Joseph McManners

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Joseph McManners
Joseph McManners as "The Little Prince"
Joseph McManners as "The Little Prince"
Background information
Birth name Joseph McManners
Born December 3, 1992 (1992-12-03) (age 15)
Origin Country flag Canterbury, UK
Genre(s) Classical, Opera, Pop
Occupation(s) Singer, actor
Instrument(s) violin, piano, guitar
Years active 2004–present
Label(s) Sony BMG
Website Website
Forums

Joseph McManners (born December 3, 1992,[1] in Canterbury, Kent) is an English actor and singer. He lives on a non-working farm in Petham near Canterbury[1] and recently left Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys (also in Canterbury) for a boarding school after being awarded a drama and academic scholarship.

Contents

[edit] Singing career

When Joseph was 8-years-old he saw the film Titanic. He liked the song My Heart Will Go On so much that he decided to perform it at a family reunion. He describes this event as the point in his life where he knew he wanted to become a singer.[2] He also plays the violin and the piano and has started to learn playing the guitar.[1] He uses a semi acoustic Yamaha guitar. [3] McManners then auditioned for the lead role in the BBC's operatic version of "The Little Prince" directed by Francesca Zambello. He was chosen from 25000 others to play the part. During filming for "The Little Prince", he was spotted by executives from Sony BMG which led to a UK£2 million 4-album record deal and management by Derek MacKillop in 2005.[4][5]

Joseph performing in Seoul, South Korea December 2006
Joseph performing in Seoul, South Korea December 2006

McManners went to Prague[1] together with his producer Nick Patrick.[4] to record the music for his first album In Dreams which was performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Not all music was done by the orchestra, though, Joseph's brother plays the violin in "Where is Love".[1] The album was released on December 5, 2005. McManners chose the songs that appear on the album himself.[6]

Within days of his debut album release, McManners' talent rocketed into the classical music charts at number five – outselling the new release by Aled Jones (whom he co-stared with in "The Little Prince").[7] The album was nominated for "Album of the Year" at the 2006 Classical BRIT Awards.[8] and his rendition of "Bright Eyes" from the same album debuted at "number one" in Asian airplay, ahead of James Blunt and Prince.[9]

In December 2006 it was reported that McManners and Sony BMG split over artistic differences.[10] In the same year, Joseph was a guest singer at Liam Lawton's live concert held at the Dublin docklands. The event was attended by almost 5,000 people. The orchestral arrangements were done by the world renowned composer and arranger Nick Ingham whose films include Shakespeare In Love, Cold Mountain, Billy Elliott and Finding Neverland.[11][12]

Joseph's second album is currently in the works and will be released some time next year.[13]

[edit] Acting career

In 2004, McManners starred as Oliver Twist in a local production of the play at Canterbury's Marlowe Theatre opposite Ron Moody who played Fagin in the 1968 film adaptation of the famous novel. He reprised his role as Oliver Twist two years later in the BBC's "Celebrate 'Oliver!'" presented by Shane Ritchie[14] on December 26, 2005,[15] and he appeared in an episode of BBC's The Sound of Musicals on February 4, 2006[16] (filmed in 2005).

McManners made his feature film acting debut in Hot Fuzz opposite the likes of Simon Pegg, Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton,[17] Steve Coogan, Martin Freeman and Bill Nighy.[18] He played the part of Gabriel who is described as being an 'angelic schoolboy'.[19] Unfortunately, his background story and an entire sub-plot surrounding his character was cut from the final version and can only be found in the bonus material of the DVD.[20]

Joseph in Hot Fuzz, 2007
Joseph in Hot Fuzz, 2007

Chris Britcher comedically reported in the Kent newspaper Saturday Observer shortly after the film's release in early 2007 that because of Joseph's age, he was unable to legally view the film until his 15th birthday later that year.[21]

Also according to Chris Britcher of the Kent newspaper Saturday Observer, McManners had turned down an earlier offer in 2005 to star as the young Hannibal Lecter in the Hollywood film about the serial killer's childhood called Hannibal Rising due to school and other commitments.[22]

On July 13, 2007, Joseph attended an audition for the role of Eustace Scrubb, a character in the upcoming film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, scheduled for release in 2009.[23]. It has also been reported on his forums that in 2007 Joseph attended an audition for a part in the upcoming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, although the name of the particular character hasn't been disclosed to the public, fans are speculating the role is that of young Tom Riddle [24].

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Interview from the Limited Edition Japanese DVD release of "In Dreams".
  2. ^ EXCLUSIVE: RISE AND RISE OF THE SMALL BOY WITH THE BIG VOICE at www.mirror.co.uk (accessed July 8, 2007)
  3. ^ Official News Updates at www.joemcmanners.com (accessed May 27, 2007)
  4. ^ a b sound generator - Joseph McManners - In Dreams review (accessed August 28, 2006).
  5. ^ "Schoolboy earns £2m record deal", BBC News, BBC, 2005-09-14, pp. 1. Retrieved on 2007-07-07. (English) 
  6. ^ Joseph McManners biography at Sony BMG.co.uk (accessed August 28, 2006).
  7. ^ Silver screen beckons for teenage singing sensation from Kent newspaper Kent on Sunday (accessed December 19, 2005).
  8. ^ The BPI Unveils Nominees for The Classical BRIT Awards 2006 (published April 11, 2006; accessed August 28, 2006).
  9. ^ Number 1 Airplay at Sony BMG.co.uk (accessed August 28, 2006).
  10. ^ Britcher, Chris. "Joe's dream deal is over", Saturday Observer, 2006-12-23, pp. 1. Retrieved on 2007-01-02. (English) 
  11. ^ Liam Lawton - Biography at www.windowsmedia.com (accessed May 14, 2008)
  12. ^ Liam Lawton - CURRENT BIOGRAPHY 2007 at www.liamlawton.com (accessed May 14, 2008)
  13. ^ Joseph McManners Official News Updates at www.joemcmanners.com (accessed May 14, 2008)
  14. ^ Celebrate 'Oliver!' at the Internet Movie Database.
  15. ^ "Celebrate Oliver!" to be screened on Boxing Day at Sony BMG.co.uk (accessed August 28, 2006).
  16. ^ Cached version of a BBC 1 television listing for The Sound of Musicals
  17. ^ New film from Kent newspaper Saturday Observer (accessed September 15, 2006).
  18. ^ Hot Fuzz at the Internet Movie Database (accessed August 28, 2006).
  19. ^ Singing star Joseph even hotter stuff from Canterbury Gazette newspaper (accessed February 15, 2007).
  20. ^ Joseph McManners 'Hot Fuzz' scenes cut at www.joemcmanners.com (accessed October 21, 2007)
  21. ^ Joe's too young for own film from Kent newspaper Saturday Observer (accessed February 17, 2007).
  22. ^ "Schoolboy star turns down killer role" by Chris Britcher, Saturday Observer (published September 17, 2006; accessed November 17, 2006) (details in PDF version)
  23. ^ Joseph auditions for role as Eustace Scrubb at www.joemcmanners.com (accessed October 21, 2007)
  24. ^ Joseph auditions for role in new Potter movie at www.joemcmanners.com (accessed October 21, 2007)

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
v • d • e
Joseph McManners
In Dreams Track Listing
Bright Eyes · Pie Jesu · In Dreams · Psalm 23 · Walking in the Air · Panis Angelicus · Circle of Life · Lullaby · Music of the Angels · Candlelight Carol · Morning Has Broken · Where is Love? · The Little Prince Song · The Sally Gardens ~ (Chinese Bonus Track) · Somewhere Only We Know ~ (Japanese Bonus Track)
Filmography
Great Performances 'The Little Prince' ~ The Little Prince (2004) · Richard & Judy ~ Himself (2005) · GMTV ~ Himself (2005) · Celebrate 'Oliver!' ~ Oliver Twist (2005) · Hot Fuzz ~ Gabriel (2007)
Theatre Works
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