Supporting young people to raise the profile of Welsh language TV and Film
Dion Lloyd was born in Bangor North Wales and raised in Porthmadog, where music was central to his upbringing. Both his parents were Welsh singers who released many EPs and toured all over Wales, and his older brother followed suit with his Welsh hip hop band. Lloyd was a member of National Youth Theatre of Wales.
“During my BA in performing arts at Trinity Saint David, I got the chance to study in America for 6 months,” Dion explains.
“I know that studying outside is essential to anyone’s development – you learn so much from different cultures.” Through the support of the Wales in London Philanthropic Fund bursary, he was able to study at The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama.
“Studying in London gave me the opportunity to be in the heart of it all,” he reflects. “Being surrounded with creativity of the city was an inspiration for me to strive for more.”
“I am a Welsh speaker, and I have been fortunate to have filmed projects back home too,” Dion shares. “Welsh language TV and Film are of the highest quality and it deserves more recognition and to be seen globally. I am thankful that I get the opportunity to be involved with them, and hope I get to carry on.”
As a recipient of the Wales in London Philanthropic Fund bursary, Dion has advice for aspiring Welsh creatives:
“I would advise any young Welsh creative, who is passionate about their talent, but who’s struggling to keep afloat with all the rest of them, to apply. Everyone deserves a help in hand, it’s worth a try, I did.” After graduating in 2019, he secured an agent just before the pandemic hit. “The fund helped me to pay for my professional headshots and camera equipment lights etc for filming self tapes, which would help me secure auditions that was about to come during lockdown, as theatres was shut down. Lockdown forced me to focus on camera work and how to approach it confidently.”
His career has since flourished with appearances in Hidden (Series 3) for BBC and The Light in the Hall for Channel 4, starring alongside Iwan Rheon and Joanna Scanlan. His breakthrough came with the role of Wayne Rooney in Vardy v Rooney: A Courtroom Drama, where he worked alongside Michael Sheen, Chanel Cresswell, and Natalia Tena – an experience he describes as “one of my best experiences to date.”
Dion is currently filming Bariau (Series 2), a Welsh bilingual prison drama for BBC/S4C, recurring his role as Osian Davies. The series won a BAFTA Cymru award for ‘Best Actress’ for series 1, with Series 2 set to release in Spring. He is also appearing as ‘Gavin’ in a new 6-part drama Mudtown/Ar y ffin streaming on S4C, with the English version scheduled to air on Alibi in spring.
