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Oliver Tompsett

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Oliver Tompsett
Tompsett at Wicked 10th Birthday 2016
Born (1981-08-25) 25 August 1981 (age 43)
Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active2002–current
Tompsett in 2007

Oliver Tompsett (born 25 August 1981) is a British actor and singer, best known for his work in musical theatre. He originated leading roles in multiple West End productions, including Drew Boley in Rock of Ages and William Shakespeare in & Juliet. In addition, Tompsett is known for his portrayal of Fiyero in Wicked and Galileo in We Will Rock You. He also played Shakespeare on Broadway and in the west end of London.

Early life and education

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Tompsett was born in Abingdon-on-Thames. His father, John, was an engineer and opera singer, and his mother, Judy, who ran a dance studio. He has an older brother, Ben, who is a musician, and a sister, Amy.[1] Tompsett attended John Mason School. He was a member of the Oxfordshire Youth Music Theatre, which sparked his interest in musical theatre, where he performed in youth productions of Me and My Girl, Godspell and Anne of Green Gables.[1] He is a graduate of Arts Educational School, where he played the lead role of "Tony" in West Side Story.[1]

Career

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Tompsett made his professional and West End debut in 2002 in the Madness/Tim Firth musical Our House,[2] directed by Matthew Warchus, at London's Cambridge Theatre.[2]

His subsequent London stage appearances include: Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus's musical Mamma Mia!,[2] directed by Phyllida Lloyd, at the Prince of Wales Theatre;[2] Caliph' in Kismet, directed by Tiffany Watt-Smith, at the Arcola Theatre,[2] and "Harry Lytton" in Richard Stirling's Over My Shoulder: The Story of Jessie Matthews,[2] directed by Stewart Nicholls, at Wyndhams Theatre.[2]

Immediately prior to joining the original cast of Wicked, in 2006, he appeared in Trevor Nunn's production of Peter Shaffer's The Royal Hunt of the Sun, at the National Theatre.[2]

Tompsett next played the role of Fiyero in the West End musical Wicked, in 2006. He is a member of the original London cast, having previously performed in the ensemble and serving as the understudy for Fiyero, before replacing Adam Garcia in 2007. He played his final performance in 2010 after three and a half years with the production. He was succeeded by Lewis Bradley who played the role until May 2010, when Lee Mead took over.[3]

In 2011, Tompsett originated the role of Drew in the West End production of Rock of Ages.[4] For this role he was nominated for the whatsonstage.com Theatergoers Choice Award for Best Actor in a Musical.[5]

In 2012, Tompsett replaced Noel Sullivan as Galileo in We Will Rock You, and for this role he was nominated for the WhatsOnStage Theatergoers Choice Award for Best Take Over in a Role.[6]

From November 2014 to 24 January 2015, Tompsett played the role of Phil Davis in the musical White Christmas alongside Darren Day in Leeds.[7]

From 16 March to 14 August 2016, Tompsett played the role of Sky Masterson in the West End revival of Guys and Dolls following its transfer to the Phoenix Theatre in London.[8] Tompsett reprised the role for the show's Israeli premiere at the Opera House in Tel Aviv for 10 performances.[9]


In 2019, Tompsett joined the cast of & Juliet as Shakespeare.[10] The world premiere production opened at the Manchester Opera House on 10 September 2019 and closed on 12 October 2019. He continued on in the role when the musical transferred to the West End, where it began performances at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 2 November 2019.[11] At the 2020 WhatsOnStage Awards, he was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical.[12] Tompsett continued in the role for the entire West End run of & Juliet, until the show closed on 25 March 2023, and reprised the role on Broadway, before Drew Gehling, after the original actor, Stark Sands, departed. [13]

On 4 April 2023, Tompsett took over the role of Edward Lewis in the West End production of Pretty Woman. He will continue to play the role until the show's closing on 18 June 2023.[14]

On 18 May 2023, it was announced that Tompsett will star in the musical In Dreams, which will begin performances at Leeds Playhouse on 3 July 2023.[15]

Personal life

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Tompsett is married to actress Michelle Potter.[16] They met in 2003 while performing in the West End production of Mamma Mia.[17] Their first child, a son named George, born in 2013.[1] Their second child, a daughter named Kaia, was born in February 2017.[18]

Tompsett ran in the 2022 London charity marathon for Parkinson's disease.[19]

Theatre credits

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Year Title Role Location Notes
2002 - 2003 Our House Callum/Ensemble Cambridge Theatre West End
2003 - 2004 Mamma Mia! Ensemble Prince of Wales Theatre West End
2004 Notes From New York Ensemble Trafalgar Studios West End
2004 Cinderella Prince Charming Watford Palace Theatre Regional
2004 Christmas in New York Performer Apollo Theatre West End
2005 Kismet Caliph Arcola Theatre Off-West End
2006 Over My Shoulder: The Story of Jessie Matthews Harry Lyton Wyndhams Theatre West End
2006 The Royal Hunt of the Sun Ben Royal National Theatre
2006 - 2007 Wicked Ensemble, u/s Fiyero Apollo Victoria Theatre West End
2007 - 2010 Fiyero
2011 - 2012 Rock of Ages Drew Boley Shaftesbury Theatre West End
2012 - 2014 We Will Rock You Galileo Dominion Theatre West End
2014 - 2015 White Christmas Phil Davis Leeds Grand Theatre
2016 Guys & Dolls Sky Masterson Phoenix Theatre West End
Opera House Tel Aviv
2016 Disaster! Chad Charing Cross Theatre Benefit concert performance
2017 - 2019 Kinky Boots Charlie Price Adelphi Theatre West End
2019 & Juliet William Shakespeare Manchester Opera House World premiere - pre-West End engagement
2019 - 2023 Shaftesbury Theatre West End
2021 Treason Robert Catesby Cadogan Hall Concert
2023 Pretty Woman: The Musical Edward Lewis Savoy Theatre West End
2023 In Dreams Ramsey Leeds Playhouse World premiere[20]
Ed Mirvish Theatre North American premiere
2024 & Juliet William Shakespeare Stephen Sondheim Theatre Broadway[21]

Filmography

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Year Film Role Notes
2017 Hard Way: The Action Musical Jake Short film
2018 Show Dogs Chauncey Voice role
2021 I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change Un­known

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2012 WhatsOnStage Award Best Actor in a Musical Rock of Ages Nominated [22]
2013 WhatsOnStage Award Best Takeover in a Role We Will Rock You Nominated [23]
2020 WhatsOnStage Award Best Actor in a Musical & Juliet Nominated [12]

Recordings

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In 2008 he recorded a song for the CD Act One – Songs From The Musicals Of Alexander S. Bermange, an album of 20 new recordings by 26 West End stars, released in October 2008 on Dress Circle Records. He can be heard on the recent Alexander S. Bermange CD singing "More than a Memory" and more.

In late 2008 he released his debut album entitled "Sentimental Heart", with all of the songs written, performed and produced by Tompsett.

Tompsett also recorded the song 'We Are Not Alone' on Terry Pratchett's 'Only You Can Save Mankind', which was released on 23 November 2009.

In May 2010, Tompsett announced on his Official Twitter account that due to the success of his début album, he had signed a record deal with Major Record Label Warner Brothers.[24] His second album was released in 2011.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Gray, Chris (17 July 2013). "Abingdon's Oliver Tompsett on his star role in We Will Rock You". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Oliver Tompsett". westendtheatre.com. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Lee Mead to Join London's Wicked as Fiyero; Principals Confirmed". 31 January 2010. Archived from the original on 31 January 2010.
  4. ^ "Amy Pemberton, Oliver Tompsett, Simon Lipkin et al. Join Justin Lee Collins and Shayne Ward in the West End's Rock of Agea!". 15 June 2011.
  5. ^ "Full List: 2012 Whatsonstage.com Award winners". Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  6. ^ "Full list: Winners announced of the 2013 Whatsonstage.com Awards". Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  7. ^ "Darren Day and Oliver Tompsett to star in White Christmas at WYP | News | the Stage". Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Samantha Spiro and Oliver Tompsett join Guys and Dolls | News | the Stage". Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  9. ^ "West End Frame: Casting announced for Guys and Dolls Israeli transfer". westendframe.com. Archived from the original on 29 August 2016.
  10. ^ Thomas, Sophie (8 February 2019). "Further casting announced for & Juliet at the Shaftesbury Theatre". London Theatre.
  11. ^ Jackson, Daisy (25 January 2019). "What if Juliet didn't die at the end of Romeo & Juliet? This new musical has the answers". Manchester Evening News.
  12. ^ a b Wood, Alex (1 March 2020). "20th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards winners include Andrew Scott, Claire Foy, Come From Away and Six". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  13. ^ Mayo, Douglas (9 October 2022). "Juliet Musical sets West End closing date". BritishTheatre.com. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  14. ^ Wood, Alex (8 March 2023). "Pretty Woman sets West End closing date and announces new lead casting". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  15. ^ Wood, Alex (18 May 2023). "Cast announced for In Dreams musical including Oliver Tompsett, Lena Hall and Gabriela García". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  16. ^ Wolf, Matt (26 June 2018). "West End Star Oliver Tompsett on How Starring in Kinky Boots Affects His Footwear Choices, Meeting Cyndi Lauper and More". Broadway.com. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  17. ^ Macaskill, Grace (22 June 2014). "Mamma Mia! Stars of hit stage show find their own love stories...with each other!". Mirror. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  18. ^ Tompsett, Oliver. "It's a Girl!! I am THE luckiest person alive! Meet my daughter Kaia". Twitter. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  19. ^ Jenny, Kristin (27 February 2023). "Running for Charity: A Billion-Dollar Enterprise". Outside Online. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  20. ^ Gans, Andrew (14 June 2023). "Cast Complete for World Premiere of In Dreams Musical, Starring Lena Hall and Oliver Tompsett". Playbill. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  21. ^ West End Star Oliver Tompsett Will Make His Broadway Debut in & Juliet
  22. ^ "Full List: 2012 Whatsonstage.com Awards Nominees". WhatsOnStage. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  23. ^ "Full list: Winners announced of the 2013 Whatsonstage.com Awards". WhatsOnStage. 17 February 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  24. ^ Oliver Tompsett – Official Twitter
  25. ^ Oliver Tompsett [@OliverTompsett] (18 September 2010). "Album is shaping up to be EPIC! going to L.A to record with some very Talented people cant wait to release it next year YEAH!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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