Michael D. Xavier (born Michael David Smith; 27 November 1978) is an English actor and singer.

Early life

Michael David Smith (later known as Michael Xavier) attended Knutsford High and ultimately completed his professional acting training at the

Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester Metropolitan University is located in the centre of Manchester, England. The university has over 40,000 students and over 4,000 members of staff. It is home to four faculties (Arts and Humanities, Business and Law, Health and Educat ...

in 1999. His first professional role and London West End debut was in the musical comedy Pageant in 2000.

Work in theatre

Xavier has been nominated twice for a Laurence Olivier Award. He was first nominated for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical in 2011 for his performance as Cinderella's Prince/Wolf in ''Into the Woods'' at the

Regent's Park Open Air Theatre Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London. The theatre Established in 1932, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is one of the largest theatres in London (1,256 seats) and is situated in Queen Mary� ...

. The same year he was also nominated for the Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Oliver in the musical ''Love Story'' at the

Duchess Theatre The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest West End theatres with a proscenium arch. It has 494 se ...

. In January 2017, Xavier's lead performance in " ''Sunset Boulevard''" (at the London Coliseum) won the 2016 BroadwayWorld UK/West End Award for Best Actor in a New Production of a Musical. Xavier has worked in lead roles on stage in the United Kingdom for 20 years. Notable productions in which he has appeared include ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madame Butterfly'', and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed rom ...

'', ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...

'', ''The Phantom of the Opera'', ''Oklahoma!'', and ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...

''. In 2014, he played Sid Sorokin opposite

Joanna Riding Joanna Riding (born Joanne Riding; 9 November 1967) is an English actress. For her work in West End musicals, she has won two Laurence Olivier Awards, and has been nominated for three others. Early life Riding was born in Preston, Lancashire, ...

in ''

The Pajama Game ''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. and dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his c ...

'' at the

Shaftesbury Theatre The Shaftesbury Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, in the London Borough of Camden. Opened in 1911 as the New Prince's Theatre, it was the last theatre to be built in Shaftesbury Avenue. History The theatre was d ...

in London. In 2008, Xavier played

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...

Tim Fountain Tim Fountain (born 23 December 1967) is a British writer. Early life Fountain was born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. An only child, he was brought up in a pub in the village of West Ardsley, West Yorkshire. He was educated at Batley Grammar ...

's play ''Rock'' at the Unity Theatre in Liverpool, the Library Theatre in Manchester, and the

Oval House Theatre Ovalhouse, formerly called Oval House Theatre, was an Off-West End theatre in the London Borough of Lambeth, located at 52–54 Kennington Oval, London, SE11 5SW. It closed in 2020, and moved to Brixton, becoming the Brixton House theatre (located ...

in London. It went on to be produced as a radio play by production company Made in Manchester, and won the Best Online Only Audio Drama award at the

BBC Audio Drama Awards The BBC Audio Drama Awards is an awards ceremony created by BBC Radio to recognise excellence in the radio industry, in particular in audio dramas. The inaugural awards were presented in 2012 and the ceremony hosted at the BBC Radio Theatre, Br ...

in 2012.

Theatre credits

Work in television and film

Xavier has carved some fine credits in recent years with recurring roles including Lieutenant Hamilton Knox in Outlander (Stars), Christopher Miles in

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily sur ...

(NBC), Dr. Steph Belcombe in Gentleman Jack (BBC) and DCI Elliott Wallace in season 7 of

Grantchester Grantchester is a village and civil parish on the River Cam or Granta in South Cambridgeshire, England. It lies about south of Cambridge. Name The village of Grantchester is listed in the 1086 Domesday Book as ''Grantesete'' and ''Grauntset ...

(ITV). As well as roles in

Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...

(ITV) and The Chelsea Detective (ITV). Xavier's film work includes his portrayal of Maurice in Hallmark's 'Paris, Wine & Romance' directed by Alex Zamm, Tom in the 2014 production 'Never Let Go' with director Howard J Ford for Latitude Films, scheduled for release in 2015. In 2013, he appeared as Rob in the short film 'Gnomeland' by writer/director Francesca Jaynes, as well as playing a Russian Gulag Prisoner in

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios uni ...

' '

Muppets Most Wanted ''Muppets Most Wanted'' is a 2014 American musical crime comedy film and the eighth theatrical film featuring the Muppets. Directed by James Bobin and written by Bobin and Nicholas Stoller, the film is a sequel to ''The Muppets'' (2011) and stars ...

', filmed at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...

Major television and film credits

Presenting and recording work

In 2013, Xavier co-presented the

Olivier Awards 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 as ...

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

Covent Garden Stage with

Claudia Winkleman Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English television presenter, radio personality, film critic and journalist. Between 2004 and 2010, she presented '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' on weeknights on BBC Two. Since ...

, and returned again in 2014 to co-present on the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

Stage with

Myleene Klass Myleene Angela Klass (born 6 April 1978) is a British musician, singer, presenter, model and businesswoman. She was a member of the pop group Hear'Say, and later released two solo classical crossover albums in 2003 and 2007. More recently, Klass ...

. He also hosted the UK Theatre Awards at the historic

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

in both 2013 and 2014. In addition, Xavier has worked as a recording artist, with both radio and original soundtrack credits to his name. In 2007,

presented a special edition of '' Friday Night is Music Night'', celebrating the work of

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

and the 50th anniversary of ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

''.

Paul Gambaccini Paul Matthew Gambaccini (born April 2, 1949) is an American-British radio and television presenter and author in the United Kingdom. He has dual United States and British nationality, having become a British citizen in 2005. Known as "The Grea ...

presented the program at London's

Mermaid Theatre The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new thea ...

, featuring the

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale symp ...

and Xavier as Tony. He also played Artie Green in the

live recording of

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...

, performed at the

Cork Opera House Cork Opera House is a theatre and opera house in Cork in Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the Nort ...

with

Michael Ball Michael Ashley Ball (born 27 June 1962) is an English singer, presenter and actor. He made his West End debut in 1985 playing Marius Pontmercy in the original London production of ''Les Misérables'', and went on to star in 1987 as Raoul in ...

and

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

. Outside of radio, his work in recordings includes ''

Bumblescratch ''Bumblescratch'' is an original sung-through musical with book, music and lyrics by Robert J. Sherman. The musical premiered at the Adelphi Theatre in London on 4 September 2016 as a one night, celebrity gala charity event in aid of Variety, ...

'' (2016 London Concert Cast Recording) ''Collaborations: The Songs of Elliot Davis'' (2013), ''Lift'' (2012 Concept Album), ''

Soho Cinders ''Soho Cinders'' is a musical with music by George Stiles, lyrics and a book by Anthony Drewe with Elliot Davis as co-author. A modern adaptation of the ''Cinderella'' story, it transfers the action to the heart of London's Soho, and replaces ...

'' (2011 Concert Cast), ''Love Story'' (2011 Original London Cast), and ''Little Women'' (2004 Studio Cast).

MX Masterclass

Xavier is the Principal o
MX Masterclass
a training school for musical theatre students which aims to aid them in gaining acceptance to professional training colleges. The school runs every Sunday, based at Rambert, Upper Ground. Their patrons are

Matthew Bourne Sir Matthew Christopher Bourne (born 13 January 1960) is an English choreographer whose work includes contemporary dance and dance theatre. Choreographer In 2007, Bourne contemplated a gay version of ''Romeo and Juliet''. Despite the succ ...

, Natalie Paris,

Emily Carey Emily Joanna Carey (born 30 April 2003) is an English actor. She began her career as a child actor on stage and in the BBC One soap opera ''Casualty'' (2014–2017, 2021). She went on to play young versions of characters, such as Diana Prince in ...

and

Sebastian Croft Sebastian Theodore Kemble Croft (born 16 December 2001) is a British actor. He began his career as a child actor on stage before making his television debut as Young Ned Stark in ''Game of Thrones'' (2016). He earned a BAFTA Children's Award no ...

. Regular teachers over the years have included Anna Tringham, Ross Sharkey, Lucinda Lawrence, Brandon Lee Sears, Nicola Coates,

Peter Polycarpou Peter Polycarpou is an English-Cypriot actor, best known for playing Chris Theodopolopodous in the television comedy series '' Birds of a Feather'' and Louis Charalambos in ''The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies''. Early life Polycarpou w ...

and Alex Young. Students are also taught by guest performers and practitioners including

Kerry Ellis Kerry Jane Ellis (born 6 May 1979) is an English actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music. Born and raised in Suffolk, Ellis began performing at an early age before training at L ...

Ramin Karimloo Ramin Karimloo ( fa, رامین کریملو; ; born September 19, 1978) is a Canadian actor, singer and composer recognized for his work in London's West End and Broadway theatre. He has played the leading male roles in both of the West End's ...

, Rebecca Trehearn, Marc Antolin, Robbie Sherman,

Katie Brayben Katie Brayben (born 3 September) is an English actress and musician who has performed in stage plays, television and musicals and also as a singer and songwriter with her own music. She is presently best known for her portrayal of the title role of ...

Louise Dearman Louise Dearman (born 13 March 1979) is a British actress and singer, perhaps best known for playing Glinda and Elphaba in the West End production of the musical '' Wicked.'' Notably, she is the only actress to have played both witches in any prod ...

, Trevor Dion Nicholas and

Matt Henry (singer) Matt Henry is a Laurence Olivier Award winning British singer and actor. His first career highlight was being chosen by the Prince's Trust to perform at the Two Nations Concert at Johannesburg Stadium in 1997 alongside the Spice Girls, Bil ...

. The students are often given an opportunity to perform at various charity and West End events at which Xavier also appears. The students also appear at a Christmas concert at

St Paul's, Covent Garden St Paul's Church is a Church of England parish church located in Bedford Street, Covent Garden, central London. It was designed by Inigo Jones as part of a commission for the 4th Earl of Bedford in 1631 to create "houses and buildings fit ...

, alongside industry professionals. The 2016 concert was hosted by

Rufus Hound Rufus Hound (born Robert James Blair Simpson 6 March 1979) is an English actor, comedian and presenter. Early life Hound was born on 6 March 1979, in Essex and moved to Surrey at the age of seven. He was educated at Hoe Bridge School Woking ...

. Students have many performance opportunities throughout the year and gain national and local news coverage in the process. On three occasions they performed at The Best of the West End concert at

The Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no governm ...

starring many big West End names including Xavier himself. They have also performed at Lambert Jackson Productions concert, West End Women and Main Men Of Musicals

References

External links

Official Website

IMDB
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xavier, Michael 20th-century English male actors 1977 births Living people 21st-century English male actors Male actors from Liverpool English male musical theatre actors English male stage actors