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tom ellis career throwback© Photo: BBC

Lucifer star Tom Ellis looks almost unrecognisable in first-ever television role

The British actor first appeared on screens more than 20 years ago

Eve Crosbie
TV & Film Writer
May 26, 2021
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Tom Ellis is best known to audiences for his role in hit fantasy drama Lucifer but did you know that he's been working in television for more than 20 years?

MORE: Lucifer star Tom Ellis shows off incredible physique

The British actor first appeared on screens in 2000 in an episode of BBC sitcom Kiss Me Kate, which starred Amanda Holden and Bill Nighy.

He was just 22 years old and looks worlds away from the chiselled celestial he now plays in the hugely popular Netflix series. Check out the clip below and see for yourself...

WATCH: Lucifer star Tom Ellis looks almost unrecognisable in first-ever TV role

Tom landed the role not long after graduating from the Royal Scottish Academy in Glasgow, where he studied drama alongside James McAvoy and Outlander stars Laura Donnelly and Sam Heughan

MORE: Lucifer season six: everything we know so far

MORE: Lucifer's Tom Ellis opens up about friendship with Sam Heughan and role on Outlander

Following his small role on the series, he bagged a recurring role in the long-running soap opera EastEnders, where he met his first wife, Tamzin Outhwaite. The two - who share two daughters together - wed in 2006 but divorced eight years later in 2014.

miranda gary© Photo: BBC

Tom rose to fame in the UK with sitcom Miranda

The actor, who is now married to American screenwriter Meaghan Oppenheimer, also held roles in fantasy drama Merlin, sketch show The Catherine Tate Show, comedy-drama Monday Monday and Agatha Christie's Poirot.

MORE: Why this 'crazy' Lucifer storyline was axed

His breakthrough for UK audiences came when he was cast as in Miranda Hart's BAFTA-winning sitcom Miranda. In the much-loved series, which ran for five years between 2010 and 2015, he played Gary, Miranda's old university pal and slow-burn love interest.

The year after the series came to a close, Tom tried his luck across the pond and was cast in the lead role of Lucifer - and the rest, they say, is history! 

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