Who is Joe Alwyn and how long has he been dating Taylor Swift?

One of the main talking points of the show – the latest TV adaptation of one of Sally Rooney‘s novels – revolves around one of the main characters, Joe Alwyn.

Alwyn, who is dating a pop superstar Taylor Swifttook on his most prominent role on the show to date – and fans were quick to praise him.

But who is Joe Alwyn, how old is he, how long has he been with Taylor Swift and what have fans said about him?

Here’s what you need to know.

Joe Alwyn is an actor from London with a history of film making in his family.

His parents are Elizabeth and Richard Alwyn.

Elizabeth is an author, columnist and psychoanalytic psychotherapist while Richard is a documentary filmmaker.

He is the grandson of the late director and producer Jonathan Alwyn, best known for The Avengers (1961), Mystery and Imagination (1966) and Out of This World (1962).

He is also the great-grandson of the late composer, conductor and music teacher William Alwyn, who was a professor at London’s Royal Academy of Music from 1926 to 1955.

Joe auditioned for the role of Sam in Richard Curtis’ smash hit romantic comedy Love Actually (2003), but lost the role to Thomas Brodie-Sangster.

Thirteen years later he landed his first film role as Billy in Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (2016).

Joe Alwyn is 31 years old.

He was born on February 21, 1991.

Joe Alwyn and Taylor Swift have always done their best to keep their relationship out of the public eye, so it’s not known exactly when they first met and started dating.

The sun first reported in May 2017 that they had been seeing each other for months, which, if true, would mean they’ve been together for over five years now.

In May 2018, both Alwyn and Swift posted photos of themselves standing next to the same cactus on the same day.

The couple didn’t mention each other in their captions or tag each other in their photos, but many fans took it as confirmation that they were together.

In September of the same year, Alwywn mentioned the Shake It Off singer in an interview with British Voguebut just to really say he didn’t want to talk about their relationship.

He said: “I’m aware that people want to know about that side of things. I think we’ve been very successful privately and that’s resonated with people now, but I really prefer to talk about work.”

In February 2019, the couple – who are rarely pictured together – were photographed walking hand-in-hand while attending a BAFTAs after-party.

In April 2020, fans thought the couple was isolating together during the coronavirus pandemic when Alwyn posted photos to his Instagram Stories of Swift’s cat, Benjamin Button.

In February this year, there were many rumors that the couple was now engaged, although this has not been confirmed.

American magazine life & style reported on Feb. 17 that Swift and Alwyn were privately engaged, but their reps didn’t comment on the rumor.

In an April 13 interview promoting Conversations with Friends, Alwyn recounted ELLE Great Britain why he doesn’t discuss their relationship in interviews.

He said: “It’s not really that [because I] wanting to be guarded and private, it’s more of a reaction to something else.

“We live in a culture that’s becoming more pushy… The more you give — and frankly, even if you don’t give it — something is taken away from you.”

A week later he spoke to that Wall Street Journal about the engagement rumours, but has neither confirmed nor denied it.

He said: “If I had a pound every time I think I’m told I’m engaged, I’d have a lot of pound coins.

“I mean, the truth is, if the answer was yes, I wouldn’t say, and if the answer was no, I wouldn’t say.”

Hours after Conversations with Friends debuted on BBC Three on Sunday May 15, Swift took to her Instagram to show her support for her boyfriend.

She shared a post from the show’s Instagram story, which included a quote from Time Magazine, which said the show is “breathing new life into Sally Rooney’s best novel.”

She shared a post from the show’s Instagram story, which included a quote from Time Magazine saying the show is breathing new life into Sally Rooney’s best novel.

In her caption, Swift wrote, “Can confirm it’s phenomenal.”

Viewers took to Twitter to applaud Alwyn for his performance as Nick, an actor who’s not quite as famous as he used to be.

One said: “I also read CWF (Conversations with Friends) and Joe Alwyn played Nick perfectly.”

Another said: “He played Nick exactly as he was written in the book and had some really nice emotional moments. He was very good.”

One fan said he was “phenomenal”.