Andrew Williams

Andrew Williams is a Welsh-Australian actor and musician. Williams began performing and writing music in his teens, before forming a band and later embarking on a solo career. He was also a model and appeared in a number of television commercials, before he was cast as Guy Carpenter in the television soap opera Neighbours in 1991. His character was introduced amidst a decline in ratings. Williams chose to leave after a year, as he felt his character was not going anywhere and he wanted to continue pursuing a career in music. Williams reprised the role for a guest appearance in March 2015. After Neighbours, Williams joined E Street as Jack Brown, the "bad boy" brother of Reverend Bob (Tony Martin). He had to relocate to Sydney for the role. After the cancellation of E Street in 1993, Williams moved to Los Angeles and joined the supporting cast of Melrose Place as fashion buyer Chris Marchette. He also guested in episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond and Acapulco H.E.A.T., as well as self appearances in Burke's Backyard and Club Buggery. Williams stopped his acting career in 1998 in order to focus on his Dharma studies and his music career. He became a Dharma teacher and a Buddhist prison chaplain.

Early life Williams was born at Glyncornel, Llwynypia to Kay and Bill. The family left Wales when Williams was six years old and they eventually settled in Australia. His parents lived on Phillip Island, Victoria. His character was one of three created as part of a large revamp of the serial, which had seen a large decline in ratings and a number of other characters written out. Guy was introduced as Erinsborough's new recreational officer. Williams later said that Neighbours had been learning opportunity for him, but his character did not seem to be going anywhere. Williams would later reprise the role for a guest appearance during the show's 30th anniversary in March 2015.

After leaving Neighbours, Williams joined the main cast of fellow soap opera E Street mid-1992 as Jack Brown. For his work in E Street, Williams was included on the longlist for Most Popular Actor at the 1993 Logie Awards.

In December 1992, Williams appeared in his first pantomime – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – at The Sands Centre in Carlisle. The following month, he began a supporting role as Mick in R.F.D.S.. From 20 December 1993 until 9 January 1994, he starred alongside fellow soap actors Aidan Brosnan and Rebekah Elmaloglou in a production of Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp at Leicester's De Montfort Hall, where he played the role of the Chinese Policeman.

When E Street was cancelled, Williams moved to Los Angeles in late 1993 to focus on his acting career. Within six weeks, he was cast in the recurring role of Chris Marchette in Melrose Place, after impressing producer Aaron Spelling. Williams said that he worked hard at securing a job and attended acting classes instead of bars and parties. Later that year, he appeared on car show Behind the Wheel in which he showed presenter James Morrison around his garage, and he was a guest on Club Buggery. In 1997, Williams guested in an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond. He also appeared in an episode of Acapulco H.E.A.T.. A long-term practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, Williams chose to stop his acting career in 1998 in order to focus on his Dharma studies and his music career. He has created a number of annual Vesak musicals and Buddhist music albums.

Personal life Williams studied martial arts from the age of 10 and practised tai chi and meditation. He was in a relationship with actress Melissa Thomas in the early 1990s. They lived together in Sydney, where Williams was working on E Street. and they planned to marry in March 1994. However, they ended their engagement in late 1993, so Williams could relocate to the United States to further his acting career.

Williams made a permanent return to Australia in the early 2000s to be closer to his parents.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1991–1992, 2015 Neighbours Guy Carpenter Main cast 1992–1993 E Street Jack Brown Main cast 1993–1994 R.F.D.S. Mick the Accountant Recurring 1994 Melrose Place Chris Marchette Recurring 1997 Everybody Loves Raymond Cool Guy Episode: "High School" 1999 Acapulco H.E.A.T. Keith McHenry Episode: "Code Name: Juice"