Early life

Born in Aberystwyth

Aberystwyth

Aberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....

, Cullen was raised in Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

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He has a brother named Joseph.

Early career

Cullen spent a year at the Central School of Speech and Drama

Central School of Speech and Drama

The Central School of Speech and Drama was founded in London in 1906 by Elsie Fogerty to offer a new form of training in speech and drama for young actors and other students...

 before completing his training at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in July 2009. In 2006, whilst still in training, Cullen filmed Daddy's Girl (BAFTA Cymru

BAFTA Cymru

BAFTA Cymru is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.Formed in 1991, they hold an annual awards ceremony to recognise achievement by performers and production staff in Welsh-made films and television programmes...

 Best Film - Winner ) alongside Jaime Winstone and Richard Harrigton, and Watch Me (BAFTA Cymru

BAFTA Cymru

BAFTA Cymru is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.Formed in 1991, they hold an annual awards ceremony to recognise achievement by performers and production staff in Welsh-made films and television programmes...

 Best Short - Nomination ).

Acting career

His professional career began in the summer 2009 starring in BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 Television short 20 Questions dir. Rungano Nyoni, for which he won Best Actor at the IMS Awards. In 2010 Cullen's stage work included the Bristol Old Vic

Bristol Old Vic

The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...

, National Theatre Wales

National Theatre Wales

National Theatre Wales is the English language national theatre company in Wales. Focused on producing work in the English language, the company's opening programme of work included twelve shows in twelve months....

, Nabokov Theatre Company, Television included Pen Talar

Pen Talar

Pen Talar is a drama series on S4C. The series tells the story of two families from west Wales over a period of half a century, starting in the 1950s and continuing until the present day. The main character, played by Richard Harrington, appears from the third program onwards, as the previous...

, All Shook Up, Locked Up and Film included The Machine and Panic Button.

Cullen's breakthrough performance came in 2011 when he starred alongside Chris New

Chris New

Chris New is a British actor.He trained at RADA during 2003-06.As of October 2009, he is playing Joe Orton in a stage version of Prick Up Your Ears in London.He has also appeared in a production of Bent....

 in Weekend

Weekend (2011 film)

Weekend is a 2011 romantic drama film directed by Andrew Haigh. The film stars Tom Cullen and Chris New.- Plot :On a Friday night after a drunken house party with his friends, Russell heads out to a gay club, alone and on the pull...

, directed by Andrew Haigh. Weekend collected numerous awards including the audience award at SXSW, Grand Jury at Outfest

Outfest

Outfest is an LGBT-oriented film showcase and festival in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1982 as the "Gay and Lesbian Media Festival and Conference", the name was changed to Outfest in 1994.-Programs:...

  and the Grand Jury and Best Actor award for Cullen at the Nashville Film Festival

Nashville Film Festival

The Nashville Film Festival , held annually in Nashville, Tennessee, is the oldest running film festival in the South and one of the oldest in the United States. In 2009, Nashville Film Festival received close to 2000 submissions from 86 countries, programmed nearly 260 films and had an attendance...

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Cullen was named on the 2011 Screen International

Screen International

Screen International is a multimedia film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by EMAP, a British b2b media company.The magazine is primarily aimed at those involved in the global movie business...

Stars of Tomorrow list alongside Alexandra Roach

Alexandra Roach

Alexandra Roach is a Welsh actress. She appeared in long-running television soap Pobol Y Cwm in her early teens, winning Best Juvenile Actor in a Soap at the Children in Entertainment Awards. After leaving the show in 2005, Roach spent time with the National Youth Theatre of Wales before going on...

 and Douglas Booth

Douglas Booth

Douglas Booth is an English actor.Booth rose to prominence following his portrayal of Boy George in the BBC Two television drama Worried About the Boy. He has more recently appeared in Christopher and His Kind...

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Cullen is currently filming World Without End (Scott Free Productions/Tandem Communications

Tandem Communications

Tandem Communications is a Munich based company which produces TV movies, miniseries, television series and film series.It was founded in 1999 by Emmy-nominated producers Rola Bauer and Tim Halkin.-Produced:* Relic Hunter...

) alongside Cynthia Nixon

Cynthia Nixon

Cynthia Ellen Nixon is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series Sex and the City . She has received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award....

, Miranda Richardson

Miranda Richardson

Miranda Jane Richardson is an English stage, film and television actor. She has been nominated for two Academy Awards, and has won two Golden Globes and a BAFTA during her career....

 and Peter Firth

Peter Firth

Peter Firth is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Sir Harry Pearce in the BBC show Spooks, of which he is the only actor to have starred in every episode of the show's 10 series lifespan...

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Cullen is Artistic Director of Undeb Theatre.