Gabriel Francis Marshall Thomson (born 27 October 1986) is an English former actor, best known for his role as

Michael Harper Michael Harper may refer to: * Michael Harper (cricketer) (born 1945), South African cricketer * Michael Harper (priest) (1931–2010), English charismatic Anglican, later an Orthodox priest * Michael S. Harper (1938–2016), African-American poet ...

in the British situation comedy series '' My Family''.

Career

Thomson began his acting career at the age of four, performing in plays with a company called ''the Goliards'' while his family holidayed in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. At the age of five, he gave his first TV performance in an advert for '' Frosties'' which he later said he'd "rather forget." In 1995, he appeared in a television version of ''The Bible: Joseph''. He followed this up with a small role in another television mini-series called '' Painted Lady''. It was in 1999 that Thomson secured his first major acting role, playing Young Pip in a BBC adaption of ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. It depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip (Great Expectations), Pip (the book is a ''bildungsroman''; a coming-of-age story). It ...

''. It was through his role on ''Painted Lady'' that he was cast in ''Great Expectations'', as the casting director of ''Painted Lady'' thought he would be perfect as Pip. The same year, Thomson made his big screen debut as

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan ...

in '' The New Adventures of Pinocchio''. From 2000 until 2011, Thomson played

in the British BBC

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

'' My Family'', starring alongside Robert Lindsay, Zoë Wanamaker, Daniela Denby-Ashe and Kris Marshall. He is the only one out of the Harper children to have appeared in every series as Daniela Denby-Ashe left the series in 2002, later returning in 2004 and Kris Marshall left the series in 2005. He is also remembered for acting alongside

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Cés ...

Rachel Weisz Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970 ) is an English actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a BAFTA Award. Weisz began acting in British stage and television in the ...

and

Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in ''Apollo 13'' (1995), '' The Truman Show'' (1998), '' Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Award ...

in the 2001 film ''

Enemy at the Gates ''Enemy at the Gates'' (''Stalingrad'' in France and ''L'Ennemi aux portes'' in Canada) is a 2001 war film directed, co-written, and produced by Jean-Jacques Annaud, based on William Craig's 1973 nonfiction book '' Enemy at the Gates: The Batt ...

'' as Soviet spy

Sasha Filippov Sasha Filippov (russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович (Са́ша) Фили́ппов; 26 June 1925 – 23 December 1942) was a spy for the Red Army during the Battle of Stalingrad. Early life Sasha Filippov was born in 192 ...

. He was at one time rumoured to play

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at ...

in the series of films based on the popular books by J.K. Rowling; however, just days later

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

announced that the part was to be portrayed by

Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. He rose to fame at age twelve, when he began portraying Harry Potter in the film series of the same name; and has held various other film and theatre roles. Over his career, Rad ...

. Thomson portrayed Lysander in ''A Midsummer Night’s Dream'' and Claudio in ''Much Ado About Nothing'' with the

British Shakespeare Company The British Shakespeare Company was a British open-air touring Shakespeare Company. Founded by Robert J. Williamson in 1994 (as the R. J. Williamson Company), it was renamed in 2005. Originally based in Leeds (performing in the ruins of Kirksta ...

on their 2009 tour of the UK, the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. Also starred in the British film '' 13Hrs''. In 2010, Gabriel joined the cast of GB Theatre Company, playing Orlando in ''As You Like It'' and Dr Caius in ''The Merry Wives of Windsor''. The tour included the Republic of Ireland, Norway, the Czech Republic and the UK. Gabriel also starred in the film, The Lost Choices, released by Metrodome in the UK on 14 September 2015. On 20 August 2015, Thomson had announced on his Facebook page that he was leaving acting to return to university, and on 15 September the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its Masthead (British publishing), masthead was simpl ...

'' reported that he was to attend King's College in London for three years to study for a degree in philosophy, with the aim of becoming a human rights lawyer.

Personal life

Thomson attended Elliott School in Putney.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Gabriel 1986 births Living people English male film actors English male television actors Male actors from London Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama English male stage actors 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors