Declan William Bennett (born 20 March 1981) is an English singer-songwriter, actor and playwright. He gained prominence as a member of the band

Point Break ''Point Break'' is a 1991 American action crime film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by W. Peter Iliff. It stars Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The film's title refers to the surfing term " point break", wher ...

, before going on to perform on London's West End and as a solo musician. He is known on screen for his roles as Charlie Cotton in the soap opera '' EastEnders'' and Jonathan Roberts in the ITV series '' The Long Call''.

Early life and education

Bennett was born in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

and has an older brother Kieran. Like his ''EastEnders'' character, Bennett is of Irish descent; his mother Rose is from

Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

, and his paternal grandparents are from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

. Bennett attended Christ the King Primary School in Coundon and then

Cardinal Newman Catholic School and Community College Cardinal Newman Catholic School is a coeducational Roman Catholic secondary school and sixth form located in the Keresley area of Coventry, West Midlands, England. It is part of the Holy Cross Catholic MAC (HCCMAC). Feeder primary schools *C ...

Career

Early ventures

As a teenager, Bennett performed with the Belgrade Youth Theatre and the Coventry Youth Operetta Group (YOG)

, including appearances in

Willy Russell William Russell (born 23 August 1946) is an English dramatist, lyricist and composer. His best known works are ''Educating Rita'', ''Shirley Valentine'', '' Blood Brothers'' and ''Our Day Out''. Early life Russell was born in Whiston, Lancash ...

's ''Our Day Out'' in September 1996, and in ''Boy Band'', which featured a number of his own compositions. He also performed with the National Youth Music Theatre, in ''The Kissing-Dance'' 1999.

Music

In May 1999, Bennett was one of nine teenagers chosen to sing live on the ITV morning TV show '' This Morning'' in a feature that put together a boy band. Following his appearance, he was contacted in the studio by another band,

, which featured Brett Adams and David 'Ollie' Oliver from UK children's TV programme ''

Byker Grove Byker is a district in the east of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. Home to the Byker Wall estate, made famous by TV series '' Byker Grove'', Byker’s population was recorded at 12,206 in the 2011 census. Byker is borde ...

'', who were signed to Warner Music, and who were looking for a new member. The band released five singles, four of which made the UK top 20, and an album, which was number one in three countries in South east Asia, including Japan, and made the UK top 40. Bennett left the band in December 2000. In January 2005, Bennett released his first solo album under the pseudonym "Sumladfromcov" entitled ''The Painters Ball'' on his own record label, Covboy Records. This was followed by a limited-edition EP, ''The Kitchen'', in May 2006. Now performing as a singer-songwriter under his own name, Bennett released a five-track iTunes-only EP in March 2007 entitled ''10 Nelson Road''. His second full-length album, ''An Innocent Evening Of Drinking'', was released on 14 April 2008. ''Therapy'', an iTunes-only single packaged with two remixes — Olivia's Mix and New York Live Studio Mix — was released in the U.S. on 27 April 2009 and in the rest of the world on 23 March 2009. On 31 January 2010, Bennett performed on the Grammy Awards with Green Day as a cast member of the rock opera '' American Idiot'', which ran on Broadway from 20 April 2010 to 24 April 2011. Bennett was a member of the ensemble, understudying and performing the role of Will. Bennett released the album ''record:BREAKUP'' on 25 April 2011 in New York. A live and acoustic version was released on Monday 19 August 2013.

Theatre

In January 2002, Bennett was given the part of Guru Dazzle in

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singer ...

's West End show ''

Taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

'', which received four Olivier Award nominations and he later took over one of the lead roles, Billy, playing alongside

Matt Lucas Matthew Richard Lucas (born 5 March 1974) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television presenter. He is best known for his work with David Walliams on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Britain'' (2003–2006, 2020) and '' Come Fl ...

, Boy George, and Julian Clary among others until the show closed in London in April 2003. Bennett also played the role of Billy in the UK tour of the show from December 2003 to 2004. In September 2006, Bennett took over the role of Roger Davis in the American national tour of Broadway rock opera '' Rent''. He completed a nine-month tour of the United States from September 2006 to May 2007. He reprised the role on Broadway from October 2007 until May 2008. In 2013, Bennett premiered the romantic lead Guy in the West End production of ''Once'' opposite

Zrinka Cvitešić Zrinka Cvitešić (born 18 July 1979) is a Croatian film, television and theatre actress. Biography The elder of two daughters, Zrinka Cvitešić was born in Karlovac, in the Karlovac County to Ivan and Višnja Cvitešić. Her mother played or ...

as Girl at the Phoenix Theatre in London. In March 2016, it was announced Bennett would star in the titular role of '' Jesus Christ Superstar'' at the Open Air Theatre Regents Park. In 2019, he starred in ''

The View UpStairs ''The View UpStairs'' is a musical theater, musical with music, lyrics and book by Max Vernon based on the real-life events of the UpStairs Lounge arson attack, 1973 arson attack at the UpStairs Lounge, a gay bar in New Orleans. This attack res ...

'' playing the role of Dale at the

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

, in London from 18 July to 24 August. In June 2021 it was announced Declan Bennett would be starring as Billy Bigelow in the Regents Park Open Air Theatre summer production of “Carousel”. This acclaimed show ran from 31 July 2021 to 25 September 2021. Bennett created the one-man show ''Boy Out the City''. It had its work-in-progress showcase in early 2021 before premiering the full thing at the Westival Music + Arts Festival in

Westport, Ireland Westport (, historically anglicised as ''Cahernamart'') is a town in County Mayo in Ireland.Westport Before 1800 by Michael Kelly published in Cathair Na Mart 2019 It is at the south-east corner of Clew Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean on the ...

that 24 October, followed by a London premiere at the Turbine Theatre on 9 November. On 8th April 2022, it was announced Bennett would star as the Duke de Monroth in '' Moulin Rouge! (musical)'' on Broadway beginning on 10th May 2022, following Tam Mutu, at the ''

Al Hirschfeld Theatre The Al Hirschfeld Theatre, originally the Martin Beck Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 302 West 45th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1924, it was designed by G. Albert Lansburgh in a Moorish and ...

''.

Television and film

After a number of small film and television roles, on 22 January 2014, it was announced Bennett would join the cast of '' EastEnders'' as Charlie Cotton, the long-lost grandson of

Dot Branning Dorothy "Dot" Branning (also Cotton) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', played by June Brown. In a special episode entitled ''EastEnders: Dot's Story'' (2003) a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in fl ...

(

June Brown June Muriel Brown (16 February 1927 – 3 April 2022) was an English actress and author. She was best known for her role as Dot Cotton on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' (1985–1993; 1997–2020). In 2005, she won Best Actress at the '' ...

). ''EastEnders'' executive producer,

Dominic Treadwell-Collins Dominic Treadwell-Collins (born 26 August 1977) is a British television producer, known for his work on the soap operas ''Family Affairs'' and ''EastEnders'', creating the ''EastEnders'' spin-off series '' Kat & Alfie: Redwater'' and Executive P ...

, questioned whether Charlie (named after Charlie Cotton) would be "kind" like his grandmother or "evil" like his father

Nick Cotton Nick Cotton is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''EastEnders'' played by John Altman on a semi-regular basis from the soap's debut episode on 19 February 1985. Altman has stated that his initial exit was due to producer Julia ...

( John Altman). Bennett first appeared on 10 March 2014. In 2015, it was revealed Bennett would exit the series. During his time, he had married

Ronnie Mitchell Veronica "Ronnie" Branning (also Mitchell) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', played by Samantha Womack. She and her younger sister Roxy Mitchell (played by Rita Simons) were introduced by executive producer Died ...

( Samantha Womack), gotten in a car accident, had an affair with Ronnie's sister

Roxy Mitchell Roxanne "Roxy" Mitchell (also Slater) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, ''EastEnders'', portrayed by Rita Simons.Rita Simons Rita Joanne Simons (born 10 March 1977) is an English actress and singer from London. She is best known for playing Roxy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2007 to 2017, when her character was killed-off, alongside her on screen ...

) and impersonated a cop. On 5 April 2017, it was confirmed that Bennett would reprise his ''EastEnders'' role for the forthcoming season after months of speculation. His first episode back aired on 5 May 2017. Bennett starred opposite Ben Aldridge in the 2021 adaptation of '' The Long Call'' on ITV and

BritBox BritBox is an online digital video subscription service, founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, operating in nine countries across North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa.

Personal life

Bennett is

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

. He lived in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for a number of years before moving to rural Oxfordshire, where he currently lives with his life partner, fellow actor and singer Fra Fee.

Discography

With

Solo releases

References

External links

*
Reviews of Our Day Out on Willy Russell's Official-Unofficial website
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070205151407/http://www.howardgoodall.co.uk/musicals/kisstext.htm Article and reviews about ''The Kissing-Dance'' on the composer's official sitebr>Theatre's webpage about ''Taboo'' London productionOfficial Declan Bennett website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Declan 1981 births Living people English male singer-songwriters English pop singers English male soap opera actors English male stage actors English gay actors English gay writers English gay musicians LGBT actors from England LGBT composers LGBT musicians from England LGBT producers LGBT singers from the United Kingdom LGBT songwriters People from Coventry English people of Irish descent 21st-century English singers 21st-century British male singers 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people