Richard Fleeshman

Richard Jonathan Fleeshman is an English actor and singer born on 8 June 1989 in Manchester. He is the son of Coronation Street and Brookside actress Sue Jenkins and actor and director David Fleeshman, whose own father was born in Glasgow to a Jewish family. Fleeshman grew up in Cheshire, attending Cheadle Hulme School and later the sixth form at Wilmslow High School. He has two sisters, Emily and Rosie Fleeshman, both of whom are also actresses.

Fleeshman's professional career began with a film appearance in An Angel for May before he took on the role of Craig Harris in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street at the age of 12. He held the part from 2002 to 2006, surviving a round of cast cuts in 2005 and departing the programme at 16, with his final episode airing on 16 October 2006. In 2007, he appeared in the ITV drama Blue Murder, playing Ben Holroyd in an episode titled "Crisis Management" alongside Jill Halfpenny. He then played Gillen in the ITV comedy drama Monday Monday, which aired in August 2009.

Also in 2009, Fleeshman took on the role of Kyle Caddick, a musically gifted but troubled teenager, in the six-part BBC drama All the Small Things. The role allowed him to perform numerous songs, including one over the end credits that he co-wrote with Sir Elton John and the show's creator Debbie Horsfield. His father, David Fleeshman, appeared in the same series as the character Gilbert. The programme was later broadcast in Australia under the title Heart and Soul. In June 2010, Fleeshman joined the West End cast of Legally Blonde in London, taking over from Duncan James in the role of Warner.

Fleeshman's most prominent stage work began with the West End production of Ghost: The Musical, a show based on the 1990 film, with a book by Bruce Joel Rubin and music and lyrics by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard. He originated the lead role of Sam Wheat — the character played by Patrick Swayze in the film — alongside Caissie Levy as Molly and Sharon D. Clarke as Oda Mae Brown. The production premiered at the Opera House in Manchester on 28 March 2011 before transferring to the Piccadilly Theatre in London on 22 June 2011. Fleeshman and Levy departed the West End cast on 12 January 2012 to join the Broadway transfer of the show. Ghost: The Musical began previews at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater on 15 March 2012 and officially opened on 23 April 2012, marking Fleeshman's Broadway debut. He was invited to perform at the 2012 Tony Awards, and he and Levy remained with the production through its final performance on 18 August 2012.

Following his Broadway run, Fleeshman starred as Bobby Strong in the UK premiere of the satirical musical Urinetown in 2013, directed by Jamie Lloyd at the St James Theatre. He subsequently filmed an episode of Call the Midwife for the BBC, broadcast in early February 2015, and later that year played George Bevan in A Damsel in Distress, a musical adaptation of the P.G. Wodehouse novel, at the Chichester Festival Theatre beginning 30 May 2015. In 2017, he appeared in two episodes of the CW series Reign as Francis Drake. The following year, he took on the role of Gideon Fletcher in Sting's musical The Last Ship, and also joined the West End gender-swapped revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company, directed by Marianne Elliott, playing the role of Air Steward Andy. His performance in Company earned him a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Musical.

In 2022, Fleeshman guest starred in the Channel 4 series Chivalry and played the recurring role of Ken in Netflix's The Sandman. Beginning in 2023, he took on the leading role of Lieutenant James Brice in the Syfy series The Ark. He subsequently played Walter in the UK premiere of Marjorie Prime at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London, and in August 2024 portrayed William Shakespeare in a West End concert of Something Rotten! at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. In the spring of 2025, he played the Soldier in the London premiere of Sondheim's Here We Are, and later that year appeared in the BBC drama Riot Women, written by Sally Wainwright, as Jojo, a love interest for the character Holly, played by Tamsin Greig.

As a musician, Fleeshman plays both piano and guitar. At 13, he became the youngest celebrity contestant to win Stars in Their Eyes, and in 2006 he won Soapstar Superstar, raising £200,000 for The Kirsty Appeal. He signed a major record deal with Universal in 2007 and released his debut solo album, Neon, that same year. In 2008, he supported Elton John on his summer stadium tour and later that year joined John again during his Red Piano concert residency in Las Vegas. In his personal life, Fleeshman became engaged to Dutch actress and singer Celinde Schoenmaker in 2022, and the couple welcomed a daughter in November 2024.