Freddie Stroma

Freddie Stroma is an English actor and model who is best known for his portrayal as Cormac McLaggen, the aggressive and self-assured Gryffindor seventh year, in the film adaption of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Biography
Freddie Stroma was born in London, England on January 8, 1987. Although he was born in London, he was raised in the nearby town of Ascot and was the middle child of three with an older sister and a younger brother. According to the man himself, "I'm the crazy one in the family. When I was young, I never really thought I would go into acting. At that age I wanted to be a ninja, but the dream to be an actor started when I was sixteen."

His aspiration came true when he was accepted into the highly prestigious National Youth Theater, which has led to five prominent acting roles (Mayo, Casualty, The Last Flight to Kuwait, Lady Godiva and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince).

Besides his polite manners, athleticism and charming good looks, Stroma also has the brains. While juggling his film roles and a side gig in modeling to help pay for tuition, he earned a neuroscience degree with high marks from the University College of London in June. After taking a year long break from his studies to film, Stroma went back to school to finish his degree as it "would have been a shame to just throw it away."

Behind the Scenes

 * Freddie has a ridiculously sweet tooth. "I have a lot of candy and I usually pick-n-mix, which is a killer, and Haribo is pretty good as well. But cookies and milk are pretty standard for me. I have a lot of it. I'm quite a bit shocked how much I haven't grown up in that sense."
 * He does not have any particular dancing moves, but desperately likes trying to do Michael Jackson moves jokingly with his friends.
 * In the Acne modeling video he was in, he had to dance barefoot to music that he didn't know. He has "not heard the end of it from my rugby friends since that was released."
 * He has a girlfriend of two and a half plus years. The two met at school, and he calls her "quite lovely and a supportive girl."
 * Unlike his brash romance skills onscreen as Cormac McLaggen, Freddie is personally more of a sensitive romantic. "For me it's the sweet gestures like the little things in life that I can do when I am with someone. It's just about constantly reminding them how much they mean to me. ... Saying the 'L-word' everyday, that's the one that everyone is terrified of but don't need to be."
 * The scene he loved the most in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was when he was slowly licking his fingers and looking at Hermione. When asked about his favourite scene, he added, "I've not done that to a girl that I've fancied. It's just so disgusting!"
 * In 2009, he graduated with a 2.1 BSc. Neuroscience Degree from University College of London (UCL).

Notes and References
Freddie Stroma