Ray Fearon

• Name — Ray Fearon • Occupation — Actor • Education — Rose Bruford College • Years Active — 1994–present • Children — 3+

Fearon was the youngest of ten children born to Jamaican parents living in northwest London. From a young age, he joined the Royal Court Theatre and Tricycle Youth Theatre, before going on to study drama at Rose Bruford College.

Fearon made his reputation as a stage actor, working at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre; Manchester Contact Theatre; Manchester Royal Exchange; Oxford Playhouse; Barn Theatre, Kent; The Almeida; The Crucible, Sheffield; The Donmar Warehouse; The Royal Shakespeare Theatres in Stratford and the National Theatre. He starred in Othello—opposite Gillian Kearney's Desdemona— in Liverpool at the age of 24, becoming the first black actor to play Othello on RSC main stages for over 40 years. His other early stage roles included Charles Surface in The School for Scandal; Betty/Martin in Cloud 9 (play); Longaville in Love's Labour's Lost; Ferdinand in The Tempest; and Pete in Blues for Mister Charlie. His early theatre work in London included Hugo/Frederick in Ring Round the Moon at the Lilian Baylis Theatre; the title role in The Invisible Man (his one-man show) at the Bridewell Theatre; and Pierre in Venice Preserv'd at the Almeida Theatre. He has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company(RSC) in their Stratford and London theatres and on tour. He was the first black actor to play the title role in Othello in the main Royal Shakespeare theatre (director Michael Attenborough, 1999) giving a performance alongside Richard McCabe's strong and repressed Iago. They also played opposite one another in 1996's The White Devil (Gale Edwards, Swan theatre) where he played Brachiano and McCabe the villain Flamineo. Fearon was directed by Attenborough also as Romeo alongside Zoe Waites as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (RSC, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1997). Other RSC roles have included the First Knight and First Tempter in Murder in the Cathedral (Swan, 1993), Stubb in Moby Dick (musical) (TOP, 1993), the Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice (RST, 1994), Paris in Troilus and Cressida (Ian Judge, RST, 1996), the Marquis of Posa in Don Carlos (play) (1999), Pericles in Adrian Noble's Pericles, Prince of Tyre (RST and Roundhouse, 2002) and Mark Antony in Julius Caesar (play) (2012). In 2003, he played 'Oberon' in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre. In 2004, he appeared in as Jean Kiyabe in World Music by Steve Waters at the Donmar Warehouse, and in the same year at the National Theatre as Mark in Sing Yer Heart Out for the Lads by Roy Williams. In 2010, he starred as Walter Lee Younger in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the production was directed by Michael Buffong at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. In July 2013 he played Macduff opposite Kenneth Branagh (as Macbeth) and Alex Kingston (as Lady Macbeth) in Macbeth at Manchester International Festival.Manchester. His performance was broadcast to cinemas on 20 July as part of National Theatre Live. In December 2017 he played Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. The production was directed by Michael Buffong.

In the BBC's 2003 radio adaptation of His Dark Materials, Fearon appeared as the narrator and as the angel Balthamos.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1995 — The — Dean Barnet — Series 11; episode 79: "Skin Deep" • Prime Suspect — Mark Whitehouse — Series 4; episode 3: "Scent of Darkness" • Dressing for Breakfast — Steve — Series 1; episode 4: "Steve" • 1996 — The Merchant of Venice — Morocco — Television film • 1997 — Band of Gold — Paul — Episodes 3 & 4: "The Catch: Parts One & Two" • The — Foley Marsh — Series 13; episode 124: "Crimes of a Lesser Passion" • 2000 — A — Jacob Marley — Television film • 2001 — EastEnders — Lennie — 3 episodes • 2002 — Outside the Rules — Gary Rainford — (unknown episodes) • The — Paul Sharpe — Series 18; episode 32: "Ruffled Feathers" • As If — Riggs — Series 2 & 3; 10 episodes • 2003 — Keen Eddie — Georgie Pendergast — Episode 7: "Black Like Me" • Waking the Dead — Miles Patterson — Series 3; episodes 3 & 4: "Walking on Water: Parts 1 & 2" • 2003 — Doctors — PC Vernon Samuels — Series 5; episode 115: "Alpha Male" • 2004 — In Search of Shakespeare — Various characters — Mini-series; episodes 1–4 • 2005 — Revelations — Benjamin — Mini-series; episode 3: "Hour Three" • 2005−2006 — Coronation Street — Nathan Cooper — Series regular; 99 episodes • 2008 — Doctors — Malcolm Tumelo — Series 10; 18 episodes • 2009 — Missing — Karl Hughes — Series 1; episode 2: "Young and Restless" • 2010 — Raw — Paul — Series 2; episodes 3–5 • Ein — Gabriel Swart — Television film • 2011 — Planet of the Apemen: Battle for Earth — Kalay — Mini-series; episodes 1 & 2 • Morlocks — Tyrell — Television film • Celebrity Mastermind — Himself - Contestant — Series 10; episode 4 • Beate Uhse (film) — Jeff — Television film • Death in Paradise — Curtis — Series 1; episode 7 • 2011–2012 — Above Suspicion — DCI/Commander Sam Power — Series 3; episodes 1 & 2, & series 4; episode 1 • 2012 — Silk (TV Series)|Silk — Roland Boyce QC — Series 2; episode 3: "In the Family Way" • Julius Caesar — Mark Antony — Television film • 2013 — Moving On — Steve McCullock — Series 5; episode 1: "Fledgling" • 2014–2015 — Da Vinci's Demons — Carlo de' Medici — Series 2 & 3; 9 episodes • 2015 — Suspects — Gregor Forrester — Series 3; episode 3: "Safe from Harm" • 2016 — New Blood — David Kumalah — Episodes 6 & 7: "Case 3, Parts 1 & 2" • 2017 — Snatch — Father John — Series 1; episodes 5, 6 & 8 • 2018 — Midsomer Murders — Carlton Scott — Series 20; episode 2: "Death of the Small Coppers" • Origin — Omar Touré — Episode 2: "Lost on Both Sides" • 2019 — Silent Witness — DI Jasper Quint — Series 22; episodes 7 & 8: "Deathmaker: Parts 1 & 2" • Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators — Major Tony Suffolk — Series 2; episode 2: "The Play's the Thing" • Fleabag — Hot Misogynist — Series 2; episodes 2 & 5 • Plebs — Magnus — Series 5; episode 7: "The New Flat" • 2019–2020 — His Dark Materials — Mr. Hanway — Series 1; episodes 5 & 7; & series 2; episode 2 • 2020 — Red Dwarf: The Promised Land — Rodon — Television special • Semi-Detached — Mike Bottford — Episode 3 • 2021 — The Girlfriend Experience — Paul — Season 3; episodes 1 & 3: "Mirrors" & "Deep Fake" • Close to Me — Nick — Mini-series; episodes 2–6 • 2022 — We Hunt Together — Ch. Supt. Lester Price — Series 2; episodes 3–5 • 2023 — Champion — Beres Champion — Main cast; episodes 1–8 • 2024 — Father Brown — Silas O'Hagen — Series 11; episode 9: "The Dead of Night" • 2025 — The Feud — Alan Spence — Episodes 1–6 • Not Going Out — John — Series 14; episode 1: "House Move"

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2003 — His Dark Materials — The Angel, Balthamos (Narrator) — BBC Radio 4 dramatisation. All episodes

In 2001 he appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (as Firenze the centaur). He had a minor role as a sentry in Kenneth Branagh's 1996 film version of Hamlet. Fearon played Nathan Cooper in Coronation Street from 2005 to 2006. He was in the 2006 series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered by Camilla Dallerup, and was voted out in week 6. From 2013 to 2015, he appeared as a fictionalised version of historical figure Carlo de' Medici on the Starz series Da Vinci's Demons. In 2019, Fearon played the role of Hot Misogynist in season two of the acclaimed BBC Three comedy-drama Fleabag. In 2023, he starred Beres Champion in the BBC television series Champion, about the Champion family's involvement in the black music scene of London.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1996 — Hamlet — Francisco • 1999 — The Clandestine Marriage — Brush • 2001 — Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone — Firenze — Voice and vocal effects • 2002 — Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets — Fawkes — Vocal effects • 2008 — The — The Sous Chef — Short film • 2009 — Lulu and Jimi — Jimi • 2011 — Therapist — Bigger — Short film • 2012 — Hamilton: In the Interest of the Nation — Benjamin Lee • 2013 — National Theatre Live — Macduff — Stage production of Macbeth • 2014 — The Hooligan Factory — Midnight • 2016 — The Complete Walk: Troilus and Cressida — Hector — Short film • 2017 — The Yellow Birds — Colonel • Beauty and the Beast — Père Robert • The Foreigner — Commander Richard Bromley • Space for You — RF — Short film • To Love and to Cherish — Wilson — Short film • 2018 — 2036 Origin Unknown — Sterling Brooks • Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald — Fawkes — Vocal cameo • 2019 — Lessons of the Hour — Frederick Douglass • 2020 — Breach — Billy — Short film • 2021 — The Protégé — Duquet • Father Christmas Is Back — Felix • The Lady of Heaven — Abu Bakr • 2022 — Memory — Gerald Nussbaum • Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore — Fawkes — Vocal effects • Christmas in the Caribbean — Gregory • Christmas in Paradise — Felix — Sequel to Father Christmas Is Back • 2023 — One Year Off — George Prince • Coffee Wars — Bernie • Barbie — Dan at the FBI • 2024 — Swede Caroline — Lawrence • The People Before — Pete • 2025 — My Fault: London — William Leister • Cleaner — DI Kahn • Tinsel Town — Post-production