Matthew James Thomas

Matthew James Thomas' (sometimes also credited as Matthew Thomas) is a British actor and singer, best known for his role in the UK drama-musical show Britannia High and for playing the title role in the 2013 Broadway revival of Pippin. Later, after leaving the Broadway production 5 months prior, Thomas was asked to step in and open the U.S National Tour of Pippin in Denver from September 6 to 20, 2014,^[1] and in San Francisco from September 23 to October 19 and will be in Los Angeles from October 21 to November 9.^[2] He is also working on an album and will begin his next musical theatre project in November.^[3] He relocated to America in 2010 to star in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway.

Early life

Thomas trained at the Sylvia Young Theatre School in London along with his fellow Britannia High cast members Sapphire Elia and Georgina Hagen. He then went on to training, and graduated from Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.

Career

Thomas's earlier TV work includes Wonderful You, Shane, The Blind Date Murders, Bad Girls, Doctors, The Bill and Desperados.

He has also appeared in the films Billy Elliot and About a Boy.

At the age of 14, he played Prince John (older) in Stephen Poliakoff's The Lost Prince.

Thomas's theatre work includes Fame at the Shaftesbury Theatre in which he played Schlomo, Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Whistle Down the Wind at the Aldwych Theatre London alongside Hollyoaks actress Hannah Tointon and former S Club Juniors member Jay Asforis in 1999-2000, in which he played Clarence. His other theatre credits include Oliver! at the London Palladium, Dick Whittington at Sadler's Wells Theatre, Wayne in Popcorn at the Landor Theatre and Romeo in Romeo & Juliet at the Avondale Theatre.

In Britannia High, Thomas plays Jez Tyler, a wealthy performer who strikes up a friendship with street dancer BB, played by Marcquelle Ward. Jez's centric episode is number 3, which explores his wealthy background and his troubled relationship with his father.

In June 2009 he performed at the Leicester Square Theatre playing the lead role of Dorian Gray in a production directed by Linnie Reedman with music by Joe Evans.

In November 2009 He played Seth the leading role in Karen Wilson's short film Possessions alongside Rosalind Halstead, best known for her portrayal as Isabella in Wuthering Heights.

Later in 2010 he appeared alongside John Nettles, James Fox, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Frances Barber and Richard Fleeshman in the prestigious ITV drama series Midsomer Murders as the young manipulative concert pianist Orlando Guest in the episode titled "Masterclass" directed by Renny Rye.

Thomas recently appeared as part of the original Broadway cast of Julie Taymor's Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which, after many delays, opened in New York on June 14, 2011. As the production's resident Brit, he was the alternate for the lead role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, performing in place of Reeve Carney twice a week and additionally in Carney's absence.^[4] Thomas departed the production at the end of his contract on November 11, 2012 and was replaced by Matt Caplan, who played Flash Thompson in the original cast.

He starred in the Broadway revival of Pippin as the title character. He previously played the role at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts.^[5]

On March 12, 2014, it was reported that Thomas was one of five actors being considered for a lead role in Star Wars Episode VII (Star Wars: The Force Awakens).^[6]

On December 9 through January 25, Thomas will be in the musical adaptation of the movie Diner at the Virginia Signature Theatre. He will be playing the role of "Fenwick". ^[7]

Personal life

Thomas stated in an interview that his most treasured possession is his piano, as he loves to play music and write songs. His favourite artists include Coldplay, U2 (Bono and The Edge wrote the music and lyrics for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) and Mutemath.

List of credits

Television

Film

References

External links

• Matthew James Thomas at the Internet Movie Database