Jay Lycurgo (born 6 February 1998) is an English actor. On television, he is known for his roles as in the DC Universe series Titans (2021–2023) and the Netflix series The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself (2022). For performance in the film Steve, he earned a British Independent Film Award.
Jay Lycurgo | |
|---|---|
 Lycurgo at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | 6 February 1998[1] |
| Alma mater | ArtsEd |
| Years active | 2019–present |
Early life
editLycurgo grew up in Croydon, the youngest of four children. He is of Jamaican, Sierra Leonean, and British heritage.[2] His father is former professional footballer David Johnson.[3] Lycurgo was partly inspired to act through watching productions at the local Fairfield Halls.[1] After not getting into the BRIT School, his teacher suggested drama school. He went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting from Arts Educational School (ArtsEd) in 2019.
Career
editUpon graduating from ArtsEd, Lycurgo made his television debut in an episode of the BBC One medical drama Doctors as well as his professional stage debut as David Beckoff in the 2019 Turbine Theatre production of the Torch Song Trilogy. This was followed by appearances in the miniseries I May Destroy You, Jimmy McGovern's television film Anthony,[4] and the science fiction series War of the Worlds. He had small roles in films Listen and The Batman.[5][6]
In 2021, Lycurgo began playing Tim Drake, a recurring role in the third season of the DC Universe series Titans. 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.[7] He reprised his role as a regular in season 4.[8] The following year, he played Paul in the BBC Three sitcom Cheaters.
Also in 2022, Lycurgo stars in as Nathan Byrne in Netflix series The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself, an adaptation of the young adult fantasy novel Half Bad by Sally Green. Auditioning was completed during the COVID-19 pandemic over video while he was in Toronto. He has stated he related to the cheekiness and quick witted nature of his character Nathan.[9] He has to physically prepare for the action and fighting scenes in the series,[10] which he has described as "Misfits meets This is England",[2] "Twilight meets Skins", and as an "X-rated Harry Potter".[11] 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.”[12] As well as the playfulness and immaturity in the character, Lycurgo told Newsweek how his characterization of Nathan was driven by 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."[13]
In 2023, he started filming Ben Wheatley comedy-horror series Generation Z.[14][15] In 2024, he was cast in the Peaky Blinders film The Immortal Man alongside Cillian Murphy, with whom he was also cast in the film Steve.[16][17] For the role, he was nominated for best supporting performance at the British Independent Film Awards 2025.[18]
Filmography
edit| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Man Down | Dayton | Short film |
| 2020 | Father of the Bride | Christian | Short film |
| Listen | Young Man | ||
| Brothers | Jase | Short film | |
| 2022 | The Batman | Train Gang Young Member | |
| 2024 | The Radleys | Evan Copleigh | |
| 2025 | Steve | Shy | |
| Eternal Return | Julian | ||
| 2026 | Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man † | TBA | Post-production |
| TBA | I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning † | Oli | Filming[19] |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Doctors | Kyle O'Keefe | Episode: "Last Stop" |
| 2020 | I May Destroy You | Marcus | Episode: "The Alliance" |
| Anthony | Marcus | Television film | |
| 2021 | War of the Worlds | Will | 1 episode |
| 2021–2023 | Titans | Tim Drake / Robin | Main role (season 4) Recurring role (season 3) |
| 2022 | Cheaters | Paul | 7 episodes |
| The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself | Nathan Byrne | Main role | |
| 2024 | Generation Z | Charlie |
Stage
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Torch Song Trilogy | David Beckoff | Turbine Theatre, London |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Association | Category | Title | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | British Independent Film Awards | Best Supporting Performance | Steve | Won | [20] |
References
edit- ^ a b Pometsey, Olive (28 October 2022). "The Bastard Son's Jay Lycurgo is collecting major roles like action figures". The Face. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
- ^ a b Damshenas, Sam (28 October 2022). "The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself: Jay Lycurgo and Emilien Vekemans talk queer romance". Gay Times. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ Ryan, Maeve (28 October 2022). "Jay Lycurgo on dancing with the devil". Square Mile. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
- ^ Morris, Lauren (23 July 2020). "Meet the cast of Anthony, the BBC's Anthony Walker drama". Radio Times. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "10 Things You Didn't Know about Jay Lycurgo". TVovermind.com. 3 February 2021.
- ^ Seymour, Claire (2019). "Torch Song". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ Sirikul, Laura (16 September 2021). "'Titans' Star Jay Lycurgo on Representing and That Major Moment For Tim Drake". Nerds of Color. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "Meet the actor playing Tim Drake in Titans season 3". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ "JAY LYCURGO". Wonderland. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ McGlynn, Anthony (27 October 2022). "Jay Lycurgo: "The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself left a few scars"". The Digital Fix. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ Fletcher, Alex (1 November 2022). "The Bastard Son and The Devil Himself: Jay Lycurgo and Isobel Jesper Jones exclusive interview about dark Netflix teen drama". BT. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ Saretsky, Kendall (25 October 2022). "interview - jay lycurgo". Schön!. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "'The Bastard Son and The Devil Himself' Character and Power Guide". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
- ^ Cormack, Morgan (18 October 2023). "Sue Johnston, Robert Lindsay and more join Generation Z cast". Radio Times. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ Kanter, Jake (18 October 2023). "'Generation Z' First Look: Ben Wheatley's Zombie Series Unveils Cast Including Robert Lindsay". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ Moore, Kasey (26 September 2024). "'Peaky Blinders' Netflix Movie Titled 'The Immortal Man'; Adds Tim Roth and Jay Lycurgo". Whats on Netflix. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
- ^ "Cillian Murphy and Jay Lycurgo Netflix Movie 'Steve': Everything We Know So Far". What's on Netlix. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ Ritman, Alex (3 November 2025). "'My Father's Shadow,' 'Pillion' and 'I Swear' Lead British Independent Film Awards Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
- ^ Ritman, Alex (4 April 2025). "Clio Barnard Sets Next Feature 'I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning,' Anthony Boyle, Joe Cole, Jay Lycurgo, Daryl McCormack and Lola Petticrew to Star (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
- ^ https://www.spotlight.com/news-and-advice/the-industry/british-independent-film-awards-2025-winners-list/
External links
edit- Jay Lycurgo at IMDb