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Will Sharpe

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Will Sharpe
Born
William Tomomori Fukuda Sharpe

(1986-09-22) 22 September 1986 (age 38)
London, England[1]
EducationWinchester College
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
Occupations
  • Actor
  • writer
  • director
Years active2008–present
PartnerSophia Di Martino
Children2

William Tomomori Fukuda Sharpe (born 22 September 1986) is an English actor, writer, and director.[2] 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.

Early life and education

Sharpe was born in London and raised in Tokyo until the age of eight.[3] His mother is Japanese.[4] After returning to the United Kingdom, he studied at Winchester College.[3]

After graduating from Winchester, Sharpe read classics at the University of Cambridge, where he was the president of the Footlights Revue.[5][6]

Career

Sharpe graduated in 2008 and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company for their 2008/2009 season.[7] 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.[8][9] He played the character of Yuki Reid in the BBC medical drama Casualty.[8]

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.[10] Shortly after, he was co-nominated for a BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for the film.[3]

Sharpe is known for writing, directing, and starring in the dark comedy-drama Flowers, which premiered on Channel 4 in 2016.[7] 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.[11]

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.'[12][13]

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.[14][15]

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.[16] This role earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.[17]

In 2023, Sharpe was announced as the director of the film adaptation of Japanese Breakfast frontwoman Michelle Zauner's memoir, Crying in H Mart.[18]

Personal life

His brother is composer Arthur Sharpe, who has written music for The Darkest Universe, Black Pond, and Flowers.[19] Will Sharpe has type two bipolar disorder.[20][21]

Since 2009,[22] Sharpe has been in a relationship with actress Sophia Di Martino, with whom he has two children, born in 2019 and 2021.[23][24]

Filmography

Film

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 Completed
TBA Emmanuelle Post-production

Television

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)

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Project Result
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
2023 Best Supporting Actor The White Lotus Nominated
2023 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Pending
2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series Won

References

  1. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007
  2. ^ McEvoy, Sophie. "Flowers Is Back On Channel 4 & Its Creator Will Sharpe Is Someone You NEED to Know". Bustle. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Brown, Maggie (23 April 2016). "Unknown writer gets his big TV break with dark English comedy". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  4. ^ "Interview with Will Sharpe". BBC. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  5. ^ Feay, Suzi Feay (13 June 2018). "Will Sharpe: the comedy star on a flower trip". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 August 2018.(subscription required)
  6. ^ "Interview with Will Sharpe – Channel 4 – Info – Press". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 27 August 2018.[dead link]
  7. ^ a b "Found in translation: Flowers writer Will Sharpe on bringing a Japanese sense of humour to the British stage and screen". The Independent. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Will Sharpe on his new sitcom Flowers: 'It's an uplifting show about melancholy'". i. 24 April 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  9. ^ "BBC One Casualty – Yuki Reid character page – actor Will Sharpe". Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  10. ^ Macnab, Geoffrey (3 October 2011). "First Night: Black Pond, Raindance Festival, London". The Independent. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  11. ^ Flowers, retrieved 3 November 2022
  12. ^ 'Baftas reward diversity and longevity in a post-Covid era' The Guardian website, 31 July 2020, Retrieved 1 August 2020
  13. ^ 'Why Giri/Haji is the most underrated television drama of 2019' The Independent website, 5 December 2019, Retrieved 1 August 2020
  14. ^ "Benedict Cumberbatch & Claire Foy to Star in Movie 'Louis Wain' for StudioCanal, SunnyMarch, Shoebox, Film4 & Amazon Studios". deadline.com. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  15. ^ Joe Anderton (30 November 2020). "Benedict Cumberbatch stars in new look at Louis Wain biopic". Digital Spy. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  16. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (10 February 2022). "'The White Lotus': Theo James, Meghann Fahy & Will Sharpe Join Sicily-Set Second Installment". Deadline. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  17. ^ "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series – 2023". emmys.com. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  18. ^ 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. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Arthur Sharpe interview". tellybinge.co.uk. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  20. ^ "How we went about portraying mental health in 'Flowers'". www.mind.org.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Flowers: the hilarious 'comedy with mental illness' redefining sitcoms". the Guardian. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  22. ^ Macbain, Hamish (1 December 2022). ""I learnt quickly that it doesn't pay to be shy", says Will Sharpe". Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  23. ^ White, Abbey (1 July 2021). "How Sophia Di Martino's 'Loki' Costume Was Designed to Support the New Mom on Set". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  24. ^ Lewis, Tim (27 November 2021). "'I have an outsider's perspective': why Will Sharpe is the A-List's new favourite director". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
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