As a teenager Short joined the Woking Young Players and performed in several productions, including
Ways and Means,
Hair,
The Boyfriend and many more. In 1996 Short began performing professionally on the stage as Johnny Casino in
Grease. For two years he was in the UK tour of the original cast and appeared at the
Opera House,
Manchester, the
Playhouse,
Edinburgh, the
Alexandra Theatre,
Birmingham, the
Mayflower Theatre,
Southampton and the
Empire Theatre,
Liverpool. He then joined the production in the
West End at the
Cambridge Theatre,
Covent Garden,
London, until the show closed in 1999. Short was a part of the London Shakespeare Workshops from 1999 to 2001 and appeared in
Hamlet, ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard III and Twelfth Night'' with guests such as
Sam West,
Mark Rylance,
Richard Dreyfuss and
Fenella Fielding. Short toured the UK in
The Real Monty (as Nobby) from 2001 to 2002,
Macbeth (as
Macduff) from 2003 to 2004 and in ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (
Demetrius) from 2003 to 2004. Short moved to the United States soon after. In 2006 he landed his first American stage role, understudying the part of Sloane in the play
Entertaining Mr. Sloane opposite
Alec Baldwin, directed by
Scott Ellis at the
Roundabout Theatre. In 2007 Short appeared in the
Vineyard Theatre's successful off-Broadway production of
J.M. Barrie's
Mary Rose, opposite
Keir Dullea and
Paige Howard, as an
Australian
World War I veteran. The film debuted at the 2007
Sundance Film Festival. Short was back at Sundance the following year in
The Guitar, directed by
Amy Redford. He returned to the television screen in both
New Amsterdam in the episode "A Soldier's Heart" and
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the episode "Avatar". He adopted an American accent in 2008 in both
The King of Shadows by
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa at the Working Theatre and
Choose. For the 1930s crime drama
Public Enemies, Short had to adopt an American accent to play
FBI agent Samuel P. Cowley, the man who brought down
Baby Face Nelson, played by
Stephen Graham. Short worked with
Christian Bale, who stars as agent
Melvin Purvis. In the spring of 2009 he wrapped
Cafe, a feature film directed by Marc Erlbaum and shot in
Philadelphia. Short plays a writer opposite star
Jennifer Love Hewitt.
Cafe was released in the US and Europe in 2011. Short was in the feature film
The Exhibitionists for director Michael Melamedoff, released in 2013. In 2014 he was cast in three independent films:
Cockroaches in Los Angeles and
The Butterflies of Bill Baker and
A New York Love Story, shot in New York City. Short starred as gay priest Peter Simmons in the 2023 film
Mysterious Ways. Short is represented by Innovative Artists and manager Jennifer Wiley-Stockton.
Writing Short became the
football writer during the 2010 FIFA World Cup exclusively for Menshealth.com. Articles can be found at: Hearst Magazines
Advertising Short has worked on several commercials in the UK and Ireland, as well as recorded voiceovers and jingles. Among his commercial credits: • 2000 "Home" (Director: Syd McCartney) • 2002 "Pay Attention or Pay The Price" campaign ==Personal life==