Hugh Coles Explained

Hugh Coles is an English film and television actor. He is known for his roles in The Festival (2018), Defending the Guilty (2019) and Atlanta (2022) as well as originating the role of George McFly in . for which he was nominated for the 2022 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical.

Early life and education

Hugh Coles attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, graduating in 2017.^[1]

Career

Screen

In 2017 Coles made his film debut as "Rex" in The Festival.^[2] He also appeared in smaller roles in Urban Myths and Doc Martin in the same year.

In 2019, he appeared as Liam Mingay in the British sitcom Defending the Guilty.^[3] In 2020, Coles was a regularly featured contributor on the Channel 5 TV show NFL End Zone.^[4]

He has also appeared in Death in Paradise (2021) and as "Socks" in Donald Glover's TV series Atlanta (2022) ^[5]

Stage

Since 2019, he has been involved with the original production of , including its run at the Manchester Opera House and the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End in 2021.^[6]

For his role as George McFly, Coles won the 2022 WhatsOnStage Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Male Identifying Role.^[7] and was nominated for the 2022 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical. In October 2022, it was announced that Coles would reprise the role on Broadway, joining co-star Roger Bart when the show opened at the Winter Garden Theatre in June 2023.^[8]

Filmography

TV & Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2018	The Festival	Rex	Supporting
	Urban Myths	PC Horley	1 episode
2018–2019	Defending the Guilty	Liam Mingay	6 episodes
2019	Doc Martin	Gerry Hammond	1 episode
2021	Death in Paradise	Hugo Pickford	1 episode
2022	Atlanta	Socks	2 episodes
2023	Dreamland	Dom	6 episodes
	Juice	Pat	6 episodes
2024	Baby Reindeer	Francis	2 episodes

Stage

Year	Show	Role	Venue
2020		George McFly	Manchester Opera House
2021–2022			Adelphi Theatre, London
2023–2024			Winter Garden Theatre, Broadway

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2022	Laurence Olivier Award	Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical			[9]
	WhatsOnStage Award	Best Actor in a Male Identifying Role in a Musical
	Stage Debut Awards	Best Debut in a Musical			[10]
		Best West End Debut			[11]
2024	Broadway.com Audience Awards	Favorite Breakthrough Performance (Male)			[12]

See also

• List of British actors

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2017 graduates | London academy of music & dramatic art. lamda.ac.uk.
2. Web site: The Festival Cast and Crew Credits. British Comedy. Guide. British Comedy Guide.
3. Web site: Defending The Guilty – BBC2 Sitcom. British Comedy. Guide. British Comedy Guide.
4. Web site: Wiseman . Andreas . 8 September 2020 . NFL Returning To Channel 5 In UK For MNF & Sunday Magazine Show . 3 October 2023 . Deadline . en-US.
5. Web site: Atlanta's main trio plays good cop/bad cop to catch a cellphone thief. The A.V. Club. 15 April 2022.
6. Web site: Back to the Future musical announces further West End casting | WhatsOnStage. whatsonstage.com. 15 March 2021.
7. Web site: 22nd Annual WhatsOnStage Awards: the winners in full | WhatsOnStage. whatsonstage.com. 27 February 2022.
8. Web site: Roger Bart and Hugh Coles to Star in Broadway's Back to the Future Musical, Opening in 2023. 21 October 2022.
9. Web site: Olivier Awards 2022 nominations in full. 9 March 2022.
10. Web site: The Stage Debut Awards 2022: Meet the nominees.
11. Web site: The Stage Debut Awards 2022: Meet the nominees.
12. Web site: The Great Gatsby, The Notebook and Back to the Future Lead Nominations for Broadway.com Audience Choice Awards . Broadway.com . May 6, 2024 . May 20, 2024.