Rupert Joel Degas (born 17 August 1970) is an Anglo-Australian actor. He is best known for his voice work in animation and audiobooks. Since the 1980s, he has worked in audiobooks, film, podcasts, radio productions, television, theatre, and video games, and as a producer.

Early life and education

Degas was born on 17 August 1970 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, to producer and screenwriter

Brian Degas Brian R. Degas (2 October 1935 – 3 April 2020) was an English producer and writer, merchandiser, and creative packager of ancillary rights. Early career Degas was born to English parents on 2 October 1935 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A ...

and radio/television presenter Maggie Clews. He was educated at Hill House School in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End. Toponymy Knightsbridge is an ancient ...

and

Emanuel School Emanuel School is an independent, co-educational day school in Battersea, south-west London. The school was founded in 1594 by Anne Sackville, Lady Dacre and Queen Elizabeth I and occupies a 12-acre (4.9 ha) site close to Clapham Junction ...

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within 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. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...

Career

Animation

Best known as the voices of Zoomer and Scrambler in '' Bob the Builder'' from 2004 to 2011, he got his voice acting career for animation, including '' Chop Socky Chooks'', '' Robotboy'', ''

Thomas & Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...

'' and '' The Amazing World of Gumball''. He also played several characters in the animated feature film '' Planet 51''. Since moving to Australia, Degas has provided voices for '' The Wild Adventures of Blinky Bill'', '' Kitty Is Not a Cat'', ''

The Strange Chores ''The Strange Chores'' is an Australian animated television series that premiered on ABC Me on 31 October 2019. The series was created by Charlie Aspinwall and Daley Pearson, best known for their work on '' Bluey'', and is a co-production between ...

'', '' Maya the Bee: The Honey Games'', '' Bluey'', '' Alien TV'', ''

Kangaroo Beach ''Kangaroo Beach'' is an Australian animated television series for preschool children which debuted on ABC Kids on 25 January 2021. It was created by Tim Bain, who is also a writer with Charlotte Rose Hamlyn, Simon Dodd and Samantha Carroll. ...

'', ''

100% Wolf ''100% Wolf'' is a 2020 Australian computer-animated adventure fantasy comedy film directed by Alexs Stadermann and produced by Alexia Gates-Foale and Barbara Stephen. It is adapted from Jayne Lyons' 2009 novel of the same name. Plot Freddy Lu ...

'', and '' Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway''. In 2021, he narrated two episodes of ''

The Wheel of Time ''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels. Originally planned as a six-book series, ''The Wheel of Time'' spans 14 volumes, in a ...

''.

Audiobook narration

Degas has narrated over 300 audiobooks. He has received particular critical acclaim for his performances of '' The Name of the Wind'' by Patrick Rothfuss, and '' Skulduggery Pleasant'' by Derek Landy. Degas says of audiobooks, "I do accents. It's my specialty." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' called his voice performances "shape-shifting".. In 2022, Degas was inducted as a Golden Voice by ''AudioFile'' magazine.

Film and television

Degas' first film appearance was in Jerry Schatzberg's '' Reunion'', followed by television appearances in ''Dead Romantic'', '' Over Here'', ''

A Touch of Frost A, or a, is the first Letter (alphabet), letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name ...

'' and ''Passport to Murder''. Other notable television appearances include '' EastEnders'', '' Lovejoy'', '' Van Der Valk'', '' Waiting For God'', ''Lycée Alpin'', '' Holby City'', '' Love Soup'', '' Shoot the Messenger'', ''

Nathan Barley ''Nathan Barley'' is a British Channel 4 television sitcom written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, starring Nicholas Burns, Julian Barratt, Claire Keelan, Richard Ayoade, Ben Whishaw, Rhys Thomas and Charlie Condou. The series of s ...

'', and ''

Red Dwarf ''Red Dwarf'' is a British science fiction comedy franchise created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, which primarily consists of a television sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave (TV channel), Dave since 2009, gaining a ...

''. Degas also provided the voice of the demon in both '' Exorcist: The Beginning'' and the 2013 film '' Evil Dead''.

Theatre

Having been a regular ''Newsrevue'' performer at the Canal Café Theatre and at the Edinburgh Fringe, Degas made his West End theatre debut in '' Stones in His Pockets'' at The Duke of York's Theatre and the New Ambassadors Theatre, and then in the original Olivier Award winning London cast of '' The 39 Steps'' at The Tricycle Theatre before transferring to The Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus. He has also performed in several plays at The Battersea Arts Centre, Latchmere Theatre and The Southwark Playhouse.

Radio and podcasts

On radio, Degas has performed in over eighty plays and series, most notably ''Grovers Mill'', and the BBC productions of '' The Brightonomicon'', '' Dirk Gently'', ''

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, it ...

'', and '' Starship Titanic''. He also played Pantalaimon in the full cast audio production of '' His Dark Materials''. Degas is also a regular contributor to the weekly satirical podcast ''A Rational Fear''.

Awards and honours

* ''AudioFile'' Earphones Award - 18 honours as of April 2022. * 2008 Odyssey Award for ''Skulduggery Pleasant'' * 2021 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIAs) - Shortlisted for Audiobook of the Year - ''Mammoth'' by Chris Flynn * 2022 ''AudioFile'' Golden Voice

References

External links

Rupert Degas Website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Degas, Rupert 1970 births Living people 20th-century British male actors 21st-century British male actors Audiobook narrators English film producers English male child actors English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male voice actors English voice directors People educated at Emanuel School People educated at Hill House School Blinky Bill British emigrants to Australia