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.
Gender
Male
Birthday
1961-01-12
Place of birth
Penang, Malaysia
Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii
2013
0.00
The Mysterious Mr Webster
2014
6.00
Orlando
1992
6.88
The Hour
2020
0.00
Persuasion
1995
7.10
The Deep Blue Sea
2011
5.90
The Young Visiters
2003
5.36
My Week with Marilyn
2011
6.70
Firebrand
2024
6.38
Into the Woods
2014
5.75
Legacy
2013
5.10
Hamlet
1996
7.30
National Theatre Live: King Lear
2014
7.10
Thor: Love and Thunder
2022
6.41
Time and the Conways
1985
0.00
The Legend of Tarzan
2016
5.91
The Gathering
2003
5.50
BBC Proms: Sondheim's 80th Birthday
2010
10.00
Home! Home!
2024
10.00
An Easter Celebration
2008
0.00
The Choral
0.00
Deep Water
2006
7.27
Blackadder: Back & Forth
1999
7.03
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
2025
0.00
The Magic Faraway Tree
2026
0.00
Cunk on Shakespeare
2016
7.50
The Death of Stalin
2017
7.00
Alice in Wonderland
1999
6.20
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
2016
7.50
Muse of Fire
2013
6.50
RSC Live: The Tempest
2017
7.00
Museo
2018
6.60
My Cousin Rachel
2017
5.70
An Ideal Husband
1999
6.46
Radioactive
2020
6.59
Operation Finale
2018
6.70
Mary Queen of Scots
2018
6.56
A Christmas Carol
2020
7.40
A Christmas History
2010
0.00
Operation Mincemeat
2022
6.50
Benediction
2021
6.20
Shakespeare's Sonnets
2012
0.00
The Outfit
2022
7.09