Ray Fearon was Installed as the College’s third President on Wednesday 9th October 2024 at The Parish Church of Holy Trinity, Lamorbey, Sidcup.

He is an award-winning British actor, born and raised in London and well known for his appearances on stage and screen.

Theatre

After studying drama at Rose Bruford College, Ray went on to make his reputation as a stage actor, working at Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre; Manchester Contact Theatre; Manchester Royal Exchange; Oxford Playhouse; Barn Theatre, Kent; The Almeida; The Crucible, Sheffield; The Donmar Warehouse; The Royal Shakespeare Theatres in Stratford and the National Theatre. He has also toured in the United States and Europe and the Far East.

He has worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company in their Stratford and London theatres and on tour. He was the first black actor to play the title role in Othello in the main Royal Shakespeare theatre (director Michael Attenborough, 1999) giving a performance alongside Richard McCabe’s strong and repressed Iago. Ray was directed by Attenborough also as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (RSC, Swan Theatre, 1997) alongside Zoe Waites as Juliet.

Other RSC roles have included Pericles in Adrian Noble’s Pericles and Prince of Tyre (RST and Roundhouse, 2002). In 2012 while playing Mark Antony in Julius Caesar, Ray was invited to become an Associate Artist for the RSC by artistic director Micheal Boyd.

In 2003, he played ‘Oberon’ in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. In 2004, he appeared as Jean Kiyabe in World Music by Steve Waters at the Donmar Warehouse, and in the same year at the National Theatre as Mark in Sing Yer Hearts Out for the Lads by fellow Rose Bruford College alumni, Roy Williams.

In July 2013 he played Macduff opposite Kenneth Branagh (as Macbeth) and Alex Kingston (as Lady Macbeth) in Macbeth at Manchester International Festival. His performance was broadcast to cinemas on 20 July as part of National Theatre Live.

Television, film and radio

In 2001 Ray appeared on the silver screen in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (as Firenze the centaur) and appeared as narrator and the angel Balthamos in the BBC’s 2003 radio adaptation of His Dark Materials.

He has appeared in four of the acclaimed James Bond director, Martin Campbell’s films. He has appeared in The Foreigner opposite Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan, The Protégé with Samuel L jackson, Maggie Q and Micheal Keaton, Memory with Liam Neeson and Guy Pearce and upcoming film Cleaner with Daisy Ridley and Clive Owen.

In 2023 he played FBI Agent Dan in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.

On television, Ray has recently played the role of the Hot Misogynist in season two of the acclaimed BBC comedy-drama Fleabag.