Jami Reid Quarrell

Early life

Reid-Quarrell was born in Paisley, Scotland, the son of champion swimmer Marie Reid (née Quarrell) and Glasgow's popular Big Band Jazz singer Tommy Reid. He has three elder sisters Loretta, Jennifer and Eleanor and one younger sister Caroline. Brought up in Linwood, Renfrewshire, Reid-Quarrell attended St Andrews Primary School (now Our Lady of Peace) and St Brendan's High School. He established himself as a young actor with the Actors Lab at the Strathclyde Arts Centre (formerly Glasgow Arts Centre), also known as the starting place of the actor Robert Carlyle by whom Reid-Quarrell was taught for a brief time.

Theatre

Reid-Quarrell started in theatre at the age of 16 at the Actors Lab in Glasgow, Scotland. At 18 years old he was playing the role of Nick in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and then toured the UK with EPC's The Girl from the Sea before settling in Sligo, Ireland to train in Le Coq and Marceau techniques with the Blue Raincoat Theatre Company where he performed multiple roles in the inaugural production of Scrooge attended by Marcel Marceau himself.

He lived for some time in New York City at the age of 19 where he slept rough while pursuing acting work and training with tutor Tom Grail. Returning to Scotland he initiated a programme of events focusing on the multicultural music scene in Glasgow which culminated in 1996's famous Party in the Park and West End Festival Carnival Parade, a tradition which then carried on for many years after he left Glasgow.

At the age of 23 he moved to London to commence training at The Circus Space in London (now the National Centre for Circus Arts) and subsequently at the Centre National des Arts du Cirque in Châlons-en-Champagne, France. From the French school, he was selected to perform with the acclaimed French Circus-Theatre company Archaos between 1998 and 2000, creating the show INVITRO. He was then cast in the title role of Tarzan in a Dubai-based production where he combined his acting and aerial skills, a niche to be continued in his later work.

Now a fluent French speaker, he returned to the UK to receive further training whilst working with the Royal Shakespeare Company as part of their ensemble. During this time, he was directed by Matthew Warchus, Michael Boyd and Adrian Noble in The Winter's Tale, The Tempest and Pericles.

He then went on to feature prominently in an early production from immersive theatre pioneers Punchdrunk (playing Tybalt in The Firebird Ball) and subsequently with Frantic Assembly in their highly praised production of Othello. Playing Cassio, the drunk scene was a particular highlight of the production with Reid-Quarrell spouting Shakespearean verse while being spun on a pool table and caught by the other actors.

Around this time he also played the title role in the stage version of MONKEY! for the West Yorkshire Playhouse, directed by Dominic LeClerc. This lead role coupled with his well-received portrayal of Puck for the Royal Opera House proved a stepping stone which brought him to the attention of Andrew Lloyd Webber's team who cast him in the newly created role of Dr Gangle in Love Never Dies, the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera.

In 2011, he was approached by Sir Trevor Nunn to direct the movement and aerial work for this West End production of The Tempest starring Ralph Fiennes. He reprised his role as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream for Scottish Opera in 2013 and then again for the Hannover State Opera in 2014.

Film

As a teenage actor, Reid-Quarrell played lead roles in some amateur films by director John Gorman, originator of the event Alien War. Following lead roles in student films Arch Enemy and The Summer Tree, he played small roles in David Hayman's Silent Scream and the feature film Bent. He has also appeared in 28 Weeks Later as infected H and in Bollywood films Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom as a featured dancer.

Television

Whilst still based in Glasgow, he appeared in STV's High Road as a Cabaret Performer and in Taggart as a High School Pupil. Upon arriving in London, he was chosen to appear in the Spice Girls video for "Who Do You Think You Are" also appearing on BBC's Comic Relief Live Broadcast alongside the Spice Girls and Madness. He filmed a pilot for Ragdoll Productions "Sleepy Fairies" as lead character Sleepyhead and also as Spot for "Bunnytown". As well as the Spice Girls video he has appeared as lead roles in promos for Depeche Mode ("Fragile Tension"), and Boy Kill Boy ("No Conversation").

In 2014 he appeared in the featured role of The Tramp, an homage to Chaplin in the Sony TV pilot "Salad Days" and then filmed a TV and cinema ad campaign for Gordon's Gin as the new character Gordon the Boar.

In 2015 he was cast in the long-running British sci-fi series Doctor Who, and won Doctor Who TV's award for Best Male Guest Actor for his portrayal of the villainous Colony Sarff. A year later, he went on to make a guest appearance in the show's 2016 spin-off series Class as a robot school inspector.

Other work

Reid-Quarrell also choreographs and movement directs for theatre and screen including shows for Trevor Nunn and pop videos for Depeche Mode, Casio Kids and Boy Kill Boy. He is also known to compose songs and incidental music for his band Katts&Dawgs as well as for other artists and projects.

Personal life

Reid-Quarrell lives in London with his long-term partner Philip Harding-Esch.

Awards

Music

In December 2013 his group "Katts & Dawgs" released their Beautiful Fool Beautiful Freak EP.