Author’s Note: This article is no longer current and has been archived. Both of these Billys have retired from the show.  The most current profiles for both Fox  and Trent can be found in the article “Meet the Billys -- Profile Archives: Billy Elliot the Musical“. 

This series of articles introduces the boys currently playing Billy in Billy Elliot the Musical on Broadway and London’s West End. In this part, you’ll meet Fox Jackson-Keen from London, and Broadway’s Trent Kowalik. To read the other profiles in the series, click on “more articles” in the “Billy Elliot the Musical” section in the right side bar of this page.

Fox Jackson-Keen

At 14 years old, Fox Jackson-Keen is now the senior Billy on the London stage. He’s been in the role for over 15 months, since making his debut on June 23, 2008.  He’s the 16th actor to play the role at the Victoria Palace Theatre but the first actually from London (his West End predecessors all coming from other parts of the British Isles). Fox is from Hornsey, in the north of London.

His unusal first name stems from the fact that his parents were huge X-Files fans when he was born. Gymastics was an early love and he has competed at the national level in several championship competitions in that sport. Fox has also appeared as an actor on TV and in both TV and print advertisements.   Fox’s acting credits include a role in the 2006 British TV adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s novel “Hogfather”.  Here’s a short video clip of his performance in that show:

But like all the boys who play Billy, it’s his love of dancing that is closest to his heart. At the age of nine, he started break-dancing and soon after expanded to tap and ballet. When he first tried out for Billy Elliot the Musical, while his dance and gymnastic skills were appreciated by the casting people, they told him he was too small and to reapply in a few years. Two years later, he did just that. And this time, he was accepted into the “Billy school” where he spent a year in training and rehearsals before making his debut. In an interview from the “We Are Billy Elliot” series of videos on the London show’s official website, Fox gives some insights into how he got the role and what it’s like for him to play Billy:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rY2hxGWeWk

What is probably unknown to the average theater-goer is that, when you see a performance of Billy Elliot the Musical, it can be very different from what the group of people sitting in those same seats saw in the performance offered the day before. That’s because while the core of show is the same for every performance, the show is somewhat customized for each boy who plays Billy, based on his vocal range and strengths as a dancer.

That Fox’s strengths are street dancing and gymnastics is apparent in his version of the musical’s signature song, “Electricity”, shown in this video:

With his relatively small stature, it would seem that Fox has not outgrown the role of Billy and still has some time with the show, if that’s what he desires.  His many fans hope that’s the case.

For more information on Fox Jackson-Keen:

Visit  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fox_Jackson-Keen OR

the Billy Elliot the Musical website: http://www.billyelliotthemusical.com/home.php OR

Billy Elliot the Forum: http://www.billyelliottheforum.me.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=240

OR

Friends of Billy Elliot Forum: http://www.friendsofbilly.com/FriendsF/viewtopic.php?f=200&t=997

Trent Kowalik

Fourteen year old Trent Kowalik is the last of the three boys who originated the role of Billy on Broadway to be profiled in this series (see the Kiril Kulish profile in part 1 and the David Alvarez profile in part 2).  Trent was the first of two boys who have played the role both in the West End and on Broadway (the other being Tanner Pflueger). He is a native of Wantagh, Long Island, New York.

Trent’s path to playing Billy was in some ways similar to, but also very different from, that of the other boys who have played the role. Like most of the others, Trent started dance at an early age – three years old. He learned tap and ballet and, later, jazz and hip-hop.  But at age four, he began instruction in Irish step dancing at the Inishfree School of Irish Dance.  By age six he was competing at the highest level and by age 13 he was a five-time undefeated North American Champion and a World Champion – the youngest American to ever win the World Championship.

Casting agents for “Billy Elliot” had their eye on Kowalik since 2005, when they first inquired with Inishfree about boys who might one day fill Billy’s agile shoes. He had auditions in New York in November, 2005 and November, 2006. Then in June of 2007,  when the nationwide search for boys to play Billy on Broadway narrowed down to 15 boys, Trent was among that group.

But on the way to becoming a Broadway Billy, a funny thing happened. Though asked, in July of 2007, to play the Broadway part, Trent was asked to play Billy in the West End of London until the NY rehearsals began in June of 2008 .  He debuted in London December 17, 2007, at 12 years old, and played the role at the Victoria Palace Theatre until a final performance on June 7, 2008, after he had been announced (on April 22, 2008) as one of three boys who would originate the role of Billy on Broadway.

After spending the summer and early Fall of 2008 rehearsing with the Broadway cast, Trent portrayed Billy on the Imperial Theater stage for the first time during previews of the show on October 8, 2008 and had the honor of being Billy on the official Opening Night of the show on November 13, 2008. Here is a video showing highlights of Trent Kowalik as Billy Elliot:

Trent, and the two other originating Broadway Billys, Kiril Kulish and David Alvarez, went on to win an historic joint Tony for Best Actor in a Musical on June 7, 2009. On that night , Trent performed “Angry Dance” from the musical, before a Radio City Music Hall crowd filled with luminaries from the entertainment business and a national TV audience.  You can find  a video of that performance here:     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg57KOrg3mw

Unless he has an overnight growth spurt or his voice drops to a baritone, with his time spent playing Billy Elliot in London and on Broadway, Trent has a chance at again making history.  This past week, Trent’s cousin sent a Twitter message to friends indicating that Trent would soon eclipse the record for an actor with the most performances as Billy —  a record currently held by former London Billy, Layton Williams.  Layton was Trent’s roommate when they both starred as Billy in the West End and lived in the “Billy House” together. Layton is currently co-starring in the British TV series — Beautiful People.

For more information about Trent Kowalik:

Visit his website: http://trentkowalik.com/ OR

the Billy Elliot the Musical website: http://www.billyelliotbroadway.com/ OR

Billy Elliot the Forum:    http://www.billyelliottheforum.me.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=138

OR

Friends of Billy Elliot Forum:  http://www.friendsofbilly.com/FriendsF/viewtopic.php?f=202&t=890

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