Note: Hogan’s Final known Performance as Billy in London was September 6, 2008

Debut: May 19, 2008 (London)

Total Performances as Billy: Unknown (Unreported data from the period he was Billy) (Recorded data: 35 — includes 2 partial shows credited @ .5)

Hogan Fulton ThumbHogan Fulton, from Newbury Park, California, was the 19th boy to have a stage debut worldwide in the role of Billy Elliot and the 4th American to play Billy in London.Hogan Does the Billy Jump

Hogan’s parents, Jill and Buzz, were mystified as to where Hogan’s artistic talent comes from.  His mum, when asked about it says “We’re not performing people at all. When he was like 3, he got the soundtrack to Mulan and started dancing to it. I thought, Is this normal? I guess it’s our recessive genes that came together,”Jill said jokedly.

When Hogan is asked why he likes to dance, he says he has no idea, but it’s all he wants to do, and he’s always known it. He said “I think it was the music I was attracted to. I would watch Disney movies and dance around.”

In his pre-BETM days, Hogan attended the Redwood Middle School in Thousand Oaks, California.  His dramatic/dance training was at California Dance Theatre and at Bobbie’s School of Performing Arts.  He got a lot of stage experience around the area where he lived including, just prior to his BETM training, the role of the von Trapp son Kurt in Sound of Music, which was being presented by the Actors’ Repertory Theatre of Simi. He also had some early on camera experience. When he was 10, he booked a commercial for “Kid’s Bop,” a CD series featuring pop hits sung by a chorus of children.

Hogan found out about the Billy Elliot role on a Web site that advertised open auditions in New York. In November of 2006, he traveled to New York City for a BETM audition. Initially he wasn’t trying out for the role of Billy, but rather for Billy’s best friend Michael. However, when the casting people realized the extent of his talents, they urged him to also audition for the title role.  Hogan got a callback in June of 2007. As he and his mom were flying home from New York from that call back, Jill’s cell phone rang. It was the producers calling to let Hogan know that he had landed the part of Billy Elliot, for the Broadway production of the show which was to open the following Fall.

An American in London
An American in London (Credit: Photo Compliments of Billy Elliot The Forum)

As the Broadway cast hadn’t yet started rehearsals, Hogan was sent to Australia to get training with the cast of the about-to-open production of the show scheduled to open in Sydney in November of 2007.  While there, he experienced a growth spurt that made producers realize that he would be too big to play Billy on Broadway by the time it opened in New York the following year.  Rather than to waste his talent and what they’d invested in his Billy training to date, it was decided to send him to London to star in the original production of the show there.

The culmination of all that training led to Hogan’s debut on the Victoria Palace stage in London’s West End on 19-May-2008.  Because he continued to grow rapidly, unfortunately Hogan was only able to fulfill one six month contract in the role before outgrowing it.  His last show was on 6-Sep-2008 after just 35 performances as Billy, a relatively small amount compared to most of the boys who have played the role.

Hogan's Final Curtain Call as Billy Elliot
Hogan’s Final Curtain Call as Billy Elliot

Post Billy Activities

Here are some of the highlights of “life after Billy” for Hogan:

  • Returned to academic studies at Redwood Middle School and later Thousand Oaks High School
  • In December of 2008, appeared in 7th and Schwartz” at Thousand Oaks High School, a revue featuring songs by Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz and as the Prince in the Pacific Festival Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker.
pacific-festival-ballet-nutcracker-stars-hogan-fulton-13-as-prince-2008
Hogan Fulton As The Prince in the Pacific Festival Ballet Production of The Nutcracker
  • In 2010, when Hogan was a freshman in high school at Thousand Oaks, he performed Electricity from Billy Elliot.  Though it’s a couple of years after he left the show, one can get a good idea of what his performance in the London production would have looked like.  Here’s a video clip:

http://https://youtu.be/PyRY-V86XeU

Credit: Video by TedxTalks

  • From Mar. 29, 2012 – Aug. 24, 2014, was in the Ensemble and was the understudy to various principle roles in Newsies on Broadway.
  • In August 2014, enrolled full-time at the University of California at Berkeley.

 For more information about Hogan, visit: 

Billy Elliot The Forum, Hogan at Playbill

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