Jonathan Le Billon
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Jonathan Keith Le Billon (born 20 September 1980) is a British born
actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
known for working in
feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...
s,
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
shows and performing with classical
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
companies.


Background

Jonathan Le Billon was born to Keith and Janet Le Billon, at
Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...
,
West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...
. His paternal grandfather moved to the British mainland from the
Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. At age 4, Le Billon began attending Nora Bray's School of Dance. At age 9 he began attending the Audrey Spencer Theatre School of Dance & Drama (1989-1996). He began his professional acting career at age 13. Le Billon graduated from
Greenhead College Greenhead College is a sixth form college, and former grammar school, located in Huddersfield, in the county of West Yorkshire, England. The current principal is Mo Bunter. With over 2,700 students, it is a large sixth form college, attracting ...
in Huddersfield, although he was nearly dismissed in his first year because of the demands on his time that his acting activities consumed. He also attended the
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS) is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS was an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance a ...
2004–2007.


Early career

Le Billon's first television appearance was in 1997, in a guest role on the ITV series '' Heartbeat''. This was followed by guest roles in: ''
City Central Retail & Leisure BID is a business improvement district (BID) that represents over 650 businesses in the retail and leisure heart of Liverpool, Liverpool's city centre, covering a total area of 49 acres and including 61 streets, such as Bold S ...
'' (
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 ...
) and ''
Cold Feet ''Cold Feet'' is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premieres, Comedy ...
'' (
Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
). His first leading role was in the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
season of '' How We Used to Live'' playing the role of Tom Byngham, after which he returned to college to graduate. Following on from this, Le Billon took leading roles in 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 ...
show ''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...
'', and the
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...
nominated series ''
At Home with the Braithwaites ''At Home with the Braithwaites'' is a British comedy-drama television series, was created and written by Sally Wainwright (except for the final four episodes). The storyline follows a suburban family in Leeds, whose life is turned upside down ...
'', and between the two, shot over 100 episodes of series television from 1998 through 2001. He also toured for a year with the
Northern Broadsides Northern Broadsides is a theatre company formed in 1992 and based at Dean Clough Mill in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded by Barrie Rutter, who was its artistic director until resigning in 2018, followed by Conrad Nelson who was ...
theatre company Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
before gaining a coveted place on the 3 yr
B.A. 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 ...
course at the
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS) is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS was an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance a ...
. At drama school Le Billon played several roles, including 'Jaques' in the school's international tour of ''
As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...
''. He graduated with a B.A. in July 2007, and after graduation, worked for the
Northcott Theatre The Northcott Theatre is a theatre situated on the Streatham Campus of the University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, England. It opened in 1967 and was run until 2010 by the Northcott Theatre Foundation, when the company ceased operating after a pe ...
,
Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
, on their National tour of ''
Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
'' (2008), receiving a notable mention for his performance in the role of 'Catesby'. He was then used as 'Robert Juet' in the New York run of the play '' River of Tides'' (2009).


Early work in the U.S.

In 2010, Le Billon took roles in two film projects: '' Casting Shadows'' (2011), an adaptation of a
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
n
folk tale Oral literature, orature, or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used va ...
, and the feature film '' Bright in the Dark'' (2011). He was also cast for the title role in the Lewis Family Playhouse’s production of ''
The Gingerbread Man "The Gingerbread Man" (also known as "The Gingerbread Boy") is a fairy tale about a gingerbread man's misadventures while fleeing from various people that culminates in the titular character being eaten by a fox. "The Gingerbread Boy" first appe ...
''. A significant boost to his profile came with a role opposite Oscar-nominated actor
Robert Loggia Salvatore "Robert" Loggia ( , ; January 3, 1930 – December 4, 2015) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Jagged Edge'' (1985) and won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for ...
in the feature film ''The Apostle Peter'' (2012), as well as several international commercial campaigns, including as spokesperson for Corning Glassware. Le Billon also continued with theatrical works, appearing in stage productions of: ''
Amadeus Amadeus may refer to: People and fictional characters * Amadeus (name) Amadeus is a theophoric name, theophoric given name derived from the Latin words ' – the Imperative mood, imperative of the word ' ("to love") – and ' ("god"). As a Compou ...
'', ''
The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia (wor ...
'' and as 'The Engineer' in ''
Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a sung-through musical theatre, stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madama Butterfly'', and similarly tells th ...
'' (all for the San Bernardino Playhouse). Physical theatre projects included the technically challenging roles of ''
Vaslav Nijinsky Vaslav or Vatslav Nijinsky (12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer of Polish ancestry. He is regarded as the greatest male dancer of the early 20th century. Nijinsky was celebrated for his virtuosity and f ...
'' in
Eleanor Antin Eleanor Antin (née Fineman; February 27, 1935) is an American performance artist, film-maker, installation artist, conceptual artist, feminist artist, and university professor. Early life and education Eleanor Fineman was born in the Bronx o ...
's ''Before the Revolution'' ( Billy Wilder Theatre), and 'The Creature' in Theatrical Arts International's production of Nick Dear's ''Frankenstein'' (2014). Le Billon continued working for the San Bernardino Playhouse until 2016


Return to the UK. Producing and work as Sherlock Holmes

Le Billon returned to the UK in 2017 after working in Venice, Italy. Following further year contracts in Windsor and London, Le Billon moved to London and set up 'Wednesday Night Playreaders', a group dedicated to reading the complete works of Shakespeare. This group (and Le Billon as producer) were used as the basis for a production of 'Venus & Adonis' with 'The Society for Theatre Research' and served as the inspiration for the lockdown online play-reading company 'The Show Must Go Online'. It additionally re-connected Le Billon to Tron writer and Sherlock Holmes author Bonnie MacBird, with whom Le Billon had worked in Los Angeles. The two worked together numerous times on Sherlock Holmes projects (Le Billon as Holmes, MacBird as producer/director) in tandem with the releases of MacBird's books. In 2021 Le Billon played Sherlock Holmes in an online production of 'The Blue Carbuncle' for 'The Sherlock Holmes Society of London', produced by Bonnie MacBird.


Filmography


Television

* '' How We Used to Live'' (1 episode, 1996) as Tom Byngham * '' Heartbeat'' (1 episode, 1998) as Rickie * ''
City Central Retail & Leisure BID is a business improvement district (BID) that represents over 650 businesses in the retail and leisure heart of Liverpool, Liverpool's city centre, covering a total area of 49 acres and including 61 streets, such as Bold S ...
'' (1 episode, 1999) as Kyle Hooper * ''
Cold Feet ''Cold Feet'' is a British comedy-drama television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV (TV network), ITV network. The series was created and principally written by Mike Bullen as a follow-up to his 1997 Comedy Premieres, Comedy ...
'' (2 episodes, 2000) as Student Three * ''
At Home with the Braithwaites ''At Home with the Braithwaites'' is a British comedy-drama television series, was created and written by Sally Wainwright (except for the final four episodes). The storyline follows a suburban family in Leeds, whose life is turned upside down ...
'' (14 episodes, 2000–2001) as Kieran * ''
Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...
'' (109 episodes, 2001–2003) as Brian Drake


Film


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Billon, Jonathan 1980 births Living people Male actors from Huddersfield English male television actors English male stage actors English male film actors