Young Royals star Edvin Ryding has a pretty meaty role in Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later, the third in his post-apocalyptic horror series, playing Swedish NATO soldier Erik Sundqvist.
28 Years Later is set – you guessed it – 28 years after the original Rage Virus outbreak, with Great Britain under quarantine. Europe has now managed to stem the outbreak, after the end of previous film 28 Weeks Later suggested it had managed to travel there, and communities in the UK are left to fend for themselves.
The bulk of 28 Years Later takes place in the island village of Lindisfarne where one community lives, with select members crossing the sea to embark on a mainland hunt. Among them are Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), his wife Isla (Jodie Comer) who is struck down by a mystery illness, and their son Spike (newcomer Alfie Williams).
After a hunting mission with his father goes awry, Spike becomes determined to find out what the cause of his mother’s illness is, and takes her on a perilous trip onto the mainland to find a mysterious doctor (Ralph Fiennes).
It’s on this perilous journey that Spike and Isla encounter Erik, who is the last surviving soldier from a patrol boat that crashes ashore in Scotland. Whether he survives his brush with Spike and Isla… we won’t spoil here, but things look pretty dicey from the trailer alone.
Erik is played by Edvin Ryding who, while a fairly well-known name in the LGBTQ+ community, isn’t quite a household name for horror movie fans. Here’s everything you need to know about him.
Who is Edvin Ryding from 28 Years Later?
Edvin Ryding plays soldier Erik Sundqvist in 28 Years Later, but it’s far from his first film or TV role.
Before 28 Years Later, the 22-year-old actor from Stockholm, Sweden was best known for his role in Netflix’s Young Royals, in which he played the gay, future heir of Sweden, Prince Wilhelm.
The show, which began in 2021 and aired for three seasons until 2024, became a cult classic favourite with LGBTQ+ viewers. It followed Prince Wilhelm as he was courted off to a prestigious boarding school, where he fell in love with fellow student and choir singer Simon (played by musician Omar Rudberg).
Young Royals received positive reviews from critics, but it sent both Ryding and Rudberg’s fame skyrocketing within the LGBTQ+ community, who likened the series to Heartstopper, The Crown, and Gossip Girl.
In 2023, Ryding was awarded the TV Star of the Year accolade at the Swedish LGBTQ+ awards ceremony, Gaygalan Awards. In 2021, he was also named Rising Star by Stockholm’s International Film Festival, and in 2022, was featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Europe list.
In addition to Young Royals and 28 Years Later, Ryding has appeared in a number of fairly high-profile TV and film hits, including Netflix drama A Part of You alongside Swedish singer Zara Larsson, and Bill Skarsgård’s The Crown Jewels.
Ryding has also lent his voice to the Swedish versions of a number of mammoth movies and shows, including Paddington, Don’t Look Up, Arcane and Big Mouth.
Despite Ryding’s biggest role pre-28 Years Later being a queer role, Ryding has never publicly spoken about his sexuality, though Vogue Scandinavia reports that he is currently dating his A Part of You co-star, Felicia Maxime Truedsson.
28 Years Later is out in cinemas now.
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