Orlando Wells
| Orlando Wells | |
|---|---|
| Born |
9 June 1973 Tonbridge, Kent, England, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford, LAMDA |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) |
Michael Wells Susannah York (deceased) |
Orlando Wells (born 9 June 1973) is an English writer and actor.
Wells has written five original plays: The Winter Room (RSC fringe festival), Cold Enough, The Tin Horizon (Theatre 503), The Woodcutter’s Tale (developed with NT Studio), and Four Days in Hong Kong (about Glenn Greenwald's and Laura Poitras's first meeting with Edward Snowden), to be produced as part the Orange Tree Theatre Festival in June 2014.
Michael Billington wrote in The Guardian of The Tin Horizon, 'a play that proves Wells has a gift for gothic futurism... a name to watch... shows a wild imagination at work and displays unmistakable signs of talent.'
Wells adapted Patrick Hamilton’s Duke in Darkness for the Tabard Theatre, Chiswick, last year and co-wrote the libretto for the experimental opera, Triptych, currently showing at the Print Rooms and Wilton’s Music Hall.
He was a series-writer for the animated children programs Xolight and Noksu. He has written the full-length feature Bait the Hook, and a short film, Shrike, longlisted for Channel 4’s Coming Up.
As an actor, Wells is best known for starring as Alex Stanton in the Channel 4 drama As If, and playing Irwin in Alan Bennett's History Boys. He is currently appearing in Blanche McIntyre's production of Noël Coward's Tonight at 8.30 for the English Touring Theatre.
He is the son of actress Susannah York and Michael Wells, and is married with four children.
Selected credits
Theatre
- Tonight at 8.30 (2014, stage play, ETT/ Nuffield) as Christian in The Astonished Heart, Jasper in Family Album, Mr Wadhurst in Hands Across the Sea, Murdoch in Ways and Means, Stanley in Still Life, George in Shadow Play and Major Blake in We Were Dancing
- The Turn of the Screw (2013, stage play, The Almeida) as Sackville
- The Woman in Black (2010, stage play, Fortune Theatre) as The Actor
- Katrina (2009, stage play, The Bargehouse, South Bank) as Larry
- Our Country's Good (2009, stage play, The Watermill) as Lieutenant Ralph Clark
- The History Boys (2006–07, stage play, RNT) as Irwin
- Pirandello's Henry IV (2004, stage play, Donmar Warehouse) as Count Di Nolli
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (2003, stage play, The Crucible) as Demetrius
- The Modernists (2003, stage play, The Crucible) as Clifford
- The Tempest (2002, stage play, Thelma Holt) as Ferdinand
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999-2000, stage play, RSC) as Flute
- Othello (1999-2000, stage play, RSC)
- Anthony and Cleopatra (1999-2000, stage play, RSC) as the Messenger
TV and film
- Doctors (2010, BBC)
- Holby City (2010, BBC)
- The King's Speech (2010, See Saw Films) as The Duke of Kent
- Nowhere Left to Hide (2009, Blast Films)
- A Very British Sex Scandal (2007, TV drama-documentary) as Edward (Lord) Montagu
- Midsummer Madness (2007, feature film) as Curt
- The Great San Francisco Earthquake (2006, Blast Films) as James
- Slave Dynasty (2006, BBC) as William Beckford
- Trust (BBC, 2005) as Charles Drinkwater
- As If (2001–04, TV series) as Alex Stanton
- A Rather English Marriage (1998, TV movie) as Dogleg
- After the War (1987, TV series) as a child