Rowan Witt is an Australian film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his roles 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 ...

'',

Gloria Gloria may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Christian liturgy and music * Gloria in excelsis Deo, the Greater Doxology, a hymn of praise * Gloria Patri, the Lesser Doxology, a short hymn of praise ** Gloria (Handel) ** Gloria (Jenkins) ...

, ''

She Loves Me ''She Loves Me'' is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play '' Parfumerie'' by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, following the 1940 fil ...

,'' ''

Into The Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story ...

'', '' South Pacific'', ''

Dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an aerial battle between fighter aircraft conducted at close range. Dogfighting first occurred in Mexico in 1913, shortly after the invention of the airplane. Until at least 1992, it was a component in every majo ...

'', ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

,'' and ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

''.

Early life

Witt was born in Sydney, Australia. He went to high school at the

International Grammar School ("Unity Through Diversity") , city = Ultimo , state = New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Sydney , pushpin_image = , pushpin_mapsize = 250 , pushpin ...

. Witt's graduating artwork topped the state, and was exhibited at the NSW Art Gallery, and was awarded the

Julian Ashton Julian Rossi Ashton (27 January 185127 April 1942) was an English-born Australian artist and teacher. He is best known for founding the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney and encouraging Australian painters to capture local life and scenery '' ...

drawing scholarship. He undertook intensive acting training and received his tertiary degree from the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the old ...

University, where he majored in Classical Voice. Witt trained in acting at various institutions including ATYP and

NIDA Nida or NIDA may refer to: People * Nida Allam (born 1993), American politician * Nida Fazli (1938–2016), Indian Hindi and Urdu poet and lyricist * Nida Eliz Üstündağ (born 1996), Turkish female swimmer * Eugene Nida (1914–2011), American l ...

, and has a family background in theatre and improv.

Career

Witt was discovered at an early age and started working in film and television, with roles including ''

'' (credited as "Spoon Boy"), ''Somewhere in the Darkness'', ''

Escape of the Artful Dodger ''Escape of the Artful Dodger'' is an Australian children's television series first screened on the Nine Network in 2001. ''Escape of the Artful Dodger'' is the story of Jack Dawkins, who was introduced in the classic Charles Dickens novel ''O ...

'', ''Underbelly'' and ''

''. He was short-listed to the final four for the role of ''Harry Potter'' in the series of feature films and was the only Australian actor to be flown to

Leavesden Studios Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden is an studio complex in Leavesden in Watford, Hertfordshire, in South East England. Formerly known as Leavesden Film Studios and still colloquially known as Leavesden Studios or simply Leavesden, it is a film an ...

in England to screen-test. After graduating study, Witt performed across Australia in concerts, recitals, oratorios and operas, before making his musical theatre début at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

in The Lincoln Centre's production of ''South Pacific'' in which he played Professor. The production was directed by

Bartlett Sher Bartlett B. Sher (born March 27, 1959) is an American theatre director. '' The New York Times'' has described him as "one of the most original and exciting directors, not only in the American theater but also in the international world of opera" ...

and starred

Teddy Tahu Rhodes Teddy Tahu Rhodes (born 30 August 1966) is a New Zealand operatic baritone. Early life Rhodes was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 30 August 1966, to a British mother, Joyce, and a New Zealand father, Terrence Tahu Gravenor Rhodes. The Mao ...

and

Lisa McCune Lisa McCune (born 19 February 1971) is an Australian actress, known for her role in TV series ''Blue Heelers'' as Senior Constable Maggie Doyle, and in '' Sea Patrol'' as Lieutenant Kate McGregor RAN. She has won four Gold Logie Awards. McCun ...

. This was followed by Witt's breakout role as Jack, in the Australian production of ''Into The Woods'', at the Melbourne Arts Centre, which garnered him considerable critical acclaim. Witt was then cast in the Australian premiere of

Pasek and Paul Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, known together as Pasek and Paul, are an American songwriting duo and composing team for musical theater, films and television. Their works include ''A Christmas Story'', ''Dogfight'', '' Edges'', ''Dear Evan Hanse ...

's musical, ''Dogfight'', at the

Hayes Theatre The Hayes Theatre is a 111-seat theatre specialising in music theatre and cabaret in Potts Point, Sydney, Australia. It is named after the Australian performer Nancye Hayes. Hayes Theatre Co was established at the former Darlinghurst Theatre afte ...

, as the Vietnam marine, Bernstein. AussieTheatre named Witt's performance a highlight of 2015, stating "Witt is the kind of actor that musical theatre needs." During the ''Dogfight'' season, Witt started work on

Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "th ...

's production of ''Les Misérables'' (25th Anniversary Production) with which he subsequently toured Australia. Other theatre roles during this time include

John Hinckley John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, two months after Reagan's first inauguration. Using a .22 caliber revolver, Hinck ...

in the Australian tour of Sondheim's ''Assassins'', Danny in ''Baby'' at the

, Leaf Coneybear in

William Finn William Alan Finn (born February 28, 1952) is an American composer and lyricist. He is best known for his musicals, which include '' Falsettos'', for which he won the 1992 Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical, ''A New B ...

's ''

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...

'', and Young Buddy in the acclaimed concert production of Sondheim's ''

Follies ''Follies'' is a Musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on t ...

'' – opposite

Philip Quast Philip Mark Quast (born 30 July 1957) is an Australian actor and singer. He has won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical three times, making him the first actor to have three wins in that category. He is perhaps best known ...

Debra Byrne Debra Anne Byrne (born 30 March 1957), formerly billed as Debbie Byrne, is an Australian pop singer, variety entertainer, theatre and TV actress and writer, director and choreographer of cabaret. From April 1971 to March 1975 she was a founding ...

, and David Hobson. Witt starred as Elder McKinley in the original Australian cast of ''The Book of Mormon'' at The Princess Theatre in Melbourne and the

Sydney Lyric Theatre Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...

in Sydney, for which he won several awards including a Sydney Theatre Award, and a

Helpmann Award The Helpmann Awards are accolades for live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Live Performance Australia (LPA) since 2001. The annual awards recognise achievements in the disciplines of musical th ...

nomination. Witt then lead the acclaimed revival of Bock and Harnick's, ''

'', as Georg Nowack, at the

, and starred as Dean in the Sydney premiere of Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins' play, ''Gloria''. For both roles he was nominated for BW and Sydney Theatre Awards. In 2021, Witt starred opposite

Katherine Parkinson Katherine Jane Parkinson (born 9 March 1978) is an English actress. She appeared in Channel 4's '' The IT Crowd'' comedy series as Jen Barber, for which she received a British Comedy Best TV Actress Award in 2009 and 2014, and was nominated twice ...

(

The IT Crowd ''The IT Crowd'' is a British sitcom originally broadcast by Channel 4, written and directed by Graham Linehan, produced by Ash Atalla and starring Chris O'Dowd, Richard Ayoade, Katherine Parkinson, and Matt Berry. Set in the offices of the fict ...

) in the

Paramount+ Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

original television series, ''

Spreadsheet A spreadsheet is a computer application for computation, organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular form. Spreadsheets were developed as computerized analogs of paper accounting worksheets. The program operates on data entered in cel ...

''. As a

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-Diegetic#Film sound and music, diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, th ...

actor, Witt's credits include animation, advertising, radio, television shows and movie soundtracks.

Personal life

Witt has a sister, a pop musician, who performs under the stage name, ELKI.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Witt, Rowan Living people 21st-century Australian male actors Helpmann Award winners Australian male stage actors Australian male television actors Australian male film actors Australian male musical theatre actors Year of birth missing (living people) Australian male voice actors Male actors from Sydney Australian male child actors Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni Male Shakespearean actors Australian people of English descent