Rowan Witt

Rowan Witt is an Australian theatre, television and film actor. He is best known for his roles in The Book of Mormon, Into The Woods, South Pacific, Dogfight, Underbelly and The Matrix.

Rowan Witt
Hilary Cole & Rowan Witt at the 2016 Helpmann Awards
Born	Sydney
Alma mater	Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Occupation	Actor
Relatives	Eleanor (twin sister)

Early life

Witt was born in Sydney to script writer parents.

He went to high school at the International Grammar School. His graduating artwork topped the state, and was selected to feature in the exhibition 'ArtExpress' at the NSW Art Gallery, where he was additionally awarded the Julian Ashton drawing scholarship.

Witt attended the Sydney Conservatorium of Music University, from which he received a Bachelor of Music Performance, majoring in Classical Voice.^[1]

With a background in improv, Witt also undertook intensive training at various institutions including ATYP and NIDA.

Career

Witt studied acting and music from an early age, before going on to work extensively in film and television. Several notable roles include The Matrix,^[2] Somewhere in the Darkness, Escape of the Artful Dodger, Underbelly and Home and Away.^[3] He was short-listed to the final four for the role of Harry Potter in the series of feature films and was the only Australian actor to be flown to Leavesden Studios in England to screen-test for the role.^[4]

As a classical performer Witt performed in concerts, recitals, oratorios and operas including, Opera Australia's Britten's Turn of the Screw, Puccini's Tosca, Britten's Midsummer Night's Dream and Mozart's The Magic Flute.

Witt made his musical theatre début in The Lincoln Centre's production of South Pacific at the Sydney Opera House in which he played Professor.^[5] Directed by Bartlett Sher and starring Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Lisa McCune,^[6] the production broke records for the fastest selling show in Sydney Opera House history.^[7]

This was soon followed by Witt's breakthrough role as Jack, in the 2014 Australian production of Into The Woods, at the Melbourne Arts Centre.^[4] He garnered critical acclaim for "redefining the role", being described as "a talent to watch", "terrifically crafted" and "bringing a depth of detail to Jack beyond any performance to date".^[8][9][10]

Witt then starred in the Australian premiere of Pasek and Paul's musical, Dogfight, at the Hayes Theatre, as the Vietnam marine, Bernstein.^[11][12] AussieTheatre named Witt's performance a highlight of 2015, stating "Witt is the kind of actor that musical theatre needs."^[13]

During the run of Dogfight, Witt started rehearsals for Cameron Mackintosh's multi-Helpmann award-winning production of Les Misérables (25th Anniversary Production) with which he toured Australia.^[14]

Some of Witt's other lead theatre roles during this time include John Hinckley in the Australian tour of Sondheim's Assassins,^[15] Danny in Baby at the Hayes Theatre, Leaf Coneybear in William Finn's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Young Buddy in the acclaimed concert production of Sondheim's Follies – opposite Philip Quast, Debra Byrne, Lisa McCune, David Hobson and Anne Wood.^[16]

Witt recently lead the critically acclaimed revival of Bock and Harnick's, She Loves Me, as Georg Nowack, at the celebrated Hayes Theatre.^[17]

Witt starred as Elder McKinley in the Australian premiere of The Book of Mormon at The Princess Theatre in Melbourne and the Sydney Lyric Theatre in Sydney until April 2018.^[18][19] The role earned him a 2017 Helpmann Award nomination.^[20][21]

As a voice-over actor, Witt works extensively voicing characters for animation, advertising, radio, television shows and movie soundtracks.^[1]

Personal life

Witt has a twin sister, Eleanor, a musician, who performs under the stage name, ELKI.^[22][23]

References