Thomas Weatherall
Thomas Weatherall | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 2000 Brisbane, Australia |
| Education | Marymount College, Gold Coast |
| Occupation | Actor |
Thomas Weatherall (born c. 2000) is an Australian actor and playwright. He is known for his performances in the television series RFDS (2019–2021) and Heartbreak High (2022), and for writing the play Blue, first performed in 2019.
Early life and education[edit]
Thomas Weatherall was born around 2000 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He is a Kamilaroi man.[1]
Weatherall grew up on the Gold Coast and attended Marymount College, where he was an active member of the cultural team, including cultural and mob captain[2] in his final year in 2017.[3] At Marymount, Weatherall played the role of Lonny Barnett / Record executive in the college's 2017 production of Rock of Ages.[4]
As a child, he wanted to be a dancer when he grew up, and trained hard for this goal. However, he heard about ABC Television auditioning for roles in Deadlock (2018) during his last year of high school, and decided to give it a try. After landing the role, he found that he loved acting, and went on to study drama.[5]
Career[edit]
Weatherall's first acting role was in the award-winning ABC miniseries Deadlock.[1] He was in drama school and working in a shoe shop when he won the role for Seven Network's RFDS, which he went for mainly for the chance to play Rob Collins' son in the medical drama.[5]
He came to international prominence in the 2022 Netflix series Heartbreak High.[5][6] The series became one of the streaming service's most-watched English-spoken series, making the Top 10 in Australia as well as 45 other countries in September 2022.[1]
He also had roles in the ABC series All My Friends Are Racist and Troppo.[7][8]
Weatherall's playwriting debut came with the play Blue at the Belvoir Theatre in Sydney in 2019, in which he also starred.[6] The play, which is in the form of a dramatic monologue, had a successful season at the Belvoir, performed by Weatherall. In March 2024 a Belvoir production is being presented by State Theatre Company South Australia at the Adelaide Festival in Adelaide, South Australia, with Callan Purcell in the starring role.[9]
Recognition and awards[edit]
- 2021: Balnaves Fellowship, awarded by the Belvoir theatre company to an emerging Indigenous playwright[10]
- 2022: AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama, for his performance in Heartbreak High[11]
- 2023: Logie Award for Most Outstanding Supporting Actor[5][12]
Filmography[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | The Narrow Road to the Deep North | TBA | In production (Nov 2023)[13] |
| 2021–23 | RFDS | Darren Yates | 12 episodes |
| 2022– | Heartbreak High | Malakai Mitchell | Main role, 16 episodes |
| 2022 | Troppo | Charlie | 6 episodes |
| 2021 | All My Friends Are Racist | Luke | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Shed | Victor | Short |
| 2018 | Deadlock | Aero | 5 episodes |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Couper, Elena (5 October 2022). "Meet Thomas Weatherall, the breakout star of 'Heartbreak High'". GQ Australia. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
...the Brisbane-born 22-year-old Kamilaroi writer and actor...
- ^ QATSIF. "Tweet". X.com. X.com. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ College, Marymount. "Alumni News". Alumni News. Marymount College. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ College, Marymount. "Rock of Ages musical program" (PDF). Rock of Ages Musical Program. Marymount College. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d Vnuk, Helen (1 August 2023). "Thomas Weatherall never planned on becoming an actor – now he's an international star". Now To Love. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ a b Morgan, Joyce (19 January 2023), "Heartbreak High's Thomas Weatherall shines in his playwriting debut", The Sydney Morning Herald
- ^ Cooper, Elana (5 October 2022), "Meet Thomas Weatherall, the breakout star of 'Heartbreak High'", GQ
- ^ Knox, David (3 August 2020). "Cameras roll on RFDS in Broken Hill". TV Tonight. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Blue". Adelaide Festival. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Fellowship and Residencies". Belvoir St Theatre. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ Story, Hannah (7 December 2012), "Elvis and Mystery Road: Origin are big winners at AACTA Awards 2022", ABC News
- ^ Knowles, Rachael (31 July 2023). "These are the First Nations winners at the TV Week Logie Awards". NITV. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ Knox, David (20 November 2023). "Production begins on The Narrow Road to the Deep North". TV Tonight. Retrieved 8 February 2024.