Netflix's new prestige miniseries "Ripley" features talented new star Elliott Sumner. In this adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's famous novel "The Talented Mr. Ripley," the musician-actor plays Freddie Miles, a friend of Dickie Greenleaf who comes into conflict with con man Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott) The previous film, adapted in 1999 In the first film, Freddy, played with authority by Philip Seymour Hoffman, is an obnoxious womanizer who quickly brands Ripley as an impostor; in the 2024 series, Sumner stands out among the all-star cast with a relatively quiet, engaging, scene-stealing performance."

Non-binary and using gender-neutral pronouns, Sumner is best known as the child of a world-renowned rock star, but the 33-year-old is also a talented singer-songwriter in his own right. To learn more about this multi-hyphenate, including how he got his role in "Ripley," read on.

Sumner was born in Pisa, Italy in 1990 to parents Sting (real name Gordon Sumner) and Trudy Styler. They grew up in England and began writing songs as teenagers, later signing a major record deal at the age of 17. Since then, they have released music not only as solo artists, but also under anonymous stage names such as Coco (as part of the band I Blame Coco) and Vaal (as a DJ and electronic music artist).

As actors, Sumner got their start in small roles as children, including an appearance in the 2007 fantasy film Stardust. Their first major role was in Guy Ritchie's The Gentleman in 2019 (an original film, not the recent Netflix series). They have also appeared in recent films such as La Divina Cometa, Pretty Red Dress, Infinite Storm, and the 2021 Bond film No Time to Die.

Sumner first opened up about their gender identity in a 2015 interview with the Evening Standard, in which they stated that they do not self-identify with a particular gender. Instead, they defined themselves as "musicians," adding that they "don't believe in any specifications."

"I've always been, maybe ...... maybe I've been trying to find out what I am. But I don't think anyone should feel pressured to put some label or tag on themselves," they added. 'We should treat everyone the same. I don't like to be tied to certain things. We are all human beings."

The musicians also added that they never felt the need to come out to family and friends. They already knew. So I didn't need to. I never came out to anyone. My friends always knew, and I always knew."

In an interview with Tudum, Sumner opened up about Ripley's audition approach to re-creating the on-screen character first made famous by Philip Seymour Hoffman. "Ripley re-created the on-screen character first made famous by Philip Seymour Hoffman." I was very grateful that they were willing to take a chance on me, but I knew I couldn't do it."

Meanwhile, writer/director Steven Zaillian told Decider that Sumner's unique take helped him in the role. He said, "I literally auditioned 200 people [for the role], and 95% of them were Hoffman imitators. (Elliott's take) was so fresh, and for me it was like, "Oh, this is a totally different way to play this character, but in a kind of quiet, sophisticated way, instead of the same menacing, obnoxious loud way."