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

Michael Harper Michael or Mike Harper may refer to: * C. Michael Harper (1927–2016), American businessman * Michael Harper (priest) (1931–2010), English charismatic Anglican, later an Orthodox priest * Michael S. Harper (1938–2016), African-American poet * ...

in the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

situation comedy series ''

My Family ''My Family'' is a British sitcom created and initially co-written by Fred Barron, which was produced by DLT Entertainment and Rude Boy Productions, and broadcast by BBC One for eleven series between 2000 and 2011, with Christmas specials broadc ...

''.

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 also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. 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 ''Vanessa cardui'' is the most widespread of all butterfly species. It is commonly called the painted lady, or formerly in North America the cosmopolitan. Description File:Vanessa cardui MHNT CUT 2013 3 14 Pontfaverger-Moronvilliers Dos. ...

''. 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 English author Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. The novel is a bildungsroman and depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens' second novel, after ''Dav ...

''. 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 he had replaced

Jonathan Taylor Thomas Jonathan Taylor Thomas (; born September 8, 1981) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Randy Taylor on ''Home Improvement'' and voicing young Simba in Disney's 1994 animated feature film ''The Lion King'' and Pinocchio ...

' live-action and voice role 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 poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

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

in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

'', starring alongside Robert Lindsay,

Zoë Wanamaker Zoë Wanamaker (born 13 May 1949) is an American-born British actress who has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Wanamaker was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2001 by Qu ...

Daniela Denby-Ashe Daniela Jolanta Denby-Ashe (born 9 August 1978) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Sarah Hills on the soap opera ''EastEnders'', Margaret Hale on the period drama '' North and South'', and Janey Harper on the BBC sitcom ''My ...

and

Kris Marshall Kristopher Marshall (born 1 April 1973) is an English actor. He has played Nick Harper in ''My Family'', Colin Frissell in the 2003 film ''Love Actually'', Gratiano in ''The Merchant of Venice'', and ''Murder City'' (2006–2008), and Dave in ...

. He is the only one out of the Harper children to have appeared in every series as

left the series in 2002, later returning in 2004 and

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 began his career in theatre before landing small roles in various British television productions and feature films. Law gained international recognition for his role in An ...

Rachel Weisz Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970) is an English actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Rachel Weisz, several awards, including an Academy Award, ...

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 Awa ...

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 (author), William Craig's 1973 nonfiction book ''Enemy ...

'' as Soviet spy

Sasha Filippov Sasha Filippov (; 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 1925 in Stalingrad (modern-day Volgograd), Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. At the time of the Bat ...

. He was at one time rumoured to play

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

in the series of films based on the popular books by

J.K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( ; born 31 July 1965), known by her pen name , is a British author and philanthropist. She is the author of ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume fantasy novel series published from 1997 to 2007. The series has sold over 600&nb ...

; however, just days later

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

announced that the part was to be portrayed by

Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. Radcliffe rose to fame at age twelve for portraying the title character in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He starred in all eight films in the series, from '' Harry Potter a ...

. Thomson portrayed

Lysander Lysander (; ; 454 BC – 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an end. He then played ...

in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' and Claudio in ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'' 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 ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and the

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

. He also starred in the British film ''

13Hrs ''13Hrs'', also known as ''Night Wolf'', is a 2010 British horror film directed by Jonathan Glendening. The film stars Isabella Calthorpe, Gemma Atkinson, John Lynch, Josh Bowman, Antony De Liseo and Tom Felton. Plot After spending a few yea ...

''. In 2010, Thomson 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. Thomson 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 Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

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 newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'' 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. In 2020, he returned to acting, starring in the film, ''A Little More Flesh''.

Personal life

Thomson attended Elliott School in

Putney Putney () is an affluent district in southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ...

Filmography

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