If you watched Black Mirror's interactive movie Bandersnatch and wondered where you'd
seen the actor playing Colin before, you were far from alone.
Here's what Will Poulter's been up to since making his screen debut, and where you might
have watched his work along the way.
At the age of 14, Poulter played Lee Carter, the lead role in 2007's Son of Rambow, directed
and written by Garth Jennings.
A coming-of-age story about two young boys and their attempt to remake the Rambo film
First Blood, the film premiered to positive reviews, especially for Poulter and his co-star
Bill Milner.
"If you don't tell us where they're hiding, then I have no choice but to shoot you and
your cat!
Do you have any last requests?"
Soon after Rambow, Poulter booked a television series in England called School of Comedy,
which began airing in 2008.
Previously a youth-based sketch show based out of Poulter's school, it premiered at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe and was soon picked up by E4, where it ran for two years.
"The better they get, the cockier they get, and who likes a cocky kid?
NOT I!"
2009 saw Poulter's biggest break yet — he was cast in a featured role in the third film
based on C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia.
Poulter's bookish and irritating character, Eustace Scrubb, debuted in 2010's Voyage of
the Dawn Treader.
The film performed well at the box office, but didn't fare as well critically, with a
50% average on Rotten Tomatoes.
However, some critics singled out Poulter's performance, with Luke Y. Thompson from E!
saying that,
"Poulter's turn as Eustace injects a welcome note of comedic cynicism into the sea of sentimentality."
After his blockbuster year in 2010, Poulter took on a smaller project, appearing in the
2011 British independent film Wild Bill.
Directed by Dexter Fletcher, the crime comedy tells the story of the titular Bill, who has
recently been released from prison after serving under a vicious drug lord.
Poulter took on the role of the Bill's 15-year-old son who has dropped out of school and is now
working on a construction site.
Though the film was certainly a smaller production than the Chronicles of Narnia, it fared much
better critically, with a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In 2013, Poulter appeared in We're the Millers, a big-budget Hollywood comedy starring Jennifer
Aniston and Jason Sudeikis.
Sudeikis plays a low-level pot dealer forced to transport drugs across the U.S. border
and into Mexico.
Figuring he can fly under the radar if he looks like an average Joe, he enlists Aniston
to pose as his wife and two teenage runaways to pose as his children.
Poulter plays the socially awkward Kenny, showing off his broad comedy chops, as well
as his impeccable American accent.
"So Casey, I guess it's nice for you to get your haircut, I mean, being homeless and all."
The film was successful at the box office, and though critical response was tepid at
best, Poulter's career was given a jump start, with many critics singling him out as a highlight.
In 2014, Poulter appeared as Gally in the film adaptation of The Maze Runner, a popular
series of young adult novels.
Poulter described the film as a "turning point" for his career, and it was yet another blockbuster
notch to add to his belt, with an excellent box office turnout in the United States and
an even better one abroad.
Poulter returned to his role in 2018's Maze Runner: The Death Cure.
Poulter's next project was another indie — Glassland, written and directed by Gerard Barrett.
The film stars Jack Reynor as John, who must help his troubled mother, played by Toni Collette,
as she struggles with severe alcoholism.
Poulter plays John's friend Shane, who lives with his mother as well, but who has a much
angrier and much more fraught relationship with her.
Glassland premiered to positive reviews, and Poulter was once again identified as a standout.
In 2015, Alejandro G. Iñárritu followed up his Best Picture winner Birdman with the
stark western drama The Revenant.
The film, which focuses on Leonardo DiCaprio's Hugh Glass struggling to survive on the frozen
frontier after he's abandoned by his group of fellow trappers, was highly lauded, earning
numerous awards and nominations, and brought in more than $530 million at the worldwide
box office.
Poulter played Jim Bridger, who remains loyal to Glass even though he is repeatedly tricked
by the other trappers as they try to leave him for dead.
Some critics described his part as the most morally difficult in the entire film, and
Poulter himself described the difficult shooting experience as pushing him to the absolute
limit.
But in terms of prestige, it certainly paid off.
In 2017, Poulter played sadistic policeman Philip Krauss in Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit,
which tells the story of 1967's 12th Street Riots.
Krauss kills a suspected looter and spends the remainder of the film framing innocent
people for crimes that he committed.
Poulter's performance received numerous accolades, and some critics even believed he could earn
an Oscar nomination for his difficult, polarizing role.
Before ending 2018 with a bang in Bandersnatch, Poulter starred in The Little Stranger, based
on Sarah Waters' novel of the same name.
Poulter plays a disfigured war veteran haunted by his past.
The Little Stranger was met with mixed reviews.
But considering the accolades and blockbusters he's racked up in such a short career already,
we'll call this one a minor exception.
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