The West Midlands-born actor returns to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre as Roald Dahl's beloved gentle giant.
We're delighted to announce that John Leader will take up the role of the BFG (the Big Friendly Giant) in our festive family blockbuster The BFG, coming to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre this November.
A former student of Stratford-upon-Avon College and a graduate of East 15, Birmingham-born John Leader grew up in Nechells in Birmingham.
He will play the BFG as part of an ensemble of 18 actors. A troupe of puppeteers will work with John to represent the character, whose height and size changes according to our perspective throughout.
John was last seen on our stage in The Merry Wives of Windsor and The School for Scandal, both in 2024.
His previous theatre credits include Wuthering Heights, Peter Pan and War Horse at the National Theatre, A Monster Calls at The Old Vic and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at the Bridge Theatre.
John will be the first actor from the global majority to represent Roald Dahl’s iconic Big Friendly Giant in performance, in this new stage adaptation by Tom Wells, directed by RSC Co-Director Daniel Evans.
