Cody Mountain
Cody Mountain was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, the son of Welsh businessman John Mountain and former Miss South Africa, Michelle Mountain (nee Bruce). Coming from a family with a penchant for the arts, Cody's dive into the acting world was all but scripted, with both his sister (Romy Mountain) and mother, actors in the industry. During Cody's primary years at school in Cape Town he discovered a keen interest in acting, taking lead roles in many productions. The young mans high school years were spent at an exclusive private institution in the South West of England, where academics and sport became his focus. Completion of his A-Levels had Cody set on a path for studying Aerospace Engineering, however the idea of a life of numbers didn't pique his interest. During his secondary education, Cody's talent for the craft shone, taking part in both the LAFTAs as well as the National Shakespeare Schools Festival. His career on the screen had been waiting, as it was only when he finished his schooling in England and returned home to South Africa, that he decided to complete 3 years of professional acting training at ACT Cape Town. During that time, Cody also undertook the LAMDA PCertLam Level 3 Diploma, passing with Distinction. In his second year at ACT Cape Town, Cody co-founded the Coffee Breaks improv troupe and began regularly performing at the Armchair Theatre with his posse (2016 - 2018). They had the good fortune of performing alongside the likes of Cape Town's own The Long Shots and Improguise, as well as one of Canada's best comedy exports, The Lusty Mannequins. Cody's first professional stage performance was as the lead, Kevin, in Girls Just Wanna Have Fun; written and directed by award winning actress and writer, Nicola Hanekom. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun played to sold out audiences at the Galloway Theatre (2016) and was invited to both the US Woordfees and Cape Town Fringe Festival. Notable films of Cody Mountain include Ons Albertinia (2018), Cut-Out Girls (2018); which recently premiered at Cape Town International Film Festival to much acclaim, and Far From the Castle (2018); which won Best Screenplay at LA Film Awards. Cody is soon to be seen as the Lead in an upcoming TV Drama to be released in 2019.