Callum Scott Howells (born 29 April 1999) is a Welsh actor and singer. He is best known for portraying Colin Morris-Jones on the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

drama ''

It's a Sin "It's a Sin" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys from their second studio album, '' Actually'' (1987). Written by Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant, the song was released on 15 June 1987 as the album's lead single. It became the duo's ...

'' (2021).

Early life and education

Howells was born in

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

to parents Alison and Keith and grew up nearby in

Tonyrefail Tonyrefail () is a village and community in the Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough, Wales. It is situated at the head of the River Ely; northwest of Llantrisant, about from Trebanog and about from Williamstown. During the second half of the ...

and

Porth Porth () is a town and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. Lying in the Rhondda Valley, it is regarded as the gateway connecting the Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach va ...

. His grandfather, Bryn Howells, was a life member of the

Treorchy Male Choir Treorchy Male Choir, also known as Treorchy Male Voice Choir, is a choir based in Treorchy in the Rhondda Valley, Wales, United Kingdom. History Choirs have existed in the Rhondda Valley for more than a 150 years and Treorchy is one of the best ...

. Callum attended Treorchy Comprehensive School, where he was Head Boy. He took classes with Rhondda Stage School, Superstars in the Making in

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

, and was a member of the

National Youth Music Theatre The National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT) is an arts organisation in the United Kingdom providing pre-professional education and musical theatre stage experience for young people. Based in London, it is constituted as a private limited company (or ...

. He was scouted by an agent when he was 16 and went on to train at the

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama () is a conservatoire located in Cardiff, Wales. It has three theatres: the Richard Burton Theatre, the Bute Theatre, and the Caird Studio. It also includes one concert hall, the Dora Stoutzker Hall, and ...

, graduating in 2020.

Career

Early work (2011–2019)

Howells made his debut in a regional production of ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre, southwest London in 1960 before opening in the W ...

'' He was a founding member of the boys' choir

Only Boys Aloud Only Boys Aloud is a Wales-based boys' choir founded by choral director Tim Rhys-Evans. Only Boys Aloud finished third in the ''Britain's Got Talent'' competition in May 2012 and released their debut album in November 2012. History Only Boys ...

, performing with them on series 6 of ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

'' in 2012 and later for

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. As the younger son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales, he is fifth in the line of succession to ...

and Meghan in 2018. He has since become a youth ambassador. He appeared in series 2 of the

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

reality documentary series '' Show Me What You're Made Of''. He was 13 at the time. He later returned as a guest presenter. He worked as a Royal Correspondent on the CBBC series ''

Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC ...

''. Howells won the 2013 ''Star of the Stage'' talent show. In 2014 he played Godfrey in

Matthew Bourne Sir Matthew Christopher Bourne (born 13 January 1960) is a British choreographer. His productions contain many classic cinema and popular culture references and draw thematic inspiration from musicals, film noir and popular culture. Popular ...

's New Adventures production of ''Lord of the Flies'' at the

Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre () is Wales' national arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on ...

. He performed with

in 2015, Pendyrus Male Choir in 2017, and Dunvant Male Choir in 2018. When he was 17 Howells auditioned for the singing competition '' Let It Shine'' with the song "

You'll Be Back "You'll Be Back" is the seventh song from Act 1 of the musical ''Hamilton'', based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, which premiered on Broadway in 2015. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote both the music and lyrics to the song. It is sung by Jonathan Gr ...

" from ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

''. He was part of Group 4 and made it to the final 25. However, he pulled out to make time to play Arpad Laszlo in the West End production of ''

She Loves Me ''She Loves Me'' is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play '' Parfumerie'' by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, following the 1940 f ...

'' at

Menier Chocolate Factory The Menier Chocolate Factory is a 180-seat Off-West End theatre, which comprises a bar and theatre offices. It is located at the rear of a former 1870s Menier Chocolate, Menier Chocolate Company factory at 53 Southwark Street, a major street i ...

. In May 2016 he played the lead role in ''Blackout'', a production in the nationwide "Connections" programme of the National Theatre. The first public review of his acting was headed "Actor to Watch" and read "Callum Scott Howells delivers a performance of ferocious impact." In March 2019 he appeared at the Other Room Theatre in Cardiff in ''CRAVE'' by

Sarah Kane Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological ...

Breakthrough (2021–present)

In October 2019 it was announced Howells would star in

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 ...

' miniseries ''

'' as Colin Morris-Jones. The character is loosely based on a real-life past boyfriend of Davies. The series premiered in January 2021 on

and February on

HBO Max Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

. For his performance, Howells was nominated for the

British Academy Television Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1 ...

for Best Supporting Actor. From 3 October 2022, Howells played The Emcee in the West End production of ''Cabaret'' at the Kit Kat Club at the

Playhouse Theatre The Playhouse Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, located in Northumberland Avenue, near Trafalgar Square, central London. The Theatre was built by F. H. Fowler and Hill with a seating capacity of 1,200. It was rebuilt in ...

. On New Year's Eve 2022 he appeared in a vignette from the show on BBC 1's ''

The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton ...

''. Howells had been cast to play in Gary Owen's play ''Romeo and Julie'' for the

Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

in 2020. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, however, the co-production with 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 ...

was postponed and instead opened at the

Dorfman Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

in February 2023. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' described Howell in the Romeo role as: "an entertaining, unsentimental, smartly judged performance." In May 2023 it was announced that Howells had been cast as the

Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English pop band that formed in Liverpool in 1980. They comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Mark O'Toole (bass), Brian Nash (guitar) and Peter Gill (drums). Johnson and Ruther ...

singer

Holly Johnson William "Holly" Johnson (born 9 February 1960) is an English singer, songwriter and artist, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he ...

in a biographical film ''Relax'', and in

Michael Sheen Michael Christopher Sheen (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage roles in ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1992), ''Don't Fool wi ...

's series '' The Way'' for

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 ...

. In May 2024, it was announced that he had been cast in the lead role in ''

Madfabulous ''Madfabulous'' is an upcoming historical drama film about Henry, 5th Marquess of Anglesey, directed by Celyn Jones and starring Rupert Everett, Ruby Stokes and Callum Scott Howells. Premise Set in the late 19th century, the 5th Marquess o ...

'', a biopic movie based on the life of the flamboyant British aristocrat

Henry Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainment ...

Personal life

Howells identifies as

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

. In 2021, he voiced his support for

Welsh independence Welsh independence () is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward I of England following the killing of Llywelyn the ...

, but in 2023 clarified his position, saying "I'm more in the curious category than being absolutely for it." He was critical of the Westminster government and its relationship with Wales, but acknowledged that independence was "really far away from happening".

Filmography

Stage

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howells, Callum Scott 1999 births 21st-century Welsh LGBTQ people 21st-century Welsh male actors Alumni of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama British queer actors Choristers Living people People educated at Treorchy Comprehensive School Actors from Pontypridd People from Porth People from Tonyrefail Queer men Welsh child singers Welsh LGBTQ actors Welsh LGBTQ singers Welsh male child actors Welsh male musical theatre actors Welsh male stage actors Welsh television personalities Male actors from Rhondda Cynon Taf