# Peter Cousens > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Peter_Cousens > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Peter_Cousens.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Cousens > Source revision: 1354365351 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Australian actor (born 1965)}} {{for|the South African born English cricketer|Peter Cousens (cricketer)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Use Australian English|date=July 2016}} {{Infobox person | name = Peter Cousens | honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|AM|size=100%}} | image = Peter Cousens.jpg | alt = | caption = Cousens in 2018 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1965|11|02|df=y}} | birth_place = [Tamworth](/source/Tamworth%2C_New_South_Wales), New South Wales, Australia | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Lawyer | years_active = present | known_for = | notable_works = | website = [https://www.petercousens.com/ petercousens.com] }} '''Peter Cousens''' {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}} (born 2 November 1965) is an Australian actor and singer born in [Tamworth, New South Wales](/source/Tamworth%2C_New_South_Wales). He is the former artistic director of the Talent Development Project.[http://www.talentdevelopmentproject.org.au/management-team/ Management Team], Talent Development Project He attended [The Armidale School](/source/The_Armidale_School) in [Armidale](/source/Armidale){{cite magazine|url=http://www.as.edu.au/current_happenings/publications/Binghi138.pdf|title=Old Boys' Jottings – Here and There|magazine=Binghi|number=138|date=April–June 2007|publisher=[The Armidale School](/source/The_Armidale_School)|page=19|accessdate=2014-01-07|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901205706/http://www.as.edu.au/current_happenings/publications/Binghi138.pdf|archivedate=1 September 2007}} {{citation needed span|date=November 2024|text=where he was Senior Prefect, and then [Gordonstoun School](/source/Gordonstoun_School), Scotland. He then spent a year reading Arts at [St Paul's College, University of Sydney](/source/St_Paul's_College%2C_University_of_Sydney), before studying at the [National Institute of Dramatic Art](/source/National_Institute_of_Dramatic_Art) (NIDA)}} Cousens was appointed Companion of Central Queensland University in 2019 and a [Member of the Order of Australia](/source/Member_of_the_Order_of_Australia) in the [Queen's Birthday Honours in June 2019](/source/2019_Queen's_Birthday_Honours_(Australia)) for services to the performing arts and the community.{{Cite It's an Honour|ausawardid=2003925|recipient=Mr Peter William Cousens|award=Member of the Order of Australia|date=19 June 2019}} ==Career == Cousens is the former artistic director of the Talent Development Project. He has worked in television, both as an actor and presenter. In the 1980s he guest starred in a number of major Australian television productions, including ''[The Timeless Land](/source/The_Timeless_Land)'', ''Earth Watch'', ''[The Sullivans](/source/The_Sullivans)'', ''[The Young Doctors](/source/The_Young_Doctors)'', ''[Sons and Daughters](/source/Sons_and_Daughters_(Australian_TV_series))'' and ''[The Restless Years](/source/The_Restless_Years)''. He then went on to take leading roles in ''[Under Capricorn](/source/Under_Capricorn_(miniseries))'' and ''[Return to Eden](/source/Return_to_Eden)''. Cousens is also known for his work in [musical theatre](/source/musical_theatre). Major roles include [The Phantom](/source/Erik_(The_Phantom_of_the_Opera)) in London's [West End](/source/West_End_theatre) production of ''[The Phantom of the Opera](/source/The_Phantom_of_the_Opera_(1986_musical))''; he also portrayed [Marius](/source/Marius_Pontmercy) in ''[Les Misérables](/source/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables_(musical))'', Alex in ''[Aspects of Love](/source/Aspects_of_Love)'', Tony in ''[West Side Story](/source/West_Side_Story)'', Bobby in ''[Company](/source/Company_(musical)),'' Nanki Poo in ''[The Mikado](/source/The_Mikado)'', Anthony Hope in ''[Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street](/source/Sweeney_Todd%3A_The_Demon_Barber_of_Fleet_Street)'', and Chris in ''[Miss Saigon](/source/Miss_Saigon)'' in the Australian productions. Cousens appeared in the 2015 television [opera](/source/opera) ''[The Divorce](/source/The_Divorce_(TV_series))''. He has received a number of [Variety Club](/source/Variety_Club) of Australia awards for his work. Cousens has been featured on a number of cast albums, including as Chris on the International Symphonic Recording of ''Miss Saigon,'' and as Charles Makin on the original cast album for Australian musical ''[The Hatpin](/source/The_Hatpin)''. In September 2006 he launched [Kookaburra: The National Musical Theatre Company](/source/Kookaburra_Musical_Theatre), a non-profit theatre company based in Australia, dedicated to musical theatre. The company closed in 2009. In 2012–13, Cousens produced and directed the international feature film ''[Freedom](/source/Freedom_(2014_film))'', starring [Cuba Gooding Jr](/source/Cuba_Gooding_Jr.), [William Sadler](/source/William_Sadler_(actor)) and [Sharon Leal](/source/Sharon_Leal). ==Discography== ===Charting albums=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" |+ List of albums, with Australian chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:18em;" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;" | Album details ! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart
positions |- ! scope="col" style="text-align:center;" | [AUS](/source/ARIA_Charts)
{{cite book|last=Ryan|first=Gavin|title=Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010|year=2011|publisher=Moonlight Publishing|location=Mt. Martha, Victoria, Australia|edition=PDF|pages=67}} |- ! scope="row" | ''Corner of the Sky'' | * Released: April 1994 * Format: CD, Cassette * Label: Akaba Records (AKABA-2) | align="center" | 32 |- ! scope="row" | ''From a Distance'' | * Released: April 1996 * Format: CD * Label: Polydor (531 622-2) | align="center" | 39 |- ! scope="row" | ''Are We Nearly There Yet?''
(with [Noni Hazlehurst](/source/Noni_Hazlehurst)) | * Released: 1997 * Format: CD * Label: Medical Benefits Fund of Australia Limited (MBF001) | align="center" | – |- ! scope="row" | ''Are We There Already?''
(with Noni Hazlehurst) | * Released: 1997 * Format: CD * Label: Medical Benefits Fund of Australia Limited (MBF002) | align="center" | – |- ! scope="row" | ''A Life on Earth'' | * Released: 2014 * Format: CD * Label: Peter Cousens | align="center" | – |- ! scope="row" | ''Love Changes Everything'' | * Released: October 2014 * Format: Digital * Label: Peter Cousens | align="center" | – |- ! scope="row" | ''Evening Star''
(with [Jane Rutter](/source/Jane_Rutter)) | * Released: December 2019 * Format: Digital * Label: Jane Rutter | align="center" | – |} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=0184027|name=Peter Cousens}} * {{official website|https://www.petercousens.com/}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060619051054/http://www.kookaburra.org.au/ Kookaburra Musical Theatre website] {{Portal bar|Biography|Theatre}} {{Authority control|state=collapsed}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Cousens, Peter}} Category:Australian male stage actors Category:Australian male television actors Category:Australian male musical theatre actors Category:People educated at Gordonstoun Category:National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni Category:Living people Category:1955 births Category:People from Tamworth, New South Wales Category:People educated at The Armidale School --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Peter Cousens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Cousens) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Cousens?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.