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Will Kemp (actor, born 1977)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For Shakespeare's clown, see William Kempe.

Will Kemp
Kemp at the premiere of Step Up 2: The Streets, February 2008
Born
William Kemp

(1977-06-29) 29 June 1977 (age 47)
Hertfordshire, England
Occupations
  • Actor
  • dancer
Years active1997–present
SpouseGaby Jamieson
Children2
Websitewww.willkemp.co.uk

William Kemp (born 29 June 1977) is an English actor and dancer. His stage names are Will and James Dean of Ballet.

Life and career

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Kemp was born in Hertfordshire, England. Trained at the Royal Ballet School, at age 17 he was accepted at dance company Adventures in Motion Pictures (AMP). He won the lead role of The Swan in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake from 1997 to 2000 in both London and Broadway.[1] In 2002 he could be seen dancing to "Stuff Like That" in a Peter Lindbergh-directed commercial for Gap's "For Every Generation" campaign and in 2004, he appeared alongside Sarah Jessica Parker in two Francis Lawrence-directed spots, "Color" and "Shine", for Gap's "How Do You Share It" campaign. He famously turned down a lucrative modelling contract with Giorgio Armani, citing not wanting to be confused as a model as opposed to an actor as the reason for his decision.

Kemp made his acting debut as Velkan Valerious, a gypsy-prince-turned-Werewolf in the 2004 action horror film Van Helsing, opposite Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale.[2] He played the horse Nugget as well as The Young Horseman in the 2007 West End revival of Equus starring Daniel Radcliffe. The part of Nugget required him to don a wire horse mask and metal hooves/horseshoes, and carry Radcliffe on his back while galloping. He had a role in Step Up 2: The Streets as Blake Collins, director of the Maryland School of the Arts (MSA) and brother of Chase Collins. Kemp played a dress up Mr Darcy at an academic conference in the Hallmark Channel's "Loveuary" month-long series featuring Jane Austen adaptations.

Personal life

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Kemp and his wife, Gaby Jamieson, have a daughter, Thalie born in 2005, and a son, Indigo born in 2008.[1]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2004 Mindhunters Rafe Perry
2004 Van Helsing Velkan Valerious
2005 Brothers of the Head Celebrity
2007 Miguel y William William Shakespeare
2008 Step Up 2: The Streets Blake Collins
2013 The Coin Ben Short film
2014 Petals on the Wind Julian Marquet
2015 The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power Drazen Direct-to-video
2016 The Midnight Man Grady
2017 Slumber Tom Arnolds
2024 Mythica:Stormbound The Stranger

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1998 Great Performances Swan Episode: "Swan Lake"
2001 The Car Man Angelo Television film
2006 Pinocchio Stromboli Television film
2008 New Tricks James Strickland Episode: "Final Curtain"
2009 The Prisoner 23–30 – Wonkers Miniseries; 2 episodes
2010 The Soldier's Tale Narrator/The King Television film
2011 Christopher and His Kind Bobby Gilbert Television film
2011 Peter and the Wolf Grandfather Television film
2011 Grace Nicky Television film
2011 Nikita Nigel Episode: "London Calling"
2012 90210 Mitchell Nash 2 episodes
2013 Kristin's Christmas Past Jamie Television film (Lifetime)
2013 Non-Stop Mark Television film
2014 Petals on the Wind Julian Marquet Television film (Lifetime)
2015–2018 Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce Scott 15 episodes
2017 Reign Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley Main role (season 4)
2018 Royal Matchmaker Prince Sebastian Television film (Hallmark Channel)
2019 Love, Romance and Chocolate Luc Simon Television film (Hallmark Channel)
2019 Doom Patrol Steve Dayton / Mento Episode: "Doom Patrol Patrol"
2020 Spinning Out Mitch Saunders Main role (Netflix)
2020 The Christmas Waltz Roman Davidoff Television film (Hallmark Channel)
2021 The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star Hunter Cunard Television film (Netflix)
2022 Jolly Good Christmas David Burnside Television film (Hallmark Channel)
2023 The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango Sebastian Moore Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)
2023 A Not So Royal Christmas Adam Television film
2024 Paging Mr. Darcy Samuel Lee Television film (Hallmark Channel)
2024 My Sweet Austrian Holiday Henry Television film (Hallmark Channel)

References

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  1. ^ a b Brayford, Claire (25 November 2018). "GRACE DADS: British Actor Will Kemp Shares a Father's Perspective on Parenthood". The Grace Tales. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  2. ^ King, Susan (2 May 2004). "His 'Van Helsing' role brings out the animal in dancer Will Kemp". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
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