Thomas Weatherall Explained

Thomas Weatherall
Birth Place:Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
Education:Marymount College, Gold Coast
Years Active:2018present

Thomas Weatherall (born 22 August 2000) is an Australian actor and playwright. He is known for his performances in the television series RFDS (2019–2021) and Heartbreak High (2022), and for writing the play Blue, first performed in 2019.

Early life and education

Thomas Weatherall was born on 22 August 2000 in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. He is a Kamilaroi man.[1]

Weatherall grew up on the Gold Coast and attended Marymount College, where he was an active member of the cultural team, including cultural and mob captain[2] in his final year in 2017.[3] At Marymount, Weatherall played the role of Lonny Barnett / Record executive in the college's 2017 production of Rock of Ages.[4]

As a child, he wanted to be a dancer when he grew up, and trained hard for this goal. However, he heard about ABC Television auditioning for roles in Deadlock (2018) during his last year of high school, and decided to give it a try. After landing the role, he found that he loved acting, and went on to study drama at Queensland University of Technology. As his screen career took off, he dropped out.[5]

Career

Beginnings (20182021)

Weatherall's first acting role was in the award-winning ABC miniseries Deadlock.[1] He was in drama school and working in a shoe shop when he won the role for Seven Network's RFDS, which he went for mainly for the chance to play Rob Collins' son in the medical drama. On 18 August 2024, it was announced that a third season of the series with production moving from Broken Hill to South Australia due to upgrades at the real Broken Hill base. Weatherall would be returning for the series third season.[6]

Breakthrough (2022present)

He came to international prominence in the 2022 Netflix series Heartbreak High. The series became one of the streaming service's most-watched English-spoken series, making the Top 10 in Australia as well as 45 other countries in September 2022.[1]

He also had roles in the ABC series All My Friends Are Racist and Troppo.[7]

Weatherall's playwriting debut came with the play Blue, which he started writing in 2019 based on old high school diary entries, as "self-prescribed therapy". After winning a Balnaves Fellowship to complete the play, he fictionalised it further,[5] and performed in the Belvoir Theatre production of it in Sydney in 2023.[8] The play, which is in the form of a dramatic monologue, had a successful season at the Belvoir. In March 2024 a Belvoir production was presented by State Theatre Company South Australia at the Adelaide Festival in Adelaide, South Australia, with Callan Purcell in the starring role.[9] In May 2024 Weatherall once again starred in a production of Blue at Brisbane's La Boite Theatre.[10] [5]

Weatherall is set to star opposite Jacob Elordi in the upcoming adaptation of Richard Flanagan's novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North as a TV series for Prime Video.[5] Weatherall was later announced as part of the cast for Disney+ series Last Days of the Space Age.[11]

On 2 February 2026, Weatherall was named in the cast for SBS drama The Airport Chaplain.[12]

Recognition and awards

Filmography

Television!Year!Title!Role!Notes!Ref
2018DeadlockAero5 episodes
2021All My Friends Are RacistLuke2 episodes
2021–presentRFDSDarren Yates15 episodes
2022TroppoCharlie6 episodes
2022–PresentHeartbreak HighMalakai MitchellMain role, 16 episodes
2024ExposureAngusMain role; 6 episodes
Last Days of the Space Age Bilya8 episodes
2025The Narrow Road to the Deep North Frank Gardiner5 episodes
2026The Airport ChaplainTBATV series
TBATBATV series

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Couper . Elena . Meet Thomas Weatherall, the breakout star of 'Heartbreak High' . GQ Australia . 5 October 2022 . 8 February 2024. ...the Brisbane-born 22-year-old Kamilaroi writer and actor....
  2. Web site: QATSIF . Tweet . X.com . 16 April 2024.
  3. Web site: College . Marymount . Alumni News . Alumni News . Marymount College . 16 April 2024 . tomarticle.
  4. Web site: College . Marymount . Rock of Ages musical program . Rock of Ages Musical Program . Marymount College . 16 April 2024 . rockofagesprogram.
  5. Web site: Story . Hannah . Heartbreak High star Thomas Weatherall brings his debut play Blue to Brisbane's La Boite Theatre . ABC News . 15 May 2024 . 16 May 2024.
  6. Web site: Third season of RFDS commences production in South Australia . 2024-08-18 . SAFC . en-AU.
  7. Web site: Knox . David . Cameras roll on RFDS in Broken Hill . TV Tonight . 3 August 2020 . 8 February 2024.
  8. News: Dow . Steve . 2023-01-19 . Blue review – Thomas Weatherall gives finely tuned performance in gripping one-man show . 2024-05-09 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  9. Web site: Blue . Adelaide Festival . 8 February 2024.
  10. Web site: 2024-05-01 . Thomas Weatherall talks creative process and bringing Blue home to Brisbane . 2024-05-09 . La Boite . en.
  11. Web site: 2024-08-07 . Last Days of the Space Age: Australian Disney+ series coming soon ScreenHub Australia - Film & Television Jobs, News, Reviews & Screen Industry Data . 2024-08-07 . www.screenhub.com.au . en-AU.
  12. Web site: Knox . David . 2026-02-02 . SBS drama The Airport Chaplain filming in Melbourne TV Tonight . 2026-02-03 . tvtonight.com.au . en-AU.
  13. Web site: Fellowship and Residencies . Belvoir St Theatre . 2 February 2024 . 8 February 2024.
  14. Web site: Vnuk . Helen . Thomas Weatherall never planned on becoming an actor – now he's an international star . Now To Love . 1 August 2023 . 8 February 2024.
  15. Web site: Knowles . Rachael . These are the First Nations winners at the TV Week Logie Awards . NITV . 31 July 2023 . 8 February 2024.