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Daniel Boys

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Daniel Boys
Born (1979-03-26) 26 March 1979 (age 45)
Yateley, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom
EducationGuildford school of Acting
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
  • recording artist
  • reality TV star
PartnerChris Jenkins

Daniel Boys (born 26 March 1979) is an English actor. He starred in the West End productions of the musicals Rent and Grease before being a 2007 contestant on the BBC talent series Any Dream Will Do. Boys went on to star in many more musicals including Avenue Q, Spamalot, Falsettos and Hamilton.

Early life and education

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Boys was born at Yateley, Hampshire, the son of a chartered surveyor and a phlebotomist.[citation needed] He won a Cameron Mackintosh scholarship to study at the Guildford School of Acting, where he graduated with a BA (Honours) in 2001.[1]

Career

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Boys was selected to perform in the first UK tour of Jonathan Larson's Rent, which meant leaving college early. He understudied the characters of Mark (played by Adam Rickitt) and Angel, eventually taking over the role of Mark, performing on alternate nights at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London's West End. In 2002, he played Morino in the UK tour of Sunset Boulevard, which starred Faith Brown.[2] Boys also appeared as Roger, one of the T-birds, in Grease at the Victoria Palace. He also went on the touring production to Japan, and playing the role of Doody in Scandinavia and Cyprus. Daniel was also a soloist in Disney's Enchanted Evening (a series of UK concerts in 2004), of which the final concert was televised on BBC1 as the BBC Family Prom in the Park.[3]

In 2005, Boys took part in BBC London's Children in Need – The Musical.[4] He also performed at Party in the Park with the company of Grease.[5] Guest TV appearances with Grease also included Blue Peter and The Graham Norton Show. His other early theatre credits include; Austin in I Love You Because (Landor in 2007),[6] Anthony in Sweeney Todd (Royal Festival Hall in 2007),[7] Mark in Rent (European Tour in 2006) and Parson Nathaniel (u/s) in Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds (National Tour in 2007). He also understudied all male roles.[1] He can be seen on the live tour DVD special features, performing in place of Russell Watson in the dress rehearsal.

Any Dream Will Do

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In 2007, he participated in the BBC reality show Any Dream Will Do. On 19 May he was the 7th contestant to be eliminated from the series.[8] During the series, the judges tested his vocal skills on a wide variety of music genres including rock, swing, ballads, and pop. His only opportunity to sing a musical theatre number was during a sing-off, in which he performed "Bring Him Home" from Les Misérables against Lewis Bradley. Daniel received the fewest votes, and was chosen to leave the show by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Career After Any Dream Will Do

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In July 2007, Boys then appeared as Anthony Hope in Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street which was one of the first shows to open at the newly restored Royal Festival Hall.[9]

In late 2008, Daniel joined the cast of the hit show Avenue Q. For over two years, Daniel played the lead roles of Princeton and Rod. He won the "What's on Stage Theatregoers Choice Award" for "Best Takeover in a Role" for his performance.[10][11] On 14 September 2008, Boys performed at Andrew Lloyd Webber's 60th birthday concert in Hyde Park, singing "A Light at the End of the Tunnel" alongside other finalists from the TV series "Any Dream will Do" and "I'd Do Anything". The concert was later broadcast by the BBC on Radio 2.[12]

He also appeared on the BBC programme "Songs of Praise" on 11 January 2009, performing the song "You Know Better than I" from the animated musical "Joseph – King of Dreams".[13] In May 2009 (culminating in a performance at the Royal Albert Hall on 1 June 2009) Later in 2009, he then toured with John Barrowman on his Music Music Music tour, singing some solo material from his debut album and a duet with John Barrowman, "I Know Him So Well".[14] On 6 December 2009, Boys performed with fellow artists in "Christmas in New York" at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Among his songs were "Ave Maria" and "Winter Wonderland". In 2009 Daniel's debut solo album So Close was released. To coincide with the release, Daniel embarked on a series of solo concerts performing at venues such as Leicester Square Theatre, the Delfont Room in the Prince of Wales Theatre, Wilton Music Hall, Greenwich Theatre and three sold-out performances at Pizza on the Park (Jazz Club), London. He made his American debut with the show when he performed at Show at Barre (Los Angeles), supported by Broadway actress Megan Hilty, and in Australia he played at both Sydney and the Adelaide Cabaret Festival alongside acts such as Olivia Newton-John and Chita Rivera.

In February 2010, Boys performed with Jessie Buckley in two concerts in Manchester and Birmingham entitled "Valentines at the Musicals" including songs from West Side Story and My Fair Lady. He then performed as Eddie in the workshop production of Painted Lady: The Princess Caraboo Scandal (Bristol Old Vic/Finborough),[15] then as Christian in the London premiere of Wolfboy at Trafalgar Studios.[16]

In 2011, he was Jason in Ordinary Days (Trafalgar Studios),[17] also as Doug in the workshop of The Trouble with Doug (Northampton Royal & Derngate). In July, he performed the title role in a new musical version of Peter Pan, first playing at the Grand Canal Theatre, Dublin[18] over the summer and then at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, for the Christmas period.[19] On 21 October 2011, Boys played Judas in the 40th anniversary production of Godspell alongside Kerry Ellis at the Palace Theatre, Manchester.

On 6 May 2012, he was one of the headline performers in "The Night of 1000 Voices" at the Royal Albert Hall.[20] and then completed a run as Algernon in a new musical version of The Importance of Being Earnest at the Theatre Royal, Windsor.[21] In September 2012 he was a guest on Radio 2's Friday Night is Music Night which was recorded live at LSO St Lukes, London. He made a short film with David Paisley entitled Fall-Out about two ex-partners who end up in a fallout shelter together, which went round the 2012 festival circuit.[22]

In February 2013, Network Ten and FremantleMedia Australia announced that they were searching across Australia and the United Kingdom for a singer to record a new version of the theme tune for Neighbours[23] The competition resulted in a tie and the new theme is sung as a duet by Daniel and Stephanie Angelini.[24] The new version of the theme tune began airing from 15 April 2013.[23] In July 2013 he joined High Society UK touring cast, playing Mike Connor.[22]

In March 2014, Boys joined the West End production of Spamalot at the Playhouse Theatre as Sir Lancelot.[25][26][27] He also appeared in West End Recast, a one-off concert at the Duke of York's Theatre.[28]

On 31 March 2015, he appeared on Holby City on BBC 1 as 'Josh Harrison'.[29]

In January 2016, it was announced he will appear in the new musical comedy Miss Atomic Bomb in the St James's Theatre alongside TV and theatre star Catherine Tate.[30] In October 2016 he starred as Donald in a production of The Boys in the Band, by Mart Crowley at the Park Theatre, with co-stars including Mark Gatiss, James Holmes, Ben Mansfield and Jack Derges.[31][32]

In May 2017. he was cast as teacher 'Paul Maddens' (main lead) in Nativity! The Musical at Birmingham Repertory Theatre.[33][34] Boys later played another teacher, Mr. Johnson, in the fourth film in the Nativity series, Nativity Rocks! in 2018. In August 2017 Boys starred alongside Helena Blackman and Sherman Brothers' musical scion, composer Robert J. Sherman in A Spoonful of Sherman at "Live At Zedel" in London.[35]

At the beginning of 2018, Boys performed for two months in the Theatre Clwyd production of Little Shop of Horrors, starring as Seymour. After starring in Nativity Rocks!, Boys appeared in the World Premiere of Love Story at the Bolton Octagon, starring as Dan.

He was cast as Joseph Kirby in ITV's Endeavour in January 2019.[36] In May 2019 it was announced that Boys would lead the UK Premiere cast of Falsettos at The Other Palace in London's Off-West End. He played the role of Marvin until the show closed in January 2020.

Boys performed in a concert performance of Alain Boublil & Claude-Michel Schönberg's The Pirate Queen on 23 February 2020 at the London Coliseum in aid of Leukaemia UK.

As of April 2024, Boys is featured as King George III in the United Kingdom and Ireland tour of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical Hamilton.

Recordings

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In 2008, Boys recorded a song for the CD Act One – Songs From The Musicals Of Alexander S. Bermange, an album of 20 brand new recordings by 26 West End stars, released in October 2008 on Dress Circle Records.[37]

His debut album So Close launched on 1 June 2009. It was mixed by Grammy award-winner (and cousin) Jerry Boys in early 2009. The penultimate track Always There features the backing vocals of friends and cast members (from Avenue Q).[38]

Boys also recorded the song My Brother's Eyes on Terry Pratchett's Only You Can Save Mankind, which was released on 23 November 2009,[39] and recorded a version of I Know Him So Well with John Barrowman for his 2008 album Music Music Music.

In 2011 he recorded a charity single with proceeds going to the Disney Appeal at Great Ormond Street Hospital, called The World is Something You Can Imagine.[40] Boys also appeared on the cast recording of Wolfboy, More With Every Line – the Songs of Tim Prottey-Jones,[41] Only You Can Save Mankind, The Inbetween: A New Musical (in 2012)[42] and Christmas in New York.[43] He has also contributed to Helena Blackman's debut album.[44]

On 6. November 2018 AGR Television Records announced that Daniel Boys had signed a multi-album record deal with them. The first release under the new contract was Christmas Lullaby later the same month. An album was announced for 2019.[45]

Film and theatre

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Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2006 The Graham Norton Show Himself Performing with the company of Grease
2007 Any Dream Will Do Himself
2009 Songs of Praise Himself
2012 Fall-Out Partner 1 Short-Film
2012 Little Man Elliot Short-Film[46]
2015 Holby City Josh Harrison
2018 Nativity Rocks! Mr Johnson
2019 Endeavor Joseph Kirby

Theatre credits

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Year Title Role Theatre Location
2001 Rent Ensemble / Understudy Mark & Angel — UK National Tour
2002 Mark Prince of Wales Theatre West End
2002-03 Sunset Boulevard Morino — UK National Tour
2003 Grease Roger Victoria Palace West End
2004 Doody — Japan National Tour
2006 Rent Mark — European Tour
2007 I Love You Because Austin Landor Theatre London
2007 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Anthony Royal Festival Hall London
2007 The War of the Worlds: Farewell Thunderchild Understudy Parson Nathaniel — UK National Tour
2008-10 Avenue Q Princeton & Rod Noël Coward Theatre West End
2009 John Barrowman's Music Music Music Tour Himself — UK National Tour
2010 Valentine's at the Musicals Himself Manchester / Birmingham Tour
2010 Painted Lady: The Princess Caraboo Scandel Eddie Bristol Old Vic Bristol
2010 Wolfboy Christian Trafalgar Studios West End
2011 Ordinary Days Jason Trafalgar Studios West End
2011 The Trouble with Doug Doug Royal & Derngate Northampton
2011 Peter Pan Peter Pan Grand Canal Theatre Dublin
2011 Godspell Judas Palace Theatre, Manchester Manchester
2012 The Night of 1000 Voices Himself Royal Albert Hall London
2012-13 The Who's Tommy Tommy Prince Edward Theatre West End
2013 High Society Mike Connor — UK National Tour
2014 Love Story Oliver Barrett IV Octagon Theatre Bolton
2014-15 Spamalot Sir Lancelot Playhouse Theatre West End
2015 West End Recast Himself Duke of York's Theatre West End
2016 Miss Atomic Bomb St James's Theatre West End
2016 The Boys in the Band Donald Park Theatre Off-West End
2017 Nativity! The Musical Paul Maddens Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham
2017 A Spoonful of Sherman Himself — UK National Tour
2018 Little Shop of Horrors Seymour Theatre Clwyd Wales
2018 Love Story Dan Bolton Octagon Bolton
2019 Falsettos Marvin The Other Palace Off-West End
2020 The Pirate Queen Bingham London Coliseum West End
2021 Treason King James Cadogan Hall London
2021 Leonard Bernstein's New York Lead Vocalist Waterloo East London
2021-22 Jack & The Beanstalk Fleshcreep Milton Keynes Theatre Milton Keynes
2022 Treason King James Theatre Royal Drury Lane West End
2023-24 Hamilton King George III - UK & Ireland tour

Discography

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  • So Close (2009)

Personal life

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He has revealed in several interviews that he is gay.[47] He said

I think it's very sad that people have to live a lie and I'd never want to do that. It must be horrific for them.[48]

He has been in a relationship with actor Chris Jenkins[49] since 2014.[50]

References

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  1. ^ a b The Cast, Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds tour programme, 2006
  2. ^ "Career". DanielBoys.net. Archived from the original on 2 June 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  3. ^ "Disney Enchanted Evenings". DanielBoys.net. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  4. ^ "Children in Need – The Musical photo gallery". BBC London. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  5. ^ "Daniel Boys CV". Gavin Barker Associates. Archived from the original on 7 August 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  6. ^ Matthewman, Scott (27 September 2007). "I Love You Because". The Stage. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  7. ^ Fisher, Philip (2007). "Sweeney Todd". britishtheatreguide.info. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  8. ^ "Show Six Result". Any Dream Will Do. BBC. 19 May 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  9. ^ "Terfel is demon barber at Royal Festival Hall". officiallondontheatre.co.uk. 13 June 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  10. ^ "WOS Theatregoers' Choice Nominees Announced". whatsonstage.com. 5 December 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  11. ^ Baluch, Lalayn (16 February 2009). "Donmar Warehouse triumphs at Theatregoers' Choice Awards". The Stage. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  12. ^ "Andrew Lloyd Webber's Birthday in the Park". BBC. 10 October 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  13. ^ "Songs of Praise Factsheet". BBC. 11 January 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  14. ^ "John Barrowman Official Site – Concerts – Another Side Tour". Archived from the original on 11 May 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
  15. ^ Nick (6 June 2010). "Not-review: Painted Lady – The Princess Caraboo Scandal". livejournal.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  16. ^ Vale, Paul (12 July 2010). "Wolfboy". The Stage. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  17. ^ Orr, Jake (14 February 2011). "Review: Ordinary Days". ayoungertheatre.com. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  18. ^ "Review: Peter Pan at the Grand Canal Theatre, Dublin". yay.ie. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  19. ^ Makin, Jenny (14 December 2011). "Peter Pan, The Mayflower, Southampton". Daily Echo. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  20. ^ "Night of 1000 Voices Royal Albert Hall 6 May 2012". londontheatre.co.uk. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  21. ^ "The Importance of Being Earnest". bradleyclarkson.com. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  22. ^ a b Saltmarsh, Abigail (4 July 2013). "Daniel Boys on glitz, glamour and High Society". eveningnews24.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  23. ^ a b "Neighbours launches its own Ashes battle – Yahoo!7". Yahoo!. 18 February 2013. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  24. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (8 April 2013). "'Neighbours Remixed' theme tune competition ends in a tie". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  25. ^ Tomlins, Andrew (10 March 2014). "Interview: Daniel Boys". West End Fame. Archived from the original on 23 March 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  26. ^ Hemley, Matthew (10 February 2014). "Bonnie Langford to return to Spamalot as Daniel Boys joins cast". The Stage. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  27. ^ "Daniel Boys has Tea With Wilma". westendwilma.com. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  28. ^ Bannister, Rosie (14 February 2014). "Frances Ruffelle, Jenna Russell and Daniel Boys star in West End Recast concert". whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  29. ^ "The Last Time I Saw You". BBC. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  30. ^ Porteous, Jacob (18 January 2016). "Catherine Tate And Forthcoming Aladdin Star Dean John-Wilson To Lead World Premiere Of New Musical Comedy Miss Atomic Bomb". London Theatre Direct. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  31. ^ Hemley, Matthew (25 July 2016). "Daniel Boys, Jack Derges and James Holmes join The Boys in the Band". The Stage. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  32. ^ Bowie-Sell, Daisy (25 July 2016). "Exclusive: further casting for The Boys in the Band". whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  33. ^ "Nativity! The Musical – Daniel Boys, Sarah Earnshaw and Simon Lipkin cast". musicaltheatrereview.com. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  34. ^ "Casting announced for Nativity! The Musical". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  35. ^ News Desk (14 June 2017). "Cast Announced For A Spoonful of Sherman Live at Zédel". West End Wilma. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  36. ^ ""Endeavour" Pylon (TV Episode 2019) - IMDb". IMDb.
  37. ^ Fisher, Philip (2011). "Act One: Songs from the Musicals of Alexander S Bermange". britishtheatreguide.info. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  38. ^ "CD Review: Daniel Boys – So Close". oughttobeclowns.blogspot.co.uk. 4 September 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  39. ^ "Kerry Ellis & More Go into Studio to Record 'Only You Can Save Mankind' Musical for Charity". Broadwayworld.com. 14 March 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
  40. ^ ""The World is Something You Imagine" for our Disney Appeal". gosh.org. 23 May 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  41. ^ "Tim Prottey-Jones:I'm incredibly proud of every single performer who has supported 'More With Every Line'". todomusicales.com. 16 December 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  42. ^ Gans, Andrew (15 February 2012). "Concept Album of New Musical The In-Between, with Hadley Fraser, Daniel Boys, Julie Atherton, Available Online". Playbill. Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  43. ^ Shenton, Mark (10 December 2013). "Christmas in New York and Sunday near St James Park". The Stage. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  44. ^ Matthewman, Scott (14 February 2011). "Helena Blackman, Delfont Room/The Sound of Rodgers and Hammerstein". matthewman.net. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  45. ^ "AGR Television Records: Daniel Boys joins the AGR Television Records family". Archived from the original on 6 November 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  46. ^ "BBC Two - Little Man". BBC. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  47. ^ Exeter, Alex (4 March 2014). "'A fan pleasured themselves on the train over me' Daniel Boys on life in the spotlight". sosogay.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  48. ^ Couch, Paul (30 October 2013). "Interview: Ten Minutes with Daniel Boys". thepublicreviews.com. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  49. ^ @danielboys (6 December 2017). "Happy 30th Birthday to my wonderful boyfriend @chrisjenko!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  50. ^ @chrisjenko (29 August 2014). "My god, my boyfriend is very good. Cabaret triumph @danielboys. Special boy" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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