Alex Gaumond

Alex Gaumond (born 9 April 1978) is a Canadian actor, singer, songwriter and filmmaker best known for his involvement in West End theatre.

He plays series regular gendarme Caron, the chief of police in Sainte Victoire, in the Channel 5 television series The Madame Blanc Mysteries, starring Sally Lindsay.

On stage, Gaumond is best known for playing the leading roles of Galileo in the Queen musical We Will Rock You, Emmett in the original London production of Legally Blonde and Miss Trunchbull in the RSC's Matilda.

Gaumond was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to French speaking parents.

He moved to the UK in 1997 to study at Guildford School of Acting where he graduated with a 1st class BA (Hons) in 2000.

After completing his degree at GSA in 2000, Gaumond made his professional debut that very same year in the ensemble of Miss Saigon in the Philippines.

Gaumond also understudied the leading role of Chris in that production and went on to perform in the same musical in Hong Kong and Singapore in 2001.

2002 saw Gaumond make his professional West End debut at the Prince Of Wales Theatre where he understudied the roles of Malcolm, Jerry and Ethan in The Full Monty.

Between 2002 and 2009 Gaumond made a number of appearances in a variety of UK national tours and London shows, including Guys And Dolls (Donmar Warehouse production), Desperately Seeking Susan and Sunday in the Park With George (5 times Olivier Award winning production ).

He also played the role of Tom Jenkins in Scrooge at the London Palladium.

During this show he recorded a cast album with the show's star, British icon Tommy Steele.

He then played the role of Malcolm in the 2004 UK touring production.

In 2009 Gaumond was cast by Ben Elton, Brian May and Roger Taylor to play the lead role of Galileo Figaro in the first UK tour of their co-written musical We Will Rock You based on hit songs by the rock band Queen.

During the 7-month tour Gaumond played at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, the Sunderland Empire, the Birmingham Hippodrome and the Bristol Hippodrome.

In 2009, Gaumond was cast to play the male lead (Emmett) in the original UK production of Legally Blonde alongside Sheridan Smith as Elle Woods at the Savoy Theatre in London in January 2010.

An album of the Original London Cast featuring Gaumond, Sheridan Smith and Duncan James was recorded live during performances on 12, 13 and 14 June 2010.

It was released on 16 August 2010 under the theatre label First Night Records.

He starred in the multi-award winning production for 20 months and his portrayal of the role earned him nominations for 'Best Actor in a Musical' in both the WhatsOnStage Awards 2011 and the Olivier Awards 2011.

In August 2011, Gaumond reprised his role as Galileo Figaro in We Will Rock You, but this time in the Dominion Theatre production.

He performed in this role until 18 February 2012 and his performance earned him a nomination for 'Best Takeover in a Role' in the WhatsOnStage Awards 2012.

In the summer of 2012, Gaumond made a small appearance on TV during Andrew Lloyd Webber's auditions for the role of 'Jesus' in his upcoming UK arena tour of the show Jesus Christ Superstar.

The audition process for 'Jesus' was televised in the UK in a short series called Superstar.

Gaumond reached the top 20 through the initial audition process but was sent home by Lloyd Webber just before reaching the live shows.

Shortly after this, Gaumond was then cast as Jesus by UK-based Bronowski Productions in their new production of Jesus Christ Superstar for Ljubljana Festival in Slovenia.

In early 2013 it was announced that Gaumond would return to the West End starring as Alberto Beddini in Top Hat at the Aldwych Theatre, alongside Broadway actors Gavin Lee and Kristen Beth Williams.

Gaumond performed in the show from February to August 2013.

While in the show, Gaumond and his fellow cast members attended the Olivier awards 2013 which saw Top Hat win 3 major awards including Best New Musical.

The show was also heavily featured in a four-part documentary on Channel 4 following West End musicals, entitled The Sound of Musicals, which aired in November and December 2013.

In June 2013, it was announced that Gaumond would be joining the cast of the Royal Shakespeare Company's multi-award winning production of Matilda at the Cambridge Theatre, playing the iconic role of headmistress Miss Trunchbull.

His first show was on 3 September 2013.

During his time on the show Gaumond made many TV appearances including BBC's Children in Need and The Paul O'Grady Show on ITV, where he performed a specially conceived sketch with the show's host and guests.

On 23 February 2014 he attended the WhatsOnStage Awards, where Matilda won for 'Best West End Show'.

He accepted the award with fellow cast member Haley Flaherty (Miss Honey).

Gaumond also attended the Olivier Awards on 13 April 2014, where the show was nominated for the BBC Radio 2 Audience Award.

On 15 June 2014 Gaumond took part in the first 'Relaxed Performance' of Matilda.

This specially adapted version of the show, developed in close collaboration with The National Autistic Society, was designed for people with autism and learning disabilities.

The performance was a huge success and the RSC has plans for regular instalments every year.

Gaumond played his final show as Trunchbull on 7 September 2014.

After his departure the role was handed to Craige Els.

Gaumond appeared in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Savoy Theatre from 11 November 2014, replacing Rufus Hound in the role of Freddy Benson, the conman portrayed by Steve Martin in the original movie version.