Peter Cousens (born 2 November 1955) is an Australian actor and singer born in

Tamworth, New South Wales Tamworth is a city and administrative centre of the north-eastern region of New South Wales, Australia. Situated on the Peel River (New South Wales), Peel River within the local government area of the Tamworth Regional Council, it is the largest ...

. He is the artistic director of the Talent Development Project. He attended

The Armidale School The Armidale School (abbreviated as TAS) is an independent Anglican co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school, located in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Administration of the schools is formalised as a ...

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 23,967 as of the 2021 census. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands reg ...

from 1969 to 1973 Cousens was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the Queens Birthday Honours in June 2019 for services to the performing arts and the community.

Career

Cousens is currently the artistic director of the Talent Development Project. He has worked in television, both as an actor and presenter. In the 1980s he guest starred in a number of major Australian television productions, including ''

The Timeless Land ''The Timeless Land'' (1941) is a work of historical fiction by Eleanor Dark (1901–1985). The novel ''The Timeless Land'' is the first of ''The Timeless Land'' trilogy of novels about European settlement and exploration of Australia. Story ...

'', ''Earth Watch'', ''

The Sullivans ''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-clas ...

'', ''

The Young Doctors ''The Young Doctors'' is an Australian early-evening soap opera originally broadcast on the Nine Network and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, it aired from Monday 8 November 1976 until Wednesday 30 March 1983. The series is primarily s ...

'', '' Sons and Daughters'' and ''

The Restless Years ''The Restless Years'' is an Australian soap opera which followed the lives of several Sydney school-leavers and the drama and relationships faced by young adults. It was created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for N ...

''. He then went on to take leading roles in ''

Under Capricorn ''Under Capricorn'' is a 1949 British historical drama film directed by Alfred Hitchcock about a couple in Australia who started out as lady and stable boy in Ireland, and who are now bound together by a horrible secret. The film is based on t ...

'' and '' Return to Eden''. Cousens is also known for his work in

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

. Major roles include

The Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The char ...

in London's West End production of ''

The Phantom of the Opera The Phantom of the Opera may refer to: Novel * The Phantom of the Opera (novel), ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (novel), 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux Characters * Erik (The Phantom of the Opera), Erik (''The Phantom of the Opera''), the title char ...

''; he also portrayed Marius in ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'', Alex in ''

Aspects of Love ''Aspects of Love'' is a musical with music and book by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart. It is based on the 1955 novel by David Garnett. The piece focuses on the romantic entanglements of actress Rose Vibert, ...

'', Tony in ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

'', Bobby in ''

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

,'' Nanki Poo in ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'', Anthony Hope in '' Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'', and Chris 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 ...

'' in the Australian productions. Cousens appeared in the 2015 television

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

'' The Divorce''. He has received a number of Variety Club of Australia awards for his work. Cousens has been featured on a number of cast albums, including as Chris on the International Symphonic Recording of ''Miss Saigon,'' and as Charles Makin on the original cast album for Australian musical '' The Hatpin''. In September 2006 he launched Kookaburra: The National Musical Theatre Company, a non-profit theatre company based in Australia, dedicated to musical theatre. The company closed in 2009. In 2012–13, Cousens produced and directed ''

Freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...

'', starring

Cuba Gooding Jr Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. His accolades include an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award. Gooding's breakthrough was in the film ''Boyz n the Hood ...

, William Sadler and

Sharon Leal Sharon Ann Leal is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles in movies such as ''Dreamgirls'' (2006), '' This Christmas'' (2007), '' Why Did I Get Married?'' (2007), '' Why Did I Get Married Too?'' (2010) and her roles on the tel ...

Discography

Charting albums

References

External links

* *
Kookaburra Musical Theatre website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousens, Peter Australian male stage actors Australian male television actors Australian male musical theatre actors People educated at Gordonstoun National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni Living people 1955 births People from Tamworth, New South Wales People educated at The Armidale School