You know the face. Maybe you saw him with a face tattoo, selling drugs on a train platform in Babyteeth. Or maybe you caught him sneering at the camera, guitar low-slung, channeling the raw aggression of Steve Jones in Danny Boyle’s Pistol. Toby Wallace has that rare, electric quality that makes you sit up and ask, “Who is that?”
He isn’t just another pretty face rolling off the Hollywood assembly line. There is a danger to his performances—a kind of twitchy, unpredictable energy that feels completely unmanufactured. I’ve been watching his rise from the Australian indie circuit to sharing screens with Tom Hardy, and let me tell you, it’s been a wild ride. He’s the kind of actor who doesn’t just learn lines; he lives them, breathes them, and occasionally steals props to get them right.
If you are looking for the standard, glossy bio, you might want to look elsewhere. But if you want the real story—the grit, the nerves, and the moments that don’t make the press release—then stick around. We are going deep into the chaotic, brilliant world of Toby Wallace.
Also Read: David Jonsson and Archie Madekwe
Key Takeaways
- Trans-Atlantic Roots: Born in London, raised in the Melbourne burbs—he’s got a passport that matches his chameleonic accent skills.
- The Breakout: Snagged the Marcello Mastroianni Award at Venice for Babyteeth, putting him in the same league as heavyweights like Gael García Bernal.
- Method Madness: He didn’t just play Sex Pistol Steve Jones; he wandered Beverly Hills with him (and joined him in some questionable public behavior).
- Bike Fear to Bike Obsession: Went from being terrified of motorcycles to buying his own Harley after filming The Bikeriders.
- Future A-Lister: With major roles in Eden and Last Days on the 2025 horizon, he is about to become a household name.
Who Is Toby Wallace, Really? (And Why Should You Care?)
It’s easy to look at the jawline and the “soft mullet” (as Esquire so perfectly described it) and write him off as just another heartthrob. But dig a little deeper, and you find a guy who is obsessed with the craft, almost to a fault. Born on June 6, 1995, in the UK, his family packed up and moved to Australia when he was eight.
He traded London fog for the suburban sprawl of Wheeler’s Hill in Melbourne. And thank god he did, because that distinct Aussie laid-back attitude mixed with British grit is his secret weapon. He wasn’t exactly the teacher’s pet, though. Wallace has been pretty open about hating high school. He was the kid cutting class to smoke behind the shed, struggling with attention issues—he suspects undiagnosed ADHD or dyslexia played a part—and just generally feeling like a square peg in a round hole.
But put a camera in his hand? Different story.
I love this detail about his childhood: while other kids were doing homework, Wallace was in his backyard making a Jackass spoof called “Dumbass.” Just picture a young, scrawny Toby Wallace building cardboard tanks and setting off flour explosions with his mates. It’s hilarious, sure, but it also tells you everything you need to know. He was never waiting for permission to be creative. He was making his own chaos long before anyone paid him to do it.
Did His “Nomad” Lifestyle Shape His Acting?
You hear actors talk about being “citizens of the world,” and it usually sounds pretentious. With Wallace, it feels like a survival mechanism. He has spent years bouncing between Melbourne, London, and Los Angeles, living out of suitcases. He calls himself a “nomad,” often crashing on friends’ couches even when he’s landing big roles.
In interviews, he admits that this lack of a permanent base feeds into his characters. When you don’t have a solid “home” to retreat to, you become an observer. You watch people. You learn to blend in. That rootlessness is all over his character Moses in Babyteeth. You believe he’s a drifter because, in many ways, Wallace is one too.
How Did Babyteeth Turn Him Into a Global Sensation?
Let’s talk about the role that changed everything. In 2019, Babyteeth hit the festival circuit, and suddenly everyone was talking about Moses. On paper, the character is a walking red flag—a 23-year-old drug addict who gets involved with a sick teenage girl. In lesser hands, he would have been creepy or unlikable.
Wallace made him heartbreaking.
There is a specific scene that haunts me, and it’s not the big dramatic ones. It’s the “pillow scene.” Wallace and his co-star Eliza Scanlen were terrified of it. It’s this quiet, intimate moment where Milla asks Moses to suffocate her if the pain gets too bad. Wallace said he thought it would be the hardest day on set. Instead, when they got there, it was effortless. They had built such a deep, unspoken bond—exchanging video diaries in character for weeks beforehand—that the scene just flowed.
He ended up winning the Marcello Mastroianni Award at the Venice Film Festival for it. That is the “Best Young Actor” prize, basically the industry telling you, “You are going to be huge.”
What’s the Truth About His Chemistry With Eliza Scanlen?
You can’t fake what they had. They spent weeks just being Milla and Moses. Scanlen would film herself dancing in her bedroom, and Wallace would reply with videos of him wandering the streets. They built a secret history that the audience never sees but definitely feels.
He also talks about the physical toll of the role. There is a moment where he breaks into the house and has to dodge a nail on the wall while stealing prescription meds. He laughs about it now—how he kept messing up the spacing and couldn’t nail the choreography—but that frustration you see on screen? That’s real. He wasn’t acting frustrated; he was genuinely annoyed at himself. It’s those happy accidents that make his work feel so raw.
Can a Nice Aussie Boy Really Play a Sex Pistol?
When Danny Boyle calls, you answer. But playing Steve Jones in Pistol was a tall order. Jones is a punk icon, a thief, and a chaotic force of nature. Wallace is… well, he’s a polite guy who buys his interviewer coffee.
To prepare, Wallace didn’t just read the memoir. He went to hang out with the real Steve Jones in Los Angeles. And this is my absolute favorite story about him: They were walking down a pristine street in Beverly Hills—mansions, palm trees, the whole nine yards. Suddenly, Jones decides he needs to pee. So he just… goes. Right there on the side of the road in one of the richest zip codes in America.
And what did Wallace do? He didn’t look away. He joined him.
That is commitment. It’s a crude, funny, perfect moment of male bonding that told Wallace more about Jones’ character than any script could. It broke the ice. Jones realized this kid was game for anything. Wallace realized that to play Jones, he had to stop caring what people thought.
Was The “Band Camp” as Intense as It Sounds?
Boyle put the cast through hell—or “band camp,” as they called it. For two months, they had to learn to play the songs for real. No backing tracks, no faking it. Wallace had to learn guitar from scratch, but not just any guitar. He had to learn to play like Jones: aggressive, sloppy, and loud.
He got so into the mindset that he started stealing things on set. In the scene where Jones steals David Bowie’s gear from the Hammersmith Odeon, Wallace said he felt the actual adrenaline of the heist. He wasn’t just hitting his marks; he was living the larceny.
Interestingly, he learned that the real Steve Jones doesn’t even listen to the Sex Pistols anymore. Jones told him he prefers Steely Dan these days. That little nugget of information—that the punk legend is now a soft-rock fan—gave Wallace the humanity he needed. He wasn’t playing a caricature; he was playing a guy who would one day grow up and just want to be comfortable.
How Did He Survive the Macho Energy of The Bikeriders?
So you’ve conquered punk. What’s next? 1960s biker gangs.
Cast as “The Kid” in Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders, Wallace found himself surrounded by testosterone. We’re talking Tom Hardy, Austin Butler, Michael Shannon, Norman Reedus. That is a lot of heavy lifting for one call sheet.
Wallace tells a hilarious story about his first scene with Tom Hardy. He was incredibly nervous (who wouldn’t be?) and his direction was simply to “eye him off” while Hardy gave a speech. They did take after take, and Wallace just kept staring. Intensely. For hours.
Eventually, Hardy started making faces at him to break the tension. Later that night, Hardy knocked on Wallace’s trailer door and told him, “Mate, that was hilarious. I loved that.” They ended up chatting for an hour. It’s a great reminder that even these guys get starstruck, and sometimes staring awkwardly at a legend is the best way to make a friend.
Did He Actually Learn to Ride Those Deathtraps?
Before this movie, Wallace didn’t ride. He had zero interest in motorcycles. But you can’t fake it on a vintage 1960s Harley-Davidson. Those things are heavy, the shifters are often on the wrong side (suicide shifters), and they vibrate like a jackhammer.
The production sent the cast to a boot camp in Cincinnati. Wallace describes it as terrifying at first, but then… addictive. There is a freedom in riding in a pack, the noise, the smell of gas, the danger. By the end of the shoot, he was hooked.
He actually went out and bought his own Harley Davidson after the film wrapped. His mum wasn’t thrilled—he joked in an interview that she called him immediately after reading the news—but the bug had bitten him. That transformation from fear to obsession mirrors his character’s arc in the film perfectly.
Is He The Next “Character Actor” Leading Man?
This is the big question. Usually, you have to pick a lane. You are either the handsome leading man in the rom-com, or you are the weird, gritty character actor who wins awards but doesn’t sell popcorn.
Wallace is refusing to choose.
He has the looks for the magazine covers—he’s modeled for Saint Laurent and pulls off that “I just woke up like this” chic effortlessly—but his role choices are dark. He gravitates towards “broken” people. In Inside (2024), he plays a convict. In The Royal Hotel, he was a menacing local. He seems allergic to boring roles.
I think he is carving out a niche similar to a young Heath Ledger or maybe even a river Phoenix. He wants to explore the cracks in the human psyche, not just smile and wave.
What Do We Know About His Style and Personal Life?
He keeps it low profile. You won’t see him falling out of nightclubs on TMZ. He’s more likely to be found at a quiet cafe in Sydney or London, nursing a latte.
His style is worth noting, though. He has become a bit of a fashion darling, often spotted in Filippa K wide-leg trousers or Celine suits on the red carpet. He embraces a fluid, relaxed silhouette that fits his “nomad” vibe perfectly. It’s not stiff; it’s comfortable luxury.
He’s also a bit of a film nerd. He brings his own camera to sets, taking photos of the crew and the chaos. He has mentioned wanting to direct one day, and you can see he is studying every director he works with, from Boyle to Nichols. He’s absorbing it all.
What is Next for Toby Wallace in 2025?
The train isn’t slowing down. His next massive project is Last Days (2025), and it sounds intense. Based on the true story of John Allen Chau, the missionary killed on North Sentinel Island, Wallace plays a fellow missionary named Chandler.
It’s another heavy, complex role based on real events. It seems to be his sweet spot: real people, tragic circumstances, and high emotional stakes. He’s also set to appear in Eden, directed by Ron Howard, alongside Jude Law and Sydney Sweeney.
Conclusion
Toby Wallace is the real deal. In an industry of polished, media-trained robots, he feels refreshingly human. He is a guy who pees on the street with punk legends, gets nervous around Tom Hardy, and builds cardboard tanks in his backyard.
He brings that same chaotic, authentic humanity to every frame he is in. Whether he’s breaking your heart or scaring you to death, you can’t take your eyes off him. If Babyteeth was the introduction and Pistol was the statement, then the next few years are going to be the coronation.
Do yourself a favor: go watch his work now, so you can tell your friends you knew about him before he was the biggest star on the planet.
Check out the Venice Film Festival archives to see the company he keeps.
FAQs – Toby Wallace
What are the key highlights of Toby Wallace’s background and origins?
Toby Wallace was born in London and raised in Melbourne, Australia, giving him a diverse cultural background and the ability to adopt chameleonic accents.
How did Toby Wallace’s role in ‘Babyteeth’ impact his acting career?
Winning the Marcello Mastroianni Award at Venice for ‘Babyteeth’ significantly elevated his profile, showcasing his ability to portray complex, heartfelt characters and positioning him for international recognition.
What unique qualities does Toby Wallace bring to his performances?
Wallace delivers a twitchy, unpredictable energy that feels genuine and unmanufactured, often living and breathes his roles, which adds raw authenticity to his acting.
How did Toby Wallace prepare for his role as Steve Jones in ‘Pistol’?
He immersed himself by hanging out with the real Steve Jones in Los Angeles and even joined him in spontaneous, mischievous public behavior, demonstrating commitment and authenticity.
What are Toby Wallace’s future projects and career prospects?
In 2025, he is set to appear in ‘Last Days’ and ‘Eden,’ which involve complex, real-life stories, indicating his focus on intense, dramatic roles that explore the human psyche.
