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Giles Terera

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Giles Terera
MBE
Terera in 2015
Terera in 2015
Background information
Birth nameGiles Terera
Born (1976-12-14) 14 December 1976 (age 47)
London, England
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Actor
  • filmmaker
  • musician
  • composer
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
Years active1999—present

Giles Terera MBE (born 14 December 1976) is a British actor, musician, and filmmaker. He is best known for his work in the theatre, particularly in the original cast of the London production of the musical Hamilton, as Aaron Burr, for which he won the 2018 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.[1][2] His first documentary, Muse of Fire, premiered in autumn 2013.

Career

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Giles Terera trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. After leaving Mountview in 1999, he joined an acting ensemble at the National Theatre, where he appeared in Troilus and Cressida, Candide, and The Darker Face of the Earth. He then went on to star as the Ugly Duckling in Honk![3]

Since then Terera has appeared consistently in British theatre, and some of his most notable appearances are in London's National Theatre and the West End. They include: Death and the King's Horseman, The Tempest, Sammy Davis Jr. in The Rat Pack: Live From Las Vegas, RENT, 125th Street, and Jailhouse Rock.[4] He originated the role of Gary Coleman in the London production of Avenue Q. He also appeared as Mafala Hatimbi in The Book of Mormon.

Terera has been nominated for three awards for the Whatsonstage.com Awards. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his appearance in Jailhouse Rock, Best Takeover in a Role for The Rat Pack: Live From Las Vegas as Sammy Davis Jr., and for Best Ensemble Performance in Avenue Q. His production of Hamlet, in which he played Horatio, won Best Shakespearean Production, and he accepted the award on behalf of the production.[5] In 2007 Terera became the first Black actor to play Christy in Dublin's Abbey Theatre production of Playboy of the Western World. In 2011 he played Caliban in Trevor Nunn's production of The Tempest opposite Ralph Fiennes at Haymarket Theatre. In 2015 and 2016 he appeared at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, firstly in King John followed by The Merchant Of Venice, a production starring Jonathan Pryce which toured America, China and Italy. In 2016 Terera appeared in the National Theatre's award-winning production of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, reportedly spending several months learning to play the double bass for the role. In December 2017 he originated the role of Aaron Burr in the London transfer production of Hamilton, a role for which he won an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in April 2018.[2]

As well as his numerous stage appearances, Terera has made occasional appearances in film and television. His most notable television appearances was in the CBBC programme Horrible Histories, performing in all five series from 2009 to 2013. He has also appeared in BBC television show Doctors, and in the film London Boulevard. He also appeared in a televised production of Hamlet. In 2020 he appeared in a Channel4 television production Maxxx as Gbenga (Maxxx's father).

Terera is also a filmmaker and musician. His first documentary, Muse of Fire, created with Dan Poole, centres on modern perspectives of Shakespeare, featuring interviews with actors and filmmakers such as Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Jude Law, Julie Taymor, Fiona Shaw and Baz Luhrmann. The film premiered in autumn 2013 on BBC Four.[6]

Terera's credits as a musician, aside from appearing in numerous musical theatre productions, include composing scores for theatre and performing live as a solo musician. He also composed the score for Muse of Fire,[7] and his vocals can be heard in several songs for Horrible Histories.

In 2013, Terera curated and directed a series of events at the National Theatre as part of its 50th-anniversary celebrations entitled "Walk in the Light", which honoured the contribution of Black artists to British theatre.[8]

Terera was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to theatre.[9]

Terera featured as part of London's New Year celebrations for 2022. He opened the celebrations by delivering a poem referencing the impact and achievements made in 2021.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2001 Doctors Lee Herridge One episode, television series
2009–13 Horrible Histories Various roles, including Sports presenter and Jesse Owens Appears in all five series, television
2010 London Boulevard Waiter Feature film
Hamlet Horatio Televised stage performance
2013 Muse of Fire Himself Feature-length television documentary. Also served as composer, director, creator, writer and producer
2015–16 Horrible Histories Various roles television
2016 Yonderland Party Guest Appears in Christmas Special episode
2017 The Current War Elijah McCoy
2020 Maxxx GBenga
2021 'Death Of England Face To Face Delroy
2022 Olivier Awards Guest Presenter 1 episode
Scrooge: A Christmas Carol Tom Jenkins Voice

Theatre

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Year Title Role Theatre Location
1999 Troilus and Cressida Ensemble National Theatre London
Candide Ensemble National Theatre London
1999–2000 Honk! Ugly National Theatre London
2000 The Darker Face of the Earth Ensemble National Theatre London
2002–03 125th Street Marvin Gaye Shaftesbury Theatre West End
2004–05 Jailhouse Rock Quickly Robinson Royal Haymarket Theatre West End
2005 The Rat Pack: Live From Las Vegas Sammy Davis Jr. Royal Haymarket Theatre West End
2006–07 Avenue Q Gary Coleman Noël Coward Theatre West End
2007 Playboy of the Western World Christy Abbey Theatre Dublin
2002 RENT Mr Jefferson Prince Of Wales Theatre West End
2009 Death and the King's Horseman Praise Singer National Theatre London
2009–10 The Rat Pack: Live From Las Vegas Sammy Davis Jr. Adelphi Theatre West End
2010 Hamlet Horatio National Theatre London
2015 The Tempest Caliban National Theatre London
2016 Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Slow Drag National Theatre London
The Merchant of Venice Prince of Morocco National Theatre London
2017 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Ernesto Roma National Theatre London
2017–19, 2022 Hamilton Aaron Burr Victoria Palace Theatre West End
2019 Rosmersholm Andreas Kroll Duke of York's Theatre West End
2022 Blue Orange Robert Northampton Royal And Derngate
2022 The Meaning of Zong Olaudah Equiano Bristol Old Vic
2022 Blues for an Alabama Sky Guy Jacobs National Theatre London
2022–23 Othello Othello National Theatre London
2023 The Meaning of Zong Olaudah Equiano Barbican Theatre London
2024 Passing Strange Narrator Young Vic London

Awards

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Year Award Title Production Result
2004 WhatsOnStage Awards Best Supporting Actor Jailhouse Rock Nominated
2005 WhatsOnStage Awards Best Takeover in a Role The Rat Pack: Live From Las Vegas Nominated
2007 WhatsOnStage Awards Best Ensemble Avenue Q Won
2011 KidScreen Awards Best Acting Horrible Histories Won
WhatsOnStage Awards Best Shakespearean Production Hamlet Won
2012 KidScreen Awards Best Acting Horrible Histories Won
2014 Falstaff Awards Best Film Muse of Fire Won
2018 Laurence Olivier Awards Best Actor in a Musical Hamilton Won[2]
BroadwayWorld UK Awards Best Actor in a New Musical Won
2019 WhatsOnStage Awards Best Actor in a Musical Nominated
2020 WhatsOnStage Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Play Rosmersholm Nominated
2022 UK Theatre Awards Best Actor The Meaning of Zong Won
Evening Standard Theatre Awards Best Actor Blues For An Alabama Sky Nominated
2023 Laurence Olivier Awards Best Actor Blues For An Alabama Sky Nominated
2023 Critics Circle Theatre Awards Best Actor Blues For An Alabama Sky and Othello Won

References

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  1. ^ Dowd, Vincent (3 May 2019). "Giles Terera: 'You can't just sit back and hope people will cast you'". BBC.
  2. ^ a b c "The Nominees for Oliver Awards with MasterCard 2018 are… | #BeInspired". Olivier Awards. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  3. ^ "20 Questions with Giles Terera" Archived 28 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Whatsonstage.com
  4. ^ "Giles Terera at the National Theatre". Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  5. ^ "National Theatre's Hamlet win Best Shakespearean Production for the Whatsonstage Awards 2011". Archived from the original on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  6. ^ "Muse of Fire: A Shakespearean Road Movie", BBC Four, 24 October 2013.
  7. ^ Muse of Fire[permanent dead link] – The Producers.
  8. ^ "Walk in the Light" Archived 13 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine, National Theatre.
  9. ^ "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N22.
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