Omari Akil Newton is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

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. ...

. He is best known for playing the roles of Larry Summers in ''

Blue Mountain State ''Blue Mountain State'' is an American television sitcom that premiered on Spike (now Paramount Network) on January 11, 2010. The series was created by Chris Romano and Eric Falconer, and produced by Lionsgate Television. The series is about a ...

'' and Lucas Ingram in '' Continuum''. Newton is the co-founder of Boldskool Productions.

Early life

Newton grew up in Montreal. His parents were immigrants from

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

. In the 1990s, he went to Beaconsfield High School along with his sister. At school Newton was the co-captain of the basketball team and starter for the local football team, but also went to the drama clubs. To become a professional actor Newton took drama courses at

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

, where he did his BA in communication studies. He also went to the National Theatre School of Canada.

Career

When Newton was 19 years old, he was hired by Black Theatre Workshop and got a lead role in one of their productions. He worked in the Montreal theatre scene for several years until he moved to Vancouver. During his early days in Vancouver Newton did a lot of theatre. He appeared in

Romeo & Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

with Mad Duck Theatre Collective and

The Oresteia The ''Oresteia'' () is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BC, concerning the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, the murder of Clytemnestra by Orestes, the trial of Orestes, the end of the curse on the House of ...

at Christ Church Cathedral. In 2001 Newton auditioned for the role of Dalton Nemers in the teenage vampire series '' Vampire High''. He was directly booked after his first read for the role. He later mentioned that he really enjoyed the time at the set. He also liked that his character was pivotal in the story of one of the lead Vampires. During these days it was the first role on a TV series and his biggest role on film or TV. Before that he only had a few one liners in some TV movies. From 2010 to 2011 Newton played Larry Summers in ''

''. The college comedy series is about a fictional university and its football team. Larry was Newtons first regular role on a television series. From 2012 to 2015 Newton starred as Lucas Ingram in '' Continuum''. In 2014,

Diane Roberts Diane Roberts is an American author, columnist, essayist, radio commentator, reviewer and professor. She is the author of three books and a documentary-maker for the BBC. Early life, family and education An eighth-generation Floridian whose fa ...

directed Newton's play ''Sal Capone: The Lamentable Tragedy Of'' with Urban Ink Productions. Newton and Roberts' collaboration led to the formation of Boldskool Productions, a hip hop theatre company. In 2018, Boldskool re-staged ''Sal Capone: The Lamentable Tragedy Of'' with Holding Space and the NAC English Theatre''.'' Newton began writing ''Sal Capone'' in 2008 after the police shooting of unarmed Fredy Villanueva. Newton has been commissioned by Black Theatre Workshop to write ''Black & Blue Matters'', a companion piece to ''Sal Capone''.

Personal life

Newton has a twin sister named Akilah Newton.

Plays

* ''Sal Capone: The Lamentable Tragedy Of''

Filmography

TV shows

Film

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Omari Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian male film actors Canadian male television actors Canadian male voice actors Canadian male stage actors Black Canadian male actors Male actors from Montreal 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Anglophone Quebec people Black Canadian dramatists and playwrights