Dylan John Llewellyn (born 10 September 1992) is an English actor, known for portraying Martin "Jono" Johnson in Hollyoaks, James Maguire in the Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls, Jack in Big Boys and PC Kelby Hartford in Beyond Paradise.

Dylan Llewellyn
Llewellyn in June 2010
Born
Dylan John Llewellyn

(1992-09-10) 10 September 1992 (age 32)
Surrey, England, UK
OccupationActor
Years active2009–present

Early life

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Llewellyn was born in Surrey, the youngest of three boys born to English parents.[1] He attended More House School in Farnham, a specialist school for children with autism, developmental language disorder and dyslexia.[2] Llewellyn attended RADA doing a foundation in Acting.[3] Llewellyn has dyslexia and found the support at a specialist school helpful.[4]

Career

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Acting

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Llewellyn appeared in the short film Travel Bag in 2009 and in 2010 he played Adam Wilcock in an episode of the television series The Bill. In 2011, Llewellyn began playing Martin "Jono" Johnson in the soap opera Hollyoaks and in the spin-off Hollyoaks Later.[5] He made his last appearance in Hollyoaks on 16 November 2012 after his character was killed off. Since leaving Hollyoaks, Llewellyn has made appearances in Holby City (2013) and in the films Frequencies (2013) and Down Dog (2014). Llewellyn was struggling with acting jobs and was close to giving up acting whilst working part-time in a deli. This is when he got the call that he was cast on Derry Girls.[3]

From 2018 to 2022, Llewelyn played the role of James Maguire in the Channel 4 sitcom Derry Girls.[1] In 2020, Llewellyn played Stewart Irmsby in an episode of series 9 of Call the Midwife.[6] Since 2022 Llewellyn has played main character Jack in the Channel 4 series Big Boys. Jack is a quiet teen who is coming to terms with both the death of his father and his own sexuality. The role is a fictionalised version of creator Jack Rooke.[7]

Other television

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On 6 July 2018, Llewellyn appeared in an episode of the game show The Crystal Maze alongside his Derry Girls co-stars.[8] On 1 January 2019, Llewellyn made a guest appearance on The Inbetweeners: Fwends Reunited. In March 2019, he made guest appearances on The One Show and Lorraine. On 31 December 2019, Llewellyn appeared in an episode of Celebrity Mastermind.[9] On 1 January 2020, Llewellyn appeared in a Derry Girls edition of The Great British Bake Off.[10] On 26 June 2020, Llewellyn performed a sketch with his Derry Girls co-stars alongside Saoirse Ronan for the RTÉ fundraising special RTÉ Does Comic Relief. All proceeds from the night went towards those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] Since February 2023, he has starred as PC Kelby Hartford in “Beyond Paradise”, a spin-off of the hit show “Death In Paradise”. The new show focuses on DI Humphrey Goodman, who has returned home to England as Detective Inspector in a small village in Devon. PC Hartford is his supporting constable.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2009 Travel Bag Ricky Short films
2010 Cubicle Two Jake
2013 Frequencies Teen Zak Midgeley
2014 Down Dog Sam
2021 Finger Prick Alexi Short films
2022 Reavey Brothers Anthony Reavey
A Grand Romantic Gesture Jeremy [12]
2024 10 Lives Larry (voice)

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 The Bill Adam Wilcock Episode: "Keep Her Talking"
2011–2012 Hollyoaks Martin "Jono" Johnson 94 episodes
2012 Hollyoaks Later 5 episodes
2013 Holby City Seb Channing 4 episodes
2018–2022 Derry Girls James Maguire Main role
2020 Call the Midwife Stewart Irmsby 1 episode
2021 Dodo Joe Connolly 20 episodes[13]
2022 Pistol Wally Nightingale Main role
2022–present Big Boys Jack
2023–present Beyond Paradise PC Kelby Hartford

Theatre

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Year Title Role Venue Notes
2009 A Handbag Specs Royal National Theatre, London
2013 The Fastest Clock in the Universe Foxtrot Darling Old Red Lion Theatre, London
2014 War Horse Billy New London Theatre, London & Royal National Theatre, London
2015 Lord of the Flies Henry Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London also, UK Tour

References

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  1. ^ a b "Derry Girls cast in real life: See Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Nicola Coughlan & Jamie-Lee O'Donnell out of character". Hello!. 26 March 2019. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  2. ^ Datson, Andy (30 December 2017). "Reigate actor to star in brand new Channel 4 comedy Derry Girls". Get Surrey. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  3. ^ a b Potts, Imy Brighty (14 December 2022). "Dylan Llewellyn: Dyslexia made learning lines a challenge". The Independent. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  4. ^ Hogan, Michael (24 April 2022). "Derry Girl Dylan Llewellyn: 'I call things wee when they're not even small'". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  5. ^ Daniel Kilkelly (13 June 2011). "'Hollyoaks' confirms new cast, Abersoch plot". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 6 September 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  6. ^ Sutton, Megan (17 February 2020). "Derry Girls star impresses in Call The Midwife – and Stephen McGann has a proposition for the cast". Good Housekeeping. Archived from the original on 6 August 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  7. ^ Allen, Ben (26 May 2022). "Dylan Llewellyn on Big Boys and the Derry Girls finale: "In my head, James is happily married with Erin"". GQ. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  8. ^ "Watch: First look as the Derry Girls prepare to take on the Crystal Maze". Belfast Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  9. ^ "BBC One – Celebrity Mastermind, 2019/2020, Episode 3". BBC. Archived from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  10. ^ Martin, Laura (1 January 2020). "The Great Festive Bake Off line-up: the Derry Girls cast members appearing on the show, and what time it's on Channel 4". i. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Derry Girls cast fangirl over Ronan in hilarious sketch". RTÉ.ie. 26 June 2020. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Bodyguard' star Gina McKee, Douglas Hodge of 'Catastrophe' join 'A Grand Romantic Gesture' (exclusive)". Screen Daily. 18 July 2019. Archived from the original on 10 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Singer Ricky Wilson, 'Derry Girls' Dylan Llewellyn Join 'Dodo'". www.animationmagazine.net. 17 May 2021. Archived from the original on 4 October 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2024.
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