Rowan Witt

Witt was born in Sydney, Australia.

He went to high school at the International Grammar School. Witt's graduating artwork topped the state, and was exhibited at the NSW Art Gallery, and was awarded the Julian Ashton drawing scholarship.

He completed his tertiary degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music University, and received a Bachelor of Music Performance, majoring in Classical Voice.[1]

Witt trained in acting at various institutions including ATYP and NIDA, and has a strong background in theatre and improv.

Witt was discovered at an early age and started working in film and television, with roles including The Matrix,[2] Somewhere in the Darkness, Escape of the Artful Dodger, Underbelly and Home and Away.[3] He was short-listed to the final four for the role of Harry Potter in the series of feature films and was the only Australian actor to be flown to Leavesden Studios in England to screen-test.[4]

After graduating high school he undertook intensive acting training and completed a full-time degree in classical music performance.

Witt performed across Australia in concerts, recitals, oratorios and operas, before making his musical theatre début at the Sydney Opera House in The Lincoln Centre's production of South Pacific in which he played Professor.[5] The production was directed by Bartlett Sher and starred Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Lisa McCune.[6]

This was immediately followed by Witt's role as Jack, in the Australian production of Into The Woods, at the Melbourne Arts Centre.[4] Witt garnered critical acclaim for this performance, redefining the role, and being named a talent to watch.[7][8][9]

Witt was then cast in the Australian premiere of Pasek and Paul's musical, Dogfight, at the Hayes Theatre, as the Vietnam marine, Bernstein.[10][11] AussieTheatre named Witt's performance a highlight of 2015, stating "Witt is the kind of actor that musical theatre needs."[12]

During the Dogfight season, Witt started rehearsing for Cameron Mackintosh's production of Les Misérables (25th Anniversary Production) with which he subsequently toured Australia.[13]

Some of Witt's other theatre roles during this time include John Hinckley in the Australian tour of Sondheim's Assassins,[14] Danny in Baby at the Hayes Theatre, Leaf Coneybear in William Finn's The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Young Buddy in the acclaimed concert production of Sondheim's Follies – opposite Philip Quast, Debra Byrne, Lisa McCune, David Hobson and Anne Wood.[15][16]

Witt starred as Elder McKinley in the original Australian cast of The Book of Mormon at The Princess Theatre in Melbourne and the Sydney Lyric Theatre in Sydney.[17][18] This role garnered Witt considerable critical praise, and earned him a 2018 Sydney Theatre Award win, and a 2017 Helpmann Award nomination.[19][20][21][22]

Witt then lead the acclaimed revival of Bock and Harnick's, She Loves Me, as Georg Nowack, at the Hayes Theatre, and starred as Dean in the Sydney premiere of Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins' play, Gloria. For both roles he was nominated for BW and Sydney Theatre Awards.[23][24]

As a voice-over actor, Witt's credits include animation, advertising, radio, television shows and movie soundtracks.[1]

Witt has a sister, a pop musician, who performs under the stage name, ELKI.[25][26]