Matt Henry is a
Laurence Olivier Award winning
British singer and actor.
His first career highlight was being chosen by the
Prince's Trust
The Prince's Trust ( cy, Ymddiriedolaeth y Tywysog) is a charity in the United Kingdom founded in 1976 by King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) to help vulnerable young people get their lives on track. It supports 11-to-30-year-olds who are u ...
to perform at the Two Nations Concert at
Johannesburg Stadium
Johannesburg Stadium is a stadium, in the Doornfontein suburb of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. The stadium has a sweeping roof and can accommodate 37,500 people.
It was originally built as an athletics stadium, but also hosted ...
in 1997 alongside the
Spice Girls,
Billy Ocean
Leslie Sebastian Charles, (born 21 January 1950), better known by his stage name Billy Ocean, is a British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British R&B singer-son ...
and
Omar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
.
Henry studied at the
Roehampton University of Surrey, now known as
University of Roehampton
The University of Roehampton, London, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. Roehampton was formerly an e ...
, obtaining a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Drama and Sociology before continuing his theatrical training at the
Urdang Academy
Urdang, previously known as The Urdang Academy, is a performing arts academy based in Islington, London. Founded as a ballet school by Leonie Urdang in 1970 and had been under the direction of CEO Solange Urdang from 2001 until August 2022, the ...
in London's
Covent Garden.
Henry answered an open call to audition as understudy for
Simba
Simba is a fictional character and the protagonist of Disney's ''The Lion King'' franchise. Introduced in the 1994 film ''The Lion King'', Walt Disney Animation's 32nd animated feature, the character subsequently appears in '' The Lion King II: ...
in ''The Lion King'' while he was in his second year at
Urdang Academy
Urdang, previously known as The Urdang Academy, is a performing arts academy based in Islington, London. Founded as a ballet school by Leonie Urdang in 1970 and had been under the direction of CEO Solange Urdang from 2001 until August 2022, the ...
in London. As a student, he was not supposed to audition for professional roles, but skipped his classes. When he returned, the principal summoned Henry to his office and asked where he had been. He said he was ill and the principal told him that the casting director of ''The Lion King'' called and said he had the part.
His early
West End credits include ''
Saturday Night Fever'' and ''
Avenue Q''.
In 2013, Henry competed in series two of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. He reached the grand final and ultimately finished in fourth place. His performance of
following the airing of Henry's performance.
In 2015, he released his debut solo album ''Red Flare'', which was recorded live at the studio owned by
. He promoted the album with a UK tour supporting pop icon
.
In December 2017, he received an MBE in the New Years Honours list for his contribution to theatre.