Thomas John Ellis (born 17 November 1978) is a Welsh actor. He first became known for playing Gary Preston in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

sitcom '' Miranda'' (2009–2015) before achieving wider recognition for his role as

Lucifer Morningstar Lucifer (DC Comics), Lucifer Morningstar is a DC Comics character, an adaptation of Lucifer—the Biblical fallen angel and devil of Christianity. Lucifer Morningstar may also refer to: DC Comics * Lucifer Morningstar (Constantine), Lucifer Morni ...

in the

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

urban fantasy series ''

Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...

'' (2016–2021), also appearing in the

Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American Superhero fiction, superhero media franchise and shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series ...

franchise crossover "

Crisis on Infinite Earths ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book fictional crossover, crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciller, pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited ser ...

" (2019).

Early life

Thomas John Ellis was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

on 17 November 1978, the son of Marilyn Jean (née Hooper) and Christopher John Ellis. He has three sisters, one of whom is his twin. His father, uncle, and one of his sisters are all

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

ministers. Shortly after his birth, the family left Wales for England and settled in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

, where he attended Sheffield's High Storrs School and played the

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

in the city's youth orchestra. He later earned a BA in Dramatic Studies from

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 ...

's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

Career

Ellis' breakout role was that of Gary Preston on the

sitcom '' Miranda'' (2009–2015). He also appeared as King Cenred on the BBC fantasy series ''Merlin'' (2008), Justyn in

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's ''

No Angels No Angels are an all-female Pop music, pop group from Germany, formed in 2000. Originally a quintet, consisting of band members Nadja Benaissa, Ludmilla Diakovska, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo, and Jessica Wahls, they originat ...

'', and Thomas Milligan in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' episode " Last of the Time Lords". He has appeared in the BBC One soap opera ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'', the sketch comedy show '' The Catherine Tate Show'', and the medical drama ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

''. In July and August 2009, he starred in the ITV comedy drama '' Monday Monday''. He was cast as Detective Inspector Bland in ''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'', or simply ''Poirot'' (), is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2020. The ITV show is based on many of Agatha Christie's famous crime fiction series, wh ...

''. In February 2015, Ellis was cast as

in the

series ''

'', based on

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

' publication and character of the same name, which premiered on 25 January 2016. The show later moved to

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. On 23 June 2020, it was announced that Netflix had renewed the show for a sixth and final season. He reprised the role of Lucifer during

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

's ''

The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...

'' episode of the

crossover "

". In 2021, Ellis won the Tell-Tale TV Award for Favorite Actor in a Cable or Streaming Sci-fi/Fantasy/Horror Series. He starred as war correspondent Nick in the Netflix romantic comedy film '' Players'' (2024). In April 2025, Ellis was cast as the leading role in the upcoming

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

series ''CIA'', which picked up the series.

Personal life

In 2006, Ellis married English actress Tamzin Outhwaite, to whom he was introduced by actor

James McAvoy James McAvoy (; born 21 April 1979) is a Scottish actor and director. He made his acting debut as a teen in '' The Near Room'' (1995) and appeared mostly on television until 2003, when his film career began. His notable television work inclu ...

. They had two daughters together before she filed for divorce in September 2013, citing adultery after he admitted to having an affair with an unnamed co-star while filming ''Gothica''. The divorce was finalised in April 2014. Ellis also has a third daughter from an earlier relationship. Ellis married American screenwriter Meaghan Oppenheimer on 2 June 2019, and their daughter was born via surrogate in November 2023.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellis, Tom 1978 births Living people 20th-century Welsh male actors 21st-century Welsh male actors Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Male actors from Cardiff People educated at High Storrs School Welsh expatriates in Canada Welsh male film actors Welsh male soap opera actors Welsh male television actors