Ashley Artus

Ashley Artus was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. His mother, a nurse from a Northumbrian mining colliery family, and his father a doctor from the Middle East. His parents met at medical school. The eldest of four children, one brother and two sisters. His mother and father parted when Ashley was just one year old. Artus was raised jointly by his single mother and a local convent. Latterly raised by his step-father, his mother, and both grandparents on his mother's side. His mother's father from Northumbrian gentry. Artus won best baby photo in the Newcastle Journal in his first year (1971).

Artus knew very early on from the about the age of 5 that he wanted to be an actor, after taking part in Scottish dancing classes. During Primary school the teachers singled him out for public speaking and the ITV young TV newsreaders competition. He went through school happily and achieved 5 “O” levels and 3 “A” levels. Studied film, palaeontology, herpetology and art privately. While studying his A-levels at Tertiary college he put together his own theatre company and played Dracula in the play “Dracula” at age 17 and was awarded the Rotary Prize for Dramatic Art by Derwentside College, Durham.

Before leaving Derwentside College, Artus applied for drama school; RADA – (he was placed on the reserve list) and the Guildford School of Acting & Dance (GSA). He was subsequently offered a place at GSA, where he won a prize for his choreography and the School Cup for Best Actor.

He then auditioned for a grant from Newcastle, Northumberland and Durham Councils. Durham City Council subsequently gave him a grant and paid for his drama school training along with his grandmother from 1989-1992.

Artus left drama school in 1992, having been signed in his final year by the agent Patricia Marmont. Pieter Rogers, a talent scout for Marmont, caught him in his final performance and introduced him to her.

Professional roles followed: he was cast as Barry Kent & Nigel in The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾[14] at the Sheffield Crucible, then as the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz[15] at Cheltenham Everyman – stealing the show and winning every review. Artus then got his first break in TV playing Nick's Best Man in the BBC Screen One series Wide-Eyed and Legless with Dame Julie Walters and Jim Broadbent – released in the US as The Wedding Gift.

Movie roles followed, playing Squatter One in Judge Dredd, Mick Foot in Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang), Lighthouse Hill' in which he played Julian the hippy, with Frank Finlay as his father, HBO's Tales from the Crypt with Alun Armstrong and Eddie Izzard, and Henry IV[16] for BBC's Screen One, as Launcelot in a The Merchant of Venice for Tetra TV with Paul McGann. A comedy series Polterguests[17] as Tristan Shout one of the resident ghosts, 5 series of the children's programme Numbertime for the BBC, playing Glimmer the robot.

In 2002, Artus won the craft Best Actor Award for the Award-winning Reebok global TV & cinema advertising campaign Escape the Sofa.[18]

On stage, he played in Shopping and Fucking,[3] a controversial play dealing with modern day gay culture by Mark Ravenhill which started at the Royal Court Theatre and then went onto tour, Mike Leigh's Oscar-winning film Topsy-Turvy which won an Oscar, a BAFTA & several other awards, Emcee in Cabaret (musical)[2] where Artus was nominated for the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards for Best Actor. Last Tango for Granada TV, Manchester as part of their new “Voices” series.

Global commercials for cinema followed, then Midsomer Murders for ITV, the BAFTA award-winning A Touch of Frost episode "Endangered Species" with Sir David Jason, then at the Chichester Festival Theatre playing Pyotr in Fortune's Fool[5] opposite Sir Alan Bates and Desmond Barrit, which then toured.

He played Launce in the stage play The Two Gentlemen of Verona[19] another Shakespeare, for the Northcott Theatre in Exeter to huge critical acclaim with Kane the grey lurcher dog.

In 2012 Artus played the lead – Jonathon Priestley - in Film4's Flytopia, a fantasy thriller based on Will Self’s story from “Tough, Tough Toys for Tough, Tough Boys”. The screenplay adapted & directed by Karni Arieli & Saul Freed. Produced by Alison Sterling, commissioned by Film4, involving Ignition Films, South West Screen, Stink Productions & Sulkybunny.

Sir Cameron Mackintosh then offered him the role of “Thenardier” in Les Miserables (musical)[7] the 25th Anniversary new production World Tour which he accepted. The 25th new production, revamped, re-invented, new staging, new orchestrations and included a 12 week rehearsal process. The production went on an International tour & towards the end of the tour performing in Paris where it received an unheard of 20 minute standing ovation.

Artus plays Thenardier on the live cast recording, Les Misérables Live, which was recorded in Manchester and released as a double album in September 2010 on the label First Night Records then the O2 concert. He played the Pawn Broker in the 2012 movie musical version Les Misérables (2012 film)[13] with Anne Hathaway, who won an Oscar for her role in the film, alongside Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman & Helena Bonham-Carter.

After Les Miserables finished its run, Sir Cameron Mackintosh then asked Artus to play Mr Sowerberry in the number one tour of Oliver![20] Which started at the Wales Millennium Centre and the toured the country.

In 2015 Ashley’s youngest sister Wendy died suddenly aged 38. Ashley went into depression for a short while and used that to film SunTrap[10] for the BBC with Kayvan Novak, Keith Allen, Bradley Walsh and Emma Pierson and the BBCs The Dumping Ground (series 3) to critical acclaim. It was here that he began charity work and voicing the importance of mental health issues.

More recently he has finished filming the BBC's six-part period drama adaptation of the original Victor Hugo novel Les Misérables (2018 miniseries) for worldwide release and due to air at the end of December 2018, starring Dominic West, Olivia Colman, BAFTA award-winning Sir Derek Jacobi CBE, Adeel Akhtar & David Oyelowo.

Artus was cast as Barry Kent and Nigel in The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾[14] at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield in (1992). Further roles followed; as “Coot” in Sir Trevor Nunn's Skellig[1] at The Young Vic, London alongside David Threlfall and Kevin Wathen, “Emcee” in the musical Cabaret (musical)[2] (for which he received a Manchester Evening News award nomination for best actor) at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton. Robbie in Shopping and Fucking[3] the controversial play by Mark Ravenhill which started at the Royal Court Theatre and then went on tour. Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet[4] at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, London, (directed by Neil Bartlett (playwright)) and A Taste of Honey[6] at the Watford Palace Theatre. Tulsa in Gypsy (musical)[21] with Sheila Hancock and Michael Cashman, and also in Fortune's Fool[5] which had its world premiere at the Chichester Festival Theatre, alongside Sir Alan Bates and Desmond Barrit. Another Shakespeare play as Launce in The Two Gentlemen of Verona.[19]

Artus started his television career in 1993 with the BBC's Screen One series Wide-Eyed and Legless as Nick's Best Man with Dame Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Thora Hird, Moya Brady & Andrew Lancel, written by Jack Rosenthal.

He went on to star in, Bodger & Badger a children's TV series (1995), Tales from the Crypt (TV series) for HBO(USA), an anthology horror series (1996), with Alun Armstrong, Eddie Izzard & Ciarán Hinds. Shakespeare’s Henry IV[16] for the BBC with Paul Eddington, Corin Redgrave and Jane Horrocks, then as Launcelot in The Merchant of Venice for Tetra TV (1996) with Paul McGann. Midsomer Murders (1998), “Polterguests”[17] a (9 episode) children's TV series (1999), The Queen's Nose (TV series) (1998-2000). The thriller In Deep (2002) with Stephen Tompkinson & Nick Berry, The Ten Commandments (miniseries) with Omar Sharif (for the Hallmark Channel released in the USA 2006), he has appeared in Holby City twice as different characters (2006), A Touch of Frost (2006) Episode: "Endangered Species" with Sir David Jason, “The Bill” (2007), Vexed[9] with Lucy Punch and Toby Stephens (2010), semi-regular in Casualty[8] starring as Detective Inspector Berkeley in several episodes (one with Anita Dobson) for the BBC between 2009-2011, “Borgia (TV series)” the TV series created by Tom Fontana for Netflix and Canal+ (not to be confused with the BBC's “The Borgia’s” – which was a lot tamer) (2013), SunTrap[10] starring alongside Kayvan Novak, Bradley Walsh, Emma Pierson, Michelle Collins, Keith Allen & Tracy Ann Oberman. The Dumping Ground (series 3) (2013-2015), and the BBC's six-part drama production of the original Victor Hugo novel “Les Miserables” starring BAFTA winners, Dominic West, Olivia Colman, Sir Derek Jacobi CBE, Adeel Akhtar & David Oyelowo(2018-2019).

Artus made his film debut in Judge Dredd where he played Squatter 1, with Sylvester Stallone, Armand Assante, Rob Schneider & Max von Sydow. He was then cast as Launcelot in The Merchant of Venice in 1996, as the Vampire Gang Leader starring opposite Jude Law in "Immortality” (USA) The Wisdom of Crocodiles[11](UK) in 1998. A year later as Mr Marchmont in Mike Leigh's film Topsy-Turvy which went on to win an Oscar, a BAFTA and several other awards. In 2001 Artus starred as Mick Foot in Kiss Kiss (Bang Bang) opposite Stellan Skarsgard and Paul Bettany.

In the same year was cast as the Junior Orderly in The Emperor's New Clothes directed by Alan Taylor. Artus was then cast as Julian "the Hippy" in Lighthouse Hill.

In 2005 Artus was cast as Walden McNair, a "Death Eater" in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, where he played alongside Ralph Fiennes in the now famous Cemetery scene, where the “Death Eaters” appear in the cemetery summoned by Lord Voldemort. Artus spent his time when not filming, shadowing and watching Ralph Fiennes at work creating Lord Voldemort.

Artus has appeared in Attack of the Gryphon[22] as Gerard, an action/fantasy film (2007). He then went on to play Ricard in God on Trial opposite Sir Antony Sher, Stephen Dillane, Rupert Graves and Stellan Skarsgård in 2008. After researching the part in preparation to play Ricard, Artus dropped 3 stone in weight and refused to eat. Ashley said "It felt obscene to “act” this part. I had to feel and be hurt for it. It was the least I could do representing this horrific tragedy where no one could possibly understand the massacre of diversity or how those poor people felt”. Artus played the lead in his next film Flytopia for Film4.

Artus' younger brother Daniel committed suicide at the age of 24, and he is now passionate about roles addressing homelessness, mental health, comedy, addiction and suicide.

• Ashley Artus at IMDb
• BFI