William Charles Merrick (born 9 April 1993) is an English screen and stage actor. His debut was in the
third generation of the
BAFTA winning,
E4 television series ''
Skins'' as the character
Alo Creevey.
Early life and education
Merrick originates from
Ledbury
Ledbury is a market town and civil parish in the county of Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and west of the Malvern Hills.
It has a significant number of timber-framed structures, in particular along Church Lane and High Street ...
in
Herefordshire. In 2009 he was one of the top ten of over 50,000 candidates nationally in his drama
GCSE
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...
examination.
[ ]
Career
As a member of the ''Close up Theatre'' Merrick performed at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
2010 and 2011, in the productions of ''
The History Boys'' playing Posner and
Arthur Miller's masterpiece ''
Death of a Salesman'' in the role of
Charley. At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012–2013 Merrick started a theatre company called No Prophet at 18 and played roles in ''
Punk Rock'', a stage production by
Simon Stephens, and in ''Boys'' written by
Ella Hickson.
In 2011, Merrick made his first television appearance in the
E4 teen drama ''
Skins'', playing
Alo Creevey. Originally he auditioned in
Bristol for the role of
Rich Hardbeck and became Alo at the end of the audition process. He described his character as a " loving person, very open-minded, positive and enthusiastic kind of guy."
In February 2012 Merrick won the
RTS Award for ''Best Actor'', competing with
Dakota Blue Richards, his co-star in ''Skins''. For his role as Alo Creevey he got also a nomination for Best Actor at
TV Choice Awards 2012.
In May 2012 Merrick recorded an episode of
BBC One family sitcom ''
In with the Flynns'',
in which he plays the role of Dean. In the same year he has landed his first big screen role as Jay in
Richard Curtis' new romantic comedy ''
About Time'' alongside Hollywood star
Rachel McAdams and
Domhnall Gleeson.
Merrick appeared in a 2013 episode of the popular
sci-fi television programme ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', in the episode ''
Nightmare in Silver'', where he played a character named Brains.
He also starred as Tom alongside
Jessie Cave
Jessica Alice Cave Lloyd (born 5 May 1987) is an English actress, comedian and cartoonist, known for her role as Lavender Brown in the ''Harry Potter'' film series and for her shows in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe. She has also publishe ...
in an episode of ''
Coming Up'' aired on
Channel 4 in July 2013 and was a guest star in
fantasy BBC series ''
Atlantis''. Merrick also starred as the legendary Steve Davis in the 2016 BBC drama ''
The Rack Pack
''The Rack Pack'' is a 2016 British comedy-drama television film about professional snooker during the 1970s through the 1980s, focusing on the intense rivalry between Alex Higgins and Steve Davis. The film is directed by Brian Welsh and was rele ...
''. In 2016 Merrick played Butcher's apprentice Russell in the ITV drama series ''
Brief Encounters
''Brief Encounters'' is a studio album by French singer Amanda Lear, released in 2009 by independent label Just Good Music for Your Ears.
Background
Amanda Lear met the singer and producer Enrico Petrelli in Paris in 2008, and started working ...
''. He played Arthur Solway in two episodes of BBC's ''
Poldark''. From 2019 to 2021 Merrick starred as fanatic gamer Nicky in the sitcom series ''
Dead Pixels''.
Personal life
Will is the younger of 2 children. Merrick has said "I play the guitar but I'm a bit of a dosser really".
Filmography and television
Theatre
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrick, Will
1993 births
Living people
People educated at Dean Close School
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English male film actors
People from Ledbury
21st-century English male actors
English male child actors
People educated at The Downs School, Herefordshire
Male actors from Hertfordshire