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Simon Russell Beale
Penang, Malaysia
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…
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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.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
-
2026
Prima Facie
Movie
-
2026
De Gaulle: Liberté
Movie Winston Churchill
-
2026
De Gaulle: Résistance
Movie Winston Churchill
-
2026
The Magic Faraway Tree
Movie Know All
-
2025
The Choral
Movie Sir Edward Elgar
-
2025
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
Movie Sir Hector Moreland
-
2024
Douglas Is Cancelled
TV show Bently
-
2024
Firebrand
Movie Stephen Gardiner
-
2024
Mary & George
TV show Sir George Villiers
-
2024
Home! Home!
Movie Narrator (voice)
-
2022
House of the Dragon
TV show Ser Simon Strong
-
2022
Thor: Love and Thunder
Movie Dionysus
-
2022
Remembers…
TV show Self
-
2022
Operation Mincemeat
Movie Winston Churchill
-
2022
The Outfit
Movie Roy Boyle
-
2021
Benediction
Movie Robbie Ross
More credits
-
2020
A Christmas Carol
Movie Scrooge's voice (voice)
-
2020
The Hour
Movie Himself
-
2020
Radioactive
Movie Professor Lippmann
-
2019
National Theatre Live: The Lehman Trilogy
Movie Henry Lehman
-
2019
National Theatre Live: The Tragedy of King Richard the Second
Movie Richard II
-
2018
Mary Queen of Scots
Movie Robert Beale
-
2018
Vanity Fair
TV show John Sedley
-
2018
Operation Finale
Movie David Ben-Gurion
-
2018
Museo
Movie Frank Graves
-
2017
The Death of Stalin
Movie Lavrenti Beria
-
2017
My Cousin Rachel
Movie Couch
-
2017
RSC Live: The Tempest
Movie Prospero
-
2016
The Legend of Tarzan
Movie Mr. Frum
-
2016
Cunk on Shakespeare
Movie Self - Actor
-
2016
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
Movie Richard II
-
2015
Monteverdi in Mantua - The Genius of the Vespers
Movie presenter
-
2014
Into the Woods
Movie Baker's Father
-
2014
The Mysterious Mr Webster
Movie Self - Interviewee
-
2014
Penny Dreadful
TV show Ferdinand Lyle
-
2014
National Theatre Live: King Lear
Movie Lear, King of Britain
-
2013
Legacy
Movie Hookey
-
2013
Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii
Movie Narrator
-
2013
National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
Movie Hamlet
-
2013
Muse of Fire
Movie Self
