Ansel Elgort (born March 14, 1994 in New York City, New York) is an American actor, singer, DJ, and record producer. He is the son of Vogue photographer Arthur Elgort and opera director Grethe Barrett Holby.
He's best known for portraying Augustus Waters in the film adaptation of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars opposite Shailene Woodley, with whom he also co-starred in the The Divergent Series as Caleb Prior. While these films gave him a reputation as a leading teen heartthrob of his time, his appearance in the title role of Edgar Wright's 2017 action comedy Baby Driver earned him widespread acclaim for his performance and viability as an action star.
Some of his other film credits include the 2013 Carrie remake (his acting debut), Jason Reitman's Men, Women & Children, a cameo in Paper Towns (another Green adaptation), and Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. He currently has a starring role on the Max original series Tokyo Vice as Jake Adelstein.
In addition to his acting career, Elgort is also a recording artist, producer and DJ. He released a number of singles and remixes under the stage name Ansølo, which he's since dropped in favor of his real name for his most recent material.
He's also a trained ballet dancer.
Filmography:
- Carrie (2013) as Tommy Ross
- The Divergent Series (2014 — 2016) as Caleb Prior:
- Divergent (2014)
- The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015)
- The Divergent Series: Allegiant (2016)note
- The Fault in Our Stars (2014) as Augustus Waters
- Men, Women & Children (2014) as Tim Mooney
- Paper Towns (2015) as Mason
- Baby Driver (2017) as Miles/Baby
- November Criminals (2017) as Addison Schacht
- Jonathan (2018) as Jonathan / John
- Billionaire Boys Club (2018) as Joe Hunt
- The Goldfinch (2019) as Theo Decker
- West Side Story (2021) as Tony Wyzek
- Tokyo Vice (2022 — present; TV series) as Jake Adelstein (main role)
Elgort provides examples of:
- Cool Car: He begged the Baby Driver crew to give him one of the Subarus he drives in the film, so at his birthday, he got it
◊. - Dawson Casting: Not in Carrie where he was eighteen, like Tommy. But Ansel has continued to play teens in his twenties.
- Irony as She Is Cast: Plays the Non-Action Guy Caleb in the Divergent films who - even when he does get involved is more of an Action Survivor or Badass Bookworm. He's a trained ballet dancer in real life and the baggy clothes he wears as Caleb hide a toned physique.
- Star-Making Role: The Fault in Our Stars made him a household name, and attracted a swarm of
Estrogen Brigade. - Tall, Dark, and Handsome: 6'4", dark-haired and pure Estrogen Brigade.
- Those Two Guys: He co-starred opposite Shailene Woodley twice: as her brother in Divergent, and then her love interest in The Fault in Our Stars.
