 |
Leon Cooke | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leon Dominic Cooke 8 August 1991 Stoke-on-Trent, UK |
| Years active | 1999 – present |
Leon Dominic Cooke (born 8 August 1991) is an English actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer.
|
Leon Cooke | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leon Dominic Cooke 8 August 1991 Stoke-on-Trent, UK |
| Years active | 1999 – present |
Leon Dominic Cooke (born 8 August 1991) is an English actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer.
| This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources .(November 2023) |
Leon Cooke was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. His parents are Joy and Michael Cooke, a former dancer and dance teacher, respectively. He has seven siblings who are also dancers: Tara, Zena, Cassandra, Damian, Anastasia, Valentina, and Dmitri.
Cooke started training at The Marilyn Jones Dance Centre at the age of two years. He learned ballet, tap, gymnastics, theatre craft, song and dance, and street dance. He was a junior and mid-associate with the Royal Ballet in Birmingham and graduated from the Millennium Performing Arts College.
| This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification .(November 2023) |
Cooke was cast as Billy Elliot in Billy Elliot the Musical in September 2005. During his time as Billy Elliot, BBC's Blue Peter followed and filmed Cooke for a day on November 18, 2005.[ citation needed ] After completing 21 months and 200 shows as Billy, Cooke left the cast on July 7, 2007.[ citation needed ]
Between December 2008 and February 2009, he appeared as Tadzio in the English National Opera's production of Death in Venice at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels and two shows at the Grande Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg.[ citation needed ] Cook appeared as Quaxo and Mr. Mistoffelees in the musical Cats at Jersey (Fort Regent) and Guernsey (Beau Sejour) in 2009.[ citation needed ]
In March 2010, he returned to the stage of the Victoria Palace Theatre to take part in a specially choreographed finale to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Billy Elliot the Musical opening in the West End. [1] He completed the United Kingdom's second tour of We Will Rock You directed by Ben Elton.[ citation needed ] Cooke made his Chichester Festival debut as Wilton in Barnum, returning the following year to perform in Amadeus.[ citation needed ]
He has performed in the musical Mamma Mia at the Prince of Wales Theatre and as part of the West End Live cast in Trafalgar Square, London. He performed in Mamma Mia at its new venue, the Novello Theatre.[ citation needed ] Between 2014 and 2015, Cooke was cast in Miss Saigon in the West End. He worked with the National Theatre in their production of the musical Wonder.land , playing the role of Dee.[ citation needed ] His workshops with the National Theatre include Helen by Euripides (2016, Paris) and The Threepenny Opera (2016). [2]
Leon Cooke choreographed the Songtime Theatre Arts Billy Youth Theatre's production at the Richmond Theatre in 2010.[ citation needed ] He was an assistant choreographer for the BBC 2 series Our Dancing Town which aired in January 2017. [3]
While in Billy Elliot the Musical, Cooke appeared on Blue Peter , Ready Steady Cook , the Paul O'Grady Show , Happy Birthday Bafta, and as a guest performer on Any Dream Will Do.[ citation needed ] He also performed with the cast on Sunday Night at the Palladium for their tenth anniversary. Cooke appeared in Series 3 of Sky One's Got to Dance , where he gained three gold stars for a tap routine that was described by Adam Garcia as "awesome".[ citation needed ]
He performed at the Royal Variety Performance, the Olivier Awards 2015, and the Olivier Awards in 2016. [4] [5] [6] In March 2016, Cooke returned to the Mamma Mia cast for a one-off television performance on ITV's Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway .[ citation needed ] In 2019, he performed on television for the D-Day 75th Anniversary commemorations in front of veterans and world leaders. [7]
|
Cooke had featured roles in commercials for Gap, Old Navy, and McDonald's in 2015. [8] In 2019, he had a featured role in a commercial for Nestle. He also made commercials for the Disney Channel and Colgate.[ citation needed ]
|
|
Billy Elliot is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy who discovers a passion for ballet. His father objects, based on negative stereotypes of male ballet dancers. The film stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, Gary Lewis as his father, Jamie Draven as Billy's older brother, and Julie Walters as his ballet teacher.
Mamma Mia! is a jukebox musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson based on songs recorded by Swedish group ABBA and composed by members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The musical's title is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper "Mamma Mia". Ulvaeus and Andersson were involved in the development of the show from the beginning, while singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad was involved financially in the production and also appeared at many of the premieres around the world.
Valentine Ruth Henshall, known professionally as Ruthie Henshall, is an English actress, singer and dancer, known for her work in musical theatre. She began her professional stage career in 1986, before making her West End debut in Cats in 1987. A five-time Olivier Award nominee, she won the 1995 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Amalia Balash in the London revival of She Loves Me (1994).
The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England.
Jacqueline Clune is a British actress and writer. She became established through her Edinburgh Fringe one-woman cabaret shows and her 1995 Karen Carpenter tribute act before graduating to mainstream acting.
George Maguire is an English actor, known for being one of the three original cast members who carried the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical, which earned Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, becoming one of the youngest winners of the award.
Billy Elliot: The Musical is a coming-of-age stage musical based on the 2000 film of the same name. The music is by Elton John, and the book and lyrics are by Lee Hall, who wrote the film's screenplay. The plot revolves around Billy, a motherless British boy who begins taking ballet lessons. The story of his personal struggle and fulfillment are balanced against a counter-story of family and community strife caused by the 1984–85 UK miners' strike in County Durham, in North East England. Hall's screenplay was inspired in part by A. J. Cronin's 1935 novel about a miners' strike, The Stars Look Down, to which the musical's opening song pays homage.
Liam Mower is an English actor and dancer. Best known for his talent for ballet, he was one of the three boys who shared the lead role in the original London cast of Billy Elliot the Musical which earned a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, making him the youngest nominee and the youngest solo winner in the category aged 13. He is currently employed by Matthew Bourne and has appeared in his production of Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and The Car Men.
Wayne Philip Colin Sleep is a British dancer, director, choreographer, and actor who appeared on the BBC series The Real Marigold on Tour and ITV's The Real Full Monty.
Layton Williams 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.
Harriet Amelia Thorpe is an English actress. Thorpe trained at London's Central School of Speech and Drama. She is known for her roles in the British sitcoms, The Brittas Empire (1991–1997) and Absolutely Fabulous (1992–2012) and has also starred in the West End musicals, Cabaret (2006), Wicked (2008) and Mamma Mia! (2010). In 2023, she took over the role of Elaine Peacock in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders.
Scarlett Aimee Vaigncourt-Strallen is an English stage actress, best known for her work in musical theatre productions in the West End and on Broadway. She has received two Olivier Award nominations, in 2006 for her portrayal of Josephine in an adaptation of H.M.S. Pinafore, performed at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and in 2012 for her role in Singin' in the Rain. Strallen is also a former voice actress.
Helen Anker is an English actress, singer, and dancer who trained at the Royal Ballet School and Bird College. She has appeared in numerous London West End and Broadway musicals and plays, perhaps best known for originating the role of Zelda Fitzgerald in Beautiful and Damned.
Corey Snide is an American actor and dancer best known for his performance as Billy in Billy Elliot the Musical based on the hit film Billy Elliot. Snide is a graduate of Colonie Central High School, and of Juilliard.
Oliver Tompsett 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.
Sarah Lark is a Welsh singer and actress who rose to fame when she competed as one of the finalists in the BBC talent show-themed television series I'd Do Anything in 2008.
David Alvarez is a Canadian dancer and actor, best known for being one of the original Billys in the Broadway production of Billy Elliot the Musical and becoming one of the youngest winners of the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical. He trained as a dancer with American Ballet Theatre and plays Bernardo in Steven Spielberg's 2021 film version of West Side Story.
Lucy May Barker is a British actress.
Ashley Lloyd is a British actor and dancer, who has performed in hit musical theatre shows such as Billy Elliot the Musical and Whistle Down the Wind. In 2012 Lloyd appeared in the new musical Loserville at the Garrick Theatre in London. Lloyd appeared in the Original London Cast of Dreamgirls at The Savoy Theatre and is now appearing in Saturday Night Fever at The Peacock Theatre in London. Fans of Hollyoaks might recognise Lloyd from the hit TV show playing Troy.
Paul James Rooney is an English dancer, choreographer & music artist. He has danced with various companies and choreographers around the world, including names such as; Matthew Bourne, Tim Rushton, Will Tuckett, Danish Dance Theatre & has choreographed many productions for Tivoli (Copenhagen)