Will Kemp (actor, born 1977)

For Shakespeare's clown, see William Kempe.

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 (1977-06-29) 29 June 1977 (age 47) Hertfordshire, England
Occupations	Actor dancer
Years active	1997–present
Spouse	Gaby Jamieson
Children	2
Website	www.willkemp.co.uk

Life and career

Kemp 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

Kemp and his wife, Gaby Jamieson, have a daughter, Thalie born in 2005, and a son, Indigo born in 2008.^[1]

Filmography

Film

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

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
2024	Paging Mr. Darcy	Samuel Lee	Television film (Hallmark Channel)
2024	My Sweet Austrian Holiday	Henry	Television film (Hallmark Channel)

References

1. 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.
2. King, Susan (2 May 2004). "His 'Van Helsing' role brings out the animal in dancer Will Kemp". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 February 2019.

External links

• Official website
• Will Kemp at IMDb
• Will Kemp at the Internet Broadway Database