Giles Terera (born 14 December 1976) is a British actor, musician, and filmmaker. He is best known for his work in the theatre, particularly in the original cast of the
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 ...
production of the musical
''Hamilton'', as
Aaron Burr, for which he won the 2018
Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
His first documentary, ''
Muse of Fire'', premiered in autumn 2013.
Career
Giles Terera trained at
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, formerly Mountview Theatre School, is a drama school in Peckham, south London, England, founded in 1945. The Academy provides specialist vocational training in acting and musical theatre, as well as production ...
. After leaving Mountview in 1999, he joined an acting ensemble at the
National Theatre, where he appeared in ''
Troilus and Cressida
''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ) is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602.
At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forced to leave Troy to join her father in the Greek camp. Meanwh ...
'', ''
Candide'', and ''The Darker Face of the Earth''. He then went on to star as the
Ugly Duckling
"The Ugly Duckling" ( da, Den grimme ælling) is a Danish literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). It was first published on 11 November 1843 in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. First Collection'' ...
in ''
Honk!
''Honk!'' is a musical adaptation of the 1843 Hans Christian Andersen story ''The Ugly Duckling'', incorporating a message of tolerance. The book and lyrics are by Anthony Drewe and music is by George Stiles (of the British songwriting duo S ...
''
Since then Terera has appeared consistently in British theatre, and some of his most notable appearances are in London's
National Theatre and the
West End. They include: ''
Death and the King's Horseman
''Death and the King's Horseman'' is a play by Wole Soyinka based on a real incident that took place in Nigeria during the colonial era: the horseman of a Yoruba King was prevented from committing ritual suicide by the colonial authorities. In ...
'', ''
The Tempest'',
Sammy Davis, Jr. in ''
The Rat Pack: Live From Las Vegas'', ''
RENT
Rent may refer to:
Economics
*Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property
*Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production
*Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
'', ''125th Street'', and ''Jailhouse Rock''. He originated the role of Gary Coleman in the London production of ''
Avenue Q''. He also appeared as Mafala Hatimbi in ''
The Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude dat ...
''.
Terera has been nominated for three awards for the
Whatsonstage.com Awards
The WhatsOnStage Awards (WOS Awards), formerly known as the Theatregoers' Choice Awards, are organised by the theatre website WhatsOnStage.com. The awards recognise performers and productions of British theatre with an emphasis on London's West ...
. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his appearance in ''Jailhouse Rock'', Best Takeover in a Role for ''The Rat Pack: Live From Las Vegas'' as
Sammy Davis, Jr., and for Best Ensemble Performance in ''Avenue Q''. His production of ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'', in which he played
Horatio
Horatio is an English male given name, an Italianized form of the ancient Roman Latin '' nomen'' (name) '' Horatius'', from the Roman '' gens'' (clan) '' Horatia''. The modern Italian form is ''Orazio'', the modern Spanish form ''Horacio''. It app ...
, won Best Shakespearean Production, and he accepted the award on behalf of the production. In 2007 Terera became the first Black actor to play Christy in
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 ...
's
Abbey Theatre
The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...
production of ''Playboy of the Western World''. In 2011 he played
Caliban
Caliban ( ), son of the witch Sycorax, is an important character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''.
His character is one of the few Shakespearean figures to take on a life of its own "outside" Shakespeare's own work: as Russell H ...
in
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas ...
's production of ''
The Tempest'' opposite
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...
at
Haymarket Theatre. In 2015 and 2016 he appeared at
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's
Globe Theatre, firstly in ''
King John'' followed by ''
The Merchant Of Venice
''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock.
Although classified as ...
'', a production starring
Jonathan Pryce
Sir Jonathan Pryce (born John Price; 1 June 1947) is a Welsh actor who is known for his performances on stage and in film and television. He has received numerous awards, including two Tony Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards. In 2021 he was ...
which toured America, China and Italy. In 2016 Terera appeared in the National Theatre's award-winning production of ''
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'' is a 1982 play – one of the ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle by August Wilson, and the only one not set in Pittsburgh – that chronicles the 20th-century African-American experience. The play is set in a recording stu ...
'', reportedly spending several months learning to play the double bass for the role. In December 2017 he originated the role of
Aaron Burr in the London transfer production of ''
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
'', a role for which he won an
Olivier Award
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...
for Best Actor in a Musical in April 2018.
As well as his numerous stage appearances, Terera has made occasional appearances in film and television. His most notable television appearances was in 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 ...
programme ''
Horrible Histories
''Horrible Histories'' is an educational entertainment franchise encompassing many media including books, magazines, audio books, stage shows, TV shows, and more.
In 2013, Lisa Edwards, UK publishing and commercial director of Scholastic Corpor ...
'', performing in all five series from 2009 to 2013. He has also appeared in
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. ...
...
''. He also appeared in a televised production of
. In 2020 he appeared in a Channel4 television production Maxxx as Gbenga (Maxxx's father).
Terera is also a filmmaker and musician. His first documentary, ''
'', created with Dan Poole, centres on modern perspectives of Shakespeare, featuring interviews with actors and filmmakers such as
. The film premiered in autumn 2013 on
.
Terera's credits as a musician, aside from appearing in numerous musical theatre productions, include composing scores for theatre and performing live as a solo musician. He also composed the score for ''Muse of Fire'', and his vocals can be heard in several songs for ''Horrible Histories''.
In 2013, Terera curated and directed a series of events at the
as part of its 50th-anniversary celebrations entitled "Walk in the Light", which honoured the contribution of Black artists to British theatre.
Terera was appointed
for services to theatre.
. He opened the celebrations by delivering a poem referencing the impact and achievements made in 2021.