Rowan Witt

Rowan Witt is an Australian film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his roles in The Book of Mormon, She Loves Me, Into The Woods, South Pacific, Dogfight, Home and Away, and The Matrix.

Rowan Witt
Hilary Cole & Rowan Witt
at the 2016 Helpmann Awards
Born
Sydney
Alma materSydney Conservatorium of Music
OccupationActor
Relatives(sister)

Early life

Witt was born in Sydney, Australia.

He went to high school at the International Grammar School. Witt's graduating artwork topped the state, and was exhibited at the NSW Art Gallery, and was awarded the Julian Ashton drawing scholarship.

He completed his tertiary degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music University, and received a Bachelor of Music Performance, majoring in Classical Voice.[1]

Witt trained in acting at various institutions including ATYP and NIDA, and has a strong background in theatre and improv.

Career

Witt was discovered at an early age and started working in film and television, with roles including The Matrix,[2] Somewhere in the Darkness, Escape of the Artful Dodger, Underbelly and Home and Away.[3] 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 in England to screen-test.[4]

After graduating high school he undertook intensive acting training and completed a full-time degree in classical music performance.

Witt performed across Australia in concerts, recitals, oratorios and operas, before making his musical theatre début at the Sydney Opera House in The Lincoln Centre's production of South Pacific in which he played Professor.[5] The production was directed by Bartlett Sher and starred Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Lisa McCune.[6]

This was immediately followed by Witt's role as Jack, in the Australian production of Into The Woods, at the Melbourne Arts Centre.[4] Witt garnered critical acclaim for this performance, redefining the role, and being named a talent to watch.[7][8][9]

Witt was then cast in the Australian premiere of Pasek and Paul's musical, Dogfight, at the Hayes Theatre, as the Vietnam marine, Bernstein.[10][11] AussieTheatre named Witt's performance a highlight of 2015, stating "Witt is the kind of actor that musical theatre needs."[12]

During the Dogfight season, Witt started rehearsing for Cameron Mackintosh's production of Les Misérables (25th Anniversary Production) with which he subsequently toured Australia.[13]

Some of Witt's other theatre roles during this time include John Hinckley in the Australian tour of Sondheim's Assassins,[14] Danny in Baby at the Hayes Theatre, Leaf Coneybear in William Finn's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Young Buddy in the acclaimed concert production of Sondheim's Follies – opposite Philip Quast, Debra Byrne, Lisa McCune, David Hobson and Anne Wood.[15][16]

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 in Sydney.[17][18] This role garnered Witt considerable critical praise, and earned him a 2018 Sydney Theatre Award win, and a 2017 Helpmann Award nomination.[19][20][21][22]

Witt then lead the acclaimed revival of Bock and Harnick's, She Loves Me, as Georg Nowack, at the Hayes Theatre, 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.[23][24]

As a voice-over actor, Witt's credits include animation, advertising, radio, television shows and movie soundtracks.[1]

Personal life

Witt has a sister, a pop musician, who performs under the stage name, ELKI.[25][26]

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References
  1. "Rowan Witt " EM Voices". www.emvoices.com.au.
  2. "Spoon Boy in 'The Matrix'". TMZ.
  3. "FOLLIES in CONCERT". www.folliesinconcert.com.au.
  4. "Victorian Opera 2014 – Into the Woods Programme". Issuu.
  5. "Aussie cast of South Pacific is filmed for DVD | News". AussieTheatre.com.
  6. "South Pacific – Sydney | Reviews". AussieTheatre.com.
  7. "Review: Into the Woods (Victorian Opera)". www.limelightmagazine.com.au.
  8. "Into the Woods review (Arts Centre Melbourne) | Daily Review". dailyreview.com.au.
  9. "Victorian Opera: Into the Woods | Reviews". AussieTheatre.com.
  10. "Review: Dogfight — Hayes Theatre Co | Reviews". AussieTheatre.com.
  11. "Dogfight – Review". Jo Litson: Scene and Heard.
  12. "Favourite moments in 2015: Sydney theatre | News". AussieTheatre.com.
  13. "Les Misérables wins 5 Helpmann Awards, including Best Musical!". Michael Cassel Group.
  14. "Assassins | Australian Arts Review". artsreview.com.au.
  15. "FOLLIES in CONCERT". www.folliesinconcert.com.au.
  16. "Rowan Witt - ACTOR". Rowan Witt. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
  17. "The Book of Mormon breaks box office records in Melbourne but only opens in 2017". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  18. "Cast - The Book of Mormon Musical - Melbourne | Official Website". The Book of Mormon Musical - Melbourne. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  19. "2017 Nominees | Helpmann Awards". www.helpmannawards.com.au.
  20. Cooper, Nathanael (25 July 2017). "Helpmann Awards 2017: What about the locals?". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  21. "2018 Sydney Theatre Awards: The Winners". AUDREY Journal. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  22. Jefferson, Dee (22 January 2019). "Sydney Theatre Awards Winners 2018". ABC NEWS. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  23. "BWW REVIEW: SHE LOVES ME Is An Utterly Adorable Confection Of Captivating Classic Musical Charm". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  24. "Rowan Witt | film theatre actor | ABOUT". Rowan Witt - Australian Actor. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  25. "ELKI". SoundCloud.
  26. "ELKI on Apple Music". iTunes.
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