Aaron John Walpole (born March 7, 1979) is a Canadian actor and singer, who placed third on the third season of ''

Canadian Idol ''Canadian Idol'' is a Canadian reality television competition show which aired on CTV, based on the British show ''Pop Idol''. The show was a competition to find the most talented young singer in Canada, and was hosted by Ben Mulroney. Jon Dore ...

''. He is best known for playing the role of Lonnie in the 2010 Toronto run of ''

Rock of Ages Rock of Ages may refer to: Films * ''Rock of Ages'' (1918 film), a British silent film by Bertram Phillips * ''Rock of Ages'' (2012 film), a film adaptation of the jukebox musical (see below) Music * ''Rock of Ages'' (musical), a 2006 rock ...

'' and Annas in the 2012 Broadway run of ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

''. He appeared in the 2014 Broadway revival of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'', as a part of the ensemble.

Early life

Born in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, in 1979, Walpole is one of three children. At 10 years old, his mother Jody Mae Cline, sat him and his brothers down, to watch the musical Jesus Christ Superstar for Easter. After seeing Carl Anderson's rendition of "Heaven on their Minds", Aaron decided to become a musical actor. He memorized the whole show, with the help of his father Robert Walpole's vinyl copy. In 1998, he entered Sheridan College's musical theater performance program, and graduated in 2001.

Personal life

On October 4, 2014, Walpole married Stefanie Oechslin, after having dated since 2010. They met at the street corner of King Street and John Street in Toronto, after Stefanie had recognized him from Rock of Ages as Lonnie. They started their life as a married couple in New York, NY, where Aaron appeared in the 2014 Les Misérables Broadway revival.

TV and film

Walpole appeared in the 2005 session of Canadian Idol, in which he placed third after

Rex Goudie Rex Goudie (born November 18, 1985) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and was the runner-up of '' Canadian Idol 3''. Early life Rex Goudie was born in Dawson Creek, British Columbia and moved back to his father's hometown of Burlington, Newfound ...

and

Melissa O'Neil Melissa Crystal O'Neil (born July 12, 1988) is a Canadian actress and singer. In 2005, O'Neil won the third season of '' Canadian Idol'', the first Canadian female to have won. As an actress, she is known for her roles as Two / Rebecca / Portia ...

. Other TV credits include ''Breakout Kings'' as Bill Gierhart, ''Felling the Shadows'' and ''Deacons of Defense''. He also starred in the 2011 movie ''

Silent But Deadly ''Silent but Deadly'' is a Canadian 2011 horror comedy film starring Kim Poirier, Jason Mewes, and William Sadler. It is a MJC Entertainment Inc production. It premiered on the Canadian TV channel Super Channel on November 11, 2011. The film t ...

'' as Rob.

Broadway

Walpole had his Broadway debut in 2012, as

Annas Annas (also Ananus or Ananias;Goodman, Martin, "Rome & Jerusalem", Penguin Books, p.12 (2007) , ; grc-x-koine, Ἅννας, ; 23/22 BC – death date unknown, probably around AD 40) was appointed by the Roman legate Quirinius as the first High ...

in the 2011 revival of ''

''. The production had previously played at the Stratford Festival and the La Jolla Playhouse, before it was moved to the Neil Simon Theater in New York. The production ultimately closed after only four months on July 1, due to bad ticket sales. In 2014, he joined the cast of the 2014 revival of ''Les Misérables''. Besides playing Champmathieu, Brujon, Loud Hailer in his ensemble track, he was an understudy for the role of

Jean Valjean Jean Valjean () is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. The story depicts the character's struggle to lead a normal life and redeem himself after serving a 19-year-long prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his ...

. He previously was in the American 25th Anniversary tour and Canadian productions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Walpole, Aaron 1979 births Living people Musicians from London, Ontario Canadian Idol participants Canadian male stage actors Canadian male musical theatre actors 21st-century Canadian male singers