Layton Williams (born 13 September 1994) is an English actor. He won the 2025 Laurence Olivier for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his performance in ''

Titanique ''Titanique'' (sometimes stylized as ''Titaníque'') is a jukebox musical featuring music of Celine Dion, with a book by Tye Blue, Marla Mindelle, and Constantine Rousouli. The musical is a parody of the 1997 film ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic' ...

''. Williams began his career as a child actor on the West End, starring as the titular role of ''

Billy Elliot the Musical ''Billy Elliot: The Musical'' is a Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age stage musical based on the Billy Elliot, 2000 film of the same name. The music is by Elton John, and the book and lyrics are by Lee Hall (playwright), Lee Hall, who wrote th ...

'' and Young Michael Jackson in '' Thriller – Live''. As an adult, he went on tour with ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'' and ''

Everybody's Talking About Jamie ''Everybody's Talking About Jamie'' is a Musical theatre, stage musical centred around a coming-of-age story, with score by Dan Gillespie Sells and book and lyrics by Tom MacRae. The musical is inspired by the 2011 British television documentar ...

''. On television, Williams is known for his roles in the BBC series '' Beautiful People'' (2008–2009) and '' Bad Education'' (2012–2014, 2022–2024). He featured in 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 ...

documentary series ''School for Stars'', which documented life at the acting school Italia Conti.

Early life, acting background and education

Williams was born in Bury, Greater Manchester, to a white mother and a father of Jamaican descent. He grew up on the Dicky Bird Estate. His paternal grandparents are from Jamaica and his father was born in the UK. He has several siblings and half-siblings. Williams went to London at age 11 to pursue an acting career. After several months of training at the Billy Elliot Academy in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, Williams debuted in ''

'' on 26 February 2007 in

London's West End The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, England, in the London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which ma ...

. His training was documented on ''

The Paul O'Grady Show ''The Paul O'Grady Show'' was a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Paul O'Grady, first shown on 11 October 2004. The programme was a teatime chat show consisting of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts, musical performances ...

'' in which he appeared in on 25 May 2007 and then in several morning TV shows, TV interviews, and short clips related to the musical. He is the second person of colour, the other being Matthew Koon, and the first mixed heritage performer to star in the show. He gave his final performance in the musical on 29 November 2008 while still being the second-longest running performer as 'Billy' in the show's history. On 31 January 2009, two months after his final performance, Layton appeared on the programme ''Feelgood Factor'' on ITV, where he and two other 'Billy' actors, Tanner Pflueger and

Tom Holland Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award, he featured on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list of 2019. Some publications have called him one of the most ...

, performed a specially choreographed version of Angry Dance from ''Billy Elliot the Musical''. Williams took street dance and drama lessons at Carol Godby's Theatre workshop in Bury and ballet lessons at Centre Pointe,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. Williams was awarded a scholarship to

Sylvia Young Theatre School Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent school in Marble Arch, London, England. It is a specialist performing arts school named after its founder and principal, Sylvia Young OBE. Outline The Sylvia Young Theatre School was founded in 19 ...

in Marylebone, London and stayed there until 2008. He attended Broad Oak High School in his home town Bury and then the

Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, also known simply as Italia Conti, is a drama school based in Woking, Woking, England. It was founded by the English actress Italia Conti in 1911. Italia Conti offers courses in acting, musical theatre, ...

in London. During his time at Italia Conti, Williams featured in a children's documentary ''School for Stars'' which was broadcast on the children's television channel CBBC.

Career

He was offered the part as Young Michael Jackson in the West End musical '' Thriller – Live'' where he did a few performances before he outgrew the role. Williams became well known to a TV audience as the character Kylie – acting, dancing and singing in the 2008 to 2009

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

comedy ''Beautiful People'', series 1 and 2. From 2012 to 2014, he played Stephen Carmichael in the BBC comedy '' Bad Education'' and also appeared in the 2015 spinoff film. Williams returned to the show for the 2022 reunion special and became the co-lead of the show's fourth series alongside Charlie Wernham. Williams went on tour with

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 show '' The Car Man''. Following that he performed the part of Duane in '' Hairspray the Musical'' 2015–2016 tour. He announced that he would also be in the new 20th anniversary cast of ''

'' which toured the UK from October 2016. Layton landed the lead role in the hit musical ''

'' in the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

in London's West End, where he would play the role of Jamie for 11 months. In August 2019, it was announced Williams would be joining the tour cast of the musical, which was postponed due to the

coronavirus 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 ...

, but later resumed in 2021. The production also made its US premiere at the

Ahmanson Theatre The Ahmanson Theatre is one of the four main venues that compose the Los Angeles Music Center. Shows at this theater are produced by Center Theatre Group. History The theatre was built as a result of a donation from Howard F. Ahmanson Sr, the ...

in Los Angeles in January 2022 where Williams played also Jamie. In August 2023, Williams was announced as a contestant on the twenty-first series of ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

''. He was partnered with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin. They achieved not only their first perfect 40 score, but the first of the whole series in Musicals week, which they followed up with another one in the semi-finals, as well as two in the final. They finished as joint runners-up, alongside

Bobby Brazier Bobby Jack Brazier (born 2 June 2003) is an English actor and model. Present in the public eye from birth due to the popularity of his mother, Jade Goody, he was frequently featured in the media throughout the formative years of his life until ...

and Dianne Buswell, losing to winners

Ellie Leach Ellie Louise Leach (born 15 March 2001) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Faye Windass on the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' between 2011 and 2023. Following her exit from the soap, she won the twenty-first series ...

and Vito Coppola. From 3 June to 21 September 2024, Williams played the Emcee in ''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 ...

opposite

Rhea Norwood Rhea Margaret Norwood is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Imogen Heaney in the Netflix teen series '' Heartstopper'' (2022–present). She also appeared in the Channel 4 drama ''Consent'' (2023) and the Amazon Prime comedy ' ...

as Sally Bowles. Williams then originated the role of Iceberg in the West End premiere of

at the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began developmen ...

in December 2024, which earned him a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical for his performance.

Other ventures

Williams is a strong supporter of the charities Stonewall and Ditch the Label.

Personal life

Williams is gay and has spoken about coming to terms with his sexuality while working on ''Billy Elliot'' in London. While on

Who Do You Think You Are Who Do You Think You Are may refer to: Television series * ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (British TV series), a genealogy documentary with many adaptations: ** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' (American TV series) ** ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' ...

in May 2025, he found that his great-great-grandfather, Lance Corporal William Downing, served in the

Army Remount Service The Army Remount Service was the body responsible for the purchase and training of horses and mules as remounts for the British Army between 1887 and 1942. Origins Prior to 1887, the purchase of horses was the responsibility of individual reg ...

in WW1 and WW2 and was part of the BEF during the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

. After returning to the UK, William Downing ended up in Bury working at a

PoW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, an ...

there, which is how William's family came to Bury. Williams also found out that his five-times great-grandfather Edward Downing was in financial trouble and was even sent to the Queen's Bench Prison. Williams also discovered on his paternal side, that his three-times great-grandfather, Alexander Denton, was born in 1825 in Jamaica as a slave. He had a twin sister called Peggy. They would have been about nine years old when slavery was abolished in 1834. Williams also discovered that his four-times great-grandmother, Jessy Denton, came to

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

sometime before 1807 on one of the

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting Slavery, slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea ( ...

s from Africa.

Acting credits

Film and television

Theatre

Workshops

Awards

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Layton 1994 births Alumni of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School English gay actors English gay musicians English LGBTQ singers English male child actors English male musical theatre actors English male stage actors English male television actors English people of Jamaican descent English people of Montserratian descent Gay singers Laurence Olivier Award winners Living people Male actors from Bury, Greater Manchester