From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Liam Mower (born May 30, 1992 in Kingston upon
Hull, England) 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.
He's also the youngest person ever to win a Laurence Olivier Award.
Biography
Liam is from Kingston upon Hull. His father is an
engineer, and his mother
works in a sandwich shop.
Liam has three brothers, (Luke, Lewis and Leighton). He became a
boarding pupil at the Royal Ballet School (RBS) whilst
still auditioning for Billy Elliot, but later scaled down his
connection to it, in order to be able to meet his professional
commitments without losing out on quality of life.[1][2] Liam
also attended the Northern Academy of performing arts (NAPA) in
Kingston upon Hull, but now studies at the Rambert School of Ballet
and Contemporary Dance in Twickenham. Before taking up his place at
Rambert, he was also offered a place at the London Studio
Centre.[3
]
Career
Billy
Elliot
Liam's first performance was on Press night (11 May 2005)[4]
and he continued performing until the end of September 2006. He
also appeared in the Elton
John video of Electricity and was featured in the BBC's Children in
Need on 18 November 2005 performing Electricity. He also
made several television appearances, such as his famed appearances
on Blue
Peter. Liam made his final scheduled appearance in
Billy Elliot on 30 September 2006. His departure was
covered by the local and international press, as it spelt the end
of the original child cast of 'Billys'. A dedication was made by
the cast on his final performance, and he was presented with a dog,
named "Billy".[5][6][7] Upon
his departure, Stephen Daldry stated that "Liam is a
unique talent and we have all been blessed with the opportunity to
see him flourish in Billy Elliot over the past eighteen months.
Rarely does one ever come across a performer with so many skills
and talents, particularly when matched by Liam’s determination and
good humour. He has been at the centre of Billy Elliot’s extended
family for three and a half years now and his last performance will
be an overwhelmingly emotional evening. As Liam hurtles towards
adulthood we will be saying goodbye to one of the most celebrated
child performers ever in the West End. An end of an era for us and
the beginning of another huge adventure for Liam." [8] He
returned home to Archbishop Thurstan School ( now Archbishop
Sentamu academy for science), Hull, to study for GCSEs, but made a
brief return to Billy Elliot on 22 November 2006,
performing in a charity gala for the children's charity Place2Be.
During the show he was joined by both Elton John and the X-factor judging panel who made
cameo appearances as the RBS panel.[9]
After Billy
Elliot
Mower's career after Billy Elliot was somewhat calmer, but
he still kept up theatrical activities. He appeared as a minor part
in October 2006 in Thoroughly Modern
Millie at Hull New Theatre[10], and
subsequently made an appearance in the popular ITV Crime Series,
Wire in
the Blood playing the part of Mikey[11]. His
most recent work has been his appearance as the title character in
Pinocchio
during Christmas 2007 at The Priestley Theatre in Bradford.[12] He
also appeared on the soundtrack to Pinocchio which is
available on iTunes.
Mower recently stated that he would like to return to the West
End stage, he personally stated he was taking singing lessons.[3
] He did very well at his GCSE's with 14 grades
from A* to C.[13] Mower
also previously stated that he would like to be a dancer before
being an actor: "After I have got my degree at the school I would
like to join a dance company and then go into acting a bit later.
It makes sense to do it that way round."[14] [15]
Awards
He won, jointly with James Lomas and George Maguire, the Theatre
Goers’ Choice Award 2005 for The Most Promising Newcomer. And on 26
February 2006 Liam, James Lomas and George Maguire received a Laurence Olivier Award for their
performances in the musical, making them the first to win one in a
shared capacity. This makes Liam the youngest ever winner of this
award.[16][17]
References
External
links
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
