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Ben Lewis (Australian actor)

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Ben Lewis
Lewis and his wife, Melle Stewart (2011)
Born (1979-09-28) 28 September 1979 (age 45)
London, England
NationalityAustralian
Alma materNewington College
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active2001–present
Known forLove Never Dies
The Phantom of the Opera
SpouseMelle Stewart
RelativesAlexander Lewis (brother)

Ben Lewis (born 28 September 1979) is an Australian actor and baritenor. His most well-known role is The Phantom of the Opera in the original Australian production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies. In 2017 and 2018, he reprised the role in Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera in the original West End production.

Other notable roles include Chad and Frank Farmer in the UK tours of Love Me Tender and The Bodyguard, as well as Larry in the 2018 West End revival of Company.

Childhood

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Lewis was born in London[1] to a theatrical family. His father, Michael Lewis, is an opera singer and his mother, Patricia Price, was also an opera singer and has retired as Head of Vocal Studies and Opera at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.[2] His brother, Alexander Lewis, is an opera singer and actor who completed three years as a young artist at New York’s Metropolitan Opera.[3] During his childhood, his family went back and forth between England and the North Shore of Sydney, Australia.[1]

Education

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After starting at a British secondary school, the family moved back to Australia and Lewis graduated from Newington College in Sydney and then undertook an Arts Degree at Sydney University. He performed with the Australian Theatre for Young People and was awarded a Lend Lease scholarship to further his studies overseas, where he studied voice at the Royal College of Music. Upon returning to Australia, Lewis applied to study at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) with his brother and both were successful.[1] It was during his time at WAAPA that Lewis met his wife, actress Melle Stewart. The leading Australian performer Tony Sheldon was a visiting Director during Lewis’s time at WAAPA and Lewis credits Sheldon for helping him through his student years.[1]

Personal life

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Lewis is married to Australian actress Melle Stewart.

Career

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Theatre credits

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Year Title Character Company
2005 The Windows Project - Darlinghurst Theatre, Sydney
2005 Odyssey - The Malthouse/Black Swan Theatre Company[4]
2006 Urinetown - Sydney Theatre Company
2006-2007 Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Frank Lyric Theatre, Star City Casino, Sydney
2007 Spamalot Sir Dennis Galahad / Prince Herbert's Father / Black Knight Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne[5]
2009 A Little Night Music Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm Opera House, Sydney[6]
2009 Metro Street Chris Barnes The Production Company
2010 A Midsummer Night's Dream Lysander / Snug / Cobweb WildRumpus[7]
2011-2012 Love Never Dies The Phantom of the Opera Really Useful Group[8]
2013 Candide Governor / Vanderdendur Menier Chocolate Factory[9]
2014 Thérèse Raquin Laurent Finborough Theatre[10]
2014 Forbidden Broadway various characters Menier Chocolate Factory and Vaudeville Theatre
2015 Devilish! Nick Brimstone Tristan Bates Theatre[11]
2015 Love Me Tender Chad UK Tour[12]
2016 Annie Get Your Gun Frank Butler Crubicle, Sheffield[13]
2017-2018 The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera Her Majesty's Theatre, West End[14]
2018-2019 Company Larry Gielgud Theatre, West End[15]
2019-2020 The Bodyguard Frank Farmer UK, Ireland & Japan Tour[16]

Film and television credits

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Year Series/Film/Event Character Episode Company
2001 McLeod's Daughters Troy O'Rouke Who's a Big Girl Now? Channel Nine Australia
2011 Carols By Candlelight Himself - Nine Network
2012 Love Never Dies The Phantom / Mr. Y - Universal Pictures
2012 Side By Side by Sondheim Himself - Theatre Royal
2013 Doctors Ned Bick Bleeding Hearts BBC 1
2016 Cyanide and Happiness Shorts Guard The Execution YouTube
2020 EastEnders Iain 6150 BBC 1

Awards and nominations

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In 2012, Ben Lewis received a nomination for Helpmann Award and won a Judith Johnson Award for Best Actor in Leading Role in a Musical at the 2012 Sydney Theatre Awards for his role of the Phantom in Love Never Dies.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Behind the Phantom Mask: Meet Ben Lewis". Stage Whispers. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  2. ^ "LinkedIn Profile - Patricia Price". au.linkedin.com/home. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Love Never Dies - BARITONE Ben Lewis is on a fast-track to stardom with the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, writes Simon Plant". Phantomloveneverdies.tumblr.com. 6 May 2011. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  4. ^ "Spamalot announces Australian cast". boneaubryanbrown.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2005.
  5. ^ "The Odyssey". boneaubryanbrown.com. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2007.
  6. ^ Vito Mattarelli"A Little Night Music, Opera Australia". ausstage.edu.au. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  7. ^ Emma Brown"A Midsummer Night's Dream at Cenntenial Park". weekendnotes.com. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  8. ^ Adam Hetrick"Cast Complete for Revamped Love Never Dies in Australia; Performances Begin May 21". playbill.com. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  9. ^ Michael Coveney"Candide". whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
  10. ^ "Thérése Raquin". finboroughtheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  11. ^ "A new musical comedy by BB Cooper and Chris Burgess". twitter.com. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
  12. ^ West End Wilma"Love Me Tender UK Tour Cast announced". westendwilma.com. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  13. ^ Stagefaves"Ben Lewis & Nicolas Colicos join Anna-Jane Casey in Annie Get Your Gun". stagefaves.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  14. ^ "Official London Theatre - Theatre Tickets, News & Guides". Official London Theatre.
  15. ^ "Ben Lewis | Company Musical | From 26 September". Company Musical. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  16. ^ Admin (17 October 2019). "Cast Changes Announced for The Bodyguard". London Theatre 1. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
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