Joe Alwyn Rubs Shoulders With Superstars as He Levels Up His Acting Career in ‘The Brutalist’

Joe Alwyn's rising star will thrust the English actor further into the spotlight, whether he likes it or not.

On September 1, The Brutalist premiered at the Venice International Film Festival. The “wildly ambitious” epic historical drama received a 13-minute standing ovation, with critics calling it a “masterpiece” and the “next Godfather.” The most exciting part of the film for some? Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriend stars in it. In Joe Alwyn’s most acclaimed role to date, The Brutalist confirms that the 33-year-old is truly a star on the rise.

The Brutalist follows László Tóth (Adrien Brody) for 30 years of his life, including his emigration to the U.S. after World War II and career as an architect, reports the Independent. Although a work of fiction, director Brady Corbet exhaustively researched the post-WWII worlds of Europe and the U.S. and what it would’ve been like for a Hungarian-born Jewish architect like László.

As László fights for a decent life in America, he meets the wealthy Harrison Lee Van Buren (Joe Alwyn), a mysterious client who changes his life forever. With The Brutalist, Alwyn received the opportunity to work with A-list stars like Brody and Felicity Jones, who portrays László’s wife, Erzsébet.

Earlier this year, Alwyn traveled to France for the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival. He portrayed a collectibles appraiser in Kinds of Kindness, starring alongside Jesse Plemons, Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Mamoudou Athie, and Hunter Schafer. The absurdist anthology movie was nominated for the prestigious Palme d’Or, the highest prize earned by the director of the Best Feature Film.

As Alwyn collaborates with increasingly high-profile figures in Hollywood, the notoriously private English actor will need to reconsider what it means to be famous. Swift and Alwyn dated for six years before breaking up in 2023. A major point of contention throughout their relationship involved the role of fame in their lives. When they first started dating the “Karma” singer was keeping a lower profile after a public dispute with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian.

As their relationship and careers evolved, Swift was happy treating her fans to pap walks and award show photoshoots. However, Alwyn avoided the spotlight at all costs. In the end, this allegedly played a large part in their undoing. Now, it seems that Alwyn’s rising star will thrust him further into the spotlight, whether he likes it or not.