Keiynan Lonsdale

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Keiynan Lonsdale
Keiynan Lonsdale (2) (cropped).jpg
Lonsdale at CLEO Bachelors in 2012
Born (1991-12-19) 19 December 1991 (age 29)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Occupation
  • Actor
  • dancer
  • singer-songwriter
Years active2007–present
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Musical career
Genres

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

Early life[]

Lonsdale was born in Sydney to a Nigerian father of Edo descent and an Australian mother of Irish and Danish descent.[3][4] He has eleven siblings.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7] Lonsdale briefly reprised the role in The Divergent Series: Allegiant (2016). In 2016, his single "Higher" was included on Connor Franta's curated album Common Culture, volume 5.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] In 2017, the character left The Flash and debuted on season three of Legends of Tomorrow.[11] That year, Lonsdale also appeared in an episode of Supergirl.[12]

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.[13] Upon release, the film received positive reviews from critics,[14] and was dubbed historically significant, as it is the first film ever released by a major studio to focus on a gay teenage romance.[15][16]

In 2019, Lonsdale starred in Camila Cabello's music video for "Liar".[17] He has also released musical recordings, including "Higher" in 2015 and "Good Life" in 2017 and "Kiss The Boy" in 2018 and "Preach" in 2018. Lonsdale also released a single "Rainbow Dragon" in 2019.[18]

Personal life[]

Lonsdale has been described as queer.[19] Lonsdale does not self-identify with a specific sexuality label.[19]

Discography[]

Studio albums[]

Title Album details
Rainbow Boy

Extended plays[]

Title Album details
Higher Vol. 1
  • Released: 6 October 2015[21]
  • Format: Digital download

Singles[]

List of singles, showing year released and album name
Title Year Album
"One and Only"[22] 2014 Non-album single
"Higher"[23] 2015 Higher Vol. 1
"Good Life"[23] 2017 Non-album singles
"Kiss the Boy"[24] 2018
"Preach"[25]
"Rainbow Dragon"[26] 2019 Rainbow Boy
"Gay Street Fighter"[27] 2020
"See You There"
(with Castelle)[28] 		N/A
"Rhythm & Music"[29] 2021 Rainbow Boy

Filmography[]

Film roles
Year Title Role Notes
2007 Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance Miss Elizabeth's Dance Troupe
2015 The Divergent Series: Insurgent Uriah Pedrad
2016 The Finest Hours Eldon Hanon
The Divergent Series: Allegiant Uriah Pedrad
2017 Dance Academy: The Movie Oliver Lloyd
Like. Share. Follow. Garrett
2018 Love, Simon Bram "Blue" Greenfeld
2020 Work It Julliard Pembroke [30]
TBA Weetzie Bat Duck
Television
Year Title Role Network Notes
2008 All Saints Corey Seven Network Episode: "Sons and Lovers"
2012–2013 Dance Academy Oliver Lloyd ABC1 Recurring role (season 2); main role (season 3)
2015–2018, 2020 The Flash Wally West / Kid Flash The CW Main role (seasons 2–4), special guest star (season 5–6)
2017–2018 Legends of Tomorrow Main role (season 3);[31][11] special guest star (2 episodes)
2017 Supergirl Episode: "Crisis on Earth-X, Part 1"
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars 4 Self VH1 Guest Judge; episode: "Snatch Game of Love"[32]
2020 Love, Victor Bram Greenfeld Hulu Guest star[33]
Equal Bayard Rustin HBO Max Docuseries

Awards and nominations[]

Year Nominated work Award Category Result Ref.
2018 Love, Simon MTV Movie & TV Awards Best Kiss (shared with Nick Robinson) Won [34]
Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Ship (shared with Nick Robinson) Nominated [35]
2021 GLAAD Media Awards Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist Pending [36]

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. ^ "Keiynan Lonsdale, 'Preach' | Track Review". The Musical Hype. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Chatting with Keiynan Lonsdale, actor. I'm Uriah in INSURGENT. AMA! : IAmA". Reddit.com. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Keiynan Lonsdale on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 10 April 2018.[non-primary source needed]
  6. ^ "From MTV VJ to Insurgent star in nine months". NewsComAu. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Divergent Sequel Insurgent Casts Keiynan Lonsdale As Uriah". 20 June 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Instagram". Instagram. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  9. ^ Garofalo, Alex. "'The Flash' Star Keiynan Lonsdale Previews Wally West Debut, Sibling Rivalry With Barry, And Reveals He Auditioned For Firestorm". International Business Times. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  10. ^ Goldman, Eric (5 August 2015). "The Flash: Wally West Cast for Season 2". IGN.com. Retrieved 5 August 2015.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b "Keiynan Lonsdale Leaves The Flash for Legends of Tomorrow". TV Guide. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  12. ^ "Keiynan Lonsdale On 'Love, Simon' and the Joy of Leaving the Closet". 13 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  13. ^ "'Love, Simon' Star Keiynan Lonsdale Talks Coming Out on Set". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  14. ^ "Love, Simon (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  15. ^ "'Love, Simon': Your first look at 2018's major studio gay teen romance". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  16. ^ Lang, Brent (9 March 2018). "'Love, Simon' Stars Say Gay Teen Romance Will Save Lives". Variety. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  17. ^ Calvario, Liz (11 September 2019). "Camila Cabello Drops Theatrical 'Liar' Music Video – Watch". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  18. ^ Keiynan Lonsdale – Rainbow Dragon (Official Music Video), retrieved 6 October 2019
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b "Keiynan Lonsdale Performs Hits From Rainbow Boy on Billboard Live at-Home". Billboard. 11 October 2020.
  20. ^ Julia (15 May 2020). "Keiynan Lonsdale Releasing Debut Album May 29". Nerds and Beyond. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  21. ^ Garofalo, Alex. "'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.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b Ellenbogen, Rachael (31 August 2017). "'The Flash' Star Keiynan Lonsdale Drops New Single 'Good Life'". International Business Times. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  24. ^ Riddell, Rose (29 May 2018). "Interview: Keiynan Lonsdale on his single, 'Kiss The Boy'". Coup de Main. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  25. ^ Moore, Matt (30 June 2018). "Keiynan Lonsdale releases music video for his latest single Preach". Gay Times. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  26. ^ Radic, Randy (18 September 2019). "Keiynan Lonsdale Releases Fearless New Single "Rainbow Dragon"". Pop Dust. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  27. ^ Duffy, Nick (14 April 2020). "Love, Simon star Keiynan Lonsdale declares himself the 'Gay Street Fighter' in defiant and proud new single". Pink News. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  28. ^ "See You There (single)". Apple Music. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  29. ^ "SINGLES TO RADIO ISSUE 1356". themusicnetwork.com. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  30. ^ 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.
  31. ^ Dino-Ray Ramos (5 June 2018). "Keiynan Lonsdale Not Returning as Series Regular on The Flash or Legends of Tomorrow". Deadline Hollywood.
  32. ^ "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars" Snatch Game of Love (TV Episode 2018) – IMDb, retrieved 17 August 2019
  33. ^ Love, Simon TV Show Spinoff Trailer Confirms Another Movie Actor Returns, retrieved 27 May 2020
  34. ^ Schulman, Alissa (18 June 2018). "2018 MTV Movie & TV Award Winners". MTV News. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  35. ^ Evans, Greg (22 June 2018). "Teen Choice Awards: 'Black Panther', 'Solo', 'Riverdale' Lead Nominations – List". Deadline. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  36. ^ https://www.glaad.org/mediaawards/32/nominees

External links[]

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