Will Kemp (actor, born 1977)

Last updated

Will Kemp
Will Kemp at Step Up 2- The Streets premiere.jpg
Kemp at the premiere of Step Up 2: The Streets , February 2008
Born
William Kemp

(1977-06-29) 29 June 1977 (age 47)
Hertfordshire, England
Occupations
  • Actor
  • dancer
Years active1997–present
SpouseGaby Jamieson
Children2
Website www.willkemp.co.uk

William Kemp (born 29 June 1977) is an English actor and dancer. His stage names are Will and James Dean of Ballet.

Contents

Life and career

Kemp was born in Hertfordshire, England. Trained at the Royal Ballet School, at age 17 he was accepted at dance company Adventures in Motion Pictures (AMP). He won the lead role of The Swan in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake from 1997 to 2000 in both London and Broadway. [1] In 2002 he could be seen dancing to "Stuff Like That" in a Peter Lindbergh-directed commercial for Gap's "For Every Generation" campaign and in 2004, he appeared alongside Sarah Jessica Parker in two Francis Lawrence-directed spots, "Color" and "Shine", for Gap's "How Do You Share It" campaign. He famously turned down a lucrative modelling contract with Giorgio Armani, citing not wanting to be confused as a model as opposed to an actor as the reason for his decision.

Kemp made his acting debut as Velkan Valerious, a gypsy-prince-turned-Werewolf in the 2004 action horror film Van Helsing , opposite Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale. [2] He played the horse Nugget as well as The Young Horseman in the 2007 West End revival of Equus starring Daniel Radcliffe. The part of Nugget required him to don a wire horse mask and metal hooves/horseshoes, and carry Radcliffe on his back while galloping. He had a role in Step Up 2: The Streets as Blake Collins, director of the Maryland School of the Arts (MSA) and brother of Chase Collins. Kemp played a dress up Mr Darcy at an academic conference in the Hallmark Channel's "Loveuary" month-long series featuring Jane Austen adaptations.

Personal life

Kemp and his wife, Gaby Jamieson, have a daughter, Thalie born in 2005, and a son, Indigo born in 2008. [1]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2004 Mindhunters Rafe Perry
2004 Van Helsing Velkan Valerious
2005 Brothers of the Head Celebrity
2007 Miguel y William William Shakespeare
2008 Step Up 2: The Streets Blake Collins
2013The CoinBenShort film
2014 Petals on the Wind Julian Marquet
2015 The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power DrazenDirect-to-video
2016The Midnight ManGrady
2017 Slumber Tom Arnolds
2024 Mythica:Stormbound The Stranger

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1998 Great Performances SwanEpisode: "Swan Lake"
2001 The Car Man AngeloTelevision film
2006Pinocchio Stromboli Television film
2008 New Tricks James StricklandEpisode: "Final Curtain"
2009 The Prisoner 23–30 – WonkersMiniseries; 2 episodes
2010The Soldier's TaleNarrator/The KingTelevision film
2011 Christopher and His Kind Bobby GilbertTelevision film
2011Peter and the WolfGrandfatherTelevision film
2011GraceNickyTelevision film
2011 Nikita NigelEpisode: "London Calling"
2012 90210 Mitchell Nash2 episodes
2013 Kristin's Christmas Past JamieTelevision film (Lifetime)
2013Non-StopMarkTelevision film
2014 Petals on the Wind Julian MarquetTelevision film (Lifetime)
2015–2018 Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce Scott15 episodes
2017 Reign Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley Main role (season 4)
2018Royal MatchmakerPrince SebastianTelevision film (Hallmark Channel)
2019Love, Romance and ChocolateLuc SimonTelevision film (Hallmark Channel)
2019 Doom Patrol Steve Dayton / Mento Episode: "Doom Patrol Patrol"
2020 Spinning Out Mitch SaundersMain role (Netflix)
2020The Christmas WaltzRoman DavidoffTelevision film (Hallmark Channel)
2021 The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star Hunter CunardTelevision film (Netflix)
2022Jolly Good ChristmasDavid BurnsideTelevision film (Hallmark Channel)
2023The Dancing Detective: A Deadly TangoSebastian MooreTelevision film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)
2023A Not So Royal ChristmasAdamTelevision film
2024Paging Mr. DarcySamuel LeeTelevision film (Hallmark Channel)

Related Research Articles

<i>Equus</i> (play) 1973 play by Peter Shaffer

Equus is a 1973 play by Peter Shaffer, about a child psychiatrist who attempts to treat a young man who has a pathological religious fascination with horses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Helpmann</span> Australian dancer, actor, theatre director and choreographer (1909–1986)

Sir Robert Murray Helpmann CBE was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he joined the Vic-Wells Ballet under its creator, Ninette de Valois. He became one of the company's leading men, partnering Alicia Markova and later Margot Fonteyn. When Frederick Ashton, the company's chief choreographer, was called up for military service in the Second World War, Helpmann took over from him while continuing as a principal dancer.

<i>Van Helsing</i> (film) 2004 film by Stephen Sommers

Van Helsing is a 2004 action horror film written and directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as monster hunter Van Helsing and Kate Beckinsale as Anna Valerious. Van Helsing is both an homage and tribute to the Universal Horror Monster films from the 1930s and 1940s, of which Sommers is a fan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Kidd</span> American choreographer

Michael Kidd was an American film and stage choreographer, dancer and actor, whose career spanned five decades, and who staged some of the leading Broadway and film musicals of the 1940s and 1950s. Kidd, strongly influenced by Charlie Chaplin and Léonide Massine, was an innovator in what came to be known as the "integrated musical", in which dance movements are integral to the plot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Van Helsing</span> Fictional character created by Bram Stoker

Professor Abraham Van Helsing is a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula written by Bram Stoker. Van Helsing is a Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: "MD, D.Ph., D.Litt., etc.", indicating a wealth of experience, education and expertise. He is a doctor, professor, lawyer, philosopher, scientist, and metaphysician. The character is best known through many adaptations of the story as a vampire slayer, monster hunter and the arch-nemesis of Count Dracula, and the prototypical and the archetypal parapsychologist in subsequent works of paranormal fiction. Some later works tell new stories about Van Helsing, while others, such as Dracula (2020) and I Woke Up a Vampire (2023) have characters that are his descendants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Roxburgh</span> Australian actor

Richard Roxburgh is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of a number of accolades across film, television, and theatre, including four AACTA Awards, three Logie Awards, and two Helpmann Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerome Robbins</span> American choreographer & director (1918–1998)

Jerome Robbins was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television.

<i>Dracula</i> (1931 English-language film) 1931 film

Dracula is a 1931 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed and co-produced by Tod Browning from a screenplay written by Garrett Fort and starring Bela Lugosi in the title role. It is based on the 1924 stage play Dracula by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which in turn is adapted from the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Lugosi portrays Count Dracula, a vampire who emigrates from Transylvania to England and preys upon the blood of living victims, including a young man's fiancée.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Cannavale</span> American actor (born 1970)

Bobby Cannavale is an American actor. His breakthrough came with the leading role as FDNY Paramedic Roberto "Bobby" Caffey in the NBC series Third Watch, which he played from 1999 to 2001.

<i>Dracula, the Musical</i> 2001 American musical by Frank Wildhorn

Dracula, the Musical is a musical based on the original 1897 Victorian novel by Bram Stoker. The score is by Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics and book by Don Black and Christopher Hampton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Harker</span> Fictional character created by Bram Stoker

Jonathan Harker is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. An English solicitor, his journey to Transylvania and encounter with the vampire Count Dracula and his Brides at Castle Dracula constitutes the dramatic opening scenes in the novel and most of the film adaptations.

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake is a contemporary ballet based on the Russian romantic work Swan Lake, from which it takes the music by Tchaikovsky and the broad outline of the plot. Bourne's rendering is best known for having the traditionally female parts of the swans danced by men.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Acosta</span> Cuban ballet dancer

Carlos Yunior Acosta Quesada is a Cuban-British ballet director and retired dancer who is director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He danced with many companies, including the English National Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, Houston Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. He was a permanent member of The Royal Ballet from 1998 to 2015. In 2003, he was promoted to principal guest artist, a rank that reduced his commitment, enabling him to concentrate on a growing schedule of international guest appearances and tours. He celebrated his farewell after 17 years at The Royal Ballet, dancing his last performance in November 2015 in Carmen, which he both choreographed and starred in.

<i>Dracula</i> (1924 play) 1924 stage play

Dracula is a stage play written by the Irish actor and playwright Hamilton Deane in 1924, then revised by the American writer John L. Balderston in 1927. It was the first authorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. After touring in England, the original version of the play appeared at London's Little Theatre in July 1927, where it was seen by the American producer Horace Liveright. Liveright asked Balderston to revise the play for a Broadway production that opened at the Fulton Theatre in October 1927. This production starred Bela Lugosi in his first major English-speaking role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Epperson</span> American drag artist

John Epperson is an American drag artist, actor, pianist, vocalist, and writer who is mainly known for creating his stage character Lypsinka. As Lypsinka, he lip-synchs to meticulously edited, show-length soundtracks culled from snippets of outrageous 20th-century female performances in movies and song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Ko</span> American actor

Nicholas Alexander Ko is an American actor, film director and screenwriter. He won the title role in Billy Elliot the Musical on Broadway in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janet Montgomery</span> British actress (born 1985)

Janet Ruth Montgomery is an English film and TV actress. She first gained attention for her role as Ames in the second season of the television series Human Target (2010–11), and also for her appearance in the 2009 straight-to-DVD film The Hills Run Red. She played the lead character in the television drama Made in Jersey (2012), cancelled after eight episodes. From 2014 to 2017, she starred as the lead character, Mary Sibley, in the series Salem. From 2018 to 2023, Montgomery played the role of Lauren Bloom on the medical drama television series New Amsterdam.

Keith Roberts is a professional dancer who performed in Twyla Tharp's Las Vegas show Sinatra Dance With Me, which opened on December 11, 2010, and ran through April 2, 2011.

Marguerite Porter MBE is an English former principal ballet dancer, turned actress and choreographer.

Brooklyn Devon Mack is an American ballet dancer. He is currently the Interim Artistic Director of Columbia Classical Ballet since November 11, 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 Brayford, Claire (25 November 2018). "GRACE DADS: British Actor Will Kemp Shares a Father's Perspective on Parenthood". The Grace Tales. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  2. King, Susan (2 May 2004). "His 'Van Helsing' role brings out the animal in dancer Will Kemp". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 February 2019.