As is the self-fulfilling prophecy of all middle-ish children, Kieran Ivers was a fucking handful. The third eldest child of Brendan and Wendy (née Phillips) turned out a potent combination of confidence and mischief, always looking for some new (and most likely frowned upon) outlet for his boundless energy. Having three other siblings helped sometimes, but other times Kieran roped them into his own predilections. Brendan, a Dubliner who moved to London in his twenties for medical school, relocated to Leeds with his wife Wendy to start his own pediatric practice after their first child was born. Supporting four children on a single salary was at times a struggle, but Brendan and Wendy made the well-choreographed dance of supply and demand work. She stayed at home to take care of the kids while he worked long days and stayed on call nearly all hours of the night. Somehow, the pair still had patience leftover for dealing with Kieran's antics.

By miracles as divine as they were likely erroneous, Kieran enrolled in sixth form college following an average-but-still-not-that-great schooling. Straightofrward academics never got him or vice versa, his passions more aligned with things like performing a comedy sketch for the school talent show, or banging drums in the school band. His future seemed ambiguous at best, as it does to most teenagers staring their inevitable adulthood straight on. A few weeks into college, Kieran's friend told him about local auditions for an upcoming teen drama and suggested they go in a group, just to see if anyone got a callback. Kieran, unapologetic in his self-expression and always looking to entertain the masses, didn’t need any arm twisting to tag along. The phone call asking him to come in for a second read was, however, completely unexpected—he thought his friends were pranking him and came close to cursing out the casting director on the other line. Still, it set forth in motion the beginning of something new for Kieran, something with more clarity than he even knew to hope for. He dropped out of college the next day.

Kieran was cast as Tony Stonem in a lead role on Skins, where he stayed on for two series before the first generation cast moved on and was replaced by an entirely new ensemble. Even though some criticized the show's representation of teenagers and their laidback approach towards sex and drug usage, Kieran's performance as Tony received mostly positive reviews from critics and painted him as a rising star in the UK. He and a castmate moved to London following the show, each with the hope of segueing into film. And the roles did come for Kieran, but his first few projects post-Skins flaundered at the box office. The lackluster response left his career trajectory up in the air, which was discouraging but not enough to deter him entirely from trying.

It wasn't until he was cast as Gale Hawthorne in The Hunger Games films that his star factor began to truly rise—so much so, and all at once, that it was more like being strapped to the side of a skyrocket and hurtling toward the atmosphere. Even someone like Kieran, boisterous in personality and optimistic in faith, found the transition overwhelming at first. He moved stateside in between filming the first and second Hunger Games films, trading in the roots he'd started to plant in London for a too-sunny, similarly-smoggy Los Angeles. Kieran feels he owes so much to the series, which was in many ways salvaging to the uncertain career path carved out by his mixed bag of failures and successes. He managed several other projects while playing Gale, which were far more successful than his initial box-office bombs. The most recent of which is the titular character in Luc Besson's upcoming Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. He has gotten more particular when choosing roles, as being part of a major franchise has allowed him to be.

Although he has toned down considerably since his younger years, Kieran still possesses the outgoing and upbeat personality that helped him land his first acting gig. He also has a cheeky, joking side to him and has been known to initiate prank wars and play games on set with castmates and crew. He seems like he lays it all out there and for the most part does, whether this means being frank during interviews or openly speaking his opinions on social media (which he doesn't use obsessively but is still considered active on). What has transformed most is his relationship with his public image; at the beginning of The Hunger Games, he didn't know what to do with his newfound fixture on the homepage of every tabloid website and having his every move photographed by paparazzi. Now, "fuck it and whatever" seems like an easier approach. Not that he is brash or arrogant, but he would rather be comfortable being himself versus a manicured version put out into the world for public consumption like he knows some of his peers do.