Olly Alexander: It’s a Sin star’s best previous roles, from Skins to The Riot Club

Actor and musician has impressed critics in the lead role of new Channel 4 drama

It’s a Sin stars Olly Alexander as Ritchie Tozer, a gay teenager who moves to London in the midst of the Aids crisis. 

Created by Russell T Davies, the new Channel 4 drama has already been drawing strong reviews, with Alexander’s performance singled out by some for praise.

Viewers may recognise Alexander as the lead singer of the London-based synth-pop trio Years & Years, best known for their No 1 single “King”, released in 2015.

But Alexander also has a considerable acting background, and has appeared in several note-worthy films and TV series.

One of his first roles was as vindictive drug-user Victor in French provocateur Gaspar Noé's hallucinogenic art film Enter the Void, in 2009.

He also featured in a minor role alongside Jack Black in 2010’s Gulliver’s Travels, before being cast as Herbert Pocket, Pip’s kindly friend, in the 2012 film version of Great Expectations.

In 2013 he appeared in the final season of hit teen drama Skins for a two-episode arc, playing Cassie Ainsworth's stalker.

The Riot Club (2014), an adaptation of Laura Wade’s 2010 play Posh, saw Alexander appear as an older student who mixes with members of an elite Bullingdon-style club at Oxford university.

Alexander performing on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage during Glasonbury Festival, 2019 (Getty Images)

Alexander also appeared as one of three leads in God Help the Girl, a 2014 indie musical directed by Belle & Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch.

It’s a Sin begins at 9pm on Channel 4 on Friday, 22 January, with the series set to arrive in the US on HBO Max later this year.