Ben Thompson (actor)
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Ben Thompson (born 1 June 1992) is an English actor best known for his role as
Ryan Connor Ryan Connor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. He first appeared on-screen during the episode broadcast on 30 August 2006. The character was initially portrayed by actor Ben Thompson from his introd ...
in the British soap opera ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...
''. Brought up in
Radcliffe Radcliffe or Radcliff may refer to: Places * Radcliffe Line, a border between India and Pakistan United Kingdom * Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town ** Radcliffe tram stop * ...
, Greater Manchester, Thompson made his screen debut when he appeared in the 2002 film ''Re-Inventing Eddie''. Shortly before turning 13, he appeared in the 2004
CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
children's comedy programme ''
Stupid! Stupid! is a British television comedy sketch show aimed at children of primary and secondary school age, which was first broadcast on CBBC and subsequently BBC One. Main characters King Stupid (played in Series 1 by Marcus Brigstocke, and Se ...
''. Thompson rose to further prominence when he was cast as teenager Ryan Connor in ''Coronation Street'' in 2006. As part of the longstanding series, he has been involved in storylines that have dealt with varying topics, including family life, death, and
coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
. In addition to his career as an actor, Thompson is also an amateur musician. He is a member of the Rusholme Ruffians, an
indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...
group who are largely influenced by established Manchester bands.


Youth and early career

Ben Thompson was brought up in
Radcliffe Radcliffe or Radcliff may refer to: Places * Radcliffe Line, a border between India and Pakistan United Kingdom * Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town ** Radcliffe tram stop * ...
, a town within the
Metropolitan Borough of Bury The Metropolitan Borough of Bury is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England, just north of Manchester, to the east of Bolton and west of Rochdale. The borough is centred around the town of Bury, Greater Manchester, Bu ...
, in
Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
, England. He trained in acting from the age of eight at the Carol Godby Theatre Workshop in
Bury Bury may refer to: *The burial of human remains *-bury, a suffix in English placenames Places England * Bury, Cambridgeshire, a village * Bury, Greater Manchester, a town, historically in Lancashire ** Bury (UK Parliament constituency) (1832–19 ...
. For five years, Thompson was educated at nearby Radcliffe Riverside High School. He later reflected that he enjoyed his time at school, interacted well with his teachers and "never went into one lesson where there wasn't omethinginteresting to do". In 2002, Thompson starred alongside John Lynch,
Geraldine Somerville Geraldine Margaret Agnew-Somerville (born 19 May 1967) is an Irish actress. She is known for her roles in the film ''Gosford Park'' (2001) and the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2001–2011). Her other roles have included ''My Week with Marily ...
, Lauren Cook and John Thomson in the Jim Doyle-directed film ''Re-Inventing Eddie''. The movie is about a man named Eddie (Lynch), who is hounded by
social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...
and branded a
paedophile Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...
after an innocent bathtime game with his children is taken out of context. About two years later and shortly before turning 13, Thompson successfully auditioned to feature in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
children's comedy programme ''
Stupid! Stupid! is a British television comedy sketch show aimed at children of primary and secondary school age, which was first broadcast on CBBC and subsequently BBC One. Main characters King Stupid (played in Series 1 by Marcus Brigstocke, and Se ...
''. Out of around 400 hopeful youngsters, he was one of only a few to be selected to appear in the show. Prior to ''Stupid!s launch on the
CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
channel in 2004, Thompson commented, "When I first started going to auditions I was quite nervous but now I just get on with it. I go to quite a few and it gets easier."


''Coronation Street''

Thompson auditioned in 2006 for the role of Cameron McIntyre in the long-standing British soap opera ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...
''. The part would have had him be on-screen friends with
Chesney Brown Chesney Brown (also Battersby-Brown) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Sam Aston. He made his first on-screen appearance on 10 November 2003. The character is named after the singer, Ches ...
, played by
Sam Aston Samuel David Aston (born 7 June 1993) is an English actor, who has portrayed the role of Chesney Brown on the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since 2003. Career Aston made his television debut at the age of five, as an extra in ''Eddi ...
, who Thompson already knew from the Carol Godby Theatre Workshop. Producers for ''Coronation Street'', however, were so impressed by Thompson that they asked him to audition for a different role. His try-out was successful and he was given a six-month contract, along with the option to extend it for up to a year. He was cast as
Ryan Connor Ryan Connor is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. He first appeared on-screen during the episode broadcast on 30 August 2006. The character was initially portrayed by actor Ben Thompson from his introd ...
, a boy who moves to
Weatherfield Weatherfield is a fictional town based on Salford, Greater Manchester, which has been the setting for the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' since its inception in 1960. Much of Weatherfield has been seen by viewers throughout the y ...
—the fictional Greater Manchester setting of ''Coronation Street''—with his mother, Michelle (played by actress and former
Hear'Say Hear'Say were a British pop group. They were created through the ITV (TV network), ITV reality TV show ''Popstars (British TV series), Popstars'' in February 2001, the first UK series of the international ''Popstars'' Media franchise, franchi ...
band member
Kym Marsh Kimberley Gail Ratcliff (''née'' Marsh, previously Ryder and Lomas; born 13 June 1976) is an English actress, television presenter and singer. In 2001, she won a place in the band Hear'Say as a result of appearing on the reality television ser ...
), and her brothers,
Liam Liam is a short form of the Irish name Uilliam or the old Germanic name William. Etymology The original name was a merging of two Old German elements: ''willa'' ("will" or "resolution"); and ''helma'' ("helmet"). The juxtaposition of these elem ...
(
Rob James-Collier Robert James-Collier (born 23 September 1976) (known professionally as Rob James-Collier) is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Thomas Barrow in ''Downton Abbey'' and as Liam Connor in ''Coronation Street''. Early life James-Coll ...
) and
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( Sean Gallagher). ''
The Bolton News ''The Bolton News'' – formerly the ''Bolton Evening News'' – is a daily newspaper and news website covering the towns of Bolton and Bury in north-western England. Published each morning from Monday to Saturday and online every day, it is par ...
'' reported that Thompson would spend between one and two days in front of the camera, and that he would be given an on-set tutor to help complete his school work. Impressed with Thompson's acting ability, the producers of ''Coronation Street'' had his contract extended to 2009. In May 2012, it was confirmed that Ryan would be recast and played by
Sol Heras Sol Heras (born 8 October 1987) is an English actor. He was the second actor to portray the character Ryan Connor in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', from 2012 until 2013. He replaced Ben Thompson, and in turn was replaced by Ryan Pr ...
because Thompson chose not to return.


Private life and interests

Thompson has a keen interest in music and has played the guitar for several years. He often takes the instrument to work with him, as a means of occupying himself during takes. The actor is part of a group: the Rusholme Ruffians, formed by himself and two of his fellow schoolmates while they were still at Radcliffe Riverside High. The Rusholme Ruffians have performed at venues throughout the UK and the band's set list includes their own material, as well as songs by home-town influences such as
Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
,
The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...
,
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
,
James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...
and
The Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. One of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist I ...
. Thompson has expressed an interest in getting into the music industry later in life. He attended Holy Cross College in Bury, which he left after a year due to filming commitments. Ben studied at SSR (School of Sound Recording) in Manchester and went on to work at Blueprint Studios in Salford.


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Ben 1992 births Living people English male child actors People from Radcliffe, Greater Manchester English male soap opera actors Musicians from Manchester