Joe Alwyn once feared a childhood prank would land him in jail.

The 33-year-old actor has recalled being told off by a Scotland Yard policeman after a prank spiralled out of control.

Joe - who was raised in London - said on 'The Drew Barrymore Show': "When I was about eight years old ... I thought it would be a fun idea to prank the neighbors, and I wrote some letters. They were pranky, but they were of the threatening pranky kind, and they were dipped in fake blood from a toy store

"Police cars turned up on the road 'cause they've got a killer to catch. I'm thinking I'm going to jail, and about three policemen came into the house, we had to confess to our crime and they stood over me and my brother, and because he's 18 months older, which is why it's great to have an older sibling ... he was the one that took the brunt of it.

"I don't remember what the policeman yelled at me, but they yelled."

Meanwhile, Joe recently praised his friends and family for helping him to remain grounded.

The actor - who dated pop star Taylor Swift between 2016 and 2023 - acknowledged that it would've been easy for him to lose focus amid the potential pitfalls of fame and success.

The 'Mary Queen of Scots' star told the Guardian newspaper: "I have great family and friends and real things in my life; those are the things that kept me tethered to the ground. So I don't know how else to say it, it's … just in a different room."