Guy Masterson is an actor, theatre director and Olivier Award winning producer based in London. Born in 1961 the son of Marian James and Carl Mastroianni and raised in Port Talbot, South Wales and London, England, his lineage in the entertainment industry is remarkable; his maternal uncle was the iconic Welsh actor Richard Burton. His father’s second cousin once removed was the Italian superstar Marcello Mastroianni! The two lines come together in Guy!
After obtaining a Joint Honours degree in Biochemistry and Chemistry from Cardiff University in 1982, Guy studied drama at UCLA’s School of Drama and started as an actor in 1985 in Hollywood. He returned to the UK in 1989 to study further at LAMDA. He is an multi-award winning actor, playwright, director, producer, international presenter, dramaturge and renowned acting and executive coach.
Following a conventional start in plays, film and television, Guy began solo performing in 1991 with The Boy’s Own Story and thence Under Milk Wood in 1994 and Animal Farm in 1995. He first produced/directed in 1993 with Playing Burton and participated at the Edinburgh Fringe for the first time in 1994. The following 26 seasons saw his association with many of Edinburgh’s most celebrated hits, and his company became EdFringe’s most awarded independent theatre producer – garnering 8 Scotsman Fringe Firsts, 3 Herald Angels, 25 Stage Award nominations (including 4 wins) together with numerous lesser awards. Guy also directed two of Edinburgh’s biggest grossing dramatic hits: 12 Angry Men – famously starring a cast of well known comedians including Bill Bailey, Dave Johns and Phil Nichol, which then toured Australia and New Zealand – and The Odd Couple (2005) starring Bill Bailey and Alan Davies. He also originated One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (2004) starring Christian Slater and Mackenzie Crook which transferred to the Gielgud Theatre in London’s West End and later, The Garrick. His 2009 production of Morecambe transferred to The Duchess Theatre in the West End and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment (plus another nomination for the actor playing Eric).
At Edinburgh 2014 his epic 30 actor adaptation of Animal Farm produced by Tumanishvili Film Actors Theatre of Tbilisi, Georgia, won the Stage Award for Best Ensemble. His production of The Marilyn Conspiracy was due to transfer to London in June 2020 but was postponed by Covid19. Most notably, his 2019 hit, The Shark Is Broken finally opened at the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End in October 2022 and was Olivier Award nominated for Best New Comedy. It has since played seven weeks in Toronto, and 18 weeks on Broadway. Guy also directed a new version to celebrate JAWS-50 in Matha’s Vineyard in July 2025.
Most recently, he directed Picasso: Le Monstre Sacré at the Playground Theatre in London, and co-directed the award winning The Marvellous Elephant Man – The Musical at the 2023 Adelaide Fringe Festival and Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
As a performer, he won The Stage Best Actor Award in 2001 for Fern Hill & Other Dylan Thomas and was also nominated in 1998 for A Soldier’s Song, in 2003 for Best Solo Performance for Under Milk Wood, and again for Shylock in 2011. In 2003, he also received Edinburgh’s most prestigious accolade, The Jack Tinker Spirit of the Fringe Award. His most recent solo work, A Christmas Carol, has played 400+ times over its nine festive seasons since it opened in 2017.
His theatrical commitments have largely kept him out of mainstream film and television, however, he made the obligatory appearance on Casualty (Christmas Special 2004) and has been the Franziskaner Monk – the face of the premium German Weissbier – since 2007! He also writes plays, screenplays and poetry, is an executive performance and confidence coach. His passion is to bring great new ideas to life and fresh talent to the stage.