Gareth David Lloyd (born 28 March 1981), known professionally as Gareth David-Lloyd, is a Welsh actor, writer and singer, best known for their role as

Ianto Jones Ianto Jones is a fictional character in the BBC television programme ''Torchwood'', a spin-off from the long-running series ''Doctor Who'', played by Welsh actor Gareth David-Lloyd. A regular within the show, Ianto appears in every episode of ...

in the British

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

series ''

Torchwood ''Torchwood'' is a British-American science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. A spin-off of the 2005 revival of ''Doctor Who'', it aired from 2006 to 2011. The show shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect i ...

.''

Early life

They were born in

Bettws, Newport Bettws () is a large modern housing estate, electoral ward and coterminous community (parish) of the city of Newport, South Wales. Etymology The name of the village comes from the Middle English word ''bedhus'', meaning "prayer house", whic ...

. David-Lloyd's first acting role was as a robot in a junior school play. As a teenager, they joined the Gwent Young People's Theatre in

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

and The Dolman Youth Theatre in Newport. While there, they appeared in several plays, including ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'', ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François V ...

'' and ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

'', in which they played the title role. Gareth studied Performing Arts at Crosskeys College in South Wales. When former Labour Party leader

Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a Welsh politician who was Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 Labour Party le ...

saw the young David-Lloyd performing at

Monmouth Castle Monmouth Castle () is a castle close to the centre of the town of Monmouth, the county town of Monmouthshire, on a hill above the River Monnow in south-east Wales. Once an important border castle, and birthplace of Henry V of England, it stood ...

, he sent them £250 to use towards their acting career.

Career

Music

David-Lloyd fronts the

progressive metal Progressive metal (often shortened to prog metal) is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal music, heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified electric guitar, guitar-driven sound of the former with t ...

band Blue Gillespie, previously known as A Breath of Blue Fire. The band participated in Sex, Wales, and Anarchy on 20 April 2008, and Orgee on 3 May 2008, at the University of Wales Institute Cardiff. Their first EP, ''Cave Country'', was released in December 2008, followed by ''Cave Country Part 2,'' which was released in August 2009. Their debut album, ''Synesthesia'', was released in May 2010. Their second album, ''Seven Rages of Man,'' was released in May 2012.

Acting

While studying at

Coleg Gwent Coleg Gwent () is Wales' largest further education college at various locations in the former county of Gwent, South Wales. , it has 24,000 students ranging from secondary school leavers to mature students. A wide range of part-time and full-tim ...

Crosskeys Crosskeys () is a village, community (Wales), community and an Wards and electoral divisions of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Caerphilly county borough in Wales. Etymology The village was originally named Pont-y-cymer and this remains ...

, David-Lloyd appeared in various local stage productions at the

Dolman Theatre The Dolman Theatre is located in the city of Newport, Wales, United Kingdom. The theatre was formally an integral part of Kingsway Shopping Centre until major restructuring of the shopping centre forced what was the main entrance of the theat ...

in Newport and the

Sherman Theatre The Sherman Theatre () is a venue in the Cathays district of Cardiff. It was built as a twin-auditorium venue in 1973 with financial support from University College Cardiff (now Cardiff University). Sherman Cymru was the name of the Sherman Thea ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. David-Lloyd went on to train at the

National Youth Theatre The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain (NYT) is a youth theatre and charity in London, created with the aim of developing young people's artistic skills via theatrical productions and other creative endeavours. Founded in 1956 as the world ...

before moving to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

to pursue their acting career with The Rep College. David-Lloyd's parts have included Sebastian in ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'' on stage. In the 2004 comedy/drama ''

Mine All Mine ''Mine All Mine'' is a British television series produced by Red Production Company for ITV. It was written by Russell T Davies and starred Griff Rhys Jones. The story takes place in Swansea, Wales. Overview Rhys Jones plays Max Vivaldi, an e ...

'', written by ''Torchwood'' creator

Russell T Davies Stephen Russell Davies ( ; born 27 April 1963), known professionally as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer. He is best known for being the original showrunner and head writer of the revival of the BBC sci-fi seri ...

, they played a character named Ianto Jones. In 2005, David-Lloyd began a part-time degree in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and psychological studies with the

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

''Torchwood''

David-Lloyd returned to Wales for the filming of their first regular television role in 2006 for

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

spin-off ''

'', in which they played

, a member of the fictional

Torchwood Institute The Torchwood Institute, or simply Torchwood, is a fictional secret organisation from the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-off series ''Torchwood''. It was established in 1879 by Queen Victoria after the e ...

. David-Lloyd appeared in three of four series of Torchwood and even made an appearance in the ''

'' series 4 finale episodes "

The Stolen Earth "The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One on . The episode was written by show runner and hea ...

" and "

Journey's End ''Journey's End'' is a 1928 dramatic play by English playwright R. C. Sherriff, set in the trenches near Saint-Quentin, Aisne, towards the end of the First World War. The story plays out in the officers' dugout of a British Army infantry com ...

". David-Lloyd has also recorded a ''Torchwood'' audio book, '' The Sin Eaters'', and appeared in the ''Torchwood'' audio dramas '' Lost Souls'', ''

Asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

'', ''

Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...

'', '' The Dead Line'', '' The Lost Files'', and ''The House of the Dead''. David-Lloyd has recorded a number of

M.R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English Medieval studies, medievalist scholar and author who served as provost (education), provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936) as w ...

ghost stories titled ''Tales of the Supernatural''. Since 2015, they have reprised the role of ''Ianto Jones'' in several ''Torchwood'' audio plays for

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...

and have also written some of the scripts for those releases.

After Torchwood

In 2009, they appeared in the short comedy film ''A Very British Cover-up'', while also appearing as a police detective in Internet crime thriller, ''Girl Number Nine'', also starring

Tracy-Ann Oberman Tracy-Ann Oberman (born Tracy Anne Oberman; 25 August 1966) is an English actress, playwright and narrator. She is known for roles including Chrissie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (2004–2005, 2024) and Valerie Lewis or "Auntie Va ...

, premiering online on 30 October 2009. In 2010 David-Lloyd appeared in an episode of the long-running ITV series ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

,'' first aired on 21 January 2010. They also appeared as Dr. John Watson in 2010 direct-to-DVD film ''Sherlock Holmes'' by

The Asylum The Asylum is an American independent film production and distribution company based in Burbank, California, known for producing low-budget, direct-to-video films, in particular mockbusters, which capitalize on the popularity of major studio f ...

. They appeared in the pantomime ''Cinderella'' at the Charter Theatre Preston, playing the character of Prince Charming. David-Lloyd also appeared in ''

Casimir Effect In quantum field theory, the Casimir effect (or Casimir force) is a physical force (physics), force acting on the macroscopic boundaries of a confined space which arises from the quantum fluctuations of a field (physics), field. The term Casim ...

'', an independent short feature, starring as Dr. Robert Cameron. This film began shooting in early 2010 and was released on 12 December 2011. The production company has said this is a proof of concept which will see Casimir Effect developed into a TV series. In June 2011, Gareth appeared as a main character in the Syfy movie '' Red Faction: Origins'' based on the video games. Later in 2011, David-Lloyd appeared in a season 3 episode of the SyFy show ''

Warehouse 13 ''Warehouse 13'' is an American science fiction television series that originally ran from July 7, 2009, to May 19, 2014, on the Syfy network, and was executively produced by Jack Kenny and David Simkins for Universal Cable Productions. Des ...

'' titled "3...2...1..." as an agent of Warehouse 12 in the 1890s, partnered with H. G. Wells. On 30 October 2012, David-Lloyd began appearing on ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'' as Rhys Hopkins, a role they played until January 2013. In November 2018, David-Lloyd began appearing on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

medical drama ''Casualty'' as Joshua Bowers.

Personal life

David-Lloyd married Gemma James in 2010. The couple have a daughter, Lily, and a son, Eli. David-Lloyd uses he/they pronouns.

Filmography

Video games

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:David-Lloyd, Gareth 1981 births Living people National Youth Theatre members Writers from Newport, Wales Male actors from Newport, Wales Web series directors Welsh male film actors Welsh male stage actors Welsh male television actors Welsh male video game actors Welsh male voice actors 21st-century Welsh male actors