Rowan Witt

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

Early life

Witt was born in Sydney, Australia. His parents are both script writers.

Witt was drawn to acting and music from an early age and performed extensively in film and television, with notable roles in The Matrix,^[1] Somewhere in the Darkness, Escape of the Artful Dodger, Underbelly and Home and Away. He performed in numerous classical concerts and operas, including Britten’s Turn of the Screw, Puccini’s Tosca and Mozart’s The Magic Flute. When he was eleven, he was short-listed 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.^[2]

Witt took several years off acting to concentrate on high school at the International Grammar School in Sydney. His graduating work topped the state, and was selected to appear in the exhibition 'ArtExpress' at the NSW Art Gallery, where he was additionally awarded the Julian Ashton drawing scholarship.^[3]

After high school, Witt was accepted into the prestigious Sydney Conservatorium of Music University, where he completed a four-year full-time Bachelor of Music Performance, majoring in Classical Voice.^[4]

With a background in improv, Witt also trained extensively at various institutions including ATYP and NIDA.

Career

Soon after graduation, Witt made his professional musical theatre début in The Lincoln Centre’s production of South Pacific at the Sydney Opera House.^[5] Directed by Bartlett Sher, Witt played the role of Professor alongside Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Lisa McCune. The production broke records for the fastest selling show in Sydney Opera House history.^[6]

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, produced by Victorian Opera.^[2] For this role the actor garnered critical acclaim, being described as “a talent to watch”, “redefining the role”, “terrifically crafted” and “bringing a depth of detail to Jack beyond any performance to date”.^[7][8][9]

Witt then starred in the Australian premiere of Pasek and Paul's indie hit Dogfight at the Hayes Theatre, in which he played the young Vietnam marine, Bernstein.^[10][11] AussieTheatre named Witt’s performance as a favourite of 2015, saying: "Witt is the kind of actor that musical theatre needs."^[12]

During the run of Dogfight, Witt was cast in Cameron Mackintosh’s multi-Helpmann award-winning Production of Les Misérables (25th Anniversary Production).^[13]

Some of Witt's other notable roles during this time include Danny, in Baby,^[14] at the Hayes Theatre for Neglected Musicals, John Hinckley in the Victorian tour of Sondheim’s Assassins,^[15] Leaf Coneybear in William Finn's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Young Buddy in the star-studded concert production of Sondheim’s Follies - opposite Philip Quast, Debra Byrne, Lisa McCune, David Hobson and Anne Wood.^[16]

Witt has starred in over 35 national and international commercials.

As a voice-over actor, Witt’s work spans screen and radio, in animation, advertising, television shows and movie soundtracks.^[4]

Personal life

Witt is a vegetarian.^[3]

References