Kai Owen
Encyclopedia
Kai Owen is a Welsh actor of stage and screen, known to Welsh audiences for his numerous roles on Welsh-language television and to worldwide audiences for his portrayal of Rhys Williams
in Torchwood
.
in the Conwy Valley in North Wales, where his family still lives. His father Mark is a GMB union
official and his mother Yvonne is a cleaner at the British Legion Club. He was educated at Watling Street Primary School, Llanrwst and Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy
.
He attended Mountview Theatre School
, London for three years, graduating in 1998. Owen lived with his actor fiancée Sarah Wilson in
East Finchley
, London and in 2010 moved with son Bobby to Warwickshire
. During 2011, Owen stayed in West Hollywood California for filming of Torchwood: Miracle Day.
He ran the 2009 London Marathon
for the children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent
, and also ran the Virgin London Marathon on 25 April 2010. He is a patron of Llandudno
Youth Musical Theatre.
. He was a regular in several series (52 episodes) of this popular gritty Welsh television programme; he also appeared in S4C
's Treflan as character Bob Lewis. In 2009 he guested as Harri in the second series of Y Pris
and as violent loan shark Craig Turner in Pobol Y Cwm
(one episode, broadcast 11 September 2009).
Owen's first appearance on English-language UK television came in 2001, when he appeared as Buster Edwards in the episode Dog Dago Afternoon of series Fun at the Funeral Parlour. In 2003 he guested in an episode of
BBC One
television series Casualty
(episode 392, Stuck In The Middle With You, 19 April 2003, as Danny). In 2005 he played the character of Dave 'Shiner' Owen in all six episodes of the series Rocket Man, a BBC One television series about a man trying to launch his dead wife's ashes into space.
2006 saw Owen cast as recurring character Rhys Williams
in Torchwood, a spin-off from the science fiction television series Doctor Who
, a role for which he has become most renowned. He was elevated to star billing for the third series, broadcast on BBC One in Summer 2009, reflecting his growing role in the series. A fourth series of Torchwood — Torchwood: Miracle Day — was commissioned in June 2010 with confirmed involvement of Owen.
Owen starred in an episode of Celebrity Ready Steady Cook
with Torchwood co-star Tom Price
(Andy
) (recorded 26 August 2009, broadcast 8 January 2010).
In 2011 Owen appeared in the first episode of the third series of Being Human
as the character Bob, leader of a dogging pack. He appears in the 14th episode of the seventh series of long running BBC school drama Waterloo Road
as ex rugby pro Ken Watling.
Rhys Williams (Torchwood)
Rhys Alun Williams, portrayed by Kai Owen, is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. The character is introduced in the premiere episode as the co-habiting boyfriend of principal character Gwen Cooper...
in Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
.
Background and personal life
Owen is originally from the village of LlanrwstLlanrwst
Llanrwst is a small town and community on the A470 road and the River Conwy in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It takes its name from the 5th century to 6th century Saint Grwst, and the original parish church in Cae Llan was replaced by the 12th-century church....
in the Conwy Valley in North Wales, where his family still lives. His father Mark is a GMB union
GMB Union
The GMB is a general trade union in the United Kingdom, and has more than 600,000 members. Its members are drawn from many sectors, with particular strength amongst manual workers in local government and the health service...
official and his mother Yvonne is a cleaner at the British Legion Club. He was educated at Watling Street Primary School, Llanrwst and Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy
Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy
Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy is a bilingual co-educational comprehensive school in the town of Llanrwst in Conwy County Borough, North Wales. The school serves the community of Llanrwst and the many surrounding villages including the rural districts of Betws-y-Coed, Llangernyw and Cerrigydrudion...
.
He attended Mountview Theatre School
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts is an independent drama school situated in the Wood Green area of North London. It was founded in 1945 by Peter Coxhead and Ralph Nossek as 'The Mountview Theatre Club', an amateur repertory company staging a new production for a six-day run every second week...
, London for three years, graduating in 1998. Owen lived with his actor fiancée Sarah Wilson in
East Finchley
Finchley
Finchley is a district in Barnet in north London, England. Finchley is on high ground, about north of Charing Cross. It formed an ancient parish in the county of Middlesex, becoming a municipal borough in 1933, and has formed part of Greater London since 1965...
, London and in 2010 moved with son Bobby to Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
. During 2011, Owen stayed in West Hollywood California for filming of Torchwood: Miracle Day.
He ran the 2009 London Marathon
London Marathon
The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...
for the children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent
CLIC Sargent
CLIC Sargent is charity in the United Kingdom that was formed by the merger of Sargent Cancer Care for Children and Cancer and Leukaemia in Childhood in 2005. The charity specializes in providing support for children with cancer....
, and also ran the Virgin London Marathon on 25 April 2010. He is a patron of Llandudno
Llandudno
Llandudno is a seaside resort and town in Conwy County Borough, Wales. In the 2001 UK census it had a population of 20,090 including that of Penrhyn Bay and Penrhynside, which are within the Llandudno Community...
Youth Musical Theatre.
Television career
He became first known as Kev, a gay roofer in Tipyn O Stad, shown on Welsh-language channel S4CS4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
. He was a regular in several series (52 episodes) of this popular gritty Welsh television programme; he also appeared in S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
's Treflan as character Bob Lewis. In 2009 he guested as Harri in the second series of Y Pris
Y Pris
Y Pris is a popular Welsh language television programme produced by Fiction Factory for Welsh public service television station S4C. Described in its tagline as "The Sopranos by the seaside"...
and as violent loan shark Craig Turner in Pobol Y Cwm
Pobol y Cwm
Pobol y Cwm is a Welsh-language television soap opera which has been produced by the BBC since October 1974. The longest-running television soap opera produced by the BBC, Pobol y Cwm was originally transmitted on BBC Wales television and later transferred to the Welsh-language station S4C when it...
(one episode, broadcast 11 September 2009).
Owen's first appearance on English-language UK television came in 2001, when he appeared as Buster Edwards in the episode Dog Dago Afternoon of series Fun at the Funeral Parlour. In 2003 he guested in an episode of
BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
television series Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
(episode 392, Stuck In The Middle With You, 19 April 2003, as Danny). In 2005 he played the character of Dave 'Shiner' Owen in all six episodes of the series Rocket Man, a BBC One television series about a man trying to launch his dead wife's ashes into space.
2006 saw Owen cast as recurring character Rhys Williams
Rhys Williams (Torchwood)
Rhys Alun Williams, portrayed by Kai Owen, is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. The character is introduced in the premiere episode as the co-habiting boyfriend of principal character Gwen Cooper...
in Torchwood, a spin-off from the science fiction television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, a role for which he has become most renowned. He was elevated to star billing for the third series, broadcast on BBC One in Summer 2009, reflecting his growing role in the series. A fourth series of Torchwood — Torchwood: Miracle Day — was commissioned in June 2010 with confirmed involvement of Owen.
Owen starred in an episode of Celebrity Ready Steady Cook
Ready Steady Cook
Ready Steady Cook was a BBC daytime TV cooking programme it first debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last edition was broadcast on the 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott became the new host...
with Torchwood co-star Tom Price
Tom Price (actor)
Tom Price is a British actor, voice over artist and stand up comedian. He is married to TV producer Beth Morrey, who is most noted for being the creator of hit Channel 4 quiz format Wogan's Perfect Recall.-TV and Film Career:...
(Andy
Andy Davidson (Torchwood)
Andy Davidson is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, portrayed by Tom Price. Andy, an officer with the South Wales Police, is a supporting character who first appears in Torchwoods premiere episode "Everything Changes" and recurs regularly from thereon...
) (recorded 26 August 2009, broadcast 8 January 2010).
In 2011 Owen appeared in the first episode of the third series of Being Human
Being Human (TV series)
Being Human is a British supernatural drama television series. It was created and written by Toby Whithouse and is currently broadcast on BBC Three. The show blends elements of flatshare comedy and horror drama...
as the character Bob, leader of a dogging pack. He appears in the 14th episode of the seventh series of long running BBC school drama Waterloo Road
Waterloo Road (TV series)
Waterloo Road is an award-winning British television drama series, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 9 March 2006. Set in a troubled comprehensive school in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, the series focuses on the lives of the school's teacher and students, and confronts social...
as ex rugby pro Ken Watling.
Other work
Owen regularly works on stage and in radio. Notable productions include:- as RonnieRonnie WilliamsRonnie Williams was a Welsh actor and comedian.Williams struggled with his choice of an acting career, making an isolated television appearance in The Wednesday Play in 1966...
in Life of Ryan... and Ronnie by Meic Povey, 2005. - A Chorus Of Disapproval by Alan AyckbournAlan AyckbournSir Alan Ayckbourn CBE is a prolific English playwright. He has written and produced seventy-three full-length plays in Scarborough and London and was, between 1972 and 2009, the artistic director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where all but four of his plays have received their...
, Clwyd Theatr CymruClwyd Theatr CymruClwyd Theatr Cymru , known until 1998 as Theatr Clwyd, is a regional arts centre located 1 mile from Mold, Flintshire, in north-east Wales.The complex contains five auditoria:*The Anthony Hopkins Theatre ....
, 2006 - as Harry SecombeHarry SecombeSir Harry Donald Secombe CBE was a Welsh entertainer with a talent for comedy and a noted fine tenor singing voice. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show...
in Ying Tong: a Walk with the Goons by Roy SmilesRoy SmilesRoy Smiles is an English playwright and singer-songwriter from West London, also occasional actor.-Career:Roy Smiles is the author of twenty three produced stage plays...
, BBC Radio 4, 4 April 2007 - Adam & Steve by John Cusworth and Paul Telfer, 2008
- Reprising the role of Rhys Williams for The Dead LineThe Dead Line"The Dead Line" is the last of four radio dramas released prior to the third series of Torchwood, a British science fiction television series which airs on the BBC...
, a TorchwoodTorchwoodTorchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
radio play.
Selected Filmography
| Year(s) | Title | Role | | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Waterloo Road Waterloo Road Waterloo Road may refer to:Places:* Waterloo Road, London, England* Waterloo Road, Hong Kong* Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, England. Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.'s Molineux Stadium is located on this road.Film and television:... |
Ken Watling | Episode #7.14 |
| Being Human Being Human - Plot :The film portrays the experience of a single human soul, portrayed by Williams, through various incarnations. Williams is the only common actor throughout the stories that span man's history on Earth.... |
Bob | Episode #3.1 - Lia | |
| 2006 - 2011 | Torchwood Torchwood Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from... |
Rhys Williams Rhys Williams (Torchwood) Rhys Alun Williams, portrayed by Kai Owen, is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. The character is introduced in the premiere episode as the co-habiting boyfriend of principal character Gwen Cooper... |
Series regular Children of Earth Children of Earth Children of Earth is the banner title of the third series of the British television science fiction series Torchwood, which broadcast for five episodes on BBC One in 2009. The series had new producer Peter Bennett and was directed by Euros Lyn, who had considerable experience on the revived Doctor... onwards |
| 2005 | Rocket Man Rocket Man (TV series) Rocket Man is a BBC television drama series, produced in 2005, about a recently widowed Welsh man who is struggling to build a rocket in which to launch his wife's ashes into space. It was created by Alison Hume and stars Robson Green, Charles Dale and John Rhys Halliwell... |
David 'Shiner' Owen | Six episodes; main role |
| 2003 | Casualty Casualty (TV series) Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The... |
Danny | TV episode - "Stuck in the Middle with You" |
| 2001 | Fun at the Funeral Parlour Fun at the Funeral Parlour Fun at the Funeral Parlour was a comedy series broadcast on BBC Choice for two series in 2001 and 2002. It was set in a Welsh funeral directors called Thomas, Thomas, Thomas and Thomas.... |
P.C Hertz | TV episode - The Jaws of Doom |