Charlie Paul Suff (born 1996) is an English actor and musician. He was born and grew up in Brighton and later studied Performing Arts at East Sussex College. He then trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where he appeared in various theatre productions. He then performed in other plays, such as Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons in 2019. Suff has also appeared in various short films and other productions, including a play he wrote during the COVID-19 pandemic, and guest starred in the British television shows Grace and Granchester. Since 2024, Suff has portrayed Johnny Carter on the BBC soap opera EastEnders, becoming the third actor to play the character.

Charlie Paul Suff was born in 1996 and raised in Brighton.^[1][2][3] He had a passion for performing from a young age, which he described as "being that shouting kid with pants on his head, prancing about to all the parents' amusement", which led to him discovering the stage to channel his "need to perform".^[3] Suff studied Performing Arts at East Sussex College, later returning to the school to deliver various workshops.^[4] He enjoyed studying the course there and made several friends, one of whom he still lives with as of March 2024.^[4]

Suff trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where he gained a BA (Hons) in Professional Acting.^[3] He enjoyed his time there and described the other students as being like a "family" due to the small number of people that are accepted into the school.^[5] Suff performed in various of the Bristol Old Vic's theatre productions, including The Beaux' Stratagem, Dracula, How To Disappear Completely And Never Be Found, Our Country's Good and The Merchant of Venice.^[6] In 2018, he portrayed the characters of Lord John, Snork and the Pinhead Master in the Old Vic's production of The Elephant Man, which he found challenging due to the roles being so different from himself.^[5] Due to his characters being fictional, Suff based the character of Lord John on Lord Byron, who he researched.^[5] Suff also appeared in other theatre productions, such as Clapham Omnibus's Outside (2018), Weapons of the Weak at The Other Palace (2019), Divine Intervention at the Ovalhouse (2019) and Multiplex at Brighton Fringe.^[7][6]

In 2018, Suff played the lead role of The Devil in Marie Dutton's short film Lucifer.^[7][8] In 2019, Suff played Oliver in Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, which was performed at the Barons Court Theatre.^[9] In 2020, Suff appeared as leading role Felix Aldridge in the short film The Other Soul to Evie.^[10] That same year, during the COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom, Suff wrote and performed his own short production called A Moment of Peace.^[11][3] The following year, Suff portrayed Luke Jones in the first episode of the British crime drama Grace.^[12] In 2022, Suff played Andy in the film The Modern Way.^[7] That same year, he appeared as Jason in the short film Never Has a Man.^[13] In 2023, Suff guest starred in the premier episode of the eighth series of the British ITV detective drama Granchester as a thug named Tommy Wilson.^[14][15] Suff also appeared in the short films Fantoma and Modern Love.^[7] Suff has also spoken about many auditions that he has "very almost" received or that went "nowhere", which he explained taught him to "appreciate each moment, whether good or bad".^[4]

In December 2023, it was announced that Suff would be taking over the role of Johnny Carter on the BBC soap opera EastEnders.^[16][17] The role had previously been portrayed by Sam Strike from 2013 to 2014, followed by Ted Reilly from 2016 to 2018.^[18][19] EastEnders executive producer Chris Clenshaw said that he was "delighted" to welcome Suff in the role of Johnny, noting how Johnny was still linked to the soap and the "iconic" Queen Victoria pub despite not having appeared since 2018.^[16] Of joining the soap, Suff said, "Johnny is a complex character who has been through so much, which I can't wait to explore. I've found EastEnders to be the most kind and loving space to work in, and I already feel like one of the family".^[16] Suff also revealed that he was "so delighted" to be joining the "iconic" programme, explaining that the soap was watched in his household through as he was growing up.^[16] Suff was grateful that he received a warm welcome from the cast, calling it a "joy" and calling his colleagues "fun, friendly and brilliant at what they do".^[20] Suff's first episode as Johnny aired on 9 February 2024.^[21] Suff's debut involved Johnny returning to the soap to help his mother, Linda Carter (Kellie Bright), who has relapsed into alcoholism.^[22] Suff hinted that Johnny would be returning to the soap with a "bang" and that Johnny wants to show the other characters that he is "all grown up and not to be messed with".^[13]

In addition to acting, Suff is also the lead singer of the band Third Face, which he also plays the saxophone and guitar for.^[3] Third Face also consists of a bassist, a drummer and another guitarist.^[2] The band released two singles, Lost in It and Something in Movement, in 2022 and they have performed at various gigs.^[2]