William Kemp (born 29 June 1977) is an English actor and dancer. His stage names are Will and James Dean of Ballet.
Will Kemp | |
|---|---|
 Kemp at the premiere of Step Up 2: The Streets, February 2008 | |
| Born | William Kemp 29 June 1977 Hertfordshire, England |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Spouse | Gaby Jamieson |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | www |
Life and career
editKemp was born in Hertfordshire, England. Trained at the Royal Ballet School, at age 17 he was accepted at dance company Adventures in Motion Pictures (AMP). He won the lead role of The Swan in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake from 1997 to 2000 in both London and Broadway.[1] In 2002 he could be seen dancing to "Stuff Like That" in a Peter Lindbergh-directed commercial for Gap's "For Every Generation" campaign and in 2004, he appeared alongside Sarah Jessica Parker in two Francis Lawrence-directed spots, "Color" and "Shine", for Gap's "How Do You Share It" campaign. He famously turned down a lucrative modelling contract with Giorgio Armani, citing not wanting to be confused as a model as opposed to an actor as the reason for his decision.
Kemp made his acting debut as Velkan Valerious, a gypsy-prince-turned-Werewolf in the 2004 action horror film Van Helsing, opposite Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale.[2] He played the horse Nugget as well as The Young Horseman in the 2007 West End revival of Equus starring Daniel Radcliffe. The part of Nugget required him to don a wire horse mask and metal hooves/horseshoes, and carry Radcliffe on his back while galloping. He had a role in Step Up 2: The Streets as Blake Collins, director of the Maryland School of the Arts (MSA) and brother of Chase Collins. Kemp played a dress up Mr Darcy at an academic conference in the Hallmark Channel's "Loveuary" month-long series featuring Jane Austen adaptations.
Personal life
editKemp and his wife, Gaby Jamieson, have a daughter, Thalie born in 2005, and a son, Indigo born in 2008.[1]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Mindhunters | Rafe Perry | |
| 2004 | Van Helsing | Velkan Valerious | |
| 2005 | Brothers of the Head | Celebrity | |
| 2007 | Miguel y William | William Shakespeare | |
| 2008 | Step Up 2: The Streets | Blake Collins | |
| 2013 | The Coin | Ben | Short film |
| 2014 | Petals on the Wind | Julian Marquet | |
| 2015 | The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power | Drazen | Direct-to-video |
| 2016 | The Midnight Man | Grady | |
| 2017 | Slumber | Tom Arnolds | |
| 2024 | Mythica:Stormbound | The Stranger |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Great Performances | Swan | Episode: "Swan Lake" |
| 2001 | The Car Man | Angelo | Television film |
| 2006 | Pinocchio | Stromboli | Television film |
| 2008 | New Tricks | James Strickland | Episode: "Final Curtain" |
| 2009 | The Prisoner | 23–30 – Wonkers | Miniseries; 2 episodes |
| 2010 | The Soldier's Tale | Narrator/The King | Television film |
| 2011 | Christopher and His Kind | Bobby Gilbert | Television film |
| 2011 | Peter and the Wolf | Grandfather | Television film |
| 2011 | Grace | Nicky | Television film |
| 2011 | Nikita | Nigel | Episode: "London Calling" |
| 2012 | 90210 | Mitchell Nash | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Kristin's Christmas Past | Jamie | Television film (Lifetime) |
| 2013 | Non-Stop | Mark | Television film |
| 2014 | Petals on the Wind | Julian Marquet | Television film (Lifetime) |
| 2015–2018 | Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce | Scott | 15 episodes |
| 2017 | Reign | Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley | Main role (season 4) |
| 2018 | Royal Matchmaker | Prince Sebastian | Television film (Hallmark Channel) |
| 2019 | Love, Romance and Chocolate | Luc Simon | Television film (Hallmark Channel) |
| 2019 | Doom Patrol | Steve Dayton / Mento | Episode: "Doom Patrol Patrol" |
| 2020 | Spinning Out | Mitch Saunders | Main role (Netflix) |
| 2020 | The Christmas Waltz | Roman Davidoff | Television film (Hallmark Channel) |
| 2021 | The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star | Hunter Cunard | Television film (Netflix) |
| 2022 | Jolly Good Christmas | David Burnside | Television film (Hallmark Channel) |
| 2023 | The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango | Sebastian Moore | Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) |
| 2023 | A Not So Royal Christmas | Adam | Television film (Hallmark Channel) |
| 2024 | Paging Mr. Darcy | Samuel Lee | Television film (Hallmark Channel) |
| 2024 | My Sweet Austrian Holiday | Henry | Television film (Hallmark Channel) |
References
edit- ^ a b Brayford, Claire (25 November 2018). "GRACE DADS: British Actor Will Kemp Shares a Father's Perspective on Parenthood". The Grace Tales. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
- ^ King, Susan (2 May 2004). "His 'Van Helsing' role brings out the animal in dancer Will Kemp". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
