Alex Gaumond
Alex Gaumond (born ) is a Canadian actor, singer, songwriter and filmmaker best known for his involvement in West End theatre. He plays series regular gendarme Caron, the chief of police in Sainte Victoire, in the new Channel 5 television series "The Madame Blanc Mysteries", starring Sally Lindsay. On stage, Gaumond is best known for playing the leading roles of Galileo in the Queen musical "We Will Rock You", Emmett in the original London production of "Legally Blonde" and Miss Trunchbull in the RSC's "Matilda". Early life. Gaumond was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to French speaking parents . He moved to the UK in 1997 to study at Guildford School of Acting where he graduated with a 1st class BA (Hons) in 2000. Stage career. 2000–01 ("Miss Saigon"). After completing his degree at GSA in 2000, Gaumond made his professional debut that very same year in the ensemble of "Miss Saigon" in the Philippines. Gaumond also understudied the leading role of Chris in that production and went on to perform in the same musical in Hong Kong and Singapore in 2001. 2002–04 ("The Full Monty"). 2002 saw Gaumond make his professional West End debut at the Prince Of  Wales Theatre where he understudied the roles of Malcolm, Jerry and Ethan in "The Full Monty". He then played the role of Malcolm in the 2004 UK touring production. 2002–09. Between 2002 and 2009 Gaumond made a number of appearances in a variety of UK national tours and London shows, including "Guys And Dolls" (Donmar Warehouse production), "Desperately Seeking Susan" and "Sunday in the Park With George" (5 times Olivier Award winning production). He also played the role of Tom Jenkins in "Scrooge" at the London Palladium. During this show he recorded a cast album with the show's star , British icon Tommy Steele. 2009 ("We Will Rock You"). In 2009 Gaumond was cast by Ben Elton, Brian May and Roger Taylor to play the lead role of Galileo Figaro in the first UK tour of their co-written musical "We Will Rock You" based on hit songs by the rock band Queen. During the 7-month tour Gaumond played at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, the Sunderland Empire, the Birmingham Hippodrome and the Bristol Hippodrome. 2010–11 ("Legally Blonde"). In 2009, Gaumond was cast to play the male lead (Emmett) in the original UK production of "Legally Blonde" alongside Sheridan  Smith as Elle Woods at the Savoy Theatre in London in January 2010. He starred in the multi-award winning production for 20 months and his portrayal of the role earned him nominations for 'Best Actor in a Musical' in both the WhatsOnStage Awards 2011 and the Olivier Awards 2011. An album of the Original London Cast featuring Gaumond, Sheridan Smith and Duncan James was recorded live during performances on 12, 13 and 14 June 2010. It was released on 16 August 2010 under the theatre label First Night Records. 2011–13. In August 2011, Gaumond reprised his role as Galileo  Figaro in "We Will Rock You", but this time in the Dominion Theatre production. He performed in this role until 18 February 2012 and his performance earned him a nomination for 'Best Takeover in a Role' in the WhatsOnStage Awards 2012. In the summer of 2012, Gaumond made a small appearance on TV during Andrew Lloyd Webber's auditions for the role of 'Jesus' in his upcoming UK arena tour of the show "Jesus Christ Superstar". The audition process for 'Jesus' was televised in the UK in a short series called "Superstar". Gaumond reached the top 20 through the initial  audition process but was sent home by Lloyd Webber just before reaching the live shows. Shortly after this, Gaumond was then cast as Jesus by UK-based Bronowski Productions in their new production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" for Ljubljana Festival in Slovenia. In early 2013 it was announced that Gaumond would return to the West End starring as Alberto Beddini in "Top Hat" at the Aldwych Theatre, alongside Broadway actors Gavin Lee and Kristen Beth Williams. Gaumond performed in the show from February to August 2013. While in the show, Gaumond and his fellow cast members attended the Olivier awards  2013 which saw "Top Hat" win 3 major awards including Best New Musical. The show was also heavily featured in a four-part documentary on Channel 4 following West End musicals, entitled "The Sound of Musicals", which aired in November and December 2013. 2013–14 ("Matilda"). In June 2013, it was announced that Gaumond would be joining the cast of the Royal Shakespeare Company's multi-award winning production of "Matilda" at the Cambridge Theatre, playing the iconic role of headmistress Miss Trunchbull. His first show was on 3 September 2013. During his time on the show Gaumond made many TV  appearances including BBC's "Children in Need" and "The Paul O'Grady Show" on ITV, where he performed a specially conceived sketch with the show's host and guests. On 23 February 2014 he attended the WhatsOnStage Awards, where "Matilda" won for 'Best West End Show'. He accepted the award with fellow cast member Haley Flaherty (Miss Honey). Gaumond also attended the Olivier Awards on 13 April 2014, where the show was nominated for the BBC Radio 2 Audience Award. On 15 June 2014 Gaumond took part in the first 'Relaxed Performance' of "Matilda". This specially adapted version of the show , developed in close collaboration with The National Autistic Society, was designed for people with autism and learning disabilities. The performance was a huge success and the RSC has plans for regular instalments every year. Gaumond played his final show as Trunchbull on 7 September 2014. After his departure the role was handed to Craige Els. 2014–2016. Gaumond appeared in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" at the Savoy Theatre from 11 November 2014, replacing Rufus Hound in the role of Freddy Benson, the conman portrayed by Steve Martin in the original movie version. He starred opposite Robert Lindsay at the Savoy Theatre and  played the role until the production closed in the West End on 7 March 2015. Next, Gaumond played the role of Beadle Bamford in English National Opera's production of "" at the London Coliseum, opposite Bryn Terfel and Emma Thompson, from 30 March to 12 April 2015. In April 2015, it was announced that Gaumond would star as Adam Pontipee in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, from 16 July to 29 August 2015. The original 1954 movie version of the musical, starring Howard Keel and Jane Powell, won the Academy Award for Best  Scoring of a Musical Picture and was nominated for four additional awards, including Best Picture of the Year. The 2015 production starring Gaumond was nominated for 'Best Musical Revival' at the Olivier Awards 2016. Gaumond attended the ceremony with his fellow cast members at the Royal Opera House on Sunday 3 April 2016. Gaumond was cast as the Baker in a new production of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical "Into the Woods" at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, from 4 December 2015 to 16 January 2016, directed by Matthew Xia. In May 2016, it was announced that Gaumond would  play Larry Bonk in "The Trial of Jane Fonda" at the Park Theatre (London), from 13 July to 20 August 2016. Directed by Joe Harmston, the new play starred Hollywood icon, Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner, Anne Archer ("Fatal Attraction"; "Patriot Games"; "Clear and Present Danger") as Jane Fonda. This also marked Gaumond's first major non-musical role in a play. In December 2016 Gaumond played Bob Cratchit in a one-off concert version of the Broadway hit "A Christmas Carol". After a decade-long success at New York City's Paramount Theatre in Madison Square Garden , the musical adaptation by Alan Menken (music) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics) would be presented for the first time in London. The sold-out concert played at the Lyceum Theatre on Monday 19 December 2016. The London Musical Theatre Orchestra, formed of 32 musicians, performed the fully orchestrated score with a chorus and West End cast, starring Robert Lindsay as Scrooge. Gaumond and Lindsay had previously worked together in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels". 2017–present day. 2017 marked Gaumond's debut in a Shakespeare play at the world-renowned Globe Theatre. He played Petruchio in "The Taming of the Shrew" at Shakespeare 's Globe from 28 February to 25 March 2017. During his run at the Globe, it was announced that Gaumond would next appear as Stuart Gellman in "Caroline, or Change" at Chichester Festival Theatre. The new production of the Olivier Award-winning musical was the first musical in the inaugural season of CFT's new Artistic Director, Daniel Evans. Directed by Michael Longhurst, the show played at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester from 6 May to 3 June 2017. It was the fastest selling production in CFT's history and received high critical acclaim. In September 2017, it was announced that  Gaumond's next stage appearance would be as Father/Marley in Jack Thorne's new adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. Playing at The Old Vic from 20 November 2017 to 20 January 2018, the world premiere production was directed by Matthew Warchus and starred Rhys Ifans as Ebenezer Scrooge. The production officially opened on 29 November 2017 to very positive reviews. The adaptation was published by Nick Hern Books on 30 November 2017. On 12 July 2018, it was announced that Gaumond had been cast in Marianne Elliott's highly anticipated new production of George Furth and  Stephen Sondheim's "Company", which played at the Gielgud Theatre from 26 September 2018. The character of Bobby was changed to Bobbie, a female role, and was played by Rosalie Craig. As a result of this, the roles of April, Marta and Kathy (who sing "You Could Drive a Person Crazy") would be re-written as Andy, PJ and Theo. In a final twist, the casting of Gaumond came with the announcement that the production would now also feature a same-sex couple for the first time, with Jonathan Bailey as cold-footed groom Jamie (originally written as the female  character Amy) and Gaumond as his devoted fiancé Paul. Sondheim also approved this change and worked on the script with director Marianne Elliott to re-imagine these two characters as a gay couple. The production opened to critical acclaim, a Cast Recording of the new version was produced by Warner Music, and the new script was published by Nick Hern Books. The production was nominated for 9 Olivier Awards, including Best Musical Revival and Best Director. On 22 July 2019 it was announced that Gaumond would be starring as Carl in the first UK Tour of "What's in a  Name?". Alongside Gaumond, the production also starred Joe Thomas, Laura Patch, Summer Strallen and Bo Poraj (who replaced the previously announced James Lance before rehearsals started). Adapted and directed by Jeremy Sams, the production toured the UK from September to November 2019. Due to popular demand, further touring dates for 2020 were announced on 26 November 2019, with Gaumond reprising his role. The second leg of the tour began but was halted in March 2020 because the UK went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Music career. Gaumond headlined his first solo show on 22 May 2011 at the  Leicester Square Theatre, where he performed a mix of covers and original material, as well as some duets with special guests including Ramin Karimloo. On 24 June 2012, Gaumond released his first single "'Here I Am", a new version of the song co-written and originally performed by Bryan Adams. He launched the release of his single with a performance at West End Live in Trafalgar Square in front of 20,000 people, as one of three recording artists invited to perform their solo material amongst all the West End shows featured in the programme. Filmmaking. Gaumond produced his first short  film in 2021, titled "Two and a Half Minutes". Co-written by Gaumond and director Ako Mitchell, the film is currently doing the film festival circuit. It received its world premiere screening at the Paris Short Film Festival on 19 September 2021, where it won an Audience Award. So far it has also won an Outstanding Achievement Award at the Berlin Flash Film Festival and a Special Mention Award at the international short film competition Global Shorts, based in Los Angeles, California. It was also nominated for the San Francisco Indie Short Festival. Gaumond plays the role of Lucas in  the film, and wrote and sings the main song from its soundtrack, titled "Les Amoureux".