Jack Ashton
Jack Ashton is a British actor, best known for playing the Reverend Tom Hereward in the BBC television series, Call the Midwife. He also appears as Lenny Sampson in Waterloo Road. On stage, he has performed in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Donmar Warehouse, and as Guy Haines in Strangers on a Train. He starred in the 2017 film Instrument of War, based on the true story of Clair Cline, an American prisoner of war.
Early life and education
He was born Jack Lewis in Clifton, Bristol. His father was a sculptor and artist, while his mother worked in education. His family, including two sisters, lived briefly in Burnham-on-Sea, but settled in Bedminster, Bristol.He left Bedminster Down School at 16, and studied for a BTEC in performing arts at Filton College. He then attended the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in London.
A long-time fan of Bristol City football club, he chose his stage name as a tribute to Ashton Gate stadium.
Career
Television
Ashton starred in Call the Midwife from 2014 to 2018. He joined the hit BBC period drama during its third series, playing Reverend Tom Hereward, a Curate in Poplar who works alongside the nuns and nurses of Nonnatus House.In 2023, Ashton appeared in the BBC series Waterloo Road as ex-convict Lenny Sampson who is brought in to help fight knife crime among at-risk youth.
Other popular television programmes he has appeared in include Sister Boniface Mysteries, Casualty, Endeavour, McDonald & Dodds, and Broadchurch.
Radio
Ashton joined the cast of The Archers in 2023, playing Harry Chilcott.Theatre
In 2009, Ashton performed in a Donmar Warehouse production of A Streetcar Named Desire as the dead husband of Blanche Dubois, played by Rachel Weisz.In 2018, he starred in a UK tour of Strangers on a Train, an adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel. He played the lead role of Guy Haines, described by The Times as "the classic American good guy, the passionate architect, full of ideals", opposite "spoilt rich boy" Charles Bruno played by Christopher Harper.