Tony David Clay (born 8 August 1991) is an English actor. He is known for playing Callum "Halfway" Highway in the BBC soap opera EastEnders since 2018. Prior to his tenure on EastEnders, Clay appeared in various stage productions and had minor roles in British films and programmes.
Tony Clay | |
|---|---|
 Clay in 2018 | |
| Born | Tony David Clay 8 August 1991 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Television | EastEnders |
Early and personal life
editClay was born in Bexley, Greater London on 8 August 1991 to Christopher and Suzanne Clay.[1] He attended North Kent College, Dartford doing Drama at the Miskin Theatre.[2] He also attended the Arts Educational Schools, London and graduated with a BA in acting in 2013.[3] Clay has been in a relationship with Olivia Griffin since August 2016.[4]
Career
editClay's first role was in a short film called An Ordinary Life in 2012. In 2017, he played the role of Woody Gilbert in the show Stan Lee's Lucky Man.[5] He has also appeared in Foyle's War and several theatre productions.[6][5]
In January 2018, Clay joined the cast of EastEnders as Callum "Halfway" Highway and is introduced as a friend of the Carter family.[5] During his initial stint on the show, the character is depicted as a "happy-go-lucky" character who wears shabby clothing and beanie hats. Originally contracted for two months, Clay reprised the role in April 2018 and since then the character's storylines have included a relationship with Whitney Dean (Shona McGarty),[7] the introduction of the Halfway's brother Stuart Highway (Ricky Champ)[8] and the character coming out as gay and beginning a relationship with Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden).[9][10]
Filmography
editTelevision and film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | An Ordinary Life | Kieran | Short film |
| 2014 | Second Coming | Cash-4-Gold Sign Man | Film |
| 2015 | Foyle's War | Rex Carter | Episode: "Elise" |
| 2017 | Stan Lee's Lucky Man | Woody Gilbert | Episode: "The Trojan Horse" |
| 2018–present | EastEnders | Callum "Halfway" Highway | Regular role |
| 2020 | EastEnders: Secrets from the Square | Himself | Episode: "Ben and Callum" |
Stage
edit| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Director | Author/Playwright |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | The Machine Wreckers | Ned Lud | Miskin Theatre | Nick Bagnall | Ernst Toller |
| 2014 | Albion | Jason | Bush Theatre | Ria Parry | Chris Thompson |
| 2015 | Lines | Locke | The Yard Theatre | Jay Miller | Pamela Carter |
| 2016 | The Plough and the Stars | Sergeant Tinley | Abbey Theatre / US Tour | Sean Holmes | Seán O'Casey |
| Unknown | Fifteen Minutes With You | Unknown | Wimbledon College of Arts | Dan Bird | Unknown |
| The Wonderful World of Dissocia | Goat/Violinist | Arts Educational Schools | Will Oldroyd | Anthony Neilson | |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | Lysander | Arts Educational Schools | John Abbott | William Shakespeare | |
| Earthquakes in London | Colin | Arts Educational Schools | Dan Bird | Mike Bartlett | |
| Promise | Jay 2 | Arts Educational Schools | Cressida Brown | Unknown | |
| All My Sons | Keller | Arts Educational Schools | Janette Smith | Arthur Miller | |
| Ivanov | Lvov | Arts Educational Schools | Gareth Farr | Anton Chekhov | |
| Someone Who'll Watch Over Me | Edward | Arts Educational Schools | John Abbott | Frank McGuinness |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Inside Soap Awards | Funniest Male | Nominated | [11] |
| 2018 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Newcomer | Shortlisted | [12] |
| 2018 | I Talk Telly Awards | Best Soap Newcomer | Nominated | [13] |
| 2018 | Digital Spy Reader Awards | Best Soap Newcomer | Seventh | [14] |
| 2020 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Partnership (shared with Max Bowden) | Nominated | [15] |
| 2020 | I Talk Telly Awards | Best Soap Partnership (shared with Bowden) | Nominated | [16] |
| 2020 | Digital Spy Reader Awards | Best Couple (shared with Bowden) | Won | [17] |
| 2021 | The Version Soap Awards | Best Couple (shared with Bowden) | Won | [18] |
| 2021 | 26th National Television Awards | Serial Drama Performance | Nominated | [19] |
| 2021 | I Talk Telly Awards | Best Soap Partnership (shared with Bowden) | Nominated | [20] |
References
edit- ^ "10 True Facts About Tony Clay (Eastenders' Callum)". Inside Soap. (Hearst Communications). 3 September 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2023 – via Pressreader.
- ^ Imgur. "Eastenders miskin - Album on Imgur". Imgur. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ Haynes, Tom (24 June 2021). "EastEnders actor Tony Clay's stunning girlfriend and life away from being Callum Highway". MyLondon. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ^ Corner, Natalie L (7 September 2020). "Who is Tony Clay? Inside 'Ballum' actor's life away from BBC EastEnders". OK!. Archived from the original on 7 September 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
Things are a little different for Tony's own love story in real life and has been dating girlfriend Olivia Griffin since August 2016.
- ^ a b c Crick, Claire (24 January 2018). "EastEnders: Who is Tony Clay? 8 things you didn't know about Callum 'Halfway' Highway". Digital Spy. United Kingdom: Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
- ^ "Tony Clay". Waring and McKenna. United Kingdom. 2 May 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
- ^ Haynes, Tom (24 June 2021). "Tony Clay's life away from EastEnders with stunning girlfriend". MyLondon. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (28 March 2018). "EastEnders casts Him & Her star Ricky Champ as Halfway's brother Stuart". Digital Spy. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
- ^ "EastEnders stars reveal they filmed in a bubble for Ballum wedding scenes". Digital Spy. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ "EastEnders' Max Bowden shares post celebrating 'magical' Ballum wedding and fans 'bawl their eyes out'". MyLondon. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ Davies, Megan (24 July 2018). "Inside Soap Awards 2018 full longlist revealed: Which Corrie, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks stars are up?". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (16 October 2018). "Coronation Street tops Inside Soap Awards 2018 shortlist with 18 nominations". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- ^ Gonzalez, Elliot (3 November 2018). "I TALK TELLY AWARDS Nominations 2018". I Talk Telly.
- ^ Robinson, Abby (28 December 2018). "Emmerdale wins big at the Digital Spy Reader Awards 2018". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
- ^ "Inside Soap Awards reveals full longlist for 2020's ceremony". Digital Spy. 14 September 2020.
- ^ Gonzalez, Elliot (8 November 2020). "I TALK TELLY AWARDS 2020 Nominees". I Talk Telly.
- ^ Robinson, Abby (25 December 2020). "EastEnders triumphs at Digital Spy Reader Awards 2020". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
- ^ "The Version 2021 Soap Awards winners announced! — The Version". theversion.co. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021.
- ^ Lovejoy, Hannah (25 May 2021). "Coronation Street, EastEnders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks stars land National Television Award nominations". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ Gonzalez, Elliot (14 November 2021). "I TALK TELLY AWARDS 2021 Nominations". I Talk Telly. Retrieved 22 January 2022.