William Tomomori Fukuda Sharpe is an English actor, writer, and director. After writing for comedy shows and appearing in the medical drama Casualty (2009–2010), he made his feature directorial debut with Black Pond (2011). He gained further acclaim for his Channel 4 comedy-drama Flowers (2016–2018). He then starred in the BBC Two series Defending the Guilty (2018–2019) and Giri/Haji (2019), the latter of which earned him a British Academy Television Award. Sharpe went on to direct the film The Electrical Life of Louis Wain and the Sky Atlantic miniseries Landscapers (both 2021). He also starred in the second season of The White Lotus (2022), earning a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.
Will Sharpe | |
|---|---|
 Sharpe in 2024 | |
| Born | William Tomomori Fukuda Sharpe London, England |
| Education | Winchester College |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Spouse | Sophia Di Martino |
| Children | 2 |
Early life and education
editSharpe was born in London and raised in Tokyo until the age of eight.[1][2] His mother is Japanese.[3]
After returning to the United Kingdom, he studied at Winchester College.[1] After graduating, Sharpe studied Classics at the University of Cambridge, where he was the president of the Footlights Revue.[4][5]
Career
editSharpe graduated in 2008 and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company for their 2008/2009 season.[6] Sharpe spent a year at the RSC and appeared in such plays as The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, and The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbes, in which he played a young Isaac Newton.[7][8] He played the character of Yuki Reid in the BBC medical drama Casualty.[7]
In 2009, he directed and co-wrote, along with his friend Tom Kingsley, the short film Cockroach. The pair's first feature-length film, Black Pond, was shown at the Prince Charles Cinema in London from November 2011.[9] Shortly after, he was co-nominated for a BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for the film.[1]
Sharpe is known for writing, directing, and starring in the dark comedy-drama Flowers, which premiered on Channel 4 in 2016.[6] Starring Olivia Colman, Julian Barratt, Daniel Rigby and Sophia Di Martino, Flowers is a black comedy that tackles mental health, and follows the four eccentric members of the Flowers family as they navigate their lives together, and their own inner demons. The first series won a BAFTA Television Award for best scripted comedy, and the second series aired in 2018 to widespread critical acclaim.[10]
In 2020, Sharpe won a BAFTA Television Award for his supporting role as Rodney Yamaguchi in BBC drama Giri/Haji—a role The Independent called 'one of the most riotously funny turns since Richard E Grant stepped out as Withnail.'[11][12]
Sharpe directed and co-wrote the 2021 biographical comedy-drama film The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the artist Louis Wain.[13][14]
In 2022, Sharpe joined the cast of the HBO series The White Lotus in its second season, set in Sicily, as Ethan Spiller, a newly wealthy tech entrepreneur on vacation.[15] This role earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.[16]
In 2023, Sharpe was announced as the director of the film adaptation of Japanese Breakfast frontwoman Michelle Zauner's memoir, Crying in H Mart.[17]
Personal life
editHis brother is composer Arthur Sharpe, who has written music for The Darkest Universe, Black Pond, and Flowers.[18] Will Sharpe has type two bipolar disorder.[19][20]
Sharpe is married to actress Sophia Di Martino,[21][22] with whom he has been in a relationship since 2009.[23] They have two children, born in 2019 and 2021.[24][25]
Filmography
edit| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Cockroach | Kiyoshi | Short; also writer and director |
| 2011 | Black Pond | Tim Tanaka | Also writer and co-director |
| 2016 | The Darkest Universe | Zac Pratt | Also writer and director |
| 2021 | The Electrical Life of Louis Wain | — | Writer and director |
| 2022 | The House | Elias (voice) | Segment: "III" |
| 2024 | A Real Pain | James | |
| 2024 | Emmanuelle | Kei | [26] |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Never Mind the Buzzcocks | — | Writer |
| 2008 | The Wrong Door | Various | 3 episodes |
| 2009–10 | Casualty | Yuki Reid | 51 episodes |
| 2011 | Sirens | Student | Episode: "I.C.E." |
| 2012 | Sherlock | Corporal Lyons | Episode: "The Hounds of Baskerville" |
| 2012 | Dirk Gently | David Cho | Episode #1.2 |
| 2014 | The Life of Rock with Brian Pern | Himself | Episode: "Jukebox Musical" |
| 2014 | Babylon | Rick | Episode: "Hackney Wick" |
| 2016–18 | Flowers | Shun | 12 episodes; also writer and director |
| 2017 | W1A | Michael Chung | 3 episodes |
| 2018–19 | Defending the Guilty | Will Packham | 7 episodes |
| 2019 | Giri/Haji | Rodney Yamaguchi | 8 episodes |
| 2021 | Landscapers | — | Miniseries – writer and director |
| 2022 | The White Lotus | Ethan Spiller | Main role (season 2) |
| TBA | † Too Much | Felix | Post-production |
| TBA | † Amadeus | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Post-production[27] |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Association | Category | Project | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Evening Standard British Film Awards | Most Promising Newcomer – shared with Tom Kingsley | Black Pond | Won[28] |
| 2012 | BAFTA Film Award | Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer | Black Pond | Nominated |
| 2017 | BAFTA Television Award | Best Scripted Comedy | Flowers | Nominated |
| 2020 | Best Supporting Actor | Giri/Haji | Won | |
| 2022 | Best Director – Fiction | Landscapers | Nominated | |
| Mini-Series | Nominated | |||
| Saraqusta Film Festival | Best Script | The Electrical Life of Louis Wain | Won[29] | |
| 2023 | BAFTA Television Award | Best Supporting Actor | The White Lotus | Nominated |
| 2023 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | |
| 2023 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series | Won |
References
edit- ^ a b c Brown, Maggie (23 April 2016). "Unknown writer gets his big TV break with dark English comedy". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
- ^ McEvoy, Sophie. "Flowers Is Back on Channel 4 & Its Creator Will Sharpe Is Someone You NEED to Know". Bustle. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ "Interview with Will Sharpe". BBC. 2 October 2019. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ Feay, Suzi Feay (13 June 2018). "Will Sharpe: the comedy star on a flower trip". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 3 October 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2018.(subscription required)
- ^ "Interview with Will Sharpe – Channel 4 – Info – Press". www.channel4.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Found in translation: Flowers writer Will Sharpe on bringing a Japanese sense of humour to the British stage and screen". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Will Sharpe on his new sitcom Flowers: 'It's an uplifting show about melancholy'". i. 24 April 2016. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ "BBC One Casualty – Yuki Reid character page – actor Will Sharpe". Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (3 October 2011). "First Night: Black Pond, Raindance Festival, London". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
- ^ Flowers, retrieved 3 November 2022
- ^ 'Baftas reward diversity and longevity in a post-Covid era' The Guardian website, 31 July 2020, Retrieved 1 August 2020
- ^ 'Why Giri/Haji is the most underrated television drama of 2019' Archived 16 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine The Independent website, 5 December 2019, Retrieved 1 August 2020
- ^ "Benedict Cumberbatch & Claire Foy to Star in Movie 'Louis Wain' for StudioCanal, SunnyMarch, Shoebox, Film4 & Amazon Studios". Deadline Hollywood. 23 July 2019. Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
- ^ Joe Anderton (30 November 2020). "Benedict Cumberbatch stars in new look at Louis Wain biopic". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (10 February 2022). "'The White Lotus': Theo James, Meghann Fahy & Will Sharpe Join Sicily-Set Second Installment". Deadline. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
- ^ "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series – 2023". emmys.com. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ^ McArdle, Tommy (20 March 2023). "'The White Lotus' ' Will Sharpe to Direct 'Crying in H Mart' Film Adaptation: It Felt Very Familiar to Me'". People Magazine. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
- ^ "Arthur Sharpe interview". tellybinge.co.uk. 17 July 2018. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
- ^ "How we went about portraying mental health in 'Flowers'". www.mind.org.uk. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- ^ "Flowers: the hilarious 'comedy with mental illness' redefining sitcoms". the Guardian. 8 June 2018. Archived from the original on 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- ^ Bennett, Beth (12 January 2024). "In Bloom with Sophia Di Martino". Essential Journal. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ Kavousi-Walker, Roxy (19 October 2023). "The White Lotus Star Will Sharpe on His Japanese Maple Tree". AnOther. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
- ^ Macbain, Hamish (1 December 2022). ""I learnt quickly that it doesn't pay to be shy", says Will Sharpe". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ^ White, Abbey (1 July 2021). "How Sophia Di Martino's 'Loki' Costume Was Designed to Support the New Mom on Set". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ Lewis, Tim (27 November 2021). "'I have an outsider's perspective': why Will Sharpe is the A-List's new favourite director". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (19 December 2023). "'Emmanuelle': First Image Revealed of Star Noémie Merlant in Erotic Drama; Naomi Watts, Will Sharpe & Jamie Campbell Bower Among Cast to Join as Pathé Secures French Rights". Deadline. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ Goldbart, Max (20 February 2024). "'White Lotus' Star Will Sharpe to Play Musical Genius Mozart in TV Series for Sky". Deadline. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ "Will Sharpe wins Evening Standard Award". curtisbrown.co.uk. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
- ^ "Mr. Wain y El Káiser de la Atlántida, Mejor Largometraje y Mejor Documental de II Saraqusta Film Festival". Saraqusta Film Festival (in Spanish). Zaragoza. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
External links
edit- Will Sharpe at IMDb
