Giles Terera

Career Trajectory

Trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and joining the National Theatre ensemble in 1999, Terera built a reputation as a classically grounded actor equally at home in Shakespeare and contemporary work, appearing in productions ranging from Troilus and Cressida to Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. His breakthrough came with the role of Aaron Burr in the original West End production of Hamilton (2017–2019), a performance of vocal and dramatic precision that won the 2018 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical and established him as one of Britain's most accomplished musical theatre performers. Since then, he has continued to work across genres—from straight plays at the National Theatre and Shakespeare's Globe to musical theatre roles in The Book of Mormon, Avenue Q, and Dreamgirls—while pursuing parallel work as a musician, writer, and filmmaker.