fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

David Bedella (born September 25, 1962) is an American actor. He is currently based in London and is best known for his Olivier award-winning roles in Jerry Springer – The Opera,[2] In The Heights[3] and & Juliet.[4]

This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (August 2011)

David Bedella
Born	(1962-09-25) September 25, 1962 (age 60) Gary, Indiana U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1980–present
Spouse	Pressley Sutherland ​ (m. 1997)​ [1]

Early life

Bedella was born in Gary, Indiana and graduated from Merrillville High School in 1980. After performing in Showboat‘81 at Opryland U.S.A. he began eight years of theatre in Chicago from 1982–1990 during which, in 1985, he won his first professional acting award, the Joseph Jefferson Award (Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical) for his performance in A Chorus Line.^{[citation needed]} After several National Tours including Dreamgirls, Jesus Christ Superstar and 42nd St., he relocated to New York City in the autumn of 1990 and began what would be 11 years of regional and Broadway work which included Goodspeed Opera House in 1991 and a tour of La Cage aux Folles starring Gene Barry and Lee Roy Reams.

From 1992 to 1995, he played Caiaphas in the 20th anniversary national tour of Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, Dennis DeYoung, Irene Cara and Syrita Wright. In 1995, he joined the original company of Smokey Joe’s Café on Broadway which he played, on and off, for five years before leaving to tour the United States with Diahann Carrol in Lerner and Lowe’s Almost Like Being in Love.

In 2001, he and his boyfriend at the time, Pressley Sutherland, relocated to the United Kingdom where Bedella began his London career.

His first West End show was the legendary and controversial Jerry Springer the Opera at The National Theatre, for which he won his first Olivier Award in 2004 for best actor in a musical. He went on to perform the lead roles in the Rocky Horror Show, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The Producers and eventually, the role for which he won the What’s On Stage and his second Olivier Award, Kevin Rosario in the London premiere of In The Heights in 2015.

For several years, Bedella has hosted his own live chat show, David Bedella And Friends (DBAF) which took the London Cabaret Society’s Best Long Running Cabaret Award, in 2015. The chat show began at the Alley Cat and moved to the St. James Theatre in Victoria, London, hosting an array of artists from stage and screen.

Bedella’s work is not limited to the stage but includes five television series for the BBC and three Hollywood feature films as well as voicing several characters on the series Thomas and Friends.

He has also performed in four pantomimes alongside Christopher Biggins, Bradley Walsh and for the last two years, has partnered the John Linehan (aka: May McFettridg) at the Belfast Grand Opera House in NI.

Career

In 2002, Bedella won his most famous role in Jerry Springer - The Opera, where he played both the Warm Up Man "Jonathan Wierus" (in the first act), named after the 15th-century occultist Johann Weyer, and Satan in the second act. For this role, Bedella received the 2004 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

After that Bedella appeared in a recurring role as the plastic surgeon Dr. Carlos Fashola in 2004 in the British hospital drama Holby City. He then went on to play the title role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and had a 16-month run playing Frank N Furter in the 2006–2007 UK tour of Richard O'Brien's The Rocky Horror Show. During that period he also had minor roles in a number of movies, including Batman Begins, Red Light Runners and Alexander.

In 2008, he played the role of Alexander Molokov in a concert version of Chess at the Royal Albert Hall on May 12–13, 2008, and performed in the West End gala performance of Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens at Soho Revue Bar.

Since 2009, Bedella has provided voices of some characters in the UK and US narrations of Thomas and Friends such as Carlos, Victor, The Mayor of Sodor, and A Cuban Man. In 2012, he replaced fellow cast member Matt Wilkinson as Victor in the UK narration in Blue Mountain Mystery, though Wilkinson remains a cast member of the CGI series. In 2015, he replaced fellow cast member Keith Wickham as the Mayor of Sodor in the UK narration starting with season 19, and like Wilkinson, Wickham still provides voices for the show.

In 2009–2010 he reprised his role as Frank N. Furter in the UK tour cast of The Rocky Horror Show.

In October 2011, he appeared in a concert of the new musical Soho Cinders at the Queen's Theatre, London.

In 2012, he played Arnold in Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London.

Bedella made his pantomime debut as Blackheart, in Robinson Crusoe and The Caribbean Pirates at the New Theatre, Cardiff with Christopher Biggins, Paul Zerdin, Lucy Sinclair, Alexander Delemere, Stephanie Siadatan and Gary Jerry in the season of 2011–2012.

In 2013, he appeared in By Any Means, and in 2014, he starred as popstar Frankie Parsons in the Inside No. 9 episode "Last Gasp".

On 16 January 2015, it was confirmed that Bedella would be joining Mel Brooks's The Producers as Roger De Bris.[5]

He reprised his role as Frank N Furter in the Rocky Horror Show in London with the show's writer Richard O'Brien.

In 2017, he recorded two songs for the album Wit & Whimsy – Songs by Alexander S. Bermange (one solo and one featuring all of the album's 23 artists), which reached No. 1 in the iTunes comedy album chart.

From 2015–2017 Bedella starred in the role of Kevin Rosario in the Tony Award-winning In The Heights at the Kings Cross Theatre in London, for which he won an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor In A Musical.

In 2018, Bedella returned to Chicago as part of the cast of the U.S. premiere of Nell Gwynn at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

In 2019, he originated the role of Lance in the original musical & Juliet, based on the story of Romeo & Juliet. The musical made its world debut at the Manchester Opera House and further transferred to London's Shaftesbury Theatre. Bedella subsequently won the 2020 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor In A Musical for his performance. This marked his second win in this category and third Olivier win overall. Bedella departed the production on March 26 2022.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Alexander	Scribe Cadmus
2005	Batman Begins	Maitre D
2009	Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails	Victor (voice)	Direct-to-video
2010	Thomas & Friends: Misty Island Rescue
2011	Thomas & Friends: Day of the Diesels
2012	Thomas & Friends: Blue Mountain Mystery	Victor / Cuban Man (voice)
2013	Thomas & Friends: King of the Railway	Victor (voice)
2013	Resting	Harry Boe	Short Film
2016	Thomas & Friends: The Great Race	Victor / Carlos (voice)	Direct-to-video
2016	Punk Strut: The Movie	Walter Wall Jr.
2017	Thomas & Friends: Journey Beyond Sodor	Victor (voice)	Direct-to-video; uncredited
2017	This Is Axiom	Sam	Short Film
2018	A Reel Life	Precious Stone
2022	All the Old Knives	Drew Favreau

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Days That Shook the World	Voiceover Artist (voice)	Credited as David Bedalla
2004–2005	Holby City	Carlos Fashola	19 episodes
2005	Jerry Springer: The Opera	Warm-up Man / Satan	TV Movie
2005	Blessed	Restaurant Owner-Quentin	Episode: "Just Looking (Stereophonics)"
2009	Great Performances	Alexander Molokov	Episode: "Chess in Concert"
2009	Thomas & Friends: Splish, Splash, Splosh!	Victor	TV Movie
2009–2020	Thomas & Friends	Victor (voice)	54 episodes
2013	By Any Means	Luis Velasquez	Episode: "Episode #1.3"
2014	Inside No. 9	Frankie J. Parsons	Episode: "Last Gasp"
2016	Resting	Bernard	Episode: "Fucked"
2018	Deep State	Tilson	2 episodes
2018	Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan	President Charles Bachler	2 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref
2004	Laurence Olivier Award	Best Actor in a Musical	Jerry Springer - The Opera	Won	[6]
	WhatsOnStage Award	Best Actor in a Musical		Nominated	[7]
2016	Laurence Olivier Award	Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical	In The Heights	Won	[3]
	WhatsOnStage Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Musical		Won	[8]
2020	Laurence Olivier Award	Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical	& Juliet	Won	[9]

References

External links

• BBC interview: David Bedella on Rocky Horror (March '07)
• David Bedella at IMDb
• London Theatre Guide interview with David Bedella
• BBCi interview: David Bedella on Holby City
• David Bedella wins best Musical Actor in the Laurence Olivier Awards

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