Thomas Weatherall

{{Infobox person

| name = Thomas Weatherall

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birthdate and age|df=yes|2000|08|22}}

| birth_place = Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia

| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|playwright}}

| education = Marymount College, Gold Coast

| notable_works =

| years_active = 2018{{ndash}}present

| spouse =

| children =

}}

Thomas Weatherall (born 22 August 2000) is an Australian actor and playwright. He is known for his performances in the television series RFDS (2019–2021) and Heartbreak High (2022), and for writing the play Blue, first performed in 2019.

Early life and education

Thomas Weatherall was born on 22 August 2000 in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. He is a Kamilaroi man.{{cite web | last=Couper | first=Elena | title=Meet Thomas Weatherall, the breakout star of ‘Heartbreak High’ | website=GQ Australia | date=5 October 2022 | url=https://www.gq.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/thomas-weatherall-malakai/news-story/1f22130ad8c6cbcec8c15f1c1ee39bcf | access-date=8 February 2024| quote= ...the Brisbane-born 22-year-old Kamilaroi writer and actor...}}

Weatherall grew up on the Gold Coast and attended Marymount College, where he was an active member of the cultural team, including cultural and mob captain{{cite web |last1=QATSIF |title=Tweet |url=https://twitter.com/QATSIF/status/1018989705046573061 |website=X.com |publisher=X.com |access-date=16 April 2024}} in his final year in 2017.{{cite web |last1=College |first1=Marymount |title=Alumni News |url=https://www.marymount.qld.edu.au/news/Pages/Alumni-News.aspx |website=Alumni News |publisher=Marymount College |access-date=16 April 2024 |ref=tomarticle}} At Marymount, Weatherall played the role of Lonny Barnett / Record executive in the college's 2017 production of Rock of Ages.{{cite web |last1=College |first1=Marymount |title=Rock of Ages musical program |url= https://www.marymount.qld.edu.au/musical/Documents/ROCK%20OF%20AGES%20MUSICAL%20PROGRAM.pdf |website=Rock of Ages Musical Program |publisher=Marymount College |access-date=16 April 2024 |ref=rockofagesprogram}}

As a child, he wanted to be a dancer when he grew up, and trained hard for this goal. However, he heard about ABC Television auditioning for roles in Deadlock (2018) during his last year of high school, and decided to give it a try. After landing the role, he found that he loved acting, and went on to study drama at Queensland University of Technology. As his screen career took off, he dropped out.{{cite web | last=Story | first=Hannah | title=Heartbreak High star Thomas Weatherall brings his debut play Blue to Brisbane's La Boite Theatre | website=ABC News | date=15 May 2024 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-16/thomas-weatherall-blue-heartbreak-high-la-boite-theatre/103846084 | access-date=16 May 2024}}

Career

=Beginnings (2018{{ndash}}2021)=

Weatherall's first acting role was in the award-winning ABC miniseries Deadlock. He was in drama school and working in a shoe shop when he won the role for Seven Network's RFDS, which he went for mainly for the chance to play Rob Collins' son in the medical drama. On 18 August 2024, it was announced that a third season of the series with production moving from Broken Hill to South Australia due to upgrades at the real Broken Hill base. Weatherall would be returning for the series third season.{{Cite web |title=Third season of RFDS commences production in South Australia |url=https://www.safilm.com.au/latest-news/third-season-of-rfds-commences-production-in-south-australia/ |access-date=2024-08-18 |website=SAFC |language=en-AU}}

=Breakthrough (2022{{ndash}}present)=

He came to international prominence in the 2022 Netflix series Heartbreak High.{{Citation | last= Morgan | first= Joyce | title= Heartbreak High’s Thomas Weatherall shines in his playwriting debut | url= https://www.smh.com.au/culture/theatre/heartbreak-high-s-thomas-weatherall-shines-in-his-playwriting-debut-20230119-p5cdoi.html | periodical= The Sydney Morning Herald | date= 19 January 2023}} The series became one of the streaming service's most-watched English-spoken series, making the Top 10 in Australia as well as 45 other countries in September 2022.

He also had roles in the ABC series All My Friends Are Racist and Troppo.{{Citation | last= Cooper | first= Elana | title= Meet Thomas Weatherall, the breakout star of ‘Heartbreak High’ | url= https://www.gq.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/thomas-weatherall-malakai/news-story/1f22130ad8c6cbcec8c15f1c1ee39bcf | periodical= GQ | date= 5 October 2022}}{{cite web | last=Knox | first=David | title=Cameras roll on RFDS in Broken Hill | website=TV Tonight | date=3 August 2020 | url=https://tvtonight.com.au/2020/08/cameras-roll-on-rfds-in-broken-hill.html | access-date=8 February 2024}}

Weatherall's playwriting debut came with the play Blue, which he started writing in 2019 based on old high school diary entries, as "self-prescribed therapy". After winning a Balnaves Fellowship to complete the play, he fictionalised it further, and performed in the Belvoir Theatre production of it in Sydney in 2023.{{Cite news |last=Dow |first=Steve |date=2023-01-19 |title=Blue review – Thomas Weatherall gives finely tuned performance in gripping one-man show |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2023/jan/19/blue-review-thomas-weatherall-gives-finely-tuned-performance-in-gripping-one-man-show |access-date=2024-05-09 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} The play, which is in the form of a dramatic monologue, had a successful season at the Belvoir. In March 2024 a Belvoir production was presented by State Theatre Company South Australia at the Adelaide Festival in Adelaide, South Australia, with Callan Purcell in the starring role.{{cite web | title=Blue | website=Adelaide Festival | url=https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/events/blue/ | access-date=8 February 2024}} In May 2024 Weatherall once again starred in a production of Blue at Brisbane's La Boite Theatre.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-01 |title=Thomas Weatherall talks creative process and bringing Blue home to Brisbane |url=https://laboite.com.au/about/latest/qanda-thomas-weatherall-on-blue |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=La Boite |language=en}}

Weatherall is set to star opposite Jacob Elordi in the upcoming adaptation of Richard Flanagan's novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North as a TV series for Prime Video. Weatherall was later announced as part of the cast for Disney+ series Last Days of the Space Age.{{Cite web |date=2024-08-07 |title=Last Days of the Space Age: Australian Disney+ series coming soon {{!}} ScreenHub Australia - Film & Television Jobs, News, Reviews & Screen Industry Data |url=https://www.screenhub.com.au/news/news/last-days-of-the-space-age-australian-disney-series-coming-soon-2648945/ |access-date=2024-08-07 |website=www.screenhub.com.au |language=en-AU}}

Recognition and awards

2021: Balnaves Fellowship, awarded by the Belvoir theatre company to an emerging Indigenous playwright{{cite web | title=Fellowship and Residencies | website=Belvoir St Theatre | date=2 February 2024 | url=https://belvoir.com.au/for-artists/fellowship-and-residencies/ | access-date=8 February 2024}}
2022: AACTA Award for Best Guest or Supporting Actor in a Television Drama, for his performance in Heartbreak High{{Citation | last= Story | first= Hannah | title= Elvis and Mystery Road: Origin are big winners at AACTA Awards 2022 | url= https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-07/aacta-awards-2022-winners-elvis-and-mystery-road-dominate/101743762| periodical= ABC News | date= 7 December 2012}}
2023: Logie Award for Most Outstanding Supporting Actor{{cite web | last=Vnuk | first=Helen | title=Thomas Weatherall never planned on becoming an actor – now he’s an international star | website=Now To Love | date=1 August 2023 | url=https://www.nowtolove.com.au/celebrity/tv/heartbreak-high-thomas-weatherall-logie-2023-78399 | access-date=8 February 2024}}{{cite web | last=Knowles | first=Rachael | title=These are the First Nations winners at the TV Week Logie Awards | website=NITV | date=31 July 2023 | url=https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/these-are-the-first-nations-winners-at-the-tv-week-logie-awards/4vmey7tx2 | access-date=8 February 2024}}