Although initially rejected at 18 by every major stage school in the UK, he gained a place at the prestigious Juilliard School in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA, and in 2015 won a Tony Award for his Broadway lead in "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time", beating the likes of fellow nominees, including
Bradley Cooper and
Bill Nighy, and of course not knowing that he would later be billed with, and worked with Nighy (portraying the character of Nighy's character's son) in
Living (2022), approximately seven years later.
