Rolan Bell

Rolan Bell (born 17 October 1983) is a British actor who was born in Chiswick, West London,[1] of Jamaican origin. He became known for appearing in the BBC One television soap opera EastEnders as Theo Kelly in 2009.[2]

Rolan Bell
Born
Rolan Bell

(1983-10-17) 17 October 1983
Chiswick, London, England
OccupationActor
Years active2006–present

Background and career

Born as Rolan Alfonso Bell in London, England, to Jamaican parents[2] (the second oldest of their seven children), he began his training as an actor in 2000 at Hammersmith and West London College on a two-year performing arts course, before going on to the Drama Centre London.[1][3] Bell was first seen professionally in Doctors in 2006 and also appeared in a number of theatre productions, including a stage adaptation of The Harder They Come in which he played the lead role,[4][5] in Margaret Busby's An African Cargo (2007)[6] and The Lion King. Bell also played the role of Fela Kuti in the Broadway show Fela! in December 2010.[7]

More recently, Bell appeared as Coalhouse Walker Jr, in Ragtime, the Musical.[8]

Bell appeared as Silly Billy in the pantomime Jack and The Beanstalk at the Cambridge Arts Theatre from 6 December 2012 to 13 January 2013[9] (Hugh Homan commented in The Stage: "Rolan Bell as Silly Billy is superb at involving the audience").[10] He played the role of Britney in the We Will Rock You world arena tour 2013.[3] Also in 2013 Bell appeared in the BBC drama series WPCV 56.[11]

For his performance in the West End production of Memphis The Musical,[12] Bell was nominated in 2015 for an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical.[13] He was announced in October 2015 as leading the cast for Rapunzel, Park Theatre's Christmas show.[14][15]

References
  1. Gillian Fisher, "Rolan Bell, Ragtime the Musical", Afridiziak Theatre News, 20 May 2012.
  2. Rolan Bell at IMDb.
  3. "We Will Rock You UK Tour - Principals - Rolan Bell". Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  4. "Rolan Bell On ... His Reggae Education", What's On Stage, 7 July 2008.
  5. "The Harder They Come", Playhouse Theatre.
  6. Colette Lebrasse, "An African Cargo @ Greenwich Theatre", Say It Loud, 2007. Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Neil Spencer, "Fela Kuti remembered: 'He was a tornado of a man, but he loved humanity'", The Observer, 31 October 2010.
  8. "Rolan Bell is in Ragtime the Musical at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre from 18 May to 8 September 2012". Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  9. "Cambridge Arts Theatre - Jack and the Beanstalk". Archived from the original on April 21, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
  10. Hugh Homan, "Jack and the Beanstalk", The Stage, 17 December 2012.
  11. "Memories are Made of This", WPC 56, Series 1, Episode 2 of 5, BBC One.
  12. Matthew Amer, "Memphis The Musical", Official London Theatre, 24 October 2014.
  13. "Interview: FRolan Bell", Olivier Awards, 2015.
  14. "Rolan Bell leads the cast of Park Theatre’s Rapunzel", London Theatre 1, 9 October 2015.
  15. "Rapunzel Christmas musical at the Park Theatre – Rolan Bell and Aretha Ayeh lead cast", Musical Theratre Review, 12 October 2015.
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