David Jonsson Opens Up About Life’s Thin Line: 'Prison and Addiction Were Just One Step Away'

The Near Miss of a Rising Star

David Jonsson is one of Britain’s most sought-after young actors—star of the hit romantic comedy Rye Lane, the upcoming Stephen King adaptation The Long Walk, and last year’s Bafta Rising Star Award winner. But in a candid new conversation, the 32-year-old admits that his path to success was anything but guaranteed. “Honestly, a life of prison and addiction was just one step away from me,” he says, sitting hunched in a London hotel, wrapped in a dark-red hoodie. The admission is startling, especially from someone who now commands the screen with such grace.

Growing up in east London in the ’90s, Jonsson’s mother—a Metropolitan Police officer—would come home after long shifts and look at her son with a mixture of love and fear. “I don’t know which way some of these boys are going,” she’d tell him. “Please, don’t be like that.” Jonsson, speaking in his characteristically soft, measured voice, recalls her words as both a warning and an act of deep care. “She was full of love and care and empathy, but also frustration. She was trying to help,” he says.

Expelled and Redirected

At 16, Jonsson was expelled from school in Newham for fighting and truancy—a moment that could have set him on a very different trajectory. Instead, he enrolled in a new school in Hammersmith, where he discovered acting. It was a lifeline. He went on to train at the National Youth Theatre and RADA, eventually building a career that his mother never dared to dream of. “I was so close to that [other life], that it was almost tangible,” he reflects.

That proximity to a darker fate is precisely what drew him to his latest film, Wasteman, which Jonsson describes as the “closest to home” he’s ever played. In the gritty drama, he portrays Taylor, a heroin-addicted father who has spent 13 years in prison for a tragic drug deal that led to a teenager’s overdose. The film, which premiered in cinemas recently, is raw, complex, and unflinching in its exploration of addiction, incarceration, and redemption.

A Body Transformed

To embody Taylor’s physical and emotional decay, Jonsson underwent a drastic transformation. With only three weeks’ notice before production began, he dropped two stone by consuming just 700 calories a day. “I knew I wanted him to be struggling with addiction and to feel as if something had been taken from him, so he needed to be thin,” he explains. His co-star, Tom Blyth, took the opposite approach, bulking up to play the volatile cellmate Dee. The contrast on screen is electric. After filming wrapped, the two actors shed their on-set animosity. “He goes, ‘Mate, we all good? Should we go to the pub?’” Jonsson laughs.

Leaving 'Industry' Behind

Jonsson first gained widespread fame as Gus, the gay Old Etonian with political ambitions, on the hit HBO/BBC drama Industry. But after two seasons, he exited the series under slightly mysterious circumstances. When asked why he left, Jonsson is philosophical. “I always try to compare this job to being a plumber or a builder, because those are the people I grew up around. I want this job to be as normal and regular and working-class as that. But you know, it’s not,” he says. “I’m doing each job hopefully to mean something. And I don’t want to do a job that doesn’t feel right.” He loved his time on Industry, but moving on was necessary to build the kind of body of work he admires in actors like Gary Oldman and Tom Hardy.

Breaking Ground as a Black Actor

In 2023, Jonsson made history as the first Black actor to lead an Agatha Christie adaptation for the BBC—Murder Is Easy—and the role came with inevitable backlash. He acknowledges the added pressure. “The craziest thing about being a young Black actor—or anyone of colour—one, a lot of times you’re having to break new ground. And two, it’s a really unnecessary pressure that you don’t actually want,” he says. Still, he looks back with pride: “I’m proud of the people who worked on it and made the decision to cast me, because we need more bravery.”

What’s Next?

Jonsson’s future is bright. He’s set to appear in a sequel to Alien: Romulus, where he played a cyborg, and will reunite with The Long Walk co-star Cooper Hoffman in a dark comedy called The Chaperones. Rumors also swirl about a project with Frank Ocean, though a publicist quickly waves off questions about that. And a biopic of Sammy Davis Jr., directed by Colman Domingo, is on the horizon—though filming has been delayed. Through it all, Jonsson remains grounded. “I’m not gonna bulls***, it’s strange and weird and at times overwhelming,” he admits. “All I can do is fight for the things I want to do.”

He stretches his legs, takes a sip of water, and smiles. “I’m having a brilliant time.”

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