Hollywood, meet Ansel Elgort: The 19-year-old star of the upcoming film adaptation of John Green's teen novel The Fault in Our Stars has only been associated with two major big screen projects — the first being March's Divergent, based on Veronica Roth's novel — but he's already slowly becoming a household name among the tween set. Need a refresher on the triple-threat actor/dancer/singer? Us Weekly rounds up five fun facts about the shaggy-haired teen below!
1. Elgort is no stranger to acting. In high school, "I played Link Larkin in Hairspray," says the graduate of NYC's prestigious LaGuardia arts high school, who also starred off-Broadway in Regrets with Alexis Bledel during his senior year. "Nothing like wooing a girl in front of 1,200 people!" Elgort's first big screen role was alongside fellow young Hollywood standout Chloe Grace Moretz in 2013's remake of Carrie, where he played the title character's ill-fated prom date Tommy Ross.
2. Movie fans better get used to seeing his name on the marquee. Following The Fault in Our Stars, Elgort will again team up with Woodley for this year's Divergent, also based on a popular young adult novel. One unique difference between TFIOS and Divergent? In the former, he plays Woodley's love interest, and in the latter, her brother!
3. He's a trained ballet dancer and studied under Olga Kostritzky, the same coach who prepped Natalie Portman for her role in Black Swan. Auditioning at age 9 for the School of American Ballet, Elgort told the New York Daily News that he couldn't leave the stage after his first turn in front of the bright lights. "I hated the ballet but I liked performing," explained Elgort, who also honed his skills for seven summers at performing arts camp Stagedoor Manor. "I did 20 [ballet] shows and I could't get the smile off my face."
4. Those who have worked with the young talent expect him to quickly earn celebrity heartthrob status. "He's a very clear type — a handsome leading man," Sandy Faison, the head of LaGuardia High's drama department, tells the NYDN of Elgort. "He goes out of his way not to play that up. But if I was casting Armie Hammer's younger brother, I'd look no further than Ansel." His former professors aren't the only ones into Elgort's good looks. In 2009, Elgort modeled in a campaign for Teen Vogue — with his photographer father, Arthur Elgort, behind the lens.
5. If Elgort's film talents don't wow you, his music might. "I write music because I love it. Sometimes more than anything in the world," the teen — who records dance music under the stage name Ansolo — recently wrote on Twitter. Raves Woodley of the musician: "He's got the perfect balance of being quirky and young . . . and an old soul," Woodley tells MTV. "He's a nugget of light!"
The Fault in Our Stars hits theaters June 6, 2014.
