How David Jonsson Went from School Expulsion to Global Fame: 7 Lessons in Resilience

What do you do when the system that is supposed to educate you decides it is done with you before you are even old enough to drive? For David Jonsson – the actor you now know from Industry, Rye Lane, and Alien: Romulus – that wasn’t a hypothetical. He was expelled from school as a young teenager, sent to an alternative school surrounded by kids who’d done far worse, and by his own account, watched a very different life sit uncomfortably close. What actually pulled him out of it wasn’t luck. It was two external programs most people never think to apply to: the National Youth Theatre, and a scholarship to RADA, one of the most competitive drama schools in the world.

David Jonsson is a British actor who was expelled from school as a teenager for fighting, discovered acting at a new school afterward, joined the National Youth Theatre at 18, and won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), graduating in 2016. He went on to star in Industry, Rye Lane, Alien: Romulus, and The Long Walk, winning the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2025. Here’s exactly how that path unfolded, and why it matters if you’re weighing what a scholarship or external program can actually change.

Quick Facts

The Expulsion That Could Have Gone a Very Different Way

Jonsson grew up in East London as the youngest of four children, with his parents separating when he was young. As a teenager, he was permanently excluded from his school in Newham for fighting and truancy – accounts differ slightly on his exact age at the time, with some reporting 14 and a Guardian interview citing 16, but the outcome was the same either way: he was sent first to a Pupil Referral Unit, then transferred to a new school in Hammersmith, in West London.

He has been direct about how close things came to going the other way. In a 2025 interview with The Guardian, he described how a very different path was sitting right next to the one he ended up on: a life of prison and addiction was just one step away from him.

How He Found Acting

Here is the part that makes this story worth telling on a site about scholarships and opportunity: acting wasn’t something Jonsson set out to pursue. He found it by accident, at the new school he landed in after his expulsion, when a drama teacher introduced him to Sarah Kane’s play Blasted. As he later told Esquire, acting was never even a thought until he got kicked out, and afterward, he found youth theater as a way to channel what he was going through.

That single introduction – one teacher, one play, at a school he only ended up at because of an expulsion – is the moment his entire trajectory shifted.

At 18, back in London after briefly spending time in New York, Jonsson joined the National Youth Theatre. This is the part of the story that’s easy to skim past, but it’s genuinely the hinge point: the National Youth Theatre gave him a structured place to actually build performance skills, well before he had any formal drama school training. It’s a program most teenagers never think to apply to, precisely because it doesn’t come with a guarantee – you have to seek it out, without knowing yet where it leads.

Here is context that’s worth adding, because it changes how you should read this part of his story: the National Youth Theatre, founded in 1956, isn’t a minor stepping stone – its alumni list includes Helen Mirren, Daniel Craig, Colin Firth, Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Oyelowo, and Vanessa Kirby, among many others. Jonsson wasn’t taking a gamble on an unproven program; he was entering a genuine, decades-long pipeline into the profession. The organization also runs a bursary system specifically built for people in circumstances like his – covering course fees, travel, and accommodation for young people who are care leavers, refugees, carers, single parents, or from low-income households. Whether or not Jonsson personally used that bursary support isn’t publicly documented, but it illustrates something important: the National Youth Theatre is structurally built to catch exactly the kind of applicant his story describes.

RADA: The Scholarship That Made the Rest Possible

From there, Jonsson applied to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art – one of the most selective drama schools in the world – and was accepted on his first application, earning a scholarship to attend. He graduated in 2016 with a degree in Acting.

This is worth sitting with for a second: RADA counts King Charles III as its royal patron, Cynthia Erivo as its vice-president, and Warner Bros. Entertainment as its principal industry partner. It’s not a school that hands out spots easily. A scholarship there isn’t just financial support – it is a door that most applicants, regardless of talent, simply don’t get through.

Here’s the analytical piece that doesn’t show up in any other coverage of Jonsson’s story: RADA has a formal Access and Participation Plan specifically targeting working-class students, Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, students from outside South East England, and care leavers. According to RADA’s own published data, around 50% of its undergraduate students receive some form of financial support. That statistic reframes Jonsson’s scholarship – it wasn’t an extraordinary one-off exception made for his story specifically. It was RADA’s stated institutional model working as intended, on a student who happened to have the talent and drive to make the most of it.

From RADA, Jonsson’s first professional stage role came almost immediately: William Davison in Mary Stuart at the Almeida Theatre. From there, the roles that most people now recognize him for followed – Industry on HBO and BBC Two, his breakout film role in Rye Lane in 2023, Alien: Romulus in 2024, and The Long Walk in 2025, alongside the BAFTA Rising Star Award, the only category at the BAFTA Film Awards decided by public vote.

7 Lessons in Resilience from David Jonsson’s Life

Pulling this apart, there are specific, concrete lessons here – not just “never give up” platitudes:

1. A closed door can redirect you toward something better, but only if you let it.

Jonsson’s expulsion forced a transfer he never asked for and that transfer is exactly where he found acting. The lesson isn’t that expulsion is good; it is that a forced change of environment can expose you to something you’d never have found otherwise.

2. One person paying attention can change your entire direction.

A single drama teacher introducing him to one play – Sarah Kane’s Blasted – is what started everything. Resilience isn’t always about grinding through alone; sometimes it is about staying open enough to notice when someone hands you a way forward.

3. Structured external programs exist specifically for people in your exact situation – actively look for them.

The National Youth Theatre didn’t recruit Jonsson; he joined it. Its bursary system is explicitly built for care leavers, refugees, carers, and low-income applicants – people starting from circumstances like his. You may not be in the United Kingdom and may not be into acting but look closely where you are. There are programs that can help move further towards a better future than you imagined.

4. Elite institutions often have real infrastructure built to include you, not exclude you.

RADA’s own data shows roughly half its undergraduates receive financial support, and its Access and Participation Plan explicitly names working-class and underrepresented applicants as a priority, not an afterthought. On this website we have thousands of scholarships that target people from disadvantaged background. You could be a refugee, from a low-income country, a convict, poor etc, it doesn’t matter, there is a program for you.

5. A difficult record doesn’t disqualify you from competitive opportunities.

Jonsson was accepted into RADA – one of the most selective drama schools in the world – on his first application, despite an expulsion in his educational history. Selective institutions are frequently evaluating potential, not just a clean record. Don’t count yourself out yet, when you see an opportunity apply. Don’t let your past hold you back.

6. Speaking openly about your past can become part of your professional identity, not a liability.

Jonsson has discussed his expulsion and how close he came to a very different life in major interviews, well after establishing his career. Owning the full story, rather than hiding it, became part of what makes his story resonate.

7. Discipline gets built after the opportunity starts, not before it.

Jonsson didn’t arrive at the National Youth Theatre or RADA already polished – he built that discipline through the structure those programs gave him. You don’t need to already be “ready” before you apply; the readiness often comes from the program itself.

What This Actually Teaches You About External Programs

If there is a single lesson in Jonsson’s story that is directly useful to you, it is this: the programs that changed his trajectory weren’t things that happened to him – they were things he sought out. Nobody handed him a spot in the National Youth Theatre or a place at RADA because of his story. He applied, auditioned, and won a competitive scholarship the same way you would have to.

That is really the throughline connecting his story to everything else we cover here. A scholarship, a fellowship, an internship – these aren’t consolation prizes for people who couldn’t do it “the normal way.” They are often the actual mechanism that gets someone from a genuinely difficult starting point to a completely different life. Jonsson’s path is a fairly extreme example of that, but the underlying mechanic – apply, get selected, let the opportunity change what is possible for you – is exactly what every post on this site is pointing you toward.

If You are Chasing Something Similar

If a competitive scholarship or program is part of your own plan, the application itself is where most people lose ground before they ever get a shot at the outcome. Our guide to writing content that actually gets you selected covers the same principle that clearly worked in Jonsson’s favor once he got in front of decision-makers: specificity and a real story beat generic polish every time.

For more scholarships and opportunities worth applying to, check our Education section.

If Jonsson’s path has you thinking seriously about pursuing performance yourself, a few things are genuinely useful to have on hand as you prepare:

• A solid monologue collection book for actors, the same kind of material used to prepare for competitive drama school auditions like RADA’s
• A dedicated journal for tracking your own progress, roles, and reflections – the same kind of self-documentation that helps you build a real, specific personal story for future applications
• A portfolio folder to keep audition materials, headshots, and reference letters organized as you apply to programs

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why was David Jonsson expelled from school?

He was expelled as a teenager for fighting and truancy at his school in Newham, East London. Reports vary on his exact age at the time, citing either 14 or 16.

• How did David Jonsson get into acting?

He discovered acting at the new school he attended after his expulsion, when a drama teacher introduced him to Sarah Kane’s play Blasted.

• Did David Jonsson get a scholarship to RADA?

Yes. He was accepted into the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art on his first application and received a scholarship to attend, graduating in 2016.

• What is David Jonsson known for?

He’s known for playing Gus Sackey in Industry, Dom in Rye Lane, Andy in Alien: Romulus, and Peter McVries in The Long Walk. He won the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2025.

• What role did the National Youth Theatre play in his career?

Jonsson joined the National Youth Theatre at around age 18, which gave him structured performance training before he attended RADA. The organization’s alumni include Helen Mirren, Daniel Craig, and Colin Firth, among many others.

• What can be learned from David Jonsson’s story about resilience?

His path illustrates several concrete lessons: that a forced change of environment can expose you to new opportunities, that competitive institutions often have real infrastructure built to include underrepresented applicants, and that a difficult academic record doesn’t automatically disqualify you from selective programs.

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