Lucy Boynton

 ( 1994 Births ) 

She appeared as ghostly bride Polly Parsons in the gothic-horror film I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016), which opened at the Toronto International Film Festival to mixed reception. Boynton starred alongside Katee Sackhoff in indie-horror Don't Knock Twice (2016). Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times praised Sackhoff and Boynton's "volatile chemistry", stating that "they bring so much life to the material that it’s almost like they’ve been tricked into thinking they’re in a better movie."

She portrayed J. D. Salinger's second wife, Claire Douglas, in Rebel in the Rye (2017). Rebel in the Rye premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was panned by critics. Boynton played Countess Helena Andrenyi in the 2017 adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express. The film was a box office success and received mixed reviews, though the performances of the cast were praised. In the same year, Boynton starred as Allison Adams, a college student turned drug addict, in the Netflix series Gypsy (2017). Boynton empathised with her character's desire to regress into early life while struggling with control. Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter cited Boynton as "splendid-but-underused" and among the "best of the supporting turns". She appeared as Andrea, the daughter of a cult leader, in Apostle (2018), which was praised by critics.

Boynton starred opposite Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury's partner Mary Austin in Bohemian Rhapsody (2018). She watched Austin's interviews to "gauge what she was happy to be open about" and spoke to Brian May to research the role. The film became the highest-grossing biographical film of all time and met mixed criticism. Time praised her for playing the role with "charm and vigour" while the Irish Independent wrote that her scenes were the "quietest, most touching moments" of the film. Bohemian Rhapsody received four Academy Awards and earned the cast a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Boynton appears opposite Taron Egerton in Glimpse, a short virtual reality animated film premiering at the Virtual Reality showcase of the Venice Film Festival in 2019.

Since 2019, Boynton has starred in the Netflix series The Politician, portraying Astrid Sloane, the protagonist's "ruthless" and "hyperbolically privileged" rival. Boynton described the experience "liberating", saying that playing an antagonistic character added depth to the role. The Hollywood Reporter praised Boynton's "razor-sharp delivery" but remarked that her written dialogue prevented her from being "spectacular".

Boynton had a supporting role as Charlotte, a Harrods shop assistant, in Locked Down (2021), released on HBO Max. The film received mixed reviews. She guest-starred opposite Kit Harington in the second season of Amazon Video's anthology series Modern Love in 2021.

In 2022, Boynton appeared in ITV's six-part miniseries The Ipcress File as Jean Courtney, Harry Palmer's colleague, and also starred in the Stephen Williams-directed biographical film Chevalier as Marie Antoinette. She starred as Lady Frances "Frankie" Derwent in BritBox's three-part adaptation of Agatha Christie's crime novel Why Didn't They Ask Evans?, and as Lea Marquis in the Netflix adaptation of Louis Bayard's Gothic thriller novel The Pale Blue Eye. In August 2022, it was announced that Boynton would star in The Greatest Hits, written and directed by Ned Benson for Searchlight Pictures; the film was released in April 2024 to mixed reviews.

In 2023, Boynton portrayed Marcel Proust Barbie in the fantasy comedy Barbie; she was originally meant to have more scenes, but due to test audiences' unfamiliarity with Marcel Proust, and thus inability to appreciate the humour associated with the Proust Barbie character, she only appears in a brief cameo in the finished film. In June 2023, Boynton was cast as Ruth Ellis in an upcoming ITV based on the account given in true crime author Carol Ann Lee's book A Fine Day for Hanging: The Real Ruth Ellis Story. Originally given the simple title of Ruth, the adaptation was announced as having been retitled to A Cruel Love: The Ruth Ellis Story on 19 February 2024, with a first-look image of Boynton in character as Ellis being released on the same day.