Simon Russell Beale
Biography
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.
Known For
House of the Dragon
2022
American Experience
1988
Spooks
2002
Spooks
2002
Thor: Love and Thunder
2022
De Gaulle: Résistance
2026
Penny Dreadful
2014
The Legend of Tarzan
2016
The Hollow Crown
2012
Remembers…
2022
Mary Queen of Scots
2018
The Magic Faraway Tree
2026
Filmography
House of the Dragon
as Ser Simon Strong · 2022
American Experience
as John Adams (voice) · 1988
Spooks
as William Towers · 2002
Spooks
as Home Secretary · 2002
Thor: Love and Thunder
as Dionysus · 2022
De Gaulle: Résistance
as Winston Churchill · 2026
Penny Dreadful
as Ferdinand Lyle · 2014
The Legend of Tarzan
as Mr. Frum · 2016
The Hollow Crown
as Falstaff · 2012
Remembers…
as Self · 2022
Mary Queen of Scots
as Robert Beale · 2018
The Magic Faraway Tree
as Know All · 2026
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
as Sir Hector Moreland · 2025
Mary & George
as Sir George Villiers · 2024
The Death of Stalin
as Lavrenti Beria · 2017
Into the Woods
as Baker's Father · 2014
The Outfit
as Roy Boyle · 2022
De Gaulle: Liberté
as Winston Churchill · 2026
Operation Mincemeat
as Winston Churchill · 2022
Vanity Fair
as John Sedley · 2018
My Week with Marilyn
as Cotes-Preedy · 2011
A Very Peculiar Practice
as Mark Stibbs · 1986
Operation Finale
as David Ben-Gurion · 2018
The Choral
as Sir Edward Elgar · 2025
A Dance to the Music of Time
as Widmerpool · 1997
Alice in Wonderland
as King Cedric of Hearts · 1999
Douglas Is Cancelled
as Bently · 2024
The Deep Blue Sea
as Sir William Collyer · 2011
Downtown Lagos
as Heron · 1992
Simon Schama's Shakespeare
· 2012
Persuasion
as Charles Musgrove · 1995
An Ideal Husband
as Sir Edward · 1999
Firebrand
as Stephen Gardiner · 2024
Radioactive
as Professor Lippmann · 2020
My Cousin Rachel
as Couch · 2017
Hamlet
as Second Gravedigger · 1996
Dunkirk
as Winston Churchill · 2004
Orlando
as Earl of Moray · 1992
Benediction
as Robbie Ross · 2021
Muse of Fire
as Self · 2013
The Gathering
as Luke Fraser · 2003
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
as Richard II · 2016
National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
as Hamlet · 2013
The Mushroom Picker
as Anthony · 1993
Cunk on Shakespeare
as Self - Actor · 2016
Blackadder: Back & Forth
as Wellington · 1999
Museo
as Frank Graves · 2018
BBC Proms: Sondheim's 80th Birthday
as Himself - Performer · 2010
This Is Your Five Minute Call
as Malcolm
Royal Opera House: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
as The Duchess / Introduced by · 2011
National Theatre Live: King Lear
as Lear, King of Britain · 2014
The Young Visiters
as Prince of Wales · 2003
National Theatre Live: London Assurance
as Sir Harcourt Courtly · 2010
Deep Water
as Donald Crowhurst (voice) · 2006
Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii
as Narrator · 2013
Symphony
· 2011
National Theatre Live: The Tragedy of King Richard the Second
as Richard II · 2019
Home! Home!
as Narrator (voice) · 2024
National Theatre Live: Collaborators
as Joseph Stalin · 2011
RSC Live: The Tempest
as Prospero · 2017
National Theatre Live: The Lehman Trilogy
as Henry Lehman · 2019
The Mysterious Mr Webster
as Self - Interviewee · 2014
National Theatre Live: Timon of Athens
as Timon · 2012
A Christmas Carol
as Scrooge's voice (voice) · 2020
Legacy
as Hookey · 2013
Prima Facie
· 2026
Shakespeare's Sonnets
· 2012
Time and the Conways
as Party Guest · 1985
A Musical Nativity with John Rutter
· 2011
Sacred Music: God's Composer
as Presenter · 2011
The Hour
as Himself · 2020
The Temptation of Franz Schubert
as Franz Schubert · 1997
Sacred Music: A Christmas History
as Presenter · 2010
Monteverdi in Mantua - The Genius of the Vespers
as presenter · 2015
An Easter Celebration
as presenter · 2008
Sacred Music
as Presenter · 2008