Giles Terera

Giles Terera MBE (born 14 December 1976) is a British actor, musician, and filmmaker. He is best known for his work in the theatre, particularly in the London production of Hamilton's original cast as Aaron Burr for which he won the 2018 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.[1][2] His first documentary, Muse of Fire, premiered in autumn 2013.

Giles Terera
Birth nameGiles Terera
Born (1976-12-14) 14 December 1976
London, England, United Kingdom
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Actor
  • filmmaker
  • musician
  • composer
Instruments
Years active1999—present

Career

Giles Terera trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. After leaving Mountview in 1999, he joined an acting ensemble at the National Theatre, where he appeared in Troilus and Cressida, Candide, and The Darker Face of the Earth. He then went on to star as the Ugly Duckling in Honk! [3]

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, The Tempest, Sammy Davis, Jr. in The Rat Pack: Live From Las Vegas, RENT, 125th Street, and Jailhouse Rock.[4] 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.

Terera has been nominated for three awards for the Whatsonstage.com Awards. 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, in which he played Horatio, won Best Shakespearean Production, and he accepted the award on behalf of the production.[5] In 2007 Terera became the first Black actor to play Christy in Dublin's Abbey Theatre production of Playboy of the Western World. In 2011 he played Caliban in Trevor Nunn's production of The Tempest opposite Ralph Fiennes at Haymarket Theatre. In 2015 and 2016 he appeared at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, firstly in King John followed by The Merchant Of Venice, a production starring Jonathan Pryce which toured America, China and Italy. In 2016 Terera appeared in the National Theatre's award-winning production of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, 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, a role for which he won an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical in April 2018.[2]

As well as his numerous stage appearances, Terera has made occasional appearances in film and television. His most notable television appearance was in the CBBC programme Horrible Histories, performing in all five series from 2009 to 2013. He has also appeared in BBC television show Doctors, and in the film London Boulevard. He also appeared in a televised production of Hamlet.

Terera is also a filmmaker and musician. His first documentary, Muse of Fire, created with Dan Poole, centres on modern perspectives of Shakespeare, featuring interviews with actors and filmmakers such as Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Jude Law, Julie Taymor, Fiona Shaw and Baz Luhrmann. The film premiered in autumn 2013 on BBC Four.[6]

His 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,[7] and his vocals can be heard in several songs for Horrible Histories.

In 2013, Terera curated and directed a series of events at the National Theatre as part of its 50th-anniversary celebrations entitled "Walk in the Light", which honoured the contribution of Black artists to British theatre.[8]

Terera was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to theatre.[9]

Awards
YearAwardTitleProductionResult
2004 Whatsonstage Theatregoers Choice Award Best Supporting Actor Jailhouse Rock Nominated
2005 Whatsonstage Theatregoers Choice Award Best Takeover in a Role The Rat Pack: Live From Las Vegas Nominated
2006 Whatsonstage.com Award Best Ensemble Avenue Q Won
2011 KidScreen Award Best Acting Horrible Histories Won
2011 Whatsonstage.com Award Best Shakespearean Production Hamlet Won
2012 KidScreen Award Best Acting Horrible Histories Won
2014 Falstaff Award Best Film Muse of Fire Won
2018 Olivier Award Best Actor in a Musical Hamilton Won
2018 Broadwayworld UK Award Best Actor in a New Musical Hamilton Won

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
2001DoctorsLee HerridgeOne episode, television series
2009–2013Horrible HistoriesVarious roles, including Sports presenter and Jesse OwensAppears in all five series, television
2010London BoulevardWaiterFeature film
2010HamletHoratioTelevised stage performance
2013Muse of FireHimselfFeature-length television documentary. Also served as composer, director, creator, writer and producer
2015–2016Horrible HistoriesVarious rolestelevision
2016YonderlandParty GuestAppears in Christmas Special episode
2017The Current WarElijah McCoy
gollark: It should be possible to muck with setTimeout/Interval to do that.
gollark: If we can somehow also run it in fast-forward then...
gollark: Hmm, good idea.
gollark: 383 billion CPS! Thanks, golden cookie!
gollark: The pantheon too.

References
  1. Dowd, Vincent (3 May 2019). "'Create your own work,' says Hamilton star" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  2. "The Nominees for Oliver Awards with MasterCard 2018 are… | #BeInspired". Olivier Awards. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  3. "20 Questions with Giles Terera" Archived 28 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Whatsonstage.com
  4. "Giles Terera at the National Theatre". Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  5. "National Theatre's Hamlet win Best Shakespearean Production for the Whatsonstage Awards 2011". Archived from the original on 11 June 2013. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  6. "Muse of Fire: A Shakespearean Road Movie", BBC Four, 24 October 2013.
  7. Muse of Fire - The Producers.
  8. "Walk in the Light" Archived 13 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine, National Theatre.
  9. "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N22.
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