Tomos Dafydd

Originally from Caernarfon in North Wales. Tomos’ passion for acting started after he participated in “Silent Drama”. 

Tomos said of the experience" 

This was a special moment for me as the trip involved all of the hearing-impaired/deaf children coming together to create a beautiful drama. I learnt that acting can be expressed in many ways without using your voice.

This lead to him starting his career in Performing Arts. Now living in I then Manchester after getting is BA in Theatre and Performance Practice and his MA in Screen Acting. Tomos is also a hearing aid user and understand how difficult it can be to feel involved in things other people take for granted. Tomos said of the Cael Cymru project:

When I first heard about Cael Cymru, I immediately knew that I wanted to be a part of it. I know first-hand the challenges that come along with being hearing-impaired, and I’ve always made it my goal and mission to be a role model for the younger me out there. I had no one like myself to look up to within the media. Of course, I had the most supportive family every step of the way, but they can never understand my personal challenges as they’re not hearing-impaired like myself - apart from my sister who is hearing-impaired in both ears. I feel that seeing me presenting these texts and information will make everyone out there with various disabilities feel seen and validated.

Cael Cymru’s main aim is to ensure that leasuire and tourism sites become more accessible and that the very basic information many take for granted is available to everyone. Tomos said:

This project is definitely a huge step in the right direction. To elaborate further on the previous answer, it’s important that we feel valid and seen. Whilst I will never understand the challenges that others face, I feel we all share a similar need and that is to get access to information without having to feel anxious and scared to ask. Growing up, I was often scared to go shopping by myself as I wasn’t confident enough to ask the cashier to repeat, but as I grew older and got the confidence, I am able to do this. But this project will allow everyone out there to access the information easily. Having a hearing-impaired actor to present these texts was amazing as well, not only can they access the information, they can see me, thriving and trying to help others. 

Tomos has recently been in the drama Yes|No where he was cast on the spot for being the character. A character that was not written as a hearing aid user when first conceived. 

Tomos is represented by Union Management.