Will Sharpe

Will Sharpe
Sharpe in 2024
Born	William Tomomori Fukuda Sharpe London, England
Education	Winchester College
Alma mater	University of Cambridge
Occupations	Actor writer director
Years active	2008–present
Spouse	Sophia Di Martino
Children	2

William Tomomori Fukuda Sharpe is an English actor, writer, and director. After writing for comedy shows and appearing in the medical drama Casualty (2009–2010), he made his feature directorial debut with Black Pond (2011). He starred in the Channel 4 comedy-drama Flowers (2016–2018), the BBC Two series Defending the Guilty (2018–2019), and Giri/Haji (2019), the latter of which earned him a British Academy Television Award.

Sharpe went on to direct the film The Electrical Life of Louis Wain and the Sky Atlantic miniseries Landscapers (both 2021). He also starred in the second season of The White Lotus (2022), earning a Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

Early life and education

Sharpe was born in London and raised in Tokyo until the age of eight.^[1][2] His mother is Japanese.^[3]

After returning to the United Kingdom, he studied at Winchester College.^[1] After graduating, Sharpe studied Classics at the University of Cambridge, where he was the president of the Footlights Revue.^[4][5]

Career

Sharpe graduated in 2008 and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company for their 2008/2009 season.^[6] Sharpe spent a year at the RSC and appeared in such plays as The Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, and The Tragedy of Thomas Hobbes, in which he played a young Isaac Newton.^[7][8] He played the character of Yuki Reid in the BBC medical drama Casualty.^[7]

In 2009 he directed and co-wrote, along with his friend Tom Kingsley, the short film Cockroach. The pair's first feature-length film, Black Pond, was shown at the Prince Charles Cinema in London from November 2011.^[9] Shortly after, he was co-nominated for a BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for the film.^[1]

Sharpe is known for writing, directing, and starring in the dark comedy-drama Flowers, which premiered on Channel 4 in 2016.^[6] Starring Olivia Colman, Julian Barratt, Daniel Rigby and Sophia Di Martino, Flowers is a black comedy that tackles mental health, and follows the four eccentric members of the Flowers family as they navigate their lives together, and their own inner demons. The first series won a BAFTA Television Award for best scripted comedy, and the second series aired in 2018 to widespread critical acclaim.^[10]

In 2020 Sharpe won a BAFTA Television Award for his supporting role as Rodney Yamaguchi in BBC drama Giri/Haji—a role The Independent called 'one of the most riotously funny turns since Richard E Grant stepped out as Withnail.'^[11][12]

Sharpe directed and co-wrote the 2021 biographical comedy-drama film The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the artist Louis Wain.^[13][14]

In 2022 Sharpe joined the cast of the HBO series The White Lotus in its second season, set in Sicily, as Ethan Spiller, a newly wealthy tech entrepreneur on vacation.^[15] This role earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.^[16]

In 2023 Sharpe was announced as the director of the film adaptation of Japanese Breakfast frontwoman Michelle Zauner's memoir, Crying in H Mart.^[17]

Personal life

His brother is composer Arthur Sharpe, who has written music for The Darkest Universe, Black Pond, and Flowers.^[18] Will Sharpe has type two bipolar disorder.^[19][20]

Sharpe is married to actress Sophia Di Martino,^[21][22] with whom he has been in a relationship since 2009.^[23] They have two children, born in 2019 and 2021.^[24][25]

Filmography

Key

†	Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Cockroach	Kiyoshi	Short; also writer and director
2011	Black Pond	Tim Tanaka	Also writer and co-director
2016	The Darkest Universe	Zac Pratt	Also writer and director
2021	The Electrical Life of Louis Wain	—	Writer and director
2022	The House	Elias (voice)	Segment: "III"
2024	A Real Pain	James
	Emmanuelle	Kei	[26]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	Never Mind the Buzzcocks	—	Writer
	The Wrong Door	Various	3 episodes
2009–2010	Casualty	Yuki Reid	51 episodes
2011	Sirens	Student	Episode: "I.C.E."
2012	Sherlock	Corporal Lyons	Episode: "The Hounds of Baskerville"
	Dirk Gently	David Cho	Episode #1.2
2014	The Life of Rock with Brian Pern	Himself	Episode: "Jukebox Musical"
	Babylon	Rick	Episode: "Hackney Wick"
2016–2018	Flowers	Shun	12 episodes; also writer and director
2017	W1A	Michael Chung	3 episodes
2018–2019	Defending the Guilty	Will Packham	7 episodes
2019	Giri/Haji	Rodney Yamaguchi	8 episodes
2021	Landscapers	—	Miniseries – writer and director
2022	The White Lotus	Ethan Spiller	Main role (season 2)
TBA	† Too Much	Felix	Post-production
	† Amadeus	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart	Post-production[27]

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Project	Result
2012	Evening Standard British Film Awards	Most Promising Newcomer – shared with Tom Kingsley	Black Pond	Won[28]
	BAFTA Film Award	Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer	Black Pond	Nominated
2017	BAFTA Television Award	Best Scripted Comedy	Flowers	Nominated
2020		Best Supporting Actor	Giri/Haji	Won
2022		Best Director – Fiction	Landscapers	Nominated
		Mini-Series		Nominated
	Saraqusta Film Festival	Best Script	The Electrical Life of Louis Wain	Won[29]
2023	BAFTA Television Award	Best Supporting Actor	The White Lotus	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series		Won

References

1. Brown, Maggie (23 April 2016). "Unknown writer gets his big TV break with dark English comedy". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
2. McEvoy, Sophie. "Flowers Is Back on Channel 4 & Its Creator Will Sharpe Is Someone You Need to Know". Bustle. Archived from the original on 28 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
3. "Interview with Will Sharpe". BBC. 2 October 2019. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
4. Feay, Suzi Feay (13 June 2018). "Will Sharpe: the comedy star on a flower trip". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 3 October 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2018.(subscription required)
5. "Interview with Will Sharpe – Channel 4 – Info – Press". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
6. "Found in translation: Flowers writer Will Sharpe on bringing a Japanese sense of humour to the British stage and screen". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
7. "Will Sharpe on his new sitcom Flowers: 'It's an uplifting show about melancholy'". i. 24 April 2016. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
8. "BBC One Casualty – Yuki Reid character page – actor Will Sharpe". Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
9. Macnab, Geoffrey (3 October 2011). "First Night: Black Pond, Raindance Festival, London". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
10. Flowers, retrieved 3 November 2022
11. 'Baftas reward diversity and longevity in a post-Covid era' The Guardian website, 31 July 2020, Retrieved 1 August 2020
12. 'Why Giri/Haji is the most underrated television drama of 2019' Archived 16 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine The Independent website, 5 December 2019, Retrieved 1 August 2020
13. "Benedict Cumberbatch & Claire Foy to Star in Movie 'Louis Wain' for StudioCanal, SunnyMarch, Shoebox, Film4 & Amazon Studios". Deadline Hollywood. 23 July 2019. Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
14. Joe Anderton (30 November 2020). "Benedict Cumberbatch stars in new look at Louis Wain biopic". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
15. Andreeva, Nellie (10 February 2022). "'The White Lotus': Theo James, Meghann Fahy & Will Sharpe Join Sicily-Set Second Installment". Deadline. Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
16. "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series – 2023". Emmys. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
17. McArdle, Tommy (20 March 2023). "'The White Lotus' ' Will Sharpe to Direct 'Crying in H Mart' Film Adaptation: It Felt Very Familiar to Me'". People Magazine. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
18. "Arthur Sharpe interview". Telly Binge. 17 July 2018. Archived from the original on 1 September 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
19. "How we went about portraying mental health in 'Flowers'". Mind. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
20. "Flowers: the hilarious 'comedy with mental illness' redefining sitcoms". The Guardian. 8 June 2018. Archived from the original on 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
21. Bennett, Beth (12 January 2024). "In Bloom with Sophia Di Martino". Essential Journal. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
22. Kavousi-Walker, Roxy (19 October 2023). "The White Lotus Star Will Sharpe on His Japanese Maple Tree". AnOther. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
23. Macbain, Hamish (1 December 2022). ""I learnt quickly that it doesn't pay to be shy", says Will Sharpe". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 20 January 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
24. White, Abbey (1 July 2021). "How Sophia Di Martino's 'Loki' Costume Was Designed to Support the New Mom on Set". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
25. Lewis, Tim (27 November 2021). "'I have an outsider's perspective': why Will Sharpe is the A-List's new favourite director". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
26. Wiseman, Andreas (19 December 2023). "'Emmanuelle': First Image Revealed of Star Noémie Merlant in Erotic Drama; Naomi Watts, Will Sharpe & Jamie Campbell Bower Among Cast to Join as Pathé Secures French Rights". Deadline. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
27. Goldbart, Max (20 February 2024). "'White Lotus' Star Will Sharpe to Play Musical Genius Mozart in TV Series for Sky". Deadline. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
28. "Will Sharpe wins Evening Standard Award". Curtis Brown. 8 February 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
29. "Mr. Wain y El Káiser de la Atlántida, Mejor Largometraje y Mejor Documental de II Saraqusta Film Festival". Saraqusta Film Festival (in Spanish). Zaragoza. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2024.

External links

• Will Sharpe at IMDb