Stephen Ashfield is an Olivier Award-winning Scottish actor. He was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, and since graduating from the

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama () is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and film in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. Founde ...

and the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, he has enjoyed a successful stage career. In 2011 he was made an Associate (ARAM) of the Royal Academy of Music and was awarded a Fellowship (FRAM) in the 2018 honours list.

On stage

Ashfield made his West End debut in 2002 as

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...

in ''

Taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

'', before playing the role of Basilio in the critically acclaimed Music Theatre London adaptation of Mozart's ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...

'' at the Drill Hall, London. In 2004, Ashfield returned to the role of

for the first national tour of the award-winning musical ''

''. Subsequently, he appeared in the title role of Harry in the West End showcase of ''When Harry Met Barry'', and created the leading role, George, in ''The Ha'penny Bridge'' at The Point,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. He was soon back in the West End as Nick Piazza in '' Fame'', before appearing as John in the brand new musical
Tomorrow Morning
' by Laurence Mark Wythe at London's New End Theatre. His passion for new musical theatre writing led him to create the role of Adam in
Imagine This
' at the Theatre Royal, Plymouth. Having started in March 2008, Ashfield originated the role of

Bob Gaudio Robert John Gaudio (born November 17, 1942) is an American songwriter, singer, musician, and record producer, and the keyboardist and backing vocalist of the pop/rock band the Four Seasons. Gaudio wrote or co-wrote the vast majority of the ban ...

in the West End production of ''

Jersey Boys ''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and breakup of the 1960s rock 'n' roll group The Four Seasons. The mus ...

'' at the

Prince Edward Theatre The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London. History The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Mar ...

, with his final performance taking place on Sunday 13 March 2011. For his performance he won Best Supporting Actor in a Musical at the WhatsOnStage Theatregoers' Choice Awards 2009. In March 2011 he made his Cabaret debut at

Lauderdale House Lauderdale House is an historic house, now run as an arts and education centre, based in Waterlow Park, Highgate in north London, England. History Lauderdale House was one of the finest English country house, country houses in Highgate and was ...

, Highgate, before taking over the role of Emmett Forrest in the West End production of ''

Legally Blonde ''Legally Blonde'' is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic and written by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith, based on Amanda Brown's novel. It stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victo ...

'' until its closure in April 2012. In November and December 2012, Ashfield starred in the limited-run UK premiere of '' Boy Meets Boy'' at the

Jermyn Street Theatre Jermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated on Jermyn Street, in London's West End. It is an Off West End studio theatre. History Jermyn Street Theatre opened in August 1994. It was formerly the changing rooms for staff at a Spaghet ...

before taking on the role of Elder McKinley in the Broadway transfer ''

The Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, first published in 1830 by Joseph Smith as ''The Book of Mormon: An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates Taken from the Plates of Nephi''. The book is one of ...

'', which opened at the

Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...

on 25 February 2013. He was awarded an Olivier Award for his performance. He concluded his West End run on 5 August 2016, to continue his award-winning performance as Elder McKinley at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on Broadway. In 2019 Ashfield originated the role of Hamish McClarnon in the world premiere of the musical adaptation of '' Becoming Nancy''. The production played at the Coca-Cola Stage at the

Alliance Theatre The Alliance Theatre is a theater company in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center. The company, originally the Atlanta Municipal Theatre, staged its first production (''King Arthur'') at the Alliance in 1968. The ...

, which is part of the Atlanta Theatre Company from September 6 to October 6, 2019. He reprised the role in the UK premiere at the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

from October 2 to November 2, 2024.

On screen

In 2007 he appeared in ''

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial '' The String of Pearls'' (1846–1847). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London legend. A barber from Fleet St ...

'' directed by

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

He has also performed with Jersey Boys on Strictly Come Dancing, GMTV, This Morning, Alan Titchmarsh,

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 ...

, Loose Women, Children In Need, and The 80th Royal Variety Performance. In March 2014 he appeared in the season 3 finale of ''

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a British period drama television series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, ...

'' as Philip Worth.

Awards and nominations

References

* http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/tomorrowmorning-rev.ht
London Theatre Interview with Stephen Ashfield
Leadvocals (together with Katie Birtill) of Rudolph's Music Library 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashfield, Stephen Scottish male musical theatre actors Scottish male stage actors Laurence Olivier Award winners Living people Fellows of the Royal Academy of Music Year of birth missing (living people)