He was born Alfie Evan Allen, on September 12, 1986, in Hammersmith, London, U.K., into a family with a conspicuous entertainment pedigree. His father, Keith Allen, worked as a comedian, screenwriter and actor; his mother, Alison Owen, a movie producer; and his uncle, Kevin Allen, an actor and film and television director. Alfie's older sister, Lily Allen, would go on to enjoy a successful recording career. Alfie naturally followed the family business, landing his first featured role at age 12 opposite his father in the comedic short film "You Are Here" for Channel 4. He did his secondary education at St. John's College in Portsmouth, and went on to hone his dramatic skills at Fine Arts College in Hampstead, North London. He took a small part in the Hollywood youth adventure "Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004), which his uncle directed. Allen's ensuing roles would be minor parts in auspicious features such as the Brian Jones biopic "Stoned" (2005), the Oscar-winning drama "Atonement" (2007), the Henry VIII historical drama "The Other Boleyn Girl" (2008) and the indie film "Flashbacks of a Fool" (2008). In early 2008, he landed a major stage credit, replacing "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe in the central role of a disturbed young man obsessed with horses in a U.K.-wide tour of the stage classic "Equus." Allen's first significant television role would come that year in a three-episode arc of "Casualty 1900s," a century-removed period spin-off the BBC's long-running medical drama "Casualty," on which Allen played a young street tough battling cirrhosis at the tender age of 15. After a small part in the all-star satire of the high art scene, "Boogie Woogie" (2009), he began landing meatier roles including the dark send-up of the U.K. music scene, "Powder," in which he played a member of the up-and-coming band; the musically-tinged, coming-of-age love triangle "Soulboy;" and the adaptation of Kevin Lewis' stark tale of growing up amid poverty and violence, "The Kid," which featured the actor as a bully making Lewis' early life hell. That same year, Allen joined an ensemble cast in a much-anticipated HBO series that would change his life. Based on George R.R. Martin's series of novels under the rubric A Song of Ice and Fire, the epic fantasy adventure "Game of Thrones" chronicled the power struggle for the eponymous Iron Throne, the seat of power on the mythical continent of Westeros. Allen landed the key role of Theon Greyjoy, the headstrong, presumed heir to the lordship of the Iron Islands. The show debuted in the spring of 2011 to rave reviews, with ratings climbing throughout the season to reach an impressive-for-cable three million-plus viewers on initial airing. The show earned 13 Emmy nominations in the summer of 2011 and made Allen and his many fellow castmembers much-in-demand for interviews in fanatical sci-fi/fantasy circles. Since his role in "Game of Thrones," Allen has secured recurring roles as Brett Collins in "White House Farm" (HBO Max, 2020) and as Jock Lewes in "SAS: Rogue Heroes" (BBC One, 2022-). He also has several other projects currently in the works.
