2002–2011: Career beginnings and Hollyoaks Whittle took up modelling in college. He would go on to become the face of
Reebok in 2000. Whittle made his acting debut in 2002 the television series
Dream Team which aired on
Sky 1. The actor said the show was a "dream job" for a young actor just starting out. Whittle's agent surprised him and sent him to audition for
Dream Team. Whittle credits his career to his co-star Terence Maynard whom he auditioned with. In December 2009, it was announced that Whittle would leave
Hollyoaks and the character would be killed off in 2010. In an interview with
Digital Spy he explained his reasons for leaving
Hollyoaks and revealed his plans to try his hand at American television and film. He only planned to do four years with the series. In the summer of 2009, Whittle joined
series 7 of the
BBC reality series,
Strictly Come Dancing. He was paired with professional dancer
Natalie Lowe. Whittle would place second after sports presenter
Chris Hollins. He permanently relocated to
Los Angeles in the summer of 2011 to further his career.
2012–2016: American TV breakthrough and The 100 Upon his arrival in the US, Whittle met with someone to put a reel together. The meeting led to him signing with manager Ken Jacobsen. Jacobsen has also represented
James Franco,
Michelle Williams and
Hilary Swank. Not long after, Whittle was cast in the feature film
Austenland opposite
Keri Russell,
Jane Seymour and
Jennifer Coolidge. Whittle joked that he only booked the role because of his body as the audition tape he submitted cut off his head. He found it ironic that it filmed on location in the UK when he travelled to Los Angeles to pursue American TV projects. Whittle submitted his audition tape just as he returned to the UK for Christmas. While he was too young for the role he initially auditioned for, the producers found another role for him. In 2013, Whittle appeared in an episode of the
CBS drama
NCIS, "
Detour." In 2014, Whittle joined the cast of
The CW's post-apocalyptic drama
The 100 in the role of
Lincoln. Around the same time, Whittle booked the recurring role of Daniel on
ABC's prime-time drama
Mistresses. Whittle wrapped filming for
The 100 the week before he was scheduled to start production on
Mistresses. Whittle appeared in 10 episodes. In January 2016, it was reported that Whittle was in talks for the lead role on another series. During an interview with
AfterBuzz TV in April 2016, Whittle announced his decision to leave
The 100. Whittle controversially accused the show's creator
Jason Rothenberg of bullying him into leaving the series by marginalizing his character. The actor explained that once
Warner Bros. Television President
Peter Roth and
The CW President
Mark Pedowitz were made aware of the situation, he was allowed to audition for other projects.
2017–present: American Gods and Nappily Ever After In January 2016, it was announced that Whittle had been cast as Shadow Moon, the lead role in Starz
television adaptation of
Neil Gaiman's 2001 novel
American Gods opposite
Ian McShane. Though Whittle had no prior knowledge of the novel, he was a fan favourite pick to play Shadow when Starz announced the series in August 2015. Out of the 2,000 audition tapes submitted, Whittle was chosen out of approximately 600 actors that met with the producers. In September 2017 Whittle was cast opposite
Sanaa Lathan in the
Netflix original film,
Nappily Ever After based on the novel of same name by Trisha R. Thomas. On 16 April 2018 it was announced that Whittle signed with talent agency
William Morris Endeavor. ==Personal life==