Tom Francis (actor)

Last updated

Tom Francis
Tomfrancis2025.jpg
Francis performing in the St. James Theatre in February 2025
Born
Thomas Francis Barber

(1999-06-29) 29 June 1999 (age 26)
Colchester, England
Other namesTom Barber
Alma mater ArtsEd (BA)
Occupation(s)Actor and singer
Years active2020–present

Thomas Francis Barber (born 29 June 1999) is an English actor and singer known for his roles on the West End and Broadway stages. For his performance as Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard , he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life

Francis was born in Colchester and grew up in Thorpe Morieux, Suffolk. [3] He joined the Youth Theatre at the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, he was part of the local Voice Squad group in Bury St Edmunds, [4] and studied at the Arts Educational School (ArtsEd) in West London from 2017 to 2020, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Musical Theatre. [5]

Career

In 2020, Francis made his professional stage debut as Roger Davis in Rent at the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester under the direction of Luke Sheppard. [6] [7] Francis would reunite with Sheppard for his following show & Juliet at London's Shaftesbury Theatre, taking over the role of Romeo in March 2022 and marking his West End debut. [8]

In 2021, Francis performed as Claude in concert performances of Hair at the London Palladium, replacing Jordan Luke Gage. [9]

For his performance as Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy Theatre, he won the 2024 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Francis also performed at the awards show. [10] He made his Broadway debut that fall when Sunset Boulevard transferred to the St. James Theatre. [11] [12] In both the Broadway and West End version, there is a six-minute sequence at the start of the second act in which Francis, performing as Joe, would exit the theatre to sing "Sunset Boulevard" while walking through Shubert Alley (in the West End, outside the Savoy Theatre), before returning to the theatre for the end of the song. [13] In November, he took a pause from the role due to a vocal cord injury. [14] He later received multiple nominations for his performance on Broadway, including for a Tony Award. Francis departed the role of Joe Gillis on July 6, with Pierre Marais replacing him for the remaining two weeks of the production. [15]

Francis made his television debut as Clayton in the fifth and final season of the Netflix series You . [16] [17] He is set to make his film debut in Noah Baumbach's upcoming ensemble film Jay Kelly. [14]

Acting credits

Theatre

YearTitleRoleVenue
2020–2021 Rent Roger Davis Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
2021 Hair Claude London Palladium, West End
What's New Pussycat? Ensemble
u/s Tom Jones
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
2022–2023 & Juliet Romeo Montague Shaftesbury Theatre, West End
2023–2024 Sunset Boulevard Joe Gillis Savoy Theatre, West End
2024–2025 St. James Theater, Broadway

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2025 Jay Kelly JuddPost-production
TBAThe Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War IITBAFilming

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2025 You Clayton4 episodes

References

  1. Marshall, Alex (14 April 2024). "'Sunset Boulevard,' Heading to Broadway, Wins Big at Olivier Awards". New York Times.
  2. Huston, Caitlin (1 May 2025). "2025 Tony Awards: 'Buena Vista Social Club,' 'Death Becomes Her,' 'Maybe Happy Ending' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  3. Reid, Cameron (19 April 2024). "Tom Francis, who grew up near Bury St Edmunds, wins best actor in a musical Olivier Award for West End Sunset Boulevard performances with Nicole Scherzinger". Suffolk News. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  4. Reid, Cameron (2 May 2025). "Tom Francis, who grew up in Thorpe Morieux, near Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury, nominated for Tony award after leading role in Sunset Boulevard". Suffolk News, Iliffe News and Media . Retrieved 23 May 2025.
  5. "Tom Francis". Jag London. 14 April 2024.
  6. "Tom Francis". TresA Magazine. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  7. "Rent – Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester". Musical Theatre Review. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  8. Hall, Margaret (21 February 2022). "Tom Francis to Join Cast of London's & Juliet". Playbill. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  9. Thomas, Sophie (17 March 2021). "'Hair' concerts to transfer to London Palladium in June". LondonTheatre.
  10. Wild, Stephi (15 April 2024). "Video: Tom Francis Performs Sunset Boulevard at the 2024 Olivier Awards". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  11. Evans, Greg (21 June 2024). "Broadway-Bound 'Sunset Boulevard' Actor Tom Francis Signs With Linden Entertainment". Deadline. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  12. Wong, Curtis M (27 November 2024). "Tom Francis Is Having a Bloody Good Time in Sunset Boulevard on Broadway". HuffPost. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  13. Bahr, Sarah (22 November 2024). "6 Minutes. 62 People. 1 Epic Sunset Boulevard Sequence". The New York Times . Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  14. 1 2 Cristi, A.A. (12 November 2024). "Sunset Boulevard Star Tom Francis Sidelined Due To Vocal Injury". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  15. Huston, Caitlin (1 May 2025). "2025 Tony Awards: 'Buena Vista Social Club,' 'Death Becomes Her,' 'Maybe Happy Ending' Lead Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  16. "Natasha Behnam, Pete Ploszek, Tom Francis Join Final Season of You". Outlook. 12 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  17. Santanu (12 May 2024). ""I might actually watch the show now": You Season 5 Adds Tom Francis to the Cast as Fans Expect Penn Badgley's Joe to Have a Different Awakening". Fandom Wire. Retrieved 19 May 2024.