Hugh Sheridan (born 30 June 1985) is an Australian actor, singer, and television presenter who is known for his[a] role as Ben Rafter in the television series Packed to the Rafters. Sheridan is a four-time Logie Award winner, in the Most Popular Actor category.
Early life and education
Sheridan grew up in the Adelaide suburb of Millswood. His father, Denis Sheridan, was a jazz musician, and was mayor of Unley from 1982 to 1985, and his mother, Margaret, and all seven children in the family were active in the community. Hugh attended Loreto College in Marryatville for the junior primary years, before changing to Saint Ignatius' College.[3]
He began training at Unley Youth Theatre aged 5,[4][5] later (2010) becoming patron of the then renamed Urban Youth.[6]
From the age of 16 studied advanced dance at the Terry Simpson Studios in Adelaide, where his teacher recommended that he audition at the Australian Ballet School, where he was accepted and studied for two years.[7] While studying dance there, he also studied opera at the Victorian College of the Arts.[5]
Upon leaving the Australian Ballet School, Sheridan was accepted into the Bachelor of Dramatic Art course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, aged 18. In his final year there, he won the role of Ben Rafter in the pilot for Packed to the Rafters.[5]
In 2019, he began starring as real estate agent, Lachlan Best, alongside Kat Stewart and Steve Peacocke in the Network 10 comedy-drama series, Five Bedrooms.[13] He starred in the first two seasons and returned for the fourth and final season in 2023.
In 2019, he appeared in the Australian horror anthology film, Dark Place, which was screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival.[14] The following year, he was cast in the Australian production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The production was postponed after a petition highlighted the lack of LGBTQ representation in the show and expressed "disappointment" over the casting of Sheridan in the lead role of Hedwig, whom many believe to be a transgender character.[15] The American creators of Hedwig, John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask, issued a statement saying they did not believe that Hedwig was transgender, and that anyone could play the role, however, the Australian producers, Showtune Productions, cancelled the show.[16]
Sometime before 2015 Sheridan and friends Emile Welman and Gabe Roland formed the singing trio California Crooners Club, after sharing their love of jazz music in Hollywood.[26] The California Crooners Club, based in Los Angeles,[3] has performed at the Adelaide Fringe (2015, 2019, 2020) to good reviews,[27][28][29] with six shows sold out before their first appearance. In 2015 they were also booked for Melbourne and Sydney.[26] They performed in a Spiegeltent at the Brisbane Festival in 2016 and 2018.[30][31]
In 2017, he was appointed as one of three Fringe Ambassadors for the Adelaide Fringe.[32]
Personal life
Sheridan came out as non-binary and bisexual in an Instagram post on 26 June 2021,[33][34] In an October 2020 interview with Stellar, Sheridan revealed relationships with both women and men but preferred not to label his sexuality.[35] Sheridan later refuted the claims that he ever came out as non-binary in an interview with Kylie and Jackie-O, he stated that a newspaper picked up the story and ran with it.[36]
He was married to Venezuelan actor Rafael de la Fuente from 2009 to 2018.[32] On 5 March 2021, Sheridan proposed to boyfriend Kurt Roberts during the opening night of the Hughman stage show;[37][38] their separation was announced in November 2021.[39]
He has been close friends with his Packed to the Rafters co-star, Jessica Marais, since they studied together at NIDA.[40] He was previously close friends with Rebel Wilson and introduced Wilson to her wife, Ramona Agruma.[41]
^"All About Me" did not enter the ARIA Top 100 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 6 on the Physical Singles Chart .[22]
Footnotes
^Sheridan uses both "he/him" and "they/them" pronouns. This article uses "he/him" for consistency.[2]
^Shared with: Michael Caton, Ryan Corr, Rebecca Gibney, George Houvardas, Gillian Jones, Jessica Marais, Angus McLaren, James Stewart, Erik Thomson, Zoe Ventoura
^Shared with: Michael Caton, Ryan Corr, Merridy Eastman, Rebecca Gibney, George Houvardas, Jessica Marais, Hannah Marshall, Angus McLaren, James Stewart, Erik Thomson
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