Tom Ellis (actor)

For other people named Thomas or Tom Ellis, see Thomas Ellis.

Thomas John Ellis (born 17 November 1978) is a Welsh actor. He first became known for playing Gary Preston in the BBC One sitcom Miranda (2009–2015) before achieving wider recognition for his role as Lucifer Morningstar in the Fox urban fantasy series Lucifer (2016–2021), a role he reprised in the Arrowverse franchise's "Crisis on Infinite Earths" crossover (2019).

Tom Ellis
Ellis in September 2022
Born	Thomas John Ellis (1978-11-17) 17 November 1978 (age 46) Cardiff, Wales
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2000–present
Height	1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Spouses	Tamzin Outhwaite ​ ​ (m. 2006; div. 2014)​ Meaghan Oppenheimer ​ ​ (m. 2019)​
Children	4

Early life

Thomas John Ellis was born in Cardiff on 17 November 1978, the son of Marilyn Jean (née Hooper) and Christopher John Ellis.^[1] He has three sisters, one of whom is his twin. His father, uncle, and one of his sisters are all Baptist ministers.^[2] Shortly after his birth, the family left Wales for England and settled in Sheffield,^[3] where he attended Sheffield's High Storrs School and played the French horn in the city's youth orchestra.^[4] He later earned a BA in Dramatic Studies from Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.^[4]

Career

Ellis' breakout role was that of Gary Preston on the BBC One sitcom Miranda (2010–2015). He also appeared as King Cenred on the BBC fantasy series Merlin (2008), Justyn in Channel 4's No Angels, and Thomas Milligan in the Doctor Who episode "Last of the Time Lords". He has appeared in the BBC One soap opera EastEnders, the BBC sketch comedy show The Catherine Tate Show, and the BBC medical drama Holby City. In July and August 2009, he starred in the ITV comedy drama Monday Monday.^[5][6] He was cast as Detective Inspector Bland in Agatha Christie's Poirot.

In February 2015, Ellis was cast as Lucifer Morningstar in the Fox series Lucifer, based on DC Comics' publication and character of the same name, which premiered on 25 January 2016.^[7] The show later moved to Netflix. On 23 June 2020, it was announced that Netflix had renewed the show for a sixth and final season.^[8] He reprised the role of Lucifer during The CW's The Flash episode of the Arrowverse crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths".^[9]

In 2021, Ellis won the Tell-Tale TV Award for Favorite Actor in a Cable or Streaming Sci-fi/Fantasy/Horror Series.^[10] He starred as war correspondent Nick in the Netflix romantic comedy film Players (2024).

Personal life

In 2006, Ellis married English actress Tamzin Outhwaite, to whom he was introduced by Scottish actor James McAvoy.^[11] They had two daughters together before she filed for divorce in September 2013, citing adultery after he admitted to having an affair with an unnamed co-star while filming Gothica.^[12][13][14] The divorce was finalised in April 2014.^[11] Ellis also has a third daughter from an earlier relationship.^[15][16]

Ellis married American screenwriter Meaghan Oppenheimer on 2 June 2019,^[15][17] and their daughter (her first and his fourth) was born via surrogate in November 2023.^[18]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
2001	High Heels and Low Lifes	Uniformed Officer
	Buffalo Soldiers	Squash
2003	I'll Be There	Ivor
2004	Vera Drake	Police Constable
2005	The Best Man	Groom
2006	Calon Gaeth	Edward
2008	Miss Conception	Zak
2019	Isn't It Romantic	Dr. Todd
2024	Players	Nick Russel
TBA	The Thursday Murder Club	TBA

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Kiss Me Kate	Ben	Episode: "Kate's Niece"
2001	The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby	John Browdie	Television film
	Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story	Bigger boy 1	Miniseries; 2 episodes
2001–2002	Nice Guy Eddie	Frank Bennett	Main role
2002	Wild West	Bungee jump instructor	Episode: "Fear of Bungee"
	Linda Green	Marko	Episode: "Viva Espana"
2003	Pollyanna	Timothy	Television film
	Holby City	David Jones	Episode: "Endgame"
2004	Messiah III: The Promise	Dr. Phillip Ryder	2 episodes
2005	Twisted Tales	Alex	Episode: "The Irredeemable Brain of Dr Heinrich Hunsecker"
	Doctors	Ricky Adams	Episode: "Slim Chance"
	Midsomer Murders	Lee Smeeton	Episode: "Midsomer Rhapsody"
	Waking the Dead	Harry Taylor	Episode: "Straw Dog"
	Love Soup	Mike	Episode: "Take Five"
	ShakespeaRe-Told	Claudio	Episode: "Much Ado About Nothing"
2005–2006	No Angels	Justyn	4 episodes
2006	EastEnders	Dr. Oliver Cousins	29 episodes
	Pulling	Sam	2 episodes
2006–2007	Suburban Shootout	PC Haines	Main role
	The Catherine Tate Show	Detective Sergeant Sam Speed	2 episodes
2007	Casualty	Joe Kelsall	Episode: "Combat Indicators: Part 1"
	Doctor Who	Tom Milligan	Episode: "Last of the Time Lords"
2008	Trial & Retribution	Nick Fisher	2 episodes
	The Passion	Apostle Philip	4 episodes
	Harley Street	Dr Ross Jarvis	5 episodes
2009	Monday Monday	Steven McColl	Main role
2009–2015	Miranda	Gary Preston	Main role
2010	Dappers[citation needed]	Marco	Episode: "Proper Job"
	Merlin	Cenred	4 episodes
	Accused	Neil McGray	Episode: "Liam's Story"
2011	Sugartown	Max Burr	Main role
	The Fades	Mark Etches	Main role
2012	Silent Witness	Father Jacobs	Episode: "Fear"
	Playhouse Presents	Bill	Episode: "The Other Woman"
	Gates	Mark Pearson	5 episodes
	The Secret of Crickley Hall	Gabe Caleigh	Miniseries; 3 episodes
2013	Once Upon a Time	Robin Hood	S2 Episode 19 "Lacey"
	Agatha Christie's Poirot	Detective Inspector Bland	Episode: "Dead Man's Folly"
	Gothica	Victor Frankenstein	Television film
2014	Under Milk Wood	Mr. Ogmore	Television film
	Rush	Dr. William Rush	Main role
2015	The Strain	Rob Bradley	Episode: "Identity"
2016–2021	Lucifer	Lucifer Morningstar / Michael Demiurgos	Main role
2018	Family Guy	Oscar Wilde (voice)	Episode: "V Is for Mystery"[19]
	Queen America	Andy	2 episodes
2019	The Flash	Lucifer Morningstar	Episode: "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Three"
2022	Robot Chicken	Michelin Man (voice)	Episode: "May Cause Indecision...Or Not"
	The Great North	Rick Chateau (voice)	Episode: "Dick, Rick, Groom Adventure"
2024	Exploding Kittens	GodCat (voice)	9 episodes
	Tell Me Lies	Oliver	Series regular (Season 2)[20]
TBA	Washington Black †	Christopher 'Titch' Wilde	Post-production
	Second Wife †	TBA	Pre-production

Key

†	Denotes works that have not yet been released

References

1. "10 Things You Never Knew About Tom Ellis, Star of 'Lucifer' and 'Miranda'". BBC America. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
2. Cox, Emma (25 October 2016). "Miranda's Tom Ellis on mixing his religious upbringing with playing the Devil in Lucifer". Radiotimes. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
3. "Well known alumni". High Storrs School. Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
4. Brown, Emma (23 September 2015). "The Devil in Tom Ellis". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
5. Hibberd, James (22 February 2013). "TV's Pilot Season Goes (Very) High-Concept". Entertainment Weekly. p. 26.
6. Thompson, Zac (2 March 2015). "DC Comics' "Lucifer" Pilot Finds Its Star At FOX". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
7. Barton, Steve (27 February 2015). "Lucifer – Tom Ellis Gets His Horns". Dread Central. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
8. Nellie, Andreeva (29 July 2018). "Netflix Chief On Cancelling 'Everything Sucks' & 'Lady Dynamite', Rescuing 'Lucifer' & 'Shadowhunters' Future – TCA". Deadline. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
9. Moore, Trent (10 December 2019). "Surprise! Crisis on Infinite Earths crossed over with Netflix's Lucifer with a perfect cameo". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
10. "The 2021 Tell-Tale TV Awards: Results! 'Julie and the Phantoms,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Lucifer,' and 'WandaVision' Among Winners". telltaletv.com. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
11. "Tamzin Outhwaite breaks silence after ex-husband Tom Ellis remarries". Hello! magazine. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
12. "Tamzin To Divorce Hubby After 'One-Night Stand'". HuffPost UK. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
13. McNally, Kelby (10 September 2013). "Tamzin Outhwaite 'files for divorce from Tom Ellis, citing adultery'". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
14. McNally, Kelby (19 September 2013). "'We're all moving forward' Tom Ellis speaks out about Tamzin Outhwaite". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
15. Heller, Corrine (3 June 2019). "Lucifer Star Tom Ellis Marries Meaghan Oppenheimer in Star-Studded Ceremony". E! News.
16. Crosbie, Eve (27 May 2021). "Lucifer star Tom Ellis looks almost unrecognisable in first-ever television role". Hello Magazine. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
17. Murphy, Nichola (2 June 2021). "Lucifer's Tom Ellis shares never-before-seen wedding photo with wife Meaghan". HELLO!. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
18. Cook, Sam (10 November 2023). "Actor Tom Ellis and wife welcome baby daughter via surrogate". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
19. "Family Guy [Deleted]". The Futon Critic. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
20. Rice, Lynette (24 January 2024). "'Tell Me Lies': Tom Ellis Joins Season 2 Of Hulu Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.

External links

• Tom Ellis at IMDb