ACTING
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
ACTING
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Rhys Thomas is a British actor and comedian whose career spans television, film, radio and live performance. Best known for his roles in The Fast Show, Swiss Toni, Nathan Barley, Star Stories and Bellamy’s People, he has worked with many of Britain’s leading comedy performers and creators.
Born and raised in Essex, Rhys began his television career while still at school. Comedy sketches he filmed with friends Tony Way and Steve Burge brought him to the attention of Charlie Higson and Bob Mortimer, leading to work on Shooting Stars and The Fast Show. He became a familiar face as Paul, the young assistant to Charlie Higson’s Swiss Toni, later reprising the role in two series of the BBC sitcom Swiss Toni.
His television roles include Toby in Chris Morris and Charlie Brooker’s Nathan Barley and paramedic Stuart Bayldon in Channel 4’s Sirens. In Star Stories, he played a succession of famous faces, including Andrew Ridgeley, Jude Law and Daniel Day-Lewis.
On radio, Rhys plays Gary Bellamy, the gloriously ill-informed presenter of BBC Radio 4’s award-winning improvised phone-in comedy Down the Line. He brought the character to television in Bellamy’s People, appearing alongside Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson and an ensemble of character comedians. The Independent described Bellamy as “played with gentle perfection on radio and television by comedian Rhys Thomas.
”
His further screen credits include Black Books, Happiness, Death in Paradise, Harry & Paul’s Story of the 2s, Casualty(who hasn’t?), Torchwood and Holby City, alongside the feature film Beyond the Pole, in which he starred with Stephen Mangan. He also plays the hapless PC Duff in Dodger, the BBC comedy-drama he created, co-wrote and directed.
In Brian Pern, The Kemps and A Year in the Life of a Year, Rhys plays a fictional version of himself: the self-proclaimed “award-winning documentary maker, Rhys Thomas OBE”.
On stage, Rhys performed his own sketch comedy show, Stay Alive Pepi, at the Assembly Rooms during the Edinburgh Festival. He also appeared in the record-breaking Fast Show and Shooting Stars Live residency at the Hammersmith Apollo in 1998, and toured in the sell-out, arena-filling Fast Show Farewell Tour in 2002.
Alongside his acting career, Rhys is a BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning writer, director and producer, whose work includes Brian Pern, The Kemps and Dodger.
STUFF ABOUT RHYS ACTING.