Acting

Layton Williams

Born 13 September 1994 · Manchester, England, UK · 32

Layton Williams (born 13 September 1994, Bury, Greater Manchester, England) is an English actor, dancer, and singer of mixed heritage (white English mother, father of Jamaican descent). At 11 he moved to Leeds to train at the Billy Elliot Academy and made his West End debut in Billy Elliot the Musical (2007–2008), becoming the first mixed-race performer in the title role. He studied at the Sylvia Young Theatre School and the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts (documented in the CBBC series School for Stars). He went on to tour with Rent (2016–2017), Hairspray (2015–2016), and originated the title role in Everybody's Talking About Jamie (2021–2022). He won the 2025 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for Titanique and was a runner-up on Strictly Come Dancing (Series 21, 2023). His filmography includes: The Bad Education Movie (2015) (Jack Whitehall, Mathew Horne); Rocketman (2019) (Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell); Everybody's Talking About Jamie (2021) (Rita Ora, Patsy Ferran); I Hate Suzie Too (2022, TV) (Billie Piper, Anjana Vasan); I Kissed a Boy (2023–, TV, narrator); People We Meet on Vacation (2026, TV) (Emily Blunt, Chiwetel Ejiofor). TV: Beautiful People (2008–2009) (Olivia Colman, David Walliams), Bad Education (2012–2014, 2022–2024) (Jack Whitehall, Sarah Solemani), Benidorm (2018) (Dawn French, Ralf Little), The Cleaner (2021) (Diane Kruger, David Tennant).