A Field Guide to Ansel Elgort
Not just any man could play Augustus Waters, hero of The Fault in Our Stars, dream guy to millions. There was a lot pressure from fans of the book to portray the YA character with the perfect blend of humor, humanity and hotness. But when Ansel Elgort stepped in to take on the role, it brought us to tears — in a good way. Now that the movie is a monster hit (it beat all other films in its opening weekend, grossing $48.2 million in just a few days) and Elgort is near guaranteed R-Patz man-idol status in our collective hearts, we’ve been wondering: Who is this super-hot and talented guy? Behold, our Field Guide to all things Elgort.
Name: Ansel Elgort, also known as “Ansølo” when he DJs.
Age: 20
Occupation: Yes, he’s an actor-slash-DJ. Besides music and acting, Ansel has also been known to model for Teen Vogue, V Man and 7000 Magazine. You can pretty much consider him a triple threat in the industry.
From whence does he come? Ansel was born in New York and his parents are creatives too. His dad, Arthur Elgort, is a famous fashion photographer, and his mom, Grethe Barrett Holby, is an opera director. He has two siblings—a brother named Warren who is a film editor, and a sister named Sophie who has taken up photography like her father. Ansel started acting by pursuing theater at the ripe old age of twelve. His big break was just last year, with the remake of Carrie.
So, wait—what’s Ansølo? Just last year, Ansel released a remix of Lana Del Ray’s song “Born to Die” on his SoundCloud account, and gained a bunch of attention for it. Other remixes followed—and they’re all equally good. While he has two Twitter accounts, the one dedicated strictly to his dance music has over 63,000 followers. Back in February, he signed a record deal with Tom Staar’s new label Staar Traxx. Not too shabby.
So, is he dating Shailene?: I wish. I mean, the two had tons of chemistry on screen during The Fault In Our Stars, which helped make the movie such a hit.
It could be because they’ve also worked together on the Divergent movie franchise (yes, they’ve worked together twice!), and have truly formed a bond. In fact, Ansel stated that he and Woodley share a “certain love,” but he quickly clarified that what he meant was only “friendship love.” It’s been reported that Ansel is dating dancer Violetta Komyshan, who he met through his performing arts high school.
He hearts social media: In addition to his double Twitter hustle, Ansel’s pretty active on Instagram. Just recently, he posted a picture of a passenger on his flight, reading an article about him before takeoff.
Awkward? Maybe, but Ansel seemed to get a kick out of it.
What does this boy love? He has an endearingly nerdy hobby: Elgort plays Warhammer, a tabletop sci-fi war game. He told People magazine, “I paint on rocks and make these 25-mm. figurines called Warhammer. They’re like an army of soldiers that you use in a game.”
What’s Next?: You can catch Ansel as the lead in Men, Women and Children, Jason Reitman’s latest film, which will also star Adam Sandler, Judy Greer, and Emma Thompson. And of course, he’ll be reprising his role as Caleb in the next Divergent film, Insurgent.
