Y'lan Noel
{{Short description|Panamanian-American actor (born 1988)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Y'lan Noel
| image =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1988|8|19}}
| birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S.
| education = {{ubl|Morehouse College|New York University (BFA)}}
| occupation = Actor
| yearsactive = 2012–present
}}
Y'lan Noel (born August 19, 1988) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Daniel King in the HBO television series Insecure (2016–2018),{{cite web|url=http://www.thefader.com/2017/09/01/insecure-daniel-interview-ylan-noel|title=Insecure's Y'lan Noel Makes It Easy To Be #DanielHive|website=Fader|last=Ballin|first=Sofiya|date=September 1, 2017|access-date=July 9, 2018}} and the lead role of Dmitri Cimber in the horror film The First Purge (2018).{{cite web|url=http://www.vulture.com/2018/07/the-first-purge-star-ylan-noel-on-beating-up-nazis.html|title=The First Purge Star Y'lan Noel on Beating Up Nazis|website=Vulture|last=Crucchiola|first=Jordan|date=July 6, 2018|access-date=July 9, 2018}} For his role as Troy Marshall in the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Noel was nominated for the British Academy Games Award for Performer in a Leading Role.{{cite web |last=Welsh|first=Oli|url=https://www.polygon.com/awards/533430/bafta-games-awards-2025-nominees-list-game-of-the-year|title=Hellblade 2 leads very different set of nominations for BAFTA Games Awards|publisher=Polygon|date=4 March 2025}}
Early life
Noel was born in Brooklyn, New York. He was further raised in Queens until his family moved to Decatur, Georgia. He is of Afro-Panamanian descent. He began attending Morehouse College and transferred to New York University. He continued through Tisch School of Arts until he was called away to Los Angeles.{{cite web|url=https://newyork.methodactingstrasberg.com/blog/alumni-focus-ylan-noel/|title=Alumni Focus: Y'lan Noel|website=Method Acting Strasberg|date=December 14, 2015|access-date=July 9, 2018|archive-date=January 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072815/http://newyork.methodactingstrasberg.com/blog/alumni-focus-ylan-noel/|url-status=dead}} Noel is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
Career
In 2015, Noel landed the role of Daniel King on Insecure. Noel described Daniel as being the opposite of him, "I was nervous about playing Daniel. I love being around women...but I’ve always felt a bit awkward, well, insecure, around women I’ve had crushes on. Daniel doesn’t seem to have any of that awkwardness... Daniel’s extremely confident and goes after what he wants."{{cite web|url=https://www.hbo.com/insecure/season-01/5-shady-as-f-k/interview-with-ylan-noel|title=Y'lan Noel on Why Daniel Is Way More Than Just "The Other Guy"|website=HBO|last=Armstrong|first=Olivia|access-date=July 9, 2018}}
In 2018, Noel played the lead role of Dmitri in The First Purge, which he considered very challenging, having said, "I feel like I started to actually physiologically relate to these fictional characters and what they would have to experience if they were to go about surviving the Purge."{{cite web|url=https://www.backstage.com/interview/insecure-first-purge-star-ylan-noel-how-use-audition-nerves-your-advantage/|title='Insecure' + 'The First Purge' Star Y'lan Noel on How to Use Audition Nerves to Your Advantage|website=Backstage|last=Volpe|first=Allie|date=July 3, 2018|access-date=July 9, 2018}}
In 2021, Noel was reported as cast in the lead for a television pilot based on the Sam Greenlee novel The Spook Who Sat By The Door, to be produced by Lee Daniels.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/03/ylan-noel-star-the-spook-who-sat-by-the-door-fx-pilot-san-freeman-lee-daniels-1234719341/|title=Y'lan Noel To Headline 'The Spook Who Sat By The Door' FX Pilot Produced By Lee Daniels|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|website=Deadline|date=22 March 2021 |access-date=August 4, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.blackfilmandtv.com/tvnews/christina-jackson-joins-ylan-noel-in-fx-pilot-the-spook-who-sat-by-the-door|title=Christina Jackson Joins Y'lan Noel In FX Pilot 'Spook Who Sat by the Door'|website=BFTV|first= Wilson|last=Morales|date=April 14, 2021|access-date=August 4, 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://thegrio.com/2021/03/24/ylan-noel-lee-daniels-the-spook-who-sat-by-the-door/|title=Y'lan Noel grabs lead role in Lee Daniels' 'The Spook Who Sat By The Door'|website=thegrio.com|first=Jared|last=Alexander|date=March 24, 2021|access-date=August 4, 2022}}
Personal life
Noel is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi.{{cite tweet |author=Kappa Alpha Psi® Fraternity, Inc. |user=kapsi1911 |number=1015710023857725442 |date=July 7, 2018 |title=Brother Y'lan Noel (Omicron Chapter) speaks onstage during the 2018 #EssenceFest at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on July 7, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. 📸 by @thephotomanlife #Nupes #essencefestival2018 #essencefestival #InsecureHBO #YlanNoel https://t.co/95e29Go7Ii |language=en |access-date=October 3, 2021}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 2012
|The Spartan King |Jack |Short film |
| 2013
|House of Another |Henry Gibson | |
| 2018
|Dmitri | |
| 2018
| Slice | Big Cheese | |
| 2018
|Aubrey | |
| 2020
|Young Isaac Jefferson | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 2013
| The Hustle | Kutta | Main role |
| 2016–2018
| Insecure{{Cite web |title=Y'lan Noel Transforms from 'Insecure' Heartthrob to Complex Cop in 'Lady in the Lake' |url=https://www.bet.com/article/7qof2i/ylan-noel-transforms-from-insecure-heartthrob-to-complex-cop-in-lady-in-the-lake |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=BET |language=en}} | Daniel King | Recurring (season 1) |
| 2021
| The Spook Who Sat by the Door | Dan Freeman | Main role; unaired pilot |
| 2024
| Lady in the Lake{{Cite web |last=Macaulay |first=Scott |date=2024-07-16 |title=“The Hardest Thing Is To Get Out of Your Own Way”: Lady In The Lake‘s Y’lan Noel, Back To One, Episode 300 - Filmmaker Magazine |url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/126747-ylan-noel-back-to-one/ |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=Filmmaker Magazine {{!}} Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources. |language=en-US}} | Ferdie Platt | Main role; limited series |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 2024
| Troy Marshall |
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|5002057}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noel, Y'lan}}
Category:21st-century African-American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni
Category:Male actors from Brooklyn