Simon Russell Beale
Sir Simon Russell Beale CBE (born January 12, 1961) is an English actor. He is known for his appearances in film, television and theatre, and work on radio, on audiobooks and as a narrator. For his services to drama, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 2019.
He has spent much of his theatre career working in productions for both the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. He has received ten Laurence Olivier Award nominations, winning three awards for his performances in Volpone (1996), Candide (2000), and Uncle Vanya (2003). For his work on the Broadway stage he has received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination for his performance as George in the Tom Stoppard play Jumpers in 2004. For his role as Henry Lehman in The Lehman Trilogy, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and was nominated for an Olivier Award. Beale has been described by The Independent as "the greatest stage actor of his generation".
Beale made his film debut in Sally Potter's period drama Orlando (1992). He continued acting in films such as Persuasion (1995), Hamlet (1996), My Week with Marilyn (2011), The Deep Blue Sea (2011), Into the Woods (2014), and Mary Queen of Scots (2018). In 2017, he starred in Armando Iannucci's dark comedy The Death of Stalin playing Lavrentiy Beria for which he received the British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. He has also appeared in the television projects The Young Visiters (2003), Dunkirk (2004), and as Falstaff in the BBC made-for-television films Henry IV, Part I and Part II (2012). He was part of the main cast of Showtime's Penny Dreadful.
He has spent much of his theatre career working in productions for both the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. He has received ten Laurence Olivier Award nominations, winning three awards for his performances in Volpone (1996), Candide (2000), and Uncle Vanya (2003). For his work on the Broadway stage he has received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination for his performance as George in the Tom Stoppard play Jumpers in 2004. For his role as Henry Lehman in The Lehman Trilogy, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and was nominated for an Olivier Award. Beale has been described by The Independent as "the greatest stage actor of his generation".
Beale made his film debut in Sally Potter's period drama Orlando (1992). He continued acting in films such as Persuasion (1995), Hamlet (1996), My Week with Marilyn (2011), The Deep Blue Sea (2011), Into the Woods (2014), and Mary Queen of Scots (2018). In 2017, he starred in Armando Iannucci's dark comedy The Death of Stalin playing Lavrentiy Beria for which he received the British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. He has also appeared in the television projects The Young Visiters (2003), Dunkirk (2004), and as Falstaff in the BBC made-for-television films Henry IV, Part I and Part II (2012). He was part of the main cast of Showtime's Penny Dreadful.
Known for
Downton Abbey 3
Douglas Is Cancelled
Firebrand
Mary & George
Home! Home!
House of the Dragon
Thor: Love and Thunder
Operation Mincemeat
The Outfit
Benediction
A Christmas Carol
The Hour
Radioactive
National Theatre Live: The Lehman Trilogy
National Theatre Live: The Tragedy of King Richard the Second
Mary Queen of Scots
Vanity Fair
Operation Finale
Museo
The Death of Stalin
My Cousin Rachel
RSC Live: The Tempest
The Legend of Tarzan
Cunk on Shakespeare
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
Monteverdi in Mantua - The Genius of the Vespers
Into the Woods
Penny Dreadful
National Theatre Live: King Lear
Legacy
Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii
National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
Muse of Fire
National Theatre Live: Timon of Athens
Shakespeare's Sonnets
The Hollow Crown
Simon Schama's Shakespeare
National Theatre Live: Collaborators
My Week with Marilyn
Symphony
The Deep Blue Sea
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House)
A Christmas History
National Theatre Live: London Assurance
BBC Proms: Sondheim's 80th Birthday
An Easter Celebration
Deep Water
Dunkirk
The Young Visiters
The Gathering
Spooks
An Ideal Husband
Blackadder: Back & Forth
Alice in Wonderland
A Dance to the Music of Time
Hamlet
Persuasion
Orlando
American Experience
A Very Peculiar Practice
Blackadder
Acting
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House)
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The Duchess / Introduced by