Percy Hynes White

Biography:

Percy Hynes White, born October 8, 2001, in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, is a Canadian actor and the only child of creatives Joel Thomas Hynes and Sherry White—both established in writing, directing, acting, and producing. Raised in the St. John’s area, Hynes White described himself as an imaginative child, nurtured by an artistic household that encouraged his early interest in performance. He studied for two years with a local performing arts group.

He began acting extremely young, making appearances in local short films and starring at just two years old in Moera: Fact or Fantasy? alongside his mother. His screen debut came at age seven, portraying young Keith in Down to the Dirt (2008), based on his father’s novel. By age nine, he was landing leading roles in short films such as Forty-Five and Five, Winners, and Little Man.

His television debut came in 2013 with a role in The Slattery Street Crockers, and that same year he acted opposite Brendan Gleeson in The Grand Seduction, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2014, he starred in Cast No Shadow, a film that earned critical acclaim and multiple awards at the Atlantic Film Festival, including Best Actor for Hynes White. That year, he also appeared in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb as young CJ Fredericks, sharing scenes with Ben Stiller and Ricky Gervais.

In 2016, he took on significant roles in Edge of Winter opposite Tom Holland and Joel Kinnaman, and in Milton’s Secret with Donald Sutherland and Michelle Rodriguez. Over the following years, he made numerous appearances in TV series such as The Twilight Zone (CBS All Access), Transplant (NBC Universal), Between (Netflix), and 11.22.63 (Hulu).

His breakout television role came in 2017 as Andy Strucker in The Gifted, an X-Men spin-off on Fox, where he starred for two seasons. From 2021 to 2023, he played Elliot Wazowski in the CBC comedy Pretty Hard Cases. He also appeared in I Like Movies (2022), a performance that earned him a Best Supporting Actor award from the Vancouver Film Critics Circle.

Hynes White reached a wider audience in 2022 as Xavier Thorpe in Netflix’s Wednesday, portraying a charismatic student at Nevermore Academy with supernatural artistic abilities. Though initially cast as a potential love interest to Wednesday Addams, his role was not renewed for Season 2, following unsubstantiated allegations on social media—which Hynes White publicly denied. Netflix offered no comment on the decision.

Following Wednesday, he appeared in My Old Ass, directed by Megan Park for LuckyChap Entertainment, receiving another Vancouver Critics Circle nomination. In 2023, he starred opposite Wednesday co-star Jenna Ortega in Winter Spring Summer or Fall, a romantic drama directed by Tiffany Paulsen. Paulsen praised his performance as “absolutely magical.”

In 2025, he guest-starred in Season 2 of Ghosting, investigating paranormal events at Craigdarroch Castle. He is slated to appear in several upcoming films: the horror movie Whistle (2026), the single-take thriller The Plan directed by Jessica Barr, and Armstrong’s War, in which he plays a young Canadian soldier.

To prepare for his role on Wednesday, Hynes White learned archery, painting, fencing, and dance. He has long admired Tim Burton, having grown up with his father reading Burton’s poetry to him as a child. When he learned he’d been cast in Wednesday—on April 1—he initially thought it was an April Fools’ prank.