Wilmington film, television and stage actor Paul Teal dies at age 35

On By Littum

Paul Teal, a prolific and talented Wilmington actor who was not only a triple threat in musical theater but also scored many roles in film and television productions, died Nov. 15 after a battle with cancer. He was only 35.

Over the weekend, stunned and heartbroken members of Wilmington’s theater community, many of whom had done multiple shows with Teal over the years, posted dozens of photos on social media and wrote emotional tributes about knowing and working with the actor.

“I remember going into callbacks as a teenager and being so excited to sing or read for a role,” Wilmington actor Mathis Turner wrote in a Facebook post. “And then Paul would walk in.”

Turner said he and other hopefuls would then “share a look that meant, ‘Well, there you go.'” But it just made us want to be better because Paul was a hero to me, someone who had all the talent in the world but never sacrificed his character or sense of compassion.

Teal performed in dozens of shows for several companies in Wilmington over the years, including Opera House Theater Co., Thalian Association Community Theater and Techmoja Dance and Theater Co., among others.

With boyish good looks, a golden voice and graceful dance moves, Teal also had a compelling stage presence and plenty of range as an actor.

He could play boyish characters like Huck in “Big River” or Jack in “Into the Woods”. He could be a cartoon villain like Riff Raff “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” or be smart, sensitive and self-involved like he was in the two-person musical “The Last Five Years”.

Equally adept at humor both silly (“The Producers,” “Box and Cox”) and dark (“Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson”), Teal brought depth and an easy sympathy to complex roles in such shows as “Memphis” “,” “Grey Gardens” and “Shakespeare in Love.”

Teal was nominated for six Wilmington Theater Awards and won Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his turn in “Sister Act” in 2018.

His last Wilmington stage appearance was in the lead role of Jack Kelly for the Opera House Theater Co.’s “Newsies,” for which he was nominated as Best Actor in a Musical.

Thalian Hall CEO Shane Fernando directed Teal in “Newsies” and other shows.

“He was such a perfectionist, but a perfectionist in a very healthy way,” Fernando said. “He was always so supportive. Talent is one thing, but he was just a joy to work with and manage because of how supportive he was.”

While Teal was undergoing treatment for cancer, Fernando said, Teal came to him looking for work he could do, “So I asked him, ‘What have you always wanted to do?’

Fernando said Teal told him he had always wanted to work with young people. Teal was to begin working with local youth through Thalian Hall’s Pied Piper Theater program when he passed.

“He didn’t want to disconnect. He wanted to keep working, even in the middle of this fight,” Fernando said. “Here he is going through all of this and he’s making plans to support new young actors and artists. It was so powerful to me.”

Teal began performing on stage at the age of 12, going by the nickname “JoJo”. As a teenager, he performed in the chorus of musicals for the Opera House Theater Co., later graduating to play “characters that had names,” he joked during a 2011 interview with the StarNews.

“Everything I know I learned in Wilmington,” Teal said at the time, and he took that knowledge to perform in regional theater productions and do national tours with the USO.

He also had an active career as a film and television actor, appearing in Max’s “The Staircase,” AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” and Netflix’s “Outer Banks,” as well as several high-profile Wilmington shoots, including the Showtime series “George and Tammy “, Hallmark Channel’s “USS Christmas” and the long-running drama “One Tree Hill.”

Teal also has a role in the movie “Lilly,” starring Patricia Clarkson, which will be shown at Thalian Hall in downtown Wilmington on Saturday, Nov. 23.

His final screen credit will be in the Starz series “The Hunting Wives,” where he has a recurring role. The show is expected to air in 2025.

Funeral arrangements have not been announced, but Fernando said a public memorial for Teal is being planned for Thalian Hall.