Ray Fearon
Ray Fearon | |
|---|---|
 Fearon in 2012 | |
| Alma mater | Rose Bruford College |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Children | 3+ |
Raymond Fearon is a British actor. He played garage mechanic Nathan Cooper on ITV's long-running soap opera Coronation Street from 2005-2006. Other credits include Band of Gold (1997), EastEnders (2001), As If (2002), the Harry Potter (film series) (2001-2002), His Dark Materials (2003), Doctors (2008), Raw (2010), Da Vinci's Demons (2014), Fantastic Beasts (film series) (2018-2022), Fleabag (2019), Red Dwarf (2020), Champion (2023), and The Feud (2025).
Early life
[edit]Fearon was the youngest of ten children born to Jamaican parents living in northwest London.[1] From a young age, he joined the Royal Court Theatre[1] and Tricycle Youth Theatre,[1] before going on to study drama at Rose Bruford College.[2]
Career
[edit]Theatre
[edit]Fearon made his reputation as a stage actor, working at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre;[2] Manchester Contact Theatre; Manchester Royal Exchange;[2] Oxford Playhouse;[2] Barn Theatre, Kent; The Almeida; The Crucible, Sheffield; The Donmar Warehouse; The Royal Shakespeare Theatres in Stratford and the National Theatre.[2] He starred in Othello—opposite Gillian Kearney's Desdemona— in Liverpool at the age of 24, becoming the first black actor to play Othello on RSC main stages for over 40 years.[3] His other early stage roles included Charles Surface in The School for Scandal;[2] Betty/Martin in Cloud 9 (play);[2] Longaville in Love's Labour's Lost;[2] Ferdinand in The Tempest;[2] and Pete in Blues for Mister Charlie.[2]
His early theatre work in London included Hugo/Frederick in Ring Round the Moon at the Lilian Baylis Theatre;[2] the title role in The Invisible Man (his one-man show) at the Bridewell Theatre;[2] and Pierre in Venice Preserv'd at the Almeida Theatre.[2]
He has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company(RSC) in their Stratford and London theatres and on tour.[2] He was the first black actor to play the title role in Othello in the main Royal Shakespeare theatre (director Michael Attenborough, 1999) giving a performance alongside Richard McCabe's strong and repressed Iago.[4] They also played opposite one another in 1996's The White Devil (Gale Edwards, Swan theatre) where he played Brachiano and McCabe the villain Flamineo.[2] Fearon was directed by Attenborough also as Romeo alongside Zoe Waites as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (RSC, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1997).[2]
Other RSC roles have included the First Knight and First Tempter in Murder in the Cathedral (Swan, 1993),[2] Stubb in Moby Dick (musical) (TOP, 1993),[2] the Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice (RST, 1994),[2] Paris in Troilus and Cressida (Ian Judge, RST, 1996),[2] the Marquis of Posa in Don Carlos (play) (1999),[2] Pericles in Adrian Noble's Pericles, Prince of Tyre (RST and Roundhouse, 2002)[2] and Mark Antony in Julius Caesar (play) (2012).[2]
In 2003, he played 'Oberon' in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.[2] In 2004, he appeared in as Jean Kiyabe in World Music by Steve Waters at the Donmar Warehouse,[2] and in the same year at the National Theatre as Mark in Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads by Roy Williams.[2]
In 2010, he starred as Walter Lee Younger in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry,[2] the production was directed by Michael Buffong at the Royal Exchange, Manchester.[2]
In July 2013 he played Macduff opposite Kenneth Branagh (as Macbeth) and Alex Kingston (as Lady Macbeth) in Macbeth at Manchester International Festival.Manchester.[2] His performance was broadcast to cinemas on 20 July as part of National Theatre Live.[5]
In December 2017 he played Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls at the Royal Exchange, Manchester.[2] The production was directed by Michael Buffong.[6]
Radio
[edit]In the BBC's 2003 radio adaptation of His Dark Materials, Fearon appeared as the narrator and as the angel Balthamos.[7]
Television and film
[edit]In 2001 he appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (as Firenze the centaur).[8] He had a minor role as a sentry in Kenneth Branagh's 1996 film version of Hamlet.[2]
Fearon played Nathan Cooper in Coronation Street from 2005 to 2006.[2] He was in the 2006 series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered by Camilla Dallerup, and was voted out in week 6.[2]
From 2013 to 2015, he appeared as a fictionalised version of historical figure Carlo de' Medici on the Starz series Da Vinci's Demons.[2] In 2019, Fearon played the role of Hot Misogynist in season two of the acclaimed BBC Three comedy-drama Fleabag.[1]
In 2023, he starred Beres Champion in the BBC television series Champion, about the Champion family's involvement in the black music scene of London.[9]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Hamlet | Francisco | |
| 1999 | The Clandestine Marriage | Brush | |
| 2001 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Firenze / Fawkes | Voice and vocal effects |
| 2002 | Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | Fawkes | Vocal effects |
| 2008 | The Chef's Letter | The Sous Chef | Short film |
| 2009 | Lulu and Jimi | Jimi | |
| 2011 | Therapist | Bigger | Short film |
| 2012 | Hamilton: In the Interest of the Nation | Benjamin Lee | |
| 2013 | National Theatre Live | Macduff | Stage production of Macbeth |
| 2014 | The Hooligan Factory | Midnight | |
| 2016 | The Complete Walk: Troilus and Cressida | Hector | Short film |
| 2017 | The Yellow Birds | Colonel | |
| Beauty and the Beast | Père Robert | ||
| The Foreigner | Commander Richard Bromley | ||
| Space for You | RF | Short film | |
| To Love and to Cherish | Wilson | Short film | |
| 2018 | 2036 Origin Unknown | Sterling Brooks | |
| Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald | Fawkes | Vocal cameo | |
| 2019 | Lessons of the Hour | Frederick Douglass | |
| 2020 | Breach | Billy | Short film |
| 2021 | The Protégé | Duquet | |
| Father Christmas Is Back | Felix | ||
| The Lady of Heaven | Abu Bakr | ||
| 2022 | Memory | Gerald Nussbaum | |
| Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore | Fawkes | Vocal effects | |
| Christmas in the Caribbean | Gregory | ||
| Christmas in Paradise | Felix | Sequel to Father Christmas Is Back | |
| 2023 | One Year Off | George Prince | |
| Coffee Wars | Bernie | ||
| Barbie | Dan at the FBI | ||
| 2024 | Swede Caroline | Lawrence | |
| The People Before | Pete | ||
| 2025 | My Fault: London | William Leister | |
| Cleaner | DI Kahn | ||
| Tinsel Town | TBA | Post-production |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | The Bill | Dean Barnet | Series 11; episode 79: "Skin Deep" |
| Prime Suspect | Mark Whitehouse | Series 4; episode 3: "Scent of Darkness" | |
| Dressing for Breakfast | Steve | Series 1; episode 4: "Steve" | |
| 1996 | The Merchant of Venice | Morocco | Television film |
| 1997 | Band of Gold | Paul | Episodes 3 & 4: "The Catch: Parts One & Two" |
| The Bill | Foley Marsh | Series 13; episode 124: "Crimes of a Lesser Passion" | |
| 2000 | A Christmas Carol | Jacob Marley | Television film |
| 2001 | EastEnders | Lennie | 3 episodes |
| 2002 | Outside the Rules | Gary Rainford | (unknown episodes) |
| The Bill | Paul Sharpe | Series 18; episode 32: "Ruffled Feathers" | |
| As If | Riggs | Series 2 & 3; 10 episodes | |
| 2003 | Keen Eddie | Georgie Pendergast | Episode 7: "Black Like Me" |
| Waking the Dead | Miles Patterson | Series 3; episodes 3 & 4: "Walking on Water: Parts 1 & 2" | |
| 2003 | Doctors | PC Vernon Samuels | Series 5; episode 115: "Alpha Male" |
| 2004 | In Search of Shakespeare | Various characters | Mini-series; episodes 1–4 |
| 2005 | Revelations | Benjamin | Mini-series; episode 3: "Hour Three" |
| 2005−2006 | Coronation Street | Nathan Cooper | Series regular; 99 episodes |
| 2008 | Doctors | Malcolm Tumelo | Series 10; 18 episodes |
| 2009 | Missing | Karl Hughes | Series 1; episode 2: "Young and Restless" |
| 2010 | Raw | Paul | Series 2; episodes 3–5 |
| Ein Sommer in Kapstadt | Gabriel Swart | Television film | |
| 2011 | Planet of the Apemen: Battle for Earth | Kalay | Mini-series; episodes 1 & 2 |
| Morlocks | Tyrell | Television film | |
| Celebrity Mastermind | Himself - Contestant | Series 10; episode 4 | |
| Beate Uhse | Jeff | Television film | |
| Death in Paradise | Curtis | Series 1; episode 7 | |
| 2011–2012 | Above Suspicion | DCI/Commander Sam Power | Series 3; episodes 1 & 2, & series 4; episode 1 |
| 2012 | Silk | Roland Boyce QC | Series 2; episode 3: "In the Family Way" |
| Julius Caesar | Mark Antony | Television film | |
| 2013 | Moving On | Steve McCullock | Series 5; episode 1: "Fledgling" |
| 2014–2015 | Da Vinci's Demons | Carlo de' Medici | Series 2 & 3; 9 episodes |
| 2015 | Suspects | Gregor Forrester | Series 3; episode 3: "Safe from Harm" |
| 2016 | New Blood | David Kumalah | Episodes 6 & 7: "Case 3, Parts 1 & 2" |
| 2017 | Snatch | Father John | Series 1; episodes 5, 6 & 8 |
| 2018 | Midsomer Murders | Carlton Scott | Series 20; episode 2: "Death of the Small Coppers" |
| Origin | Omar Touré | Episode 2: "Lost on Both Sides" | |
| 2019 | Silent Witness | DI Jasper Quint | Series 22; episodes 7 & 8: "Deathmaker: Parts 1 & 2" |
| Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators | Major Tony Suffolk | Series 2; episode 2: "The Play's the Thing" | |
| Fleabag | Hot Misogynist | Series 2; episodes 2 & 5 | |
| Plebs | Magnus | Series 5; episode 7: "The New Flat" | |
| 2019–2020 | His Dark Materials | Mr. Hanway | Series 1; episodes 5 & 7; & series 2; episode 2 |
| 2020 | Red Dwarf: The Promised Land | Rodon | Television special |
| Semi-Detached | Mike Bottford | Episode 3 | |
| 2021 | The Girlfriend Experience | Paul | Season 3; episodes 1 & 3: "Mirrors" & "Deep Fake" |
| Close to Me | Nick | Mini-series; episodes 2–6 | |
| 2022 | We Hunt Together | Ch. Supt. Lester Price | Series 2; episodes 3–5 |
| 2023 | Champion | Beres Champion | Main cast; episodes 1–8 |
| 2024 | Father Brown | Silas O'Hagen | Series 11; episode 9: "The Dead of Night" |
| 2025 | The Feud | Alan Spence | Episodes 1–6[10] |
Radio
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | His Dark Materials | The Angel, Balthamos (Narrator) | BBC Radio 4 dramatisation. All episodes |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Emily Coady-Stemp (5 November 2018). "Ray Fearon: "It would be very difficult to make it now – kids don't have the opportunities I did."". swlondoner.co.uk.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah "Ray Fearon cv 2024" (PDF). markhamfroggattandirwin.com. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ^ "Albemarle – Archive". albemarle-london.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2007.
- ^ "First black Othello at RSC since Robeson" The Independent (Retrieved: 3 March 2010)
- ^ "MACBETH — Manchester International Festival". mif.co.uk.
- ^ Read-Dominguez, Jennifer (19 October 2017). "Harry Potter and Strictly Come Dancing star joins first all-black cast of Guys and Dolls in the UK". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- ^ Kim Bunce (28 December 2003) "Dark Drama" The Observer. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
- ^ Hussain, Ali (18 February 2007). "Fame and fortune: Turning into a centaur paid off for Potter star". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- ^ Morgan Cormack (28 June 2023). "Meet the cast of Champion". radiotimes.com.
- ^ Duke, Simon. "Channel 5 drama The Feud takes over Jarrow as Jill Halfpenny and Derry Girls star spotted". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
External links
[edit]| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
