John Douglas Thompson

John Douglas Thompson
Born	1964 (age 52–53) Bath, England
Occupation	Actor

John Douglas Thompson (born 1964) is an Obie Award-winning Canadian-American actor who has been described as "one of the most compelling classical stage actors of his generation."

Thompson was born in Bath, England, to Jamaican parents, and was raised in Montreal. He graduated from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York in 1985, where he studied marketing and business. In the early 1990s he worked as a traveling computer salesman in New England. After losing his job, Thompson decided to pursue acting and enrolled at the Trinity Repertory Conservatory in Providence, Rhode Island.

Thompson began appearing in a variety of lead and supporting roles across New England, most notably at the American Repertory Theater and Shakespeare and Company, also giving his first performance as Othello at the Trinity Repertory Company prior to attaining critical success in New York. He made his Broadway debut as Flavius, opposite Denzel Washington in Julius Caesar in 2005, and later appeared as Le Bret in Cyrano de Bergerac, alongside Jennifer Garner and Kevin Kline in 2007.

In 2009, Thompson had a breakout year, playing the title roles in Othello at the Theatre for a New Audience, and The Emperor Jones at the Irish Repertory Theatre. Both performances garnered high critical acclaim, with The New York Times stating: "There may be no better classical actor working in the New York theater right now." Thompson earned both an Obie Award and a Lucille Lortel Award for Othello. In the fall of 2010 Thompson was lauded for his leading role as Antony in a well reviewed rendition of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra opposite Kate Mulgrew.

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