Cornelius Macarthy is a British actor and singer.

Early life

Macarthy was born in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

. His mother was an executive secretary, his father an economist and

Sierra Leone Creole The Sierra Leone Creole people () are an ethnic group of Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Creole people are lineal descendant, descendants of freed African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Sierra Leone Liberated African, Liberated African slaves who ...

. At age 5, his mother decided to move back to

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

, where he spent the next 14 years living between the fruit farm of his great, great uncle, Sir Henry Josiah Lightfoot Boston, the first indigenously elected Governor-General of Sierra Leone and with his mother's family in The Gambia and Zimbabwe.

Career

He returned to London and at 21, started his professional career singing with the

London Community Gospel Choir The London Community Gospel Choir is Britain's first renowned contemporary "performance touring, inspirational gospel choir band", fusing gospel with multi-genres of music, including pop, soul, jazz, R&B, and classical. It was founded in 198 ...

, eventually becoming one of their lead vocalists. Numerous tours round the world with the group and their work with many of the world's biggest recording artists led to opportunities for Macarthy to carve a career as a session singer, providing studio/live backing vocals for artists and groups such as Blur,

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

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Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

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Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

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, R. Kelly,

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but did not limit herself to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

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and

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. In 1999, he took a break from singing to enroll at the

Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, formerly Mountview Theatre School, is a drama school in Peckham, south London, England, founded in 1945. Mountview Academy provides specialist vocational training in acting, musical theatre and actor musicians ...

, graduating 3 years later with a

BA (Hons) A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in Acting. The school found out about his singing background after he'd completed his first year of study and tried to pressure him to transfer to their Musical Theatre course, but Macarthy refused. After graduating, he briefly returned to session singing, but soon decided to focus his efforts on acting instead. His first movie appearance was in

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Tra ...

's 2004 feature Millions, in which he played the Ugandan martyr Gonzaga, followed by appearances in

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and the

Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include the '' Alex Rider'' series featuring a 14-year-old British boy who spi ...

mini-series

Collision In physics, a collision is any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. Although the most common use of the word ''collision'' refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide with great for ...

; he also played the male lead in the supernatural thriller Patient 17, which went on to win the

London Independent Film Festival The London Independent Film Festival is a British film festival that takes place annually in April. It was founded by Erich Schultz and specialises in low-budget independent films. It offers a screenplay competition and distribution fair. Hist ...

award for Best Sci-Fi/Horror Feature in 2012. Cornelius has also worked extensively on the stage, appearing in a wide variety of productions both in the UK and internationally, including the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ...

(''

One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest may refer to: * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Ken Kesey * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (play), a 1963 stage adaptation of the novel starring Kirk Douglas * ''One Flew Over the ...

'' with

Christian Slater Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor. He made his film debut with a leading role in '' The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakout role as Jason "J.D." Dean, a sociopath ...

and

Alex Kingston Alexandra Elizabeth Kingston (born 11 March 1963) is an English actress. Active from the early 1980s, Kingston became noted for her television work in both Britain and the US in the 1990s, including her regular role as Elizabeth Corday, Dr. Eliz ...

), 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, ...

(Welcome to Thebes, with

David Harewood David Michael Harewood (born 8 December 1965) is a British actor, presenter and the current president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He is best known for his roles as CIA Counterterrorism Director David Estes in ''Homeland'' (2011–2012 ...

and

Nikki Amuka-Bird Nikki Amuka-Bird (born 27 February 1976) is a British actress of the stage, television, and film. Early life Amuka-Bird was born in Delta State, Nigeria, where her father still lives. She left there as a young child with her mother and was bro ...

Chichester Festival Theatre Chichester Festival Theatre is a theatre and Grade II* listed building situated in Oaklands Park in the city of Chichester, West Sussex, England. Designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, it was opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Mart ...

('' Antony & Cleopatra'' with

Kim Cattrall Kim Victoria Cattrall (; born 21 August 1956) is a British, Canadian, and American actress. She is known for her portrayal of Samantha Jones on HBO's ''Sex and the City'' (1998–2004), for which she received five Primetime Emmy Award nominati ...

), the

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(''

Our Country's Good ''Our Country's Good'' is a 1988 play written by British playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker, adapted from the Thomas Keneally novel '' The Playmaker''. The story concerns a group of Royal Marines and convicts in a penal colony in New South Wales ...

'', with

Out of Joint Theatre Company Out of Joint is a British and international touring theatre company based in London. It specializes in the commissioning and production of new writing, interspersed with occasional revivals and classic productions. It was founded in 1993 by direct ...

East West Theatre Company East West Theatre Company (Bosnian: East West Centar) was established in 2005 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a nonprofit cultural institution which produces performing arts programs, publications, films, and music events. It also organ ...

in Sarajevo and

Belarus Free Theatre The Belarus Free Theatre ( Belarusian: Свабодны тэатр, ''Svabodny teatr'') is a Belarusian underground theatre group. Following the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests, the BFT no longer has any presence in Belarus, with the remaining m ...

. In August 2022,

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

announced Macarthy would be joining Peacock’s new TV adaptation of

Vampire Academy ''Vampire Academy'' is a series of six young adult fiction, young adult paranormal romance novels by American author Richelle Mead. It tells the story of Rosemarie "Rose" Hathaway, a dhampir girl, who is training to be a guardian of her moroi be ...

Julie Plec Julie Plec (born May 26, 1972) is an American television producer, writer and director, known for her work on The CW television series ''The Vampire Diaries'' (2009–2017) which she co-created with Kevin Williamson, and its spin-offs '' The Or ...

and Marguerite McIntyre as a recurring guest star.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macarthy, Cornelius Living people British male actors Male actors from London Year of birth missing (living people) People from Croydon Sierra Leonean male actors Sierra Leone Creole people Sierra Leonean people of Caribbean descent Singers from the London Borough of Croydon Blur (band) members