Your New Crush: Alex Shaffer From ‘Win Win’

Every year at Sundance there are a few breakout stars who appear in their first films and impress audiences with the realism of their performances. For me this year it was Alex Shaffer, who appears alongside Paul Giamatti in Win Win. It’s a little unclear if he did a lot of acting or just shares a whole lot in common with his character. But either way he’s adorable. Win Win will be in theaters shortly. Commence crushing now.

In the film, Alex plays Kyle, a struggling teenager who appears on his grandfather’s doorstep and ruins Mike Flaherty’s (Paul Giamatti) plan to collect an easy monthly income as the guardian to Kyle’s grandfather. Kyle moves in with Mike’s family and we soon learn that he is a sweet, but struggling kid with awesome wrestling abilities. Alex is quiet and brooding in the part, but also incredibly appealing. He does an impressive job keeping up with Paul Giamatti and making the case for himself.

When director Thomas McCarthy was casting for the part of Kyle, he was looking for a young wrestler who could also act. And one day the casting director brought in Alex, saying:

“I found this kid. He’s really weird. He’s perfect.”

And it is hard to imagine someone else in the role after watching film. Win Win was purchased by FOX Searchlight this week and will be in theaters in the next few months, so you’ll have more time to oggle Alex soon. For now we’ll leave you with this adorable picture of Alex trying on snow gear from Burton this week.