Christian Coulson
Encyclopedia
Christian Coulson is an English
actor
best known for playing Tom Marvolo Riddle
in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
.
, and attended Westminster School
in London
on an academic scholarship. He was a member of the UK's National Youth Music Theatre
from 1990–1997, and went on to the University of Cambridge
, where he received a degree in English
from Clare College
in 2000. While at university, he played the Emcee in Cabaret
, Arturo Ui in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
and Claire in The Maids
, as well as appearing in film and television.
, in which he portrayed a sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle, even though Coulson was 23 years old at the time. However, in 2007, director David Yates
indicated on MTV
that Coulson would not reprise his role in Half-Blood Prince
, since, at 29, he was now too old.
As of 2010, Coulson lives and works in New York City
as an actor, director, and photographer.
Television
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
best known for playing Tom Marvolo Riddle
Lord Voldemort
Lord Voldemort is the main antagonist of the Harry Potter series written by British author J. K. Rowling. Voldemort first appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which was released in 1997...
in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a 2002 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the second instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
.
Early life
Coulson was born in ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, and attended Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on an academic scholarship. He was a member of the UK's National Youth Music Theatre
National Youth Music Theatre
The National Youth Music Theatre or NYMT is a UK organisation for young people in the field of musical theatre, based in London. It runs acting auditions, workshops, and musical theatre productions...
from 1990–1997, and went on to the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, where he received a degree in English
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
from Clare College
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1326, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. Clare is famous for its chapel choir and for its gardens on "the Backs"...
in 2000. While at university, he played the Emcee in Cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
, Arturo Ui in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui is a play by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht, originally written in 1941...
and Claire in The Maids
The Maids
The Maids is a play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris in a production that opened on 17 April 1947, which Louis Jouvet directed...
, as well as appearing in film and television.
Career
Coulson gained worldwide attention and popularity for his role in 2002's Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a 2002 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the second instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
, in which he portrayed a sixteen-year-old Tom Riddle, even though Coulson was 23 years old at the time. However, in 2007, director David Yates
David Yates
David Yates is an English filmmaker who rose to mainstream prominence directing the final four films in the Harry Potter film series. He helmed the series' fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth installments, all of which became an instant blockbuster success and made him the most commercially...
indicated on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
that Coulson would not reprise his role in Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a 2009 fantasy film directed by David Yates and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the sixth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman and David Barron...
, since, at 29, he was now too old.
As of 2010, Coulson lives and works in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
as an actor, director, and photographer.
Film & short film
- Leaving Circadia (filming) (2012) Colin
- I Am Nasrine (2011) Tommy
- Last Night (2007) Nick
- Take Me Back (2005) Charlie, credited as Chris Coulson
- The HoursThe Hours (film)The Hours is a 2002 drama film directed by Stephen Daldry, and starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Ed Harris. The screenplay by David Hare is based on the 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title by Michael Cunningham....
(2002) (uncredited) Richard Partridge - Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a 2002 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the second instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
(2002) Tom RiddleLord VoldemortLord Voldemort is the main antagonist of the Harry Potter series written by British author J. K. Rowling. Voldemort first appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which was released in 1997...
, credited as Chris Coulson - The Four FeathersThe Four FeathersThe Four Feathers is a 1902 adventure novel by British writer A.E.W. Mason that has inspired many films of the same title.-Plot summary:...
(2002) (uncredited) Drummer Boy
Television
- Gossip GirlGossip Girl (TV series)Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series was created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, and premiered on The CW on September 19, 2007...
(2010) Ivan - "Jeffery & Cole Casserole" (2010)
- Brief Encounters (2005) Adam
- Beethoven (2005) Archduke Rudolph
- Marple: A Murder is AnnouncedMarple (TV series)Marple is a British television series based on the Miss Marple and other murder mystery novels by Agatha Christie. It is also known as Agatha Christie's Marple. The title character was played by Geraldine McEwan from the first to third series, until her retirement from the role. She was replaced...
(2005) Edmund Swettenham - Little BritainLittle BritainLittle Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
(2003) Joe in Series 1, Episode 3 - Charles II: The Power and The PassionCharles II: The Power and The PassionCharles II: The Power and the Passion is an award-winning British television mini-series, broadcast on BBC One in 2003, and produced by the BBC in association with the A&E Network in the United States...
(2003) (mini) James, Duke of Monmouth - HornblowerHornblower (TV series)Hornblower is the umbrella title of a series of television drama programmes based on C. S. Forester's novels about the fictional character Horatio Hornblower, a Royal Naval officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars....
: Loyalty (2003) Midshipman John 'Jack' Hammond - The Forsyte SagaThe Forsyte SagaThe Forsyte Saga is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by John Galsworthy. They chronicle the vicissitudes of the leading members of an upper-middle-class British family, similar to Galsworthy's own...
(2002) Jolly Forsyte - Weirdsister CollegeWeirdsister CollegeWeirdsister College is the sequel to successful British children's television series The Worst Witch . Weirdsister College ran for only 13 episodes and there have been no publicised talks for a returning series....
(2001) Ben Stemson - Love in a Cold ClimateLove in a Cold Climate (TV serial)Love in a Cold Climate is a British television serial drama produced by the BBC in association with WGBH Boston, and first broadcast in two parts on BBC One on 4 and 11 February 2001...
(2001) (mini) Matt Radlett
Theatre
- GhostsGhosts (play)Ghosts is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was written in 1881 and first staged in 1882.Like many of Ibsen's better-known plays, Ghosts is a scathing commentary on 19th century morality....
- Gate Theatre, London (2007) Osvald - Festen - UK Tour (2006) Christian
- Journey's EndJourney's EndJourney's End is a 1928 drama, the seventh of English playwright R. C. Sherriff. It was first performed at the Apollo Theatre in London by the Incorporated Stage Society on 9 December 1928, starring a young Laurence Olivier, and soon moved to other West End theatres for a two-year run...
- Comedy Theatre, London (2004) Raleigh - Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
- Liverpool Playhouse, Liverpool (2002) Romeo
Audio Drama
- Doctor Who: The Haunting of Thomas BrewsterThe Haunting of Thomas BrewsterThe Haunting of Thomas Brewster is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
(2008) Robert McIntosh - Doctor Who: The Bride of PeladonThe Bride of PeladonThe Bride of Peladon is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Cast:*The Doctor — Peter Davison*Peri — Nicola Bryant*Erimem — Caroline Morris*Beldonia — Phyllida Law...
(2007) Pelleas