Raymond Thomas(I)

From three, Raymond has pursued his dream to be an actor leaning dancing, acting and singing. His first show was "The Wizard of Oz" as a munchkin, to Winthrop in "The Music Man" and Eric in "Song of Norway". He studied at the Melbourne Theatre Company's Saturday Morning Club in 1974-75. Playing Malcolm in "Macbeth" and being coached at the age of sixteen by Amanda Muggleton was a memorable experience. He appeared in plays with other companies. Raymond's professional debut was with "The Fabulous Flinstones on Parade" in 1978 - 1979. He went to VCA to develop his dance skills to complement his acting and singing. He played leading roles including Alan Strang in an award winning production of "Equus". He worked in Theatre-In-Education for three years. Having a good ear for accents allowed Raymond to play fifteen different roles in "The First Night of Pygmallion", Jack in "The Importance of Being Ernest", and five roles in "Eat Your Heart Out", and Tulsa in "Gypsy". Raymond studied with John Orczik at TAFTA, Daniel Legler at The Theatre of the Future and American accents with Bruce Shapiro, and Linda Wise. He appeared in small roles in "Neighbours", numerous advertisements, corporate training videos, films, and the mini-series "Blonde". Highlights include playing a teacher in "Knowing" with Alethea McGrath; Sir Rudy Sullivan in "Disjointed Story"; Sir Charles AInsworth in "Dead Gorgeous". The anaesthetist in "The Disappearance of Willie Bingham" proved to be rewarding role as the film won about 34 international awards. Raymond played the doctor to Helen Morse as Guttersnipe in "The Mystery of the Hansom Cab". Challenging himself mentally with puzzles, crosswords and reading are essential to build an actor's vocabulary and access to different viewpoints. He enjoys swimming and travel. Keeping fit physically, mentally and spiritually is essential to keeping Raymond's body prepared. Raymond has made Christmas puddings every November since 1997.