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Matt Henry
MBE
Matt Henry MBE
Born	Birmingham, England
Genres	Pop, Gospel, Soul, Electronic
Occupation(s)	Singer, actor
Years active	2002–present

Matt Henry MBE is a Laurence Olivier Award-winning British singer and actor.^[2]

His first career highlight was being chosen by the Prince's Trust to perform at the Two Nations Concert at Johannesburg Stadium in 1997 alongside the Spice Girls, Billy Ocean and Omar.

Henry studied at the Roehampton University of Surrey, now known as University of Roehampton, obtaining a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Drama and Sociology,^[3] before continuing his theatrical training at the Urdang Academy in London's Covent Garden.

Henry answered an open call to audition as understudy for Simba in The Lion King while he was in his second year at Urdang Academy in London. As a student, he was not supposed to audition for professional roles, but skipped his classes. When he returned, the principal summoned Henry to his office and asked where he had been. He said he was ill and the principal told him that the casting director of The Lion King called and said he had the part.^[1]

His early West End credits include Saturday Night Fever and Avenue Q.^[4]

In 2013, Henry competed in series two of the BBC's The Voice UK, where he was mentored by both will.i.am and Jessie J. He reached the grand final and ultimately finished in fourth place. His performance of Ray LaMontagne's "Trouble" has received over 12 million hits on YouTube,^[5] and LaMontagne’s original recording re-entered the UK Singles Chart following the airing of Henry's performance.^[6]

In 2015, he released his debut solo album Red Flare, which was recorded live at the studio owned by The Feeling’s Dan Gillespie and produced by Mr Hudson. He promoted the album with a UK tour supporting pop icon Cyndi Lauper.^[7]

Henry was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2018 New Year Honours, for services to musical theatre.^[2]^[8]

In 2020, he originated the role of Frankie The Foetus in Jonathan Harvey's play Our Lady of Blundellsands at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool.

In 2020, Henry co-created and starred in the new musical, The Drifters Girl, alongside Beverley Knight. The show delayed its original October 2020 opening at the Garrick Theatre in London, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, eventually opening in November 2021, following previews at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in October 2020.

Filmography and television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model	Himself	Runway coach
2013	The Voice UK	Himself	Contestant, fourth place
2019	Kinky Boots (musical)	Lola
2022	Matilda the Musical	Doctor

Theatre credits

Year	Title	Role	Theatre	Location
2002	The Lion King	Simba (understudy)	Lyceum Theatre	West End
2004	Miss Saigon	John Thomas (understudy)	—	UK National Tour
2005	Saturday Night Fever	Cesar	Apollo Victoria Theatre	West End
2006-2012	Avenue Q	Gary Coleman	Noël Coward Theatre	West End
2008	Hair	Hud	—	UK National Tour
2009	The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe	Mr. Beaver	Royal & Derngate	Northampton
2009	The Frontline	Benny	Shakespeare's Globe	London
2010	The Rat Pack: Live From Las Vegas	Sammy Davis Jr.	Adelphi Theatre & UK Tour	West End & UK National Tour
2011	The Harder They Come	Ivanhoe "Ivan" Martin	Stratford East & UK Tour	Stratford & UK National Tour
2015	Red Flare		Debut studio album
2015-16	Kinky Boots	Lola/Simon	Adelphi Theatre	BroadWay
2018	The Two Noble Kinsmen	Piritous	Globe Theatre	London
2019	One Night in Miami	Sam Cooke	—	UK National Tour
2020	Our Lady of Blundellsands	Frankie The Foetus	Everyman Theatre, Liverpool	Liverpool
2021–present	The Drifters Girl	Multiple Characters	The Garrick Theatre	Newcastle and West End
2024	The Devil Wears Prada	Nigel	Theatre Royal, Plymouth	Plymouth

Music

Year	Title		Note
2015	Red Flare		Debut studio album

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Result
2016	Laurence Olivier Award	Best Actor in a Musical (Kinky Boots)	Won
2016	WhatsOnStage Awards	Best Actor in a Musical (Kinky Boots)	Won
2017	Order of the British Empire	MBE	Awarded
2017	Grammy Awards	Best Musical Theater Album (Kinky Boots West End Cast Recording)	Nominated