Getting kicked out of school is not typically how one becomes an actor. But when David Jonsson was 14, he got expelled for fighting and was sent off to an alternative school, where he was surrounded by kids who had committed much worse infractions. The experience was a wake-up call, and inspired him to seek out a different path. “Acting was never even a thought until I got kicked out,” the 31-year-old Brit says. “After that, I found youth theater, and that was a way of channeling a lot of things.”
It was one of the first times that he transformed himself from one person into another—and now he does it for a living. “It’s nice to do a bit of onscreen therapy,” he jokes.
Jonsson—whose résumé now includes HBO’s Industry, the British romantic comedy Rye Lane, and the sci-fi film Alien: Romulus—dials in from the back seat of a car heading to the airport from West Hollywood.
He’s going home to London for a few days, before flying to Las Vegas for CinemaCon, where he’ll promote his upcoming film, an adaptation of Stephen King’s The Long Walk, and also receive CinemaCon’s Next Generation Award (his second recognition this year, after winning the BAFTA Rising Star Award in February).
And though he’s changing time zones quicker than perhaps anyone should, he’s adamant that he’s having a great time. “It’s nice to be running around and sort of in demand,” he says with a wide smile.
The Long Walk, which will premiere this fall, costars Cooper Hoffman and follows a group of young men who sign up for a grueling competition, with only one winner. “It’s really brilliant—a beautiful movie about endurance,” Jonsson says. In true King fashion, it’s equal parts gory, twisted, and heartfelt.
Jonsson plays a fast-talking, charismatic, and empathetic young man named Peter McVries, who has a troubled past. “He’s a really interesting character to describe, because he’s kind of mercurial in nature, but he’s also a man of his hands. He’s a very practical, rough-and-tumble kind of guy, but he’s also a bit of a drifter. You can’t quite place him,” he says. “You don’t know where he’s come from or where he’s going, and that was part of the fun. More than anything, he loves to love, and he’s extraordinarily generous—which, when you’re walking a lot, that trait really helps.”
The role was not only technically challenging (Jonsson puts on a very convincing American accent), but also physically demanding. “We walked at least 10 miles every single day. At least. And then on longer days with bigger scenes, we walked more than that,” he says. “But that’s why we do it. For the thrill.”
Jonsson wanted his character to be “really built,” and sure enough, from the moment he illuminates the screen, all you see is muscle. “In the script, it felt to me that he was physically strong. I wanted him to have that,” he says. “And obviously, the camera picks up everything, doesn’t it? So I said, ‘Right, I’ve got to train.’”
One of his favorite things about being an actor is the ability to transform. He put on 25 pounds for The Long Walk, after losing 40 pounds for another part. “I don’t think every actor wants to do that,” he notes. “But I love it.”
Up next, he’ll mold himself once again, into the legendary entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. in the forthcoming film Scandalous!, by first-time director Colman Domingo and alongside Sydney Sweeney, who plays his girlfriend Kim Novak. “When you take on a titan like Sammy Davis Jr., you try to understand the man on the inside,” Jonsson says of his prep for the role. “That process takes time, and I’m on that journey. Fingers crossed that it comes across on-camera.” He’s also set to star as the lead in Frank Ocean’s directorial debut.
Jonsson is doing his best to manage his busy schedule while also taking time to be still. He recently took up journaling. “What you realize is, things are happening so fast. You know, you land that role, you’re on that stage, and you’re like, ‘Yeah, I’m doing it.’ And then, like, eight shows pass, and then before you know it, the show is finished and you’re like, ‘Oh, God, I didn’t know it was done.’”
It’s in the quiet moments that Jonsson can be sentimental, thinking about how far he’s come. It was not long ago, he notes, that he “was 18 in my bedroom, reading lines and memorizing monologues. Some of my best work is in my bedroom in East London. It’s sitting there in the walls. That’s why I’ll never complain. I feel so special. I’m lucky....No, not lucky—blessed.”
Hair by Jonathan Clausell; makeup by Alexandra French at Forward Artists; manicure by Jolene Brodeur at The Wall Group; produced by Anthony Federici at Petty Cash Production; photographed at Malibu Creek Ranch.
A version of this story appears in the Summer 2025 issue of ELLE.
