Thomas James Longley

Thomas James Longley (born 22 April 1989) is a British actor and model. Hailing from the historical English city of Canterbury, he grew up performing in plays throughout the Kent and London fringe scenes. In 2004, he achieved some prominence after garnering critical acclaim from The Times for his performance as the Archangel Gabriel in a revival of The Mystery Plays at Canterbury Cathedral.

Longley continued with occasional theatre work, including originating the role of Ben Leyton in the London tour of Kindred Spirits – The Musical, before being offered a place at the National Youth Theatre in London in 2008. After graduating, he went on to gain wider notice appearing in the independent British films Sparrow (2010) and Island (2011). In 2011, he became one of the new faces of Reiss fashion house.

Early life
Longley was born 22 April 1989 in Canterbury, Kent. The son of former Canterbury City F.C. chairman Keith and reflexologist Jill Longley, he grew up playing piano and attending drama classes. As a young writing student of Catherine Aird, Longley spent his youth training to write fiction. However, his interest in drama ultimately led him to both writing and acting in fringe theatre.

He continued in stage productions before being offered a place at the National Youth Theatre in London. While at drama school, he was trained by Amy Leach and Victoria Gould, and studied alongside actress Aruhan Galieva. In 2009, Longley graduated from the National Youth Theatre, and began to seek professional acting work.

Early work
Prior to joining the National Youth Theatre, Longley had received critical acclim for his work in in fringe theatre. In 2004, he was cast out of hundreds to feature as the Archangel Gabriel opposite Edward Woodward and Joseph McManners in a revival of The Mystery Plays at Canterbury Cathedral. For his performance, Longley achieved critical acclaim from The Times. For a short while, he was also associated with the Dickens Players, performing in works such as Hard Times and Macbeth. He also gained work appearing in a few stage plays, most notably as Benedick in a teen revival of Much Ado About Nothing and also as Ben Leyton in Kindred Spirits: The Musical written and produced by Dream Productions.

Film
After graduating from the National Youth Theatre, Longley was considered for a role in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but ultimately lost out to Frank Dillane.

In March 2010, Longley was offered a lead role in Shaun Troke's horror Sparrow, which was filmed on location in Poland in July. It premiered in Katowice in October and is set to be released on DVD in late 2011. In February 2011, Longley was attached to appear as the lead character in the found footage film HAYZE. In March, production slowed down and he ultimately left the project. In August 2011, it was reported that Longley would appear in the apocalyptic thriller Island.