Bio
Tom Fairfoot is an English-born South African actor, voice artist, writer and producer best known to South African audiences for his starring role as Gavin Archer, a corrupt SAPS detective, in the e.tv soap opera Gold Diggers, joining the cast in Season 2.
Tom was born in Sussex in England and received a degree majoring in French and Drama (Hons) from London University, after which he spent a year studying improvisation at the Sorbonne in France.
In the UK he was best known for playing Eddie in The West End and on Tour in the award winning musical Blood Brothers. He also did national tours of the Shakespearean productions Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew and Hamlet.
Aside from theatre, Tom appeared in numerous British television series including Casualty, Eastenders, Cave Girl, Zero Hour, The Devil's Whore, Rough and Scout's Safari.
Films he has acted in include Beat the Drum, Cape of Good Hope, Stander, Amelia, Doomsday, Mandela's Gun, Blood and Oil, Winnie Mandela, The Journey Is the Destination and Revolt. He also acted in the Channel 4 film Care and A Soldier's Story, which he wrote for BBC Wales; and in the miniseries The Sinking of the Laconia.
Tom has acted in numerous South African television series, including Generations, Isidingo, Innocent Times, Snitch, Zero Tolerance, Backstage, 7de Laan, Binnelanders, Roer Jou Voete and Sober Companion.
He also starred as Crowbar, an uncompromising operator with a chip on his shoulder, in the miniseries The Message, which had its world premiere on 29 September, 2014. The series revolves around an ultra-elite team of Special Forces Operators who return from a high risk mission in the Congo, only to find an even greater threat waiting for them back at home.
Tom was a resident writer on the e.tv youth soapie Backstage and also wrote for the absurdist comedy series On the Couch, which aired on SABC3 from 2008-2012. In 2011 he was a member of the "Sucker Squad" on the third season of the hidden camera prank show Laugh Out Loud.
He has done hundreds of major voice campaigns involving top commercial brands and international sports, including the World Cup (2010 and 2014), Olympics and Formula 1.
In addition, Tom has narrated numerous documentaries and TV channels as the main announcer and was the voice of the National Geographic Channel on DStv.
He has further voiced several South African and International campaigns which have won various awards including two Golds and one Silver at Cannes, as well as numerous local South African awards.
In September 2016, Tom began starring in the second season of the e.tv soap opera Gold Diggers, his biggest South African television role to date. His character, Gavin Archer, is a detective in the SAPS and has no moral scruples - he lies and takes kick-backs when he has to. He's never advanced beyond being a detective, and feels he should have a much higher rank than he currently has.
In 2017 he had a recurring role as Tony, a love interest to Layla (Natasha Sutherland), in the e.tv soapie Scandal!, making his first appearance on Monday, 23 October.
In January 2018, he begins shooting the lead role in the horror/thriller feature film The Last Sacrament directed, produced and written by Patrick Garcia and set for international release. Tom plays a father to teenage daughter and young son as he must employ a hospice nurse to look after his disabled wife after a tragic car accident leaves her partially paralyzed, only for the family to discover the nurse is not what she appears to be...