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Layton Williams

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Layton Williams
Born (1994-09-13) 13 September 1994 (age 30)
Bury, Greater Manchester, England
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
  • dancer
Years active2007–present
Known forBilly Elliot the Musical (2007–2008)
Everybody's Talking About Jamie (2016–2022)

Layton Williams (born 13 September 1994) is an English actor, singer, dancer and musical theatre performer known for playing the role of Stephen Carmichael in the television series Bad Education and his work in the West End theatre. His first job was at the age of twelve playing the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical in London's West End.

During his childhood, he also played Young Michael Jackson in Thriller – Live musical, Kylie in the BBC series Beautiful People and featured in the CBBC documentary series School for Stars, which documented life at the acting school Italia Conti. From late 2016, he began playing Angel in the 20th anniversary tour of Rent around the UK. The production, particularly his performance, received rave reviews.[1] From January 2019, he played the title character of Jamie New in Everybody's Talking About Jamie until May 2022, and played the character originally on the West End, but then played the role on the UK tour of the production.

Early life, acting background and education

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Williams was born in Bury, Greater Manchester, to a white mother and a father of Jamaican descent. His paternal grandparents are from Jamaica and his father was born in the UK. He has several siblings and half-siblings. Williams went to London at age 11 to pursue an acting career.[2]

After several months of training at the Billy Elliot Academy in Leeds, Williams debuted in Billy Elliot the Musical on 26 February 2007 in London's West End.[3] His training was documented on The Paul O'Grady Show in which he appeared in on 25 May 2007 and then in several morning TV shows, TV interviews, and short clips related to the musical. He is the second person of colour, the other being Matthew Koon, and the first mixed heritage performer to star in the show. He gave his final performance in the musical on 29 November 2008 while still being the second-longest running performer as 'Billy' in the show's history.[4] On 31 January 2009, two months after his final performance, Layton appeared on the programme Feelgood Factor on ITV, where he and two other 'Billy' actors, Tanner Pflueger and Tom Holland, performed a specially choreographed version of Angry Dance from Billy Elliot the Musical.

Williams took street dance and drama lessons at Carol Godby's Theatre workshop in Bury and ballet lessons at Centre Pointe, Manchester. Williams was awarded a scholarship to Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone, London and stayed there until 2008. He attended Broad Oak High School in his home town Bury and then the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London. During his time at Italia Conti, Williams featured in a children's documentary School for Stars which was broadcast on the children's television channel CBBC.

Career

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He was offered the part as Young Michael Jackson in the West End musical Thriller – Live where he did a few performances before he outgrew the role. Williams became well known to a TV audience as the character Kylie – acting, dancing and singing in the 2008-2009 BBC Two comedy Beautiful People, series 1 and 2.[5][6][7] From 2012 to 2014, he played Stephen Carmichael in the BBC comedy Bad Education and also appeared in the 2015 spinoff film. Williams returned to the show for the 2022 reunion special and became the co-lead of the show's fourth series alongside Charlie Wernham.

Williams went on tour with Matthew Bourne's show The Car Man. Following that he performed the part of Duane in Hairspray the Musical 2015–2016 tour. He announced that he would also be in the new 20th anniversary cast of Rent which toured the UK from October 2016.[8] Layton landed the lead role in the hit musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie in the Apollo Theatre in London's West End, where he would play the role of Jamie for 11 months. In August 2019, it was announced Williams would be joining the tour cast of the musical, which was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but later resumed in 2021. The production also made its US premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in January 2022 where Williams played also Jamie.[9]

In August 2023, Williams was announced as a contestant on the twenty-first series of Strictly Come Dancing. He was partnered with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin. They achieved not only their first perfect 40 score, but the first of the whole series in Musicals week, which they followed up with another one in the semi-finals, as well as two in the final. They finished as joint runners-up, alongside Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell, losing to winners Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola.[10]

From 3 June to 21 September 2024, Williams played the Emcee in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre opposite Rhea Norwood as Sally Bowles.[11]

Other ventures

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Williams is a strong supporter of the charities Stonewall and Ditch the Label.[8] He is the director of 'Pros From The Shows', which holds dance, singing and acting workshops across the UK. Pros From The Shows has also released a successful clothing line.[citation needed]

Personal life

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Williams is gay and has spoken about coming to terms with his sexuality while working on Billy Elliot in London.[2][12][13]

Acting credits

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Film and television

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Year Title Role Notes
2008–2009 Beautiful People Kylie Parkinson
2010 School For Stars Himself
2011 Postcode Russell
2012–2014
2022–present		 Bad Education Stephen Carmichael Main cast (33 episodes)
2015 The Bad Education Movie Stephen Carmichael Film
2018 Benidorm Airport check-in assistant
2020 The Magic of Movie Musicals Himself
2021 The Cleaner Bernard / "Hosea" Episode: "The Influencer"
Everybody's Talking About Jamie Dancer
2022 Queens for the Night Judge
I Hate Suzie Adam Jackson 3 episodes
2023 I Kissed a Boy Himself Narrator[14]
Strictly Come Dancing Himself Runner-up; series 21

Theatre

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Year Title Role Theatre Location
2007–08 Billy Elliot Billy Elliot Victoria Palace Theatre West End
2015 The Car Man Dancer Royal Albert Hall London
2016 Hairspray Duane/ Understudy Seaweed J. Stubbs UK National Tour
2016–17 Rent Angel
2017–18 Hairspray Seaweed J. Stubbs
2018–19 Kiss Me Kate Paul Sheffield Crucible Sheffield
2019–20 Everybody's Talking About Jamie Jamie New Apollo Theatre West End
2021–22 UK National Tour
2022 Ahmanson Theatre Los Angeles
2024 Cabaret Emcee Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre West End

Workshops

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Year Title Theatre Location
2021 Halls The Musical Turbine Theatre London

Awards

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2019 Black British Theatre Awards Best Male Actor in a Musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie Won [15]
2020 Black British Theatre Awards LGBTQ+ Champion Everybody's Talking About Jamie Won [16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Cast". Robert Mackintosh and Idili Theatricals Ltd for RENT 20th Anniversary Production Ltd. 2017. Archived from the original on 10 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  2. ^ a b Bond, Nick (12 July 2015). "Bad Education star Layton Williams on coming out and playing gay". Attitude. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  3. ^ "Photo Flash: Layton Williams Debuts as Billy Elliot". Broadwayworld.com. 26 February 2007.
  4. ^ "Billy Elliot Description – Roles in Billy Elliot (contracts of the cast)". Londonmusicals Online. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  5. ^ "Press Office – Beautiful People Press Pack". BBC. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  6. ^ Teeman, Tim (3 October 2008). "Beautiful People; Ian Hislop Goes Off the Rails; Natural Born Sellers". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
  7. ^ Eyre, Hermione (8 October 2008). "Jamie's Ministry of Food, Channel 4; Beautiful People, BBC2; Ian Hislop Goes Off The Rails, BBC4". The Independent. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
  8. ^ a b "Interview with Layton Williams". London Theatre 1. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Everybody's Talking About Jamie reveals initial cast for north American premiere". 14 August 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  10. ^ Hogan, Michael (16 December 2023). "Strictly Come Dancing: the final – as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Cabaret to star Layton Williams and Heartstopper's Rhea Norwood in the West End". 7 May 2024. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Education for All Conference 2013: Youth Programme". Stonewall. 5 July 2013. Archived from the original on 16 August 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  13. ^ Layton Williams gives a keynote address at Stonewall's 2013 Education for All conference. Stonewall. 25 July 2013. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ "The UK's first ever gay dating show, I Kissed a Boy, is coming to the BBC". The Independent. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Who won at the 2019 Black British Theatre Awards?". London Theatre Direct. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  16. ^ "The Black British Theatre Awards 2020 Winners". Black British Theatre Awards. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
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