself.
Personal and early life
Lycurgo is from Croydon and was partly inspired to start acting by seeing productions at Fairfield Halls in Croydon.[1] Aged 17, Lycurgo auditioned for the BRIT School but didn’t secure a place. Lycurgo graduated from the London’s Arts Educational School (ArtsEd) in 2019. Lycurgo is bi-sexual.[2] His father is a former professional footballer, a Jamaican striker called David Johnson.[3]
Career
Lycurgo had roles in the TV series I May Destroy You, and had a role on stage in the Torch Song Trilogy in 2019 at the Turbine Theatre in London.[4][5] He had a role in the Jimmy McGovern TV film Anthony.[6] He also had roles in Epix’s War of the Worlds, Cheaters, and Matt Reeves cinematic retelling of The Batman with Robert Pattinson. He also appears as Tim Drake in Titans.[7][8] Lycurgo has stated he was proud to play a superhero of mixed race as there were not many examples of this when he was growing up.[9]
He has the lead role in the Netflix supernatural series, The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself. Auditioning was completed during the COVID-19 pandemic over video and he was living in Toronto at the time. He has stated he related to the cheekiness and quick witted nature of his character Nathan.[10] He has to physically prepare for the action and fighting scenes in the series,[11] which he has described as “Misfits meets This is England“,[12] but has also been described as "Twilight meets Skins" and an "X-rated Harry Potter".[13] He said he got into the headspace of playing a teenager despite being 24 years-old himself because “I feel like I’m just very childlike still, you know. I have a huge imagination…I think it’s a real shame that as we get older we feel like we have to stop being that kid in a playground. You know? I don’t think that needs to be the case. I feel like we should be able to still imagine things and be playful and creative. When you’re acting it’s just that sometimes you have to get the permission from the right people to be like, “No really go for it! Go there.” And then to yourself you just have to really believe that you’re in these places. When it comes to being a teenager again, I think I’m just quite fortunate to still be very immature.”[14] As well as the playfulness and immaturity in the character Lycurgo told Newsweek how his characterisation of Nathan was also driven borne of an inherent loneliness saying "He is just a really lonely and isolated, quiet person, because he's always been in fight-and-flight [mode] and he doesn't trust anyone.[15]
Filmography
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Anthony | Marcus | TV film |
| 2020 | I May Destroy You | Marcus | 1 episode |
| 2021 | War of the Worlds | Will | 1 episode |
| 2021–present | Titans | Tim Drake | 8 episodes |
| 2022 | Cheaters | Paul | 8 episodes |
| 2022 | The Batman | Train gang young member | Feature film |
| 2022 | The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself | Nathan | 8 episodes |
References
- ^ "The Bastard Son's Jay Lycurgo is collecting major roles like action figures". The Face.
- ^ "The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself's Jay Lycurgo is ready for anything". Attitude.co.uk.
- ^ "Jay Lycurgo on dancing with the devil". squaremile.com.
- ^ "10 Things You Didn't Know about Jay Lycurgo". TVovermind.com.
- ^ "Torch Song". British Theatre Guide.
- ^ "Meet the cast of Anthony, the BBC's Anthony Walker drama". Radio Times.
- ^ "Does Jay Lycurgo Become Robin in Titans Season 4?". gamerevolution.com.
- ^ "Meet the actor playing Tim Drake in Titans season 3". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ "'Titans' Star Jay Lycurgo on Representing and That Major Moment For Tim Drake". thenerdsofcolor.
- ^ "JAY LYCURGO". Wonderlandmagazine.com.
- ^ "Jay Lycurgo: "The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself left a few scars"". thedigitalfix.com.
- ^ "The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself: Jay Lycurgo and Emilien Vekemans talk queer romance". Gay Times.
- ^ "The Bastard Son and The Devil Himself: Jay Lycurgo and Isobel Jesper Jones exclusive interview about dark Netflix teen drama". BT.com.
- ^ "interview jay lycurgo". Schon.
- ^ "'The Bastard Son and The Devil Himself' Character and Power Guide". Newsweek.
