Layton Williams (born 13 September 1994) is an English actor, dancer and singer. He won the 2025 Laurence Olivier for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his performance in Titanique. Williams began his career as a child actor on the West End, starring as the titular role of Billy Elliot the Musical and Young Michael Jackson in Thriller – Live. As an adult, he went on tour with Rent and Everybody's Talking About Jamie.
On television, Williams is known for his roles in the BBC series Beautiful People (2008–2009) and Bad Education (2012–2014, 2022–2024). He featured in the CBBC documentary series School for Stars, which documented life at the acting school Italia Conti.
Early life, acting background and education Williams was born in Bury, Greater Manchester, to a white mother and a father of Jamaican descent. He grew up on the Dicky Bird Estate. His paternal grandparents are from Jamaica and his father was born in the UK. He has several siblings and half-siblings.
Williams went to London at age 11 to pursue an acting career. After several months of training at the Billy Elliot Academy in Leeds, Williams debuted in Billy Elliot the Musical on 26 February 2007 in London's West End. His training was documented on The Paul O'Grady Show in which he appeared in on 25 May 2007 and then in several morning TV shows, TV interviews, and short clips related to the musical. He is the second person of colour, the other being Matthew Koon, and the first mixed heritage performer to star in the show. He gave his final performance in the musical on 29 November 2008 while still being the second-longest running performer as 'Billy' in the show's history. On 31 January 2009, two months after his final performance, Layton appeared on the programme Feelgood Factor on ITV, where he and two other 'Billy' actors, Tanner Pflueger and Tom Holland, performed a specially choreographed version of Angry Dance from Billy Elliot the Musical.
Williams took street dance and drama lessons at Carol Godby's theatre workshop in Bury and ballet lessons at Centre Pointe, Manchester. Williams was awarded a scholarship to Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone, London and stayed there until 2008. He attended Broad Oak High School in his home town, Bury, and then the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London. During his time at Italia Conti, Williams appeared in a children's documentary School for Stars which was broadcast on the children's television channel CBBC.
Career
He was offered the part as Young Michael Jackson in the West End musical Thriller – Live where he did a few performances before he outgrew the role. Williams became well known to a TV audience as the character Kylie – acting, dancing and singing in the 2008 to 2009 BBC Two comedy Beautiful People, series 1 and 2. From 2012 to 2014, he played Stephen Carmichael in the BBC comedy Bad Education and also appeared in the 2015 spinoff film. Williams returned to the show for the 2022 reunion special and became the co-lead of the show's fourth series alongside Charlie Wernham.
Williams went on tour with Matthew Bourne's show The Car Man. Following that he performed the part of Duane in Hairspray the Musical 2015–2016 tour. He announced that he would also be in the new 20th anniversary cast of Rent which toured the UK from October 2016. Layton landed the lead role in the hit musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie in the Apollo Theatre in London's West End, where he would play the role of Jamie for 11 months. In August 2019, it was announced Williams would be joining the tour cast of the musical, which was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but later resumed in 2021. The production also made its US premiere at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in January 2022 where Williams played also Jamie.
In August 2023, Williams was announced as a contestant on the twenty-first series of Strictly Come Dancing. He was partnered with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin. They achieved not only their first perfect 40 score, but the first of the whole series in Musicals week, which they followed up with another one in the semi-finals, as well as two in the final. They finished as joint runners-up, alongside Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell, losing to winners Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola.
From 3 June to 21 September 2024, Williams played the Emcee in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club at the Playhouse Theatre opposite Rhea Norwood as Sally Bowles.
Williams then originated the role of Iceberg in the West End premiere of Titanique at the Criterion Theatre in December 2024, which earned him a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical for his performance. He reprised the role for the Broadway transfer for the show at the St. James Theatre in March 2026, which earned him a nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical at the 79th Tony Awards.
Other ventures Williams is a strong supporter of the charities Stonewall and Ditch the Label.
Personal life Williams is gay and has spoken about coming to terms with his sexuality while working on Billy Elliot in London.
While on Who Do You Think You Are? in May 2025, he found that his great-great-grandfather, Lance Corporal William Downing, served in the Army Remount Service in WW1 and WW2 and was part of the BEF during the Dunkirk evacuation. After returning to the UK, William Downing ended up in Bury working at a PoW camp there, which is how Williams's family came to Bury. Williams also found out that his five-times great-grandfather Edward Downing was in financial trouble and was even sent to the Queen's Bench Prison.
Williams also discovered on his paternal side, that his three-times great-grandfather, Alexander Denton, was born in 1825 in Jamaica as a slave. He had a twin sister called Peggy. They would have been about nine years old when slavery was abolished in 1834. Williams also discovered that his four-times great-grandmother, Jessy Denton, came to Jamaica sometime before 1807 on one of the slave ships from Africa.
Acting credits
Film and television
Year Title Role Notes 2008–2009 Beautiful People Kylie Parkinson 2010 School For Stars Himself 2011 Postcode Russell 2012–2014, 2022–2024 Bad Education Stephen Carmichael Main cast; 33 episodes2015 The Bad Education Movie Stephen Carmichael Film2018 Benidorm Airport check-in assistant 2020 The Magic of Movie Musicals Himself 2021 The Cleaner Bernard / "Hosea" Episode: "The Influencer" Everybody's Talking About Jamie Dancer 2022 Queens for the Night Judge TV special I Hate Suzie Adam Jackson 3 episodes 2023–presentI Kissed a BoyNarrator2023 Strictly Come Dancing Contestant Runner-up; Series 21 2026People We Meet On VacationOfficiant The Great Celebrity Pottery Throw Down Contestant 5 episodesRuPaul's Drag Race UK Guest Judge Series 8; Episode 4
Theatre Year Title Role Theatre Location 2007–2008 Billy Elliot Billy Elliot Victoria Palace Theatre West End 2015 The Car Man Dancer Royal Albert Hall London 2016 Hairspray Duane / Seaweed J. Stubbs (understudy) UK National Tour 2016–2017 Rent Angel 2017–2018 Hairspray Seaweed J. Stubbs 2018–2019 Kiss Me, Kate Paul Sheffield Crucible Sheffield 2019–2020 Everybody's Talking About Jamie Jamie New Apollo Theatre West End 2021–2022 UK National Tour 2022 Ahmanson Theatre Los Angeles2024CabaretEmceeKit Kat Club at the Playhouse TheatreWest End 2024–2026 Titanique Iceberg Criterion Theatre West End2026 St. James Theatre Broadway2026–2027Jesus Christ SuperstarKing Herod London PalladiumWild, Stephi Boy George, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and More Will Share The Role of King Herod in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR BroadwayWorld, February 23, 2026 & Theatre Royal, Drury Lane West End
Workshops Year Title Theatre Location 2021 Halls The Musical Turbine Theatre London
Music videos YearTtileArtist2020"Pretty Girl Lie"Baby Queen"Santa Baby"
Awards + Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2019 Black British Theatre Awards Best Male Actor in a Musical Everybody's Talking About Jamie 2020 Black British Theatre Awards LGBTQ+ Champion 2024 Gaydio Awards Outstanding Entertainment Contribution Himself 2025 WhatsOnStage Awards Best Takeover Performance Cabaret Laurence Olivier Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a MusicalTitanique 2026 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Featured Performer in a Musical Gordon, David Schmigadoon!, Two Strangers Land Drama Desk Best Musical Nominations TheaterMania, April 29, 2026Tony AwardsBest Featured Actor in a MusicalDorian AwardOutstanding Featured Performance in a Broadway MusicalBroadway Showstopper Award
See also List of British actors
References
External links