Screen · Television · Theatre

Stuart Wells

Actor

British screen actor. Crime, thriller and character led drama.

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Showreel

Selected Credits

Screen and Television

2000 Billy ElliotFeature Film · Director Stephen Daldry Michael Caffrey ›

2003 The ReckoningFeature Film · Director Paul McGuigan Springer ›

2002 Peak PracticeITV Drama Series · 7 episodes Charlie Webster ›

2001 Baited BreathTV Film · HTV West · Director Jon Wilson Lee Barker ›

2000 · Feature Film

Billy Elliot

as Michael Caffrey

← All credits

One of Stuart's earliest and most enduring screen roles. Michael is the warm, fearless best friend at the heart of Stephen Daldry's Billy Elliot, a film that became a global phenomenon and a touchstone of modern British cinema.

Production

Directed by Stephen Daldry, written by Lee Hall
Cast alongside Jamie Bell and Julie Walters
Nominated for three Academy Awards
Won the BAFTA for Outstanding British Film
Grossed over $100 million worldwide

Michael Caffrey

FunnyLoyalFearlessTrue

The friend who encourages Billy to embrace exactly who he is. One of British film's most affectionately remembered young characters, and a role that has carried real cultural significance for LGBTQ+ audiences in the years since.

Award Nomination

For Michael, Stuart was nominated for the inaugural Screen Idol Award alongside Javier Bardem, Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr. and Dan Futterman.Outfest Screen Idol Awards, 2001

Gallery

2003 · Feature Film

The Reckoning

as Springer

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A medieval murder mystery from director Paul McGuigan, adapted from Barry Unsworth's Morality Play, placing Stuart inside one of the most formidable British ensembles of its era.

Shared the screen with

Willem Dafoe
Paul Bettany
Brian Cox
Tom Hardy
Vincent Cassel
Simon Pegg and Ewen Bremner
Gina McKee and Matthew Macfadyen

Springer

ResourcefulStreetwiseLoyal

A young member of a travelling troupe of players, navigating suspicion and survival across a plague shadowed medieval England. An internationally released feature, shot on location across England, Wales and Spain.

Twenty three years on

Stuart played opposite Willem Dafoe in 2003. In June 2026 they met again in Venice, where Dafoe now directs the Biennale Teatro.Then and now

See the full circle story

Gallery

Stuart Wells as Springer with Willem Dafoe, The Reckoning

2002 · ITV Drama

Peak Practice

as Charlie Webster · 7 episodes

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A recurring role across seven episodes of Peak Practice, one of ITV's most successful and long running primetime drama series.

Production

Long running ITV primetime drama
Recurring role across seven episodes
Broadcast nationally on ITV
A substantial early television credit

Charlie Webster

DeterminedHonestGrounded

A returning character within the close knit community, and the kind of sustained television role that builds continuity and long form character work.

Gallery

Stuart Wells as Charlie Webster in Peak Practice

2001 · TV Film

Baited Breath

as Lee Barker

← All credits

A feature-length television film produced with HTV West, broadcast in the ‘Western Lights’ new writing season. A formative credit, with a quietly remarkable footnote behind the camera.

Behind the camera

Directed by Jon Wilson, written by Gavin Williams
Produced by Peter Domankiewicz for HTV West
First broadcast 17 July 2001, HTV West
Director of photography: Danny Cohen
Cohen went on to shoot The King's Speech and Les Misérables

Lee Barker

ObservantSharpComplex

A character role in an early career production, with valuable time in front of the camera working alongside a crew that included talent destined for the very top of the industry.

Archive

Archive material being traced via the BFI National Archive.

A British screen actor with credits reaching back to one of the most celebrated films in modern British cinema.

Stuart Wells began his professional career at an early age, playing Michael in Stephen Daldry's Billy Elliot. His performance earned an Outfest Screen Idol Award nomination for Best Male Performance, placing him alongside acclaimed actors Javier Bardem, Johnny Depp and Robert Downey Jr.

He went on to appear alongside Willem Dafoe, Paul Bettany, Brian Cox and Tom Hardy in Paul McGuigan's The Reckoning, before taking a recurring role in ITV's Peak Practice.

Following his early success on screen, Stuart chose to serve in the British Army. The years that followed brought a depth of life experience, resilience and authenticity that now define his work as an actor. His performances are grounded, physical and emotionally truthful, making him particularly suited to crime dramas, thrillers, military projects and complex character-led stories.

Now based in North East England, Stuart is focused on film and high-end television, bringing a rare combination of professional screen experience and lived experience to every role.

Recognition

Screen Idol Award Nominee

For Michael in Billy Elliot, Stuart was nominated for the inaugural Screen Idol Award in 2001, named alongside Javier Bardem, Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr. and Dan Futterman.

Billy Elliot

BAFTA winner for Outstanding British Film
Nominated for three Academy Awards
A landmark of modern British cinema

A Full Circle

Stuart shared the screen with Willem Dafoe in The Reckoning in 2003. Twenty three years later, in June 2026, they met again in Venice, where Dafoe now directs the Biennale Teatro.

Stuart Wells with Willem Dafoe in The Reckoning, 2003 — 2003
The Reckoning, on screen with Dafoe

Stuart Wells with Willem Dafoe in Venice, 2026 — 2026
Venice, the Biennale Teatro