Rhys Thomas (comedian)
Encyclopedia
Rhys Thomas is an English
comedian
and actor
.
, when he showed Charlie Higson
and Bob Mortimer
some sketches he had performed in college. Higson recruited Thomas as a supporting cast member on The Fast Show
, and he has since appeared in several comedy series, including Fun at the Funeral Parlour
, Happiness
, Monkey Trousers
, and Nathan Barley
, as well as co-writing and performing in the Fast Show spin-off Swiss Toni
, and script editing the later series of Shooting Stars. He currently plays the host of BBC Radio 4
's spoof late-night phone-in, Down the Line, and writes for and appears in Channel 4
sketch show Blunder
. Thomas has also appeared in the Channel 4
comedy Star Stories
playing Jude Law, Andrew Ridgely, Warren Beatty, Gary Glitter, Daniel Day Lewis, Kiefer Sutherland and The Fonz amongst others.
He has worked as a runner on Shooting Stars, sometimes filling in for George Dawes on the drums during rehearsals. At the time, still in lower Sixth Form, he formed comedy group called Stay Alive Pepi with Stephen Burge, Tony Way
and Glynne Wiley. Filmed a BBC Two
pilot with Ulrika Jonsson
called It's Ulrika written by Vic Reeves
and Bob Mortimer
in 1997. In the sketch, written by Thomas, Way and Burge.
In 1998 Thomas starred in Shooting Stars and The Fast Show Live at the Hammersmith Apollo
, then sketch show Barking for Channel 4 alongside Mackenzie Crook
, Catherine Tate
, Peter Kaye
and David Walliams
. In 1998, Stay Alive Pepi wrote and performed their one and only ever Edinburgh Show at the Assembly Rooms. He also appeared in a Sir Bernard Chumley's Stately Homes and pilot Crazy Jonathan's with Matt Lucas
and David Walliams.
Rhys was a presenter on the XFM
breakfast show in 1999, alongside Natasha Desborough
whilst studying for his degree at King's College, Cambridge.
After a stint as team writer on series one of the The 11 O'Clock Show in 1999, Rhys wrote a pilot script for Fun at the Funeral Parlour in 1999 at the age of 20. Producer Simon Lupton was impressed, and submitted it to Stuart Murphy
, then controller of BBC Choice
and a series was filmed summer 2000 and a second series 2001. Guest stars included Tom Baker
, Paul Whitehouse
, Charlie Higson, Bill Oddie
, Christopher Cazenove
, Phil Cornwell
, Mitchell and Webb
, Lucas and Walliams, Simon Day
, Mark Williams
, Anita Dobson
, Art Malik
and Dudley Sutton
. Music was specially composed by Brian May of Queen.
In 2002/4, he co-wrote and starred in two series of Swiss Toni, penning four episodes himself and co-writing others. He also toured with The Fast Show for their farewell tour in 2002. At this point he started making a name for himself on panel shows/talking head led programmes. He appeared as team captain on panel show Fanorama with David Mitchell
(2001/2) and then team captain on Does Doug Know with Daisy Donovan
on Channel 4 (2002). Since then he has also appeared on Law of the Playground
(2006), Comedian's Comedian (2005), Nathan Barley
(2005), 8 Out Of 10 Cats
(2006), FAQ U
(2005), Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe
(2006), Tittybangbang
(2005) and Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive
(2007).
In 2006, Boyd Hilton of HEAT Magazine
labelled him a "Comedy Genius" following his various roles in the Comedy Award Winning Star Stories.
2007 Performers Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson and Rhys Thomas were awarded "Radio Programme of the Year" for Down The Line by the Broadcasting Press Guild and in 2008 the show won a Sony Gold for Best Radio Comedy.
Thomas has worked closely with the rock band Queen
, of whom he is a major fan, producing seven of their DVDs: Queen Greatest Video Hits (2001), Queen Live at Wembley (2002), Queen: Greatest Video Hits II (2003), Queen Jewels (Japanese release) (2004), Queen On Fire: Live at the Bowl (2004), Queen + Paul Rogers: Return of the Champions and 'A Night At The Opera - 30th Anniversary DVD', making documentaries and directing new videos, including "I Was Born to Love You". In 2003 he wrote, starred and co-directed (with Simon Lupton) a commercial for Queen Greatest Video Hits II also starring Roger Taylor
and Brian May
.
In July 2010, Thomas was asked by Jim Beach, manager of Queen to write the sleeve notes for all 15 studio albums by the band, due for re-release in 2011 to coincide with the 40th Anniversary of Queen. He also produced the critically acclaimed two-part Queen documentary Days of Our Lives, which aired on BBC2 in May 2011.
Thomas has completed his first feature film Beyond the Pole
. Starring alongside Stephen Mangan
, Helen Baxendale
and Mark Benton
, the film premiered at the Prince Charles Cinema
as part of the London Film Festival on Dec 5, 2009, and was released nationwide in February 2010. Some behind the scenes footage leaked on the internet featuring Thomas and co-star Alexander Skarsgard
dancing topless to "A Kind of Magic" gained huge hits and attention on the internet in Summer 2010, over 1,000,000 hits combined.
In April 2009 Thomas appeared in BBC switch's show, "Winging it", playing the character of a music mogul and wrote and starred in "Above Their Stations" a sitcom pilot about Police Community Support Officers for BBC Three, also starring Simon Day, Dudley Sutton and Denis Lawson. He also created, co wrote/co produced Brian Pern a series of online spoof blogs starring Simon Day as Brian Pern, loosely based on Peter Gabriel/Eno and other intelligent, politically active rock musicians of that ilk.
In January 2010 Bellamy's People
(starring and co-written by Rhys Thomas as Gary Bellamy) launched with exceptional reviews across the board many, including The Radio Times, praising Thomas for his straight man role and the ability to make those around him seem even funnier, Andrew Collins claiming that he was "amazing" as Gary Bellamy and The Independent stating that he was "excellent". He was also listed in The Radio Times as one of the Top Ten faces of 2010 alongside Matt Smith, Chris Evans and Carey Mulligan.
In February 2010, Above Their Station was broadcast on BBC3 and despite the lack of publicity, it gained an impressive 415,000 viewers, followed by another 250,000 in its repeat slot at midnight, beating many of the other BBC3 shows that week. Despite that, a series was not commissioned by Controller Danny Cohen who deemed the pilot to be a little too mainstream for BBC3. Ironically, the pilot broadcast in the same slot the following week at 9.30, "This Is Jinsy" was commissioned though it only gained a fraction of the audience, 100,000.
He is also the lead in the new Channel 4 comedy-drama Sirens
, which began airing in June 2011.
Thomas is working on a film script for Warp Films called Pharang, set in Thailand, as three brothers go in search of their father who has gone missing, and a science fiction sitcom pilot for the BBC.
On the 31st of December 2010, Thomas appeared on and won Celebrity Mastermind
with a specialist subject record score of 21 points and a total 36 points. His specialist subject was, quite appropriately, Queen
.
. They have two daughters, Polly (b. 2008) and Rosie Rae (b. 2010), and live in East London.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Career
His breakthrough came while working as a runner on Shooting StarsShooting Stars
Shooting Stars is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two as a pilot in 1993, then as 3 full series from 1995 to 1997, then on BBC Choice from January to December 2002 with 2 series before returning to BBC Two for another 3 series from 2008 until its axing in 2011...
, when he showed Charlie Higson
Charlie Higson
Charles Murray Higson , more commonly known as Charlie Higson - also Switch - is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer...
and Bob Mortimer
Bob Mortimer
Robert "Bob" Renwick Mortimer is an English comedian and actor, who is best known for his double act with Vic Reeves...
some sketches he had performed in college. Higson recruited Thomas as a supporting cast member on The Fast Show
The Fast Show
The Fast Show, known as Brilliant in the US, was a BBC comedy sketch show programme that ran for three series from 1994 to 1997 with a special Last Fast Show Ever in 2000. The show's central performers were Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson, Simon Day, Mark Williams, John Thomson, Arabella Weir and...
, and he has since appeared in several comedy series, including 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....
, Happiness
Happiness (TV series)
Happiness was a British sitcom broadcast on BBC2 with dramatic, melancholy overtones written by Paul Whitehouse and David Cummings with Whitehouse in the lead role.There have been two series thus far, the first running in 2001 and the second in 2003...
, Monkey Trousers
Monkey Trousers
Monkey Trousers was a short-lived comedy series on ITV in 2005, featuring Alistair McGowan, John Thomson, Ronni Ancona, Mackenzie Crook, Griff Rhys Jones, Neil Morrissey, Vic Reeves, Bob Mortimer, Marc Wootton and Steve Coogan...
, and Nathan Barley
Nathan Barley
Nathan Barley is a Channel 4 sitcom written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, starring Nicholas Burns, Julian Barratt and Claire Keelan. The series of six weekly episodes began broadcasting on 11 February 2005 on Channel 4...
, as well as co-writing and performing in the Fast Show spin-off Swiss Toni
Swiss Toni
Swiss Toni is a fictional used-car dealer played by Charlie Higson, and also the title of a sitcom in which he is the main character. Swiss Toni is a 50-something car dealer going through a midlife crisis. To Toni almost any situation in life is best understood as being "like making love to a...
, and script editing the later series of Shooting Stars. He currently plays the host of BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's spoof late-night phone-in, Down the Line, and writes for and appears in Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
sketch show Blunder
Blunder (TV series)
Blunder was a Channel 4 comedy sketch series shown in the UK on E4 and repeated on Channel 4. No announcement of a second series has yet been made.-Characters:-The Baron:...
. Thomas has also appeared in the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
comedy Star Stories
Star Stories
Star Stories is a British television comedy programme that takes a satirical look at celebrities and their lives. It was first shown on Channel 4 on September 15, 2006....
playing Jude Law, Andrew Ridgely, Warren Beatty, Gary Glitter, Daniel Day Lewis, Kiefer Sutherland and The Fonz amongst others.
He has worked as a runner on Shooting Stars, sometimes filling in for George Dawes on the drums during rehearsals. At the time, still in lower Sixth Form, he formed comedy group called Stay Alive Pepi with Stephen Burge, Tony Way
Tony Way
Tony Way is an English actor, comedian, and writer, who is best known for playing various characters, in the hit BBC sketch comedy TV series Tittybangbang and playing the character Dave in the hit comedy movie, Ali G Indahouse....
and Glynne Wiley. Filmed a BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
pilot with Ulrika Jonsson
Ulrika Jonsson
Eva Ulrika Jonsson is a Swedish television presenter in the UK, who became famous as a TV-am weather presenter and moved on to present Gladiators and became a team captain of the show Shooting Stars.-Early life:...
called It's Ulrika written by Vic Reeves
Vic Reeves
James Roderick Moir , better known by the stage name Vic Reeves, is an English comedian, best known for his double act with Bob Mortimer . He is known for his surreal and non sequitur sense of humour....
and Bob Mortimer
Bob Mortimer
Robert "Bob" Renwick Mortimer is an English comedian and actor, who is best known for his double act with Vic Reeves...
in 1997. In the sketch, written by Thomas, Way and Burge.
In 1998 Thomas starred in Shooting Stars and The Fast Show Live at the Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo is a major entertainment venue located in Hammersmith, London. Designed by Robert Cromie in Art Deco style, it opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema, being re-named the Hammersmith Odeon in 1962...
, then sketch show Barking for Channel 4 alongside Mackenzie Crook
Mackenzie Crook
Paul Mackenzie Crook is a British actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Gareth Keenan in The Office and Ragetti in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.-Life and career:...
, Catherine Tate
Catherine Tate
Catherine Tate is an English actress, writer, and comedian. She has won numerous awards for her work on the sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and four BAFTA Awards...
, Peter Kaye
Peter Kaye
Peter John Kaye is an English former professional footballer.Kaye began his career as a trainee with Huddersfield Town, although he had a trial with Manchester United in 1994...
and David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
. In 1998, Stay Alive Pepi wrote and performed their one and only ever Edinburgh Show at the Assembly Rooms. He also appeared in a Sir Bernard Chumley's Stately Homes and pilot Crazy Jonathan's with Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas
Matthew Richard "Matt" Lucas is an English comedian, screenwriter and actor best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain; as well as for his portrayals of the scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the comedy panel game Shooting Stars, Tweedledee and...
and David Walliams.
Rhys was a presenter on the XFM
Xfm London
Xfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on digital radio via 30 DAB multiplexes across the country, Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media....
breakfast show in 1999, alongside Natasha Desborough
Natasha Desborough
Natasha Desborough is a radio presenter, author, DJ, and radio and television producer. Her debut book, Parental Advisory Manual, was published in October 2009....
whilst studying for his degree at King's College, Cambridge.
After a stint as team writer on series one of the The 11 O'Clock Show in 1999, Rhys wrote a pilot script for Fun at the Funeral Parlour in 1999 at the age of 20. Producer Simon Lupton was impressed, and submitted it to Stuart Murphy
Stuart Murphy
Stuart Neil Luke Murphy is the Director of Programmes for Sky1, Sky Atlantic, Sky2 and Sky3 and Director of Commissioning, Sky Entertainment Channels.-Early life:...
, then controller of BBC Choice
BBC Choice
BBC Choice was a BBC TV station which launched on 23 September 1998 and closed on 9 February 2003. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, and was the first new channel from the BBC since BBC Two launched in 1964...
and a series was filmed summer 2000 and a second series 2001. Guest stars included Tom Baker
Tom Baker
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is a British actor. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who, a role he played from 1974 to 1981.-Early life:...
, Paul Whitehouse
Paul Whitehouse
Paul Whitehouse is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He became known for his work with Harry Enfield and as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch show, The Fast Show. In a 2005 poll to find The Comedian's Comedian, he was in the top 50 comedy acts voted for by comedians and comedy insiders...
, Charlie Higson, Bill Oddie
Bill Oddie
William "Bill" Edgar Oddie OBE is an English author, actor, comedian, artist, naturalist and musician, who became famous as one of The Goodies....
, Christopher Cazenove
Christopher Cazenove
Christopher Cazenove was an English cinema, television and stage actor.-Early life and career:He was born Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove, the son of Arnold de Lerisson Cazenove and Elizabeth Laura in Winchester, Hampshire, but was brought up in Bowlish, Somerset...
, Phil Cornwell
Phil Cornwell
Phil Cornwell is an English comedian, actor, impressionist and writer. He is probably best known as being part of the Dead Ringers television and radio series...
, Mitchell and Webb
David Mitchell (actor)
David James Stuart Mitchell is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is half of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, alongside Robert Webb, whom he met at Cambridge University. There they were both part of the Cambridge Footlights, of which Mitchell became President. Together the duo star in the...
, Lucas and Walliams, Simon Day
Simon Day
Simon Day is a British comedian most famous for his roles in the sketch show The Fast Show, sitcom Grass and a series of comedic adverts for Powergen.-Life and career:...
, Mark Williams
Mark Williams (actor)
Mark Williams is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter and presenter. He is best known as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch show The Fast Show, as well as for his role as Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter films....
, Anita Dobson
Anita Dobson
Anita Dobson is an English television actress and singer. She gained her highest profile while playing Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...
, Art Malik
Art Malik
Art Malik is a Pakistani-born British actor who achieved international fame in the 1980s through his starring and subsidiary roles in assorted British and Merchant-Ivory television serials and films...
and Dudley Sutton
Dudley Sutton
-Life:He served in the RAF as a mechanic before enrolling in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from which he was later expelled.Known for his eccentricity, he became a cult figure after playing a gay biker in The Leather Boys . He married American actress Marjorie Steele in 1961; she had previously...
. Music was specially composed by Brian May of Queen.
In 2002/4, he co-wrote and starred in two series of Swiss Toni, penning four episodes himself and co-writing others. He also toured with The Fast Show for their farewell tour in 2002. At this point he started making a name for himself on panel shows/talking head led programmes. He appeared as team captain on panel show Fanorama with David Mitchell
David Mitchell (actor)
David James Stuart Mitchell is a British actor, comedian and writer. He is half of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb, alongside Robert Webb, whom he met at Cambridge University. There they were both part of the Cambridge Footlights, of which Mitchell became President. Together the duo star in the...
(2001/2) and then team captain on Does Doug Know with Daisy Donovan
Daisy Donovan
Daisy Donovan is an American-born British television presenter, actress and writer.-Early life:Donovan was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA. Her father was fashion photographer and film director Terence Donovan; her mother Diana Donovan, is chairwoman of the English National Ballet School...
on Channel 4 (2002). Since then he has also appeared on Law of the Playground
Law of the Playground
Law of the Playground is the name of a website, book and television series which features members of the publics memories about school life. It styles itself "The least coherent encyclopaedia of playground insults on the internet"-Website:...
(2006), Comedian's Comedian (2005), Nathan Barley
Nathan Barley
Nathan Barley is a Channel 4 sitcom written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, starring Nicholas Burns, Julian Barratt and Claire Keelan. The series of six weekly episodes began broadcasting on 11 February 2005 on Channel 4...
(2005), 8 Out Of 10 Cats
8 Out of 10 Cats
8 out of 10 Cats is a television comedy panel game made by Zeppotron for Channel 4. It was first broadcast on 3 June 2005. The show is based on statistics and opinion polls, and draws on polls produced by a variety of organizations and new polls commissioned for the programme, carried out by...
(2006), FAQ U
FAQ U
FAQ U was a television programme broadcast by Channel 4 in the UK in 2005. It was shown every night, Monday to Friday, just after 11:00pm. It was presented by Justin Lee Collins in its first week, David Mitchell in the second and Karen Taylor in the third. It included four comedian guests and an...
(2005), Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe
Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe
Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe is a British television review programme broadcast on BBC Four by Charlie Brooker. The programme contains reviews of current shows, as well as stories and commentary on how television is produced.-Format:...
(2006), Tittybangbang
Tittybangbang
Tittybangbang is a female-led television sketch comedy, performed by Lucy Montgomery and Debbie Chazen, which ran between 2005 and 2007 on BBC Three. The show was largely written by Bob Mortimer and Jill Parker and produced by their company Pett Productions.-History:Bob Mortimer and Lisa Clark...
(2005) and Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive
Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive
Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive is a British television show, first aired on BBC Three in July 2006. Devised by Paul Duddridge, it concerns the making of a comedy panel game show called Annually Retentive, themed around historical events, and hosted by Welsh comedian Rob Brydon...
(2007).
In 2006, Boyd Hilton of HEAT Magazine
Heat (magazine)
Heat is a British entertainment magazine published by German company Bauer Media Group. it is one of the biggest selling magazines in the UK, with a regular circulation over half a million. Its mix of celebrity news, gossip and fashion is primarily aimed at women, although not as directly as in...
labelled him a "Comedy Genius" following his various roles in the Comedy Award Winning Star Stories.
2007 Performers Paul Whitehouse, Charlie Higson and Rhys Thomas were awarded "Radio Programme of the Year" for Down The Line by the Broadcasting Press Guild and in 2008 the show won a Sony Gold for Best Radio Comedy.
Thomas has worked closely with the rock band Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, of whom he is a major fan, producing seven of their DVDs: Queen Greatest Video Hits (2001), Queen Live at Wembley (2002), Queen: Greatest Video Hits II (2003), Queen Jewels (Japanese release) (2004), Queen On Fire: Live at the Bowl (2004), Queen + Paul Rogers: Return of the Champions and 'A Night At The Opera - 30th Anniversary DVD', making documentaries and directing new videos, including "I Was Born to Love You". In 2003 he wrote, starred and co-directed (with Simon Lupton) a commercial for Queen Greatest Video Hits II also starring Roger Taylor
Roger Meddows-Taylor
Roger Meddows Taylor , known as Roger Taylor, is a British musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the drummer, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of British rock band Queen. As a drummer he is known for his "big" unique sound and is considered one of...
and Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
.
In July 2010, Thomas was asked by Jim Beach, manager of Queen to write the sleeve notes for all 15 studio albums by the band, due for re-release in 2011 to coincide with the 40th Anniversary of Queen. He also produced the critically acclaimed two-part Queen documentary Days of Our Lives, which aired on BBC2 in May 2011.
Thomas has completed his first feature film Beyond the Pole
Beyond the Pole
Beyond the Pole is a 2010 British mockumentary adapted from the cult BBC radio series of the same name. It received its UK cinema release in 2010. Directed and produced by David L...
. Starring alongside Stephen Mangan
Stephen Mangan
Stephen Mangan is an English actor, best known for his roles as Guy Secretan in the television series Green Wing, Dan Moody in I'm Alan Partridge and as Holistic Detective Dirk Gently in the 2010 BBC adaptation of Douglas Adams' book Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, as well as Sean Lincoln...
, Helen Baxendale
Helen Baxendale
Helen Victoria Baxendale is an English actress of stage and television, possibly best-known for her roles in Cold Feet, Friends and Cardiac Arrest.-Early life:...
and Mark Benton
Mark Benton
Mark Benton is an English actor, perhaps most famous for his roles as Eddie in Early Doors and Howard in Northern Lights.-Life and career:Benton was born in Guisborough, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England....
, the film premiered at the Prince Charles Cinema
Prince Charles Cinema
The Prince Charles Cinema is a repertory cinema located in Leicester Place, 40 metres north of Leicester Square in the West End of London. It shows a rotating program of cult, arthouse, and classic films alongside recent Hollywood releases - typically more than ten different films a week on two...
as part of the London Film Festival on Dec 5, 2009, and was released nationwide in February 2010. Some behind the scenes footage leaked on the internet featuring Thomas and co-star Alexander Skarsgard
Alexander Skarsgård
Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård is a Swedish actor. He is best known for his roles as vampire Eric Northman on the HBO series True Blood, Meekus in Zoolander and Brad Colbert in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill.-Early life:...
dancing topless to "A Kind of Magic" gained huge hits and attention on the internet in Summer 2010, over 1,000,000 hits combined.
In April 2009 Thomas appeared in BBC switch's show, "Winging it", playing the character of a music mogul and wrote and starred in "Above Their Stations" a sitcom pilot about Police Community Support Officers for BBC Three, also starring Simon Day, Dudley Sutton and Denis Lawson. He also created, co wrote/co produced Brian Pern a series of online spoof blogs starring Simon Day as Brian Pern, loosely based on Peter Gabriel/Eno and other intelligent, politically active rock musicians of that ilk.
In January 2010 Bellamy's People
Bellamy's People
Bellamy's People, also known as Bellamy's People of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is a British comedy show first broadcast on BBC 2 as an eight episode series. The show is a spin off from the BBC Radio 4 show Down the Line...
(starring and co-written by Rhys Thomas as Gary Bellamy) launched with exceptional reviews across the board many, including The Radio Times, praising Thomas for his straight man role and the ability to make those around him seem even funnier, Andrew Collins claiming that he was "amazing" as Gary Bellamy and The Independent stating that he was "excellent". He was also listed in The Radio Times as one of the Top Ten faces of 2010 alongside Matt Smith, Chris Evans and Carey Mulligan.
In February 2010, Above Their Station was broadcast on BBC3 and despite the lack of publicity, it gained an impressive 415,000 viewers, followed by another 250,000 in its repeat slot at midnight, beating many of the other BBC3 shows that week. Despite that, a series was not commissioned by Controller Danny Cohen who deemed the pilot to be a little too mainstream for BBC3. Ironically, the pilot broadcast in the same slot the following week at 9.30, "This Is Jinsy" was commissioned though it only gained a fraction of the audience, 100,000.
He is also the lead in the new Channel 4 comedy-drama Sirens
Sirens (UK TV series)
Sirens is a British comedy-drama about an ambulance service team broadcast on Channel 4. It was first screened on 27 June 2011.The series is based on the book Blood, Sweat & Tea by Brian Kellett. The series is filmed predominantly in Leeds with some filmed in the surrounding areas...
, which began airing in June 2011.
Thomas is working on a film script for Warp Films called Pharang, set in Thailand, as three brothers go in search of their father who has gone missing, and a science fiction sitcom pilot for the BBC.
On the 31st of December 2010, Thomas appeared on and won Celebrity Mastermind
Celebrity Mastermind
Celebrity Mastermind is a British television quiz show broadcast by BBC television. The show is a spin-off of the long running quiz show Mastermind, with the exception that all the contestants are celebrities. As with the main show, John Humphrys is the host and question-master...
with a specialist subject record score of 21 points and a total 36 points. His specialist subject was, quite appropriately, Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
.
Personal life
Rhys Thomas is married to actress Lucy MontgomeryLucy Montgomery (actor)
Lucy Montgomery is an English comedian, actress and writer, best known for her radio and television work.Montgomery is married to fellow comedian Rhys Thomas; they have two daughters – Polly and Rosie Rae – and live in London.-Career:While at Cambridge University, Montgomery was a member of...
. They have two daughters, Polly (b. 2008) and Rosie Rae (b. 2010), and live in East London.