Edwin Leo Thomas is a British actor who works in theatre, TV & film. He is best known for his portrayal of

Robbie Ross Robert Baldwin Ross (25 May 18695 October 1918) was a Canadian-British journalist, art critic and art dealer, best known for his relationship with Oscar Wilde, to whom he was a devoted friend and literary executor. A grandson of the Canadian ...

, alongside

Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, director and producer. Everett first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupi ...

, Colin Firth &

Emily Watson Emily Margaret Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of ''Twelfth Night'' and ''Uncle Vanya'' at the Donmar Wa ...

in The Happy Prince. Thomas suffers from a largely invisible form of

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sens ...

, a spectrum of conditions which result from birth trauma & have developmental consequences.

Early life

Thomas studied French & Portuguese at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, before studying acting at the

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

, where he was awarded the

Laurence Olivier Bursary The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) is an umbrella organisation for West End theatre in London. Founded in 1908, as Society of West End Theatre Managers, then Society of West End Theatre in 1975, changing to its current name in 1994, the (SOLT) ...

Main Prize, the Mary Selway Bursary & The Michael Bryant Award.

Acting career

Thomas worked as an actor for one year after graduating from Guildhall, appearing on screen in BBC's 'Restless' (2012), ITV's Inspector Lewis (2013), & starring as Irwin in the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...

's production of

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...

's ''

The History Boys ''The History Boys'' is a play by British playwright Alan Bennett. The play premiered at the Royal National Theatre in London on 18 May 2004. Its Broadway debut was on 23 April 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre where 185 performances were staged be ...

'' (2013) alongside

Matthew Kelly Matthew Kelly (born David Allan Kelly, 9 May 1950) is an English actor and presenter. Having been trained as a theatre actor, he first came to public prominence as a television presenter of ITV light entertainment shows such as '' Game for a ...

, directed by Michael Longhurst. In 2013, Thomas was forced to stop acting due to ill health. He suffered complications from his disability, & spent 4 years rehabilitating his injuries with The Feldenkrais Method. During this time he worked in education, teaching English & French and working as a careers advisor & 6th form mentor at St Mary Magdalene Academy. He also co-developed an outreach programme for the Guildhall School, running acting workshops across schools in London. Returning to acting in 2018, Thomas starred in '' The Happy Prince'', written, directed by & starring

. Thomas plays Oscar Wilde's friend and lover

, alongside Colin Firth,

Colin Morgan Colin Morgan (born 1 January 1986) is a Northern Irish actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the BBC fantasy series ''Merlin'' (2008–2012), Leo Elster in ''Humans'' (2015–2018), and Billy Clanton in Kenneth Branagh’s ...

Anna Chancellor Anna Theodora Chancellor (born 27 April 1965) is a British actress who has received nominations for BAFTA and Olivier Awards. Background and early life Chancellor was born in Richmond, England to barrister John Paget Chancellor, eldest son of ...

Tom Wilkinson Thomas Geoffrey Wilkinson (born 5 February 1948)Born January–March 1948, according to the ''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com is an English actor of film, television, and stage. He has rece ...

. ''The Happy Prince'' had its world premiere at the

2018 Sundance Film Festival The 2018 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 18 to January 28, 2018. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 29, 2017. Awards The following awards were presented: * U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award: '' Th ...

, and European premiere at Berlinale Film Festival (February 2018) and was released in the UK on 15 June 2018. Guy Lodge said of Thomas in

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

: "Ross’s weary, take-and-take relationship with his client, friend & sometime lover gives the film its most quietly moving thread, buoyed by Thomas’s stoic, softly sorrowful performance." For his work, Thomas was selected as a Screen International Star of Tomorrow. He has since starred in ''Victoria'' (ITV), ''Invasion'' (Apple TV) & ''Into The Night'' (Netflix) & '' The Laureate'' (2022).

Feldenkrais

Alongside his acting, Thomas is a professional

Feldenkrais The Feldenkrais Method is a type of exercise therapy devised by Israeli Moshé Feldenkrais (1904–1984) during the mid-20th century. Participants are led through varied patterns of body movement, either hands-on or verbally guided, with the aim ...

practitioner & movement teacher, having completed his four-year professional training in 2021. He is qualified to work with professional athletes, performers, musicians, children with disability & stroke patients, and combines principles of

Neuroplasticity Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity, or brain plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that differs from how it p ...

Sport Science Sports science is a discipline that studies how the healthy human body works during exercise, and how sport and physical activity promote health and performance from cellular to whole body perspectives. The study of sports science traditionally inc ...

to improve people's movement. Thomas both plays & is passionate about

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

and football, & is involved in the development of pioneering new techniques for rehabilitation & recovery.

Disability

Thomas suffers from

. Injuries sustained as a result of his condition prevented him from acting from much of his twenties, but he has since returned to running, swimming, tennis, football & acting, having recovered from his injuries using The Feldenkrais Method. Thomas is an advocate for

Invisible disability Invisible disabilities, also known as hidden disabilities or non-visible disabilities (NVD), are disabilities that are not immediately apparent, are typically chronic illnesses and conditions that significantly impair normal activities of daily ...

& is involved in the spreading of awareness of disability in both education & the entertainment industry.

Awards

* Screen International Star of Tomorrow - Thomas was one of eight actors named 2018's Star of Tomorrow

Film

Television

References

External links

* *https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/the-happy-prince-review-1202671527/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Edwin 1987 births Living people English male film actors English male stage actors