Layton Williams (born 13 September 1994) is an English actor. He won the 2025Laurence Olivier for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his performance inTitanique. Williams began his career as a child actor on theWest End, starring as the titular role ofBilly Elliot the Musical andYoung Michael Jackson inThriller – Live. As an adult, he went on tour withRent^[1] andEverybody's Talking About Jamie.

On television, Williams is known for his roles in the BBC seriesBeautiful People (2008–2009) andBad Education (2012–2014, 2022–2024). He featured in theCBBC documentary seriesSchool for Stars, which documented life at the acting schoolItalia Conti.

Williams was born inBury, Greater Manchester, to a white mother and a father of Jamaican descent. He grew up on the Dicky Bird Estate.^[2] His paternal grandparents are from Jamaica and his father was born in the UK. He has several siblings and half-siblings.

Williams went to London at age 11 to pursue an acting career.^[3] After several months of training at the Billy Elliot Academy inLeeds, Williams debuted inBilly Elliot the Musical on 26 February 2007 inLondon's West End.^[4] His training was documented onThe Paul O'Grady Show in which he appeared in on 25 May 2007 and then in several morning TV shows, TV interviews, and short clips related to the musical. He is the second person of colour, the other beingMatthew Koon, and the first mixed heritage performer to star in the show. He gave his final performance in the musical on 29 November 2008 while still being the second-longest running performer as 'Billy' in the show's history.^[5] On 31 January 2009, two months after his final performance, Layton appeared on the programmeFeelgood Factor on ITV, where he and two other 'Billy' actors, Tanner Pflueger andTom Holland, performed a specially choreographed version of Angry Dance fromBilly Elliot the Musical.

Williams took street dance and drama lessons at Carol Godby's Theatre workshop in Bury and ballet lessons at Centre Pointe,Manchester. Williams was awarded a scholarship toSylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone, London and stayed there until 2008. He attended Broad Oak High School in his home town Bury and then theItalia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London. During his time at Italia Conti, Williams featured in a children's documentarySchool for Stars which was broadcast on the children's television channel CBBC.

He was offered the part asYoung Michael Jackson in the West End musicalThriller – Live where he did a few performances before he outgrew the role^{[citation needed]}. Williams became well known to a TV audience as the character Kylie – acting, dancing and singing in the 2008 to 2009BBC Two comedyBeautiful People, series 1 and 2.^[6][7][8] From 2012 to 2014, he played Stephen Carmichael in the BBC comedyBad Education and also appeared in the 2015spinoff film. Williams returned to the show for the 2022 reunion special and became the co-lead of the show's fourth series alongsideCharlie Wernham.

Williams went on tour withMatthew Bourne's showThe Car Man. Following that he performed the part of Duane inHairspray the Musical 2015–2016 tour. He announced that he would also be in the new 20th anniversary cast ofRent which toured the UK from October 2016.^[9] Layton landed thelead role in the hit musicalEverybody's Talking About Jamie in theApollo Theatre in London's West End, where he would play the role of Jamie for 11 months. In August 2019, it was announced Williams would be joining the tour cast of the musical, which was postponed due to thecoronavirus pandemic, but later resumed in 2021. The production also made its US premiere at theAhmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in January 2022 where Williams played also Jamie.^[10]

In August 2023, Williams was announced as a contestant on thetwenty-first series ofStrictly Come Dancing. He was partnered with professional dancerNikita Kuzmin. They achieved not only their first perfect 40 score, but the first of the whole series in Musicals week, which they followed up with another one in the semi-finals, as well as two in the final. They finished as joint runners-up, alongsideBobby Brazier andDianne Buswell, losing to winnersEllie Leach andVito Coppola.^[11]

From 3 June to 21 September 2024, Williams played the Emcee inCabaret at the Kit Kat Club at thePlayhouse Theatre oppositeRhea Norwood as Sally Bowles.^[12]

Williams then originated the role of Iceberg in the West End premiere ofTitanique at theCriterion Theatre in December 2024, which earned him aLaurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical for his performance.^[13][14]

Williams is a strong supporter of the charitiesStonewall andDitch the Label.^[9]

Williams is gay and has spoken about coming to terms with his sexuality while working onBilly Elliot in London.^[3][15][16]

While onWho Do You Think You Are in May 2025, he found that his great-great-grandfather, Lance Corporal William Downing, served in theArmy Remount Service in WW1 and WW2 and was part of theBEF during theDunkirk evacuation.^[2] After returning to the UK, William Downing ended up in Bury working at aPoW camp there, which is how William's family came toBury.^[2] Williams also found out that his five-times great-grandfather Edward Downing was in financial trouble and was even sent to theQueen's Bench Prison.^[2]

Williams also discovered on his paternal side, that his three-times great-grandfather, Alexander Denton, was born in 1825 in Jamaica as a slave.^[2] He had a twin sister called Peggy.^[2] They would have been about nine years old when slavery was abolished in 1834.^[2] Williams also discovered that his four-times great-grandmother, Jessy Denton, came toJamaica sometime before 1807 on one of theslave ships from Africa.^[2]

• List of British actors

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• 1994 births
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• English gay actors
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