Thomas Weatherall (born 22 August 2000) is an Australian actor and playwright. He is known for his performances in the television series RFDS (2019–2021) and Heartbreak High (2022), and for writing the play Blue, first performed in 2019.
Thomas Weatherall | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 August 2000 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Education | Marymount College, Gold Coast |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2018–present |
Early life and education
editThomas Weatherall was born on August 22, 2000 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He is a Kamilaroi man.[1]
Weatherall grew up on the Gold Coast and attended Marymount College, where he was an active member of the cultural team, including cultural and mob captain[2] in his final year in 2017.[3] At Marymount, Weatherall played the role of Lonny Barnett / Record executive in the college's 2017 production of Rock of Ages.[4]
As a child, he wanted to be a dancer when he grew up, and trained hard for this goal. However, he heard about ABC Television auditioning for roles in Deadlock (2018) during his last year of high school, and decided to give it a try. After landing the role, he found that he loved acting, and went on to study drama[5] at Queensland University of Technology. As his screen career took off, he dropped out.[6]
Career
editBeginnings (2018–2021)
editWeatherall's first acting role was in the award-winning ABC miniseries Deadlock.[1] He was in drama school and working in a shoe shop when he won the role for Seven Network's RFDS, which he went for mainly for the chance to play Rob Collins' son in the medical drama.[5] On 18 August 2024, it was announced that a third season of the series with production moving from Broken Hill to South Australia due to upgrades at the real Broken Hill base. Weatherall would be returning for the series third season.[7]
Breakthrough (2022–present)
editHe came to international prominence in the 2022 Netflix series Heartbreak High.[5][8] The series became one of the streaming service's most-watched English-spoken series, making the Top 10 in Australia as well as 45 other countries in September 2022.[1]
He also had roles in the ABC series All My Friends Are Racist and Troppo.[9][10]
Weatherall's playwriting debut came with the play Blue, which he started writing in 2019 based on old high school diary entries, as "self-prescribed therapy". After winning a Balnaves Fellowship to complete the play, he fictionalised it further,[6] and performed in the Belvoir Theatre production of it in Sydney in 2023.[8][11] The play, which is in the form of a dramatic monologue, had a successful season at the Belvoir. In March 2024 a Belvoir production was presented by State Theatre Company South Australia at the Adelaide Festival in Adelaide, South Australia, with Callan Purcell in the starring role.[12] In May 2024 Weatherall once again starred in a production of Blue at Brisbane's La Boite Theatre.[13][6]
Weatherall is set to star opposite Jacob Elordi in the upcoming adaptation of Richard Flanagan's novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North as a TV series for Prime Video.[6] Weatherall was later announced as part of the cast for Disney+ series Last Days of the Space Age.[14]
Recognition and awards
edit- 2021: Balnaves Fellowship, awarded by the Belvoir theatre company to an emerging Indigenous playwright[15]
- 2022: AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama, for his performance in Heartbreak High[16]
- 2023: Logie Award for Most Outstanding Supporting Actor[5][17]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Deadlock | Aero | 5 episodes | |
| 2021 | All My Friends Are Racist | Luke | 2 episodes | |
| 2021–present | RFDS | Darren Yates | 12 episodes | |
| 2022 | Troppo | Charlie | 6 episodes | |
| 2022–Present | Heartbreak High | Malakai Mitchell | Main role, 16 episodes | |
| 2024 | Exposure | Angus | Main role; 6 episodes | |
| Last Days of the Space Age | Bilya | 8 episodes | ||
| The Narrow Road to the Deep North † | Frank Gardiner | Post-Production |
References
edit- ^ a b c Couper, Elena (5 October 2022). "Meet Thomas Weatherall, the breakout star of 'Heartbreak High'". GQ Australia. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
...the Brisbane-born 22-year-old Kamilaroi writer and actor...
- ^ QATSIF. "Tweet". X.com. X.com. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ College, Marymount. "Alumni News". Alumni News. Marymount College. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ College, Marymount. "Rock of Ages musical program" (PDF). Rock of Ages Musical Program. Marymount College. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d Vnuk, Helen (1 August 2023). "Thomas Weatherall never planned on becoming an actor – now he's an international star". Now To Love. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d Story, Hannah (15 May 2024). "Heartbreak High star Thomas Weatherall brings his debut play Blue to Brisbane's La Boite Theatre". ABC News. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ "Third season of RFDS commences production in South Australia". SAFC. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b Morgan, Joyce (19 January 2023), "Heartbreak High's Thomas Weatherall shines in his playwriting debut", The Sydney Morning Herald
- ^ Cooper, Elana (5 October 2022), "Meet Thomas Weatherall, the breakout star of 'Heartbreak High'", GQ
- ^ Knox, David (3 August 2020). "Cameras roll on RFDS in Broken Hill". TV Tonight. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ Dow, Steve (19 January 2023). "Blue review – Thomas Weatherall gives finely tuned performance in gripping one-man show". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
- ^ "Blue". Adelaide Festival. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Thomas Weatherall talks creative process and bringing Blue home to Brisbane". La Boite. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
- ^ "Last Days of the Space Age: Australian Disney+ series coming soon | ScreenHub Australia - Film & Television Jobs, News, Reviews & Screen Industry Data". www.screenhub.com.au. 7 August 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ "Fellowship and Residencies". Belvoir St Theatre. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ Story, Hannah (7 December 2012), "Elvis and Mystery Road: Origin are big winners at AACTA Awards 2022", ABC News
- ^ Knowles, Rachael (31 July 2023). "These are the First Nations winners at the TV Week Logie Awards". NITV. Retrieved 8 February 2024.