Richard Cant
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Richard Cant (born 1964) is a British actor. He is the son of actor and children's television presenter Brian Cant,[1] and partner of Richard Coles, the former Communards musician and Anglican priest.
Career
[edit]Cant appeared twice on the long-running murder mystery series Midsomer Murders, appearing in the 1997 pilot episode The Killings at Badger's Drift as undertaker Dennis Rainbird,[2] and then again as Dennis Rainbird's cousin, Alistair Gooding, in the 2006 story Dead Letters. In the second story, he appeared alongside Jason Hughes, who played Detective Sergeant Ben Jones.[citation needed] Cant had previously appeared with Jason Hughes in an episode of the BBC 2 TV series This Life, where he played Phil, a friend of Hughes's character, Warren.[citation needed]
Other television and film appearances include [citation needed] " Stan and Ollie", "Mary, Queen of Scots", 'The Crown", "It's a Sin", The Way We Live Now, Bleak House, Gimme Gimme Gimme, and Gunpowder Treason and Plot. In 2007 he appeared in an episode of Doctor Who, "Blink".[3]
He has worked on stage for The National Theatre, RSC, Royal Court, Cheek by Jowl, and Sheffield Crucible.[citation needed]
He appeared as Friedrich in War Horse at the New London Theatre.[citation needed]
In 2023, he starred as Merle Miller, the iconoclastic gay writer in the East End play, What It Means, at Wilton's Music Hall, London. The Guardian gave his performance 4 out of 5 stars, lauding him: "Richard Cant is superb as Merle Miller who takes a stand against homophobia in this clever retelling of his landmark essay."[4] Time Out wrote, "Richard Cant gives an electric performance in this (largely) one-person play, based on real events, which makes its debut at Wilton's Music Hall."[5]
In Spring 2024, he toured in a production of As You Like It to Romania.[6] In Fall 2024, Cant performed as Edward Jenner in Pins and Needles at the Kiln Theatre.[7]
Personal life
[edit]Cant was born in Dartford, Kent in 1964.[8] In June 2023, Richard Coles, the former Communards musician and Anglican priest, said he was in a relationship with Cant.[9]
Selected television work
[edit]- This Life (1996)
- Midsomer Murders (1997) & (2006)
- Gimme Gimme Gimme (1999)
- Lawless Heart (2001)
- The Way We Live Now (2001)
- Shackleton (2002)
- Ian Fleming: Bondmaker (2005)
- Bleak House (2005)
- Sparkle (2007)
- Doctor Who (2007)
- The Bill (2008)
- Vexed (2010)
- Mapp & Lucia (2014)
- The Crown (2020)
- It's A Sin (2021)
- Mary, Queen Of Scots (2018)
- Stan and Ollie (2019)
Selected stage work
[edit]- As You Like It / Cymbeline/ Troilus and Cressida (Cheek by Jowl)
- War Horse (2012/13, NT at New London Theatre)
- Salome (Headlong)
- The Country Wife (Sheffield Crucible)
- Orlando (West End)
- Handbagged/ Wife (Kiln)
- The Vortex (Chichester)
- Henry The Sixth / Maydays / Hamlet (RSC)
- Normal Heart/ Mr Gum And The Dancing Bear (NT)
- Medea (Almeida)
- The Trial (Young Vic)
- After Edward/ Edward The Second (Globe)
- What It Means (Wilton's)
- The Importance of Bring Earnest (National Theatre)2025
References
[edit]- ^ "The Brian Cant Interview". Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
- ^ Manning, Charlotte (23 August 2020). "Midsomer Murders: DCI Tom Barnaby star exposes major blunder in first ever episode". The Express. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
But it was revealed by John that Richard Cant - who starred in the pilot episode as undertaker Dennis Rainbird - made a major blunder during filming.
- ^ "Doctor Who - Blink, (from 'Eye of Horus')". Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2009.
- ^ Jays, David (10 October 2023). "Review: What It Means review – how a gay American writer came out fighting". Retrieved 11 June 2025.
- ^ Wicker, Tom (10 October 2024). "Richard Cant gives a mesmeric turn in this drama about Merle Miller's landmark 1971 article 'What It Means to Be a Homosexual'". Time Out. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
- ^ Morgan, Fergus (3 May 2024). "Richard Cant: 'Taking As You Like It to post-revolutionary Romania was like being in the Beatles'". The Stage UK. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
- ^ Popescu, Lucy (3 October 2024). "REVIEW / THEATRE: Review: Pins and Needles, at Kiln Theatre: Fascinating stuff to unpack in play that explores the fallibility of government and the tarnished reputation of the pharmaceutical companies". Westminster Extra. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
Over the course of 80 minutes, we meet ... Edward Jenner (Richard Cant), the English physician who invented the smallpox vaccine in 1796....There's some fascinating stuff to unpack, and it's well-acted
- ^ Morgan, Fergus (3 May 2024). "Richard Cant: 'Taking As You Like It to post-revolutionary Romania was like being in the Beatles'". The Stage. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
- ^ "Reverend Richard Coles opens up about finding new love three years after tragic death of husband". Pink News. 1 June 2023. Archived from the original on 8 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
External links
[edit]- Richard Cant at IMDb