Connor Swindells

Connor Ryan Swindells is an English actor and model. He gained prominence through his role as Adam Groff in the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education (2019–2023). He has since starred in the BBC One war drama SAS: Rogue Heroes (2022–present). His films include The Vanishing (2018), Emma (2020), Barbarians (2021), and Barbie (2023).

Connor Swindells
Swindells in September 2024
Born	Connor Ryan Swindells (1996-09-19) September 19, 1996 (age 28) Lewes, East Sussex, England
Occupation(s)	Actor, model
Years active	2015–present
Spouse	Amber Anderson ​ (m. 2024)​

Early life and education

Connor Ryan Swindells^[1] was born in Lewes, East Sussex, the youngest of four sons to parents Ian and Phoebe. His mother was of Romani heritage.^[2] She died of bowel cancer when Swindells was seven years old, which he has said he is still processing.^[3] After her death, he and his father went to live with Swindells' paternal grandparents in West Chiltington until moving out to Billingshurst, both in the Horsham District of West Sussex.^[4]

Swindells attended Rydon Community College and Steyning Grammar School.^[5] He dropped out of college at age 17.^[6]

Career

Swindells began acting when he saw an audition poster for a local play and his friend dared him to audition; he got the lead role. He then acted in two more local plays and signed with an agent at the end of the third play.^[7]

In 2017 Swindells made his television debut with guest appearances in episodes of the Hulu period drama Harlots as Mostyn and the Sky One historical drama Jamestown as Fletcher.

In March 2017, Swindells was cast to replace Joe Alwyn as Donald in The Vanishing, a Scottish psychological thriller film directed by Kristoffer Nyholm, starring Gerard Butler and Peter Mullan. The film screened at the 2018 Sitges Film Festival before having a theatrical release on 4 January 2019.^[8] Swindells also starred as Adam in the 2018 drama film VS.^[9]

In 2019 Swindells began starring alongside Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey, Asa Butterfield, and Gillian Anderson in the Netflix comedy-drama series Sex Education as Adam Groff, the headmaster's son, initially a bully who has a tense relationship with his father.

Swindells appeared in the films Emma (2020) and Barbarians (2021), and played Simon Hadlow in the 2021 BBC One crime drama Vigil led by Suranne Jones. The following year, he began starring in the lead role of David Stirling in the World War II series SAS: Rogue Heroes, also on BBC One.

Swindells appeared in Greta Gerwig's Barbie, reuniting with his Sex Education co-stars Ncuti Gatwa and Emma Mackey.^[10] He also has a role in the Netflix film Scoop.

Personal life

Since 2020, Swindells has been in a relationship with actress Amber Anderson, who also appeared in the film Emma.^[11] They married in the Scottish Highlands in October 2024. Their wedding was officiated by Alistair Petrie, who plays Swindells' father in Sex Education.^[12]

Filmography

Key

†	Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2018	VS.	Adam
2019	The Vanishing	Donald McArthur
2020	Emma	Robert Martin
2021	Barbarians	Dan
2023	Barbie	Aaron Dinkins
2024	Scoop	Jae Donnelly
	William Tell	Gessler	[13]
TBA	Jingle Bell Heist †	Nick	In production[14]
	The Entertainment System Is Down †		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2017	Harlots	Mostyn	Episode #1.3
	Jamestown	Fletcher	Episode #1.5
2019–2023	Sex Education	Adam Groff	Main role; 24 episodes
2021	Vigil	Lieutenant Simon Hadlow	Miniseries
	Dodo	Jamie Connoly	Recurring role; 5 episodes[15]
2022–present	SAS: Rogue Heroes	David Stirling	Main role
2024	The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin	Tommy Silversides
TBA	Lockerbie	TBA	Filming[16]
TBA	The Dream Lands	Kole	Filming[17]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2017	Screen International	Stars of Tomorrow		Inducted	[18]
2019	MTV Movie Awards	Best Kiss (with Ncuti Gatwa)	Sex Education	Nominated	[19]
2023	Broadcasting Press Guild Awards	Best Actor	SAS: Rogue Heroes	Nominated

References

1. Things You Probably Didn’t Know About ‘Sex Ed’s Connor Swindells
2. Lewis, Tim (30 October 2022). "'It brings out the devil in me': Sex Education's Connor Swindells on his latest role in SAS Rogue Heroes". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
3. Murray, Iana (21 November 2022). "Running the Gauntlet with Connor Swindells". GQ.
4. Jones, Richard (14 January 2020). "Connor Swindells Interview: The Sex Education Star Is Arousing Interest". Fashion Beans. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
5. "Billingshurst actor stars in new film in cinemas across the UK". West Sussex County Times. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
6. "Running the Gauntlet with Connor Swindells". 21 November 2022.
7. "Introducing Connor Swindells: Meet The Ex-Boxer Breaking Out In Rap Drama 'VS.'". timeout.com. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
8. Lodderhose, Diana (23 March 2017). "Connor Swindells Joins Gerard Butler & Peter Mullan In 'Keepers'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
9. Bradshaw, Peter (19 October 2018). "VS. review – the 8 Mile of Southend". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
10. Kroll, Justin (15 April 2022). "'Barbie': Kingsley Ben-Adir, Rhea Perlman, Emerald Fennell, Scott Evans, More Round Out Cast Of Warner Bros, Mattel And LuckyChap Pic". Deadline. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
11. McEvoy, Sophie (8 November 2022). "Peaky Blinder Fans Will Likely Recognise Connor Swindells' Girlfriend". Bustle. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
12. Cope, Rebecca (10 October 2024). "Inside Amber Anderson And Connor Swindells's Quintessentially Scottish Highlands Wedding". British Vogue. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
13. Goodfellow, Melanie (24 October 2023). "Beta Cinema Launches Nick Hamm's Epic William Tell With Claes Bang, Connor Swindells, Ellie Bamber, Golshifteh Farahani & Ben Kingsley; Releases First-Look Image – AFM". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
14. Grobar, Matt (15 December 2023). "'Jingle Bell Heist': Olivia Holt, Connor Swindells & More Set For ACE Entertainment Rom-Com". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
15. "Singer Ricky Wilson, 'Derry Girls' Dylan Llewellyn Join 'Dodo'". Animation Magazine.
16. Szalai, Georg (5 March 2024). "'Suits' Star Patrick J. Adams, Connor Swindells, Merritt Wever Cast in Netflix, BBC Series 'Lockerbie'". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
17. "BBC announces casting for The Dream Lands, the brand-new drama from BAFTA-winner Kayleigh Llewellyn". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. Retrieved 18 February 2025.
18. "Screen unveils Stars of Tomorrow 2017 with BFI London Film Festival". Screen International. 2 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
19. "MTV Movie & TV Awards 2019: The Complete List of Nominations". E!. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019.

External links

• Connor Swindells at IMDb
• Connor Swindells on Hamilton Hodell's website