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.
Acted in
Downton Abbey 3
2025
Douglas Is Cancelled
2024
as Bently
Firebrand
2024
as Stephen Gardiner
Mary & George
2024
as Sir George Villiers
Home! Home!
2024
as Self (narrator)
House of the Dragon
2022
as Ser Simon Strong
Thor: Love and Thunder
2022
as Dionysus
Operation Mincemeat
2022
as Winston Churchill
The Outfit
2022
as Roy Boyle
Benediction
2021
as Robbie Ross
A Christmas Carol
2020
as Scrooge's voice (voice)
The Hour
2020
as Himself
Radioactive
2020
as Professor Lippmann
National Theatre Live: The Lehman Trilogy
2019
as Henry Lehman
National Theatre Live: The Tragedy of King Richard the Second
2019
as Richard II
Mary Queen of Scots
2018
as Robert Beale
Vanity Fair
2018
as John Sedley
Operation Finale
2018
as David Ben-Gurion
Museo
2018
as Frank Graves
The Death of Stalin
2017
as Lavrenti Beria
My Cousin Rachel
2017
as Couch
RSC Live: The Tempest
2017
as Prospero
The Legend of Tarzan
2016
as Mr. Frum
Cunk on Shakespeare
2016
as Self - Actor
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
2016
as Richard II
Monteverdi in Mantua - The Genius of the Vespers
2015
as presenter
Into the Woods
2014
as Baker's Father
The Mysterious Mr Webster
2014
as Self - Interviewee
Penny Dreadful
2014
as Ferdinand Lyle
National Theatre Live: King Lear
2014
as Lear, King of Britain
Legacy
2013
as Hookey
Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii
2013
as Narrator
National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
2013
as Hamlet
Muse of Fire
2013
as Self
National Theatre Live: Timon of Athens
2012
as Timon
Shakespeare's Sonnets
2012
The Hollow Crown
2012
as Falstaff
Simon Schama's Shakespeare
2012
National Theatre Live: Collaborators
2011
as Joseph Stalin
My Week with Marilyn
2011
as Cotes-Preedy
Symphony
2011
The Deep Blue Sea
2011
as Sir William Collyer
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House)
2011
as The Duchess / Introduced by
A Christmas History
2010
as Presenter
National Theatre Live: London Assurance
2010
as Sir Harcourt Courtly
BBC Proms: Sondheim's 80th Birthday
2010
as Himself - Performer
An Easter Celebration
2008
as presenter
Deep Water
2006
as Donald Crowhurst (voice)
Dunkirk
2004
as Winston Churchill
The Young Visiters
2003
as Prince of Wales
The Gathering
2003
as Luke Fraser
Spooks
2002
as William Towers
Spooks
2002
as Home Secretary
An Ideal Husband
1999
as Sir Edward
Blackadder: Back & Forth
1999
as Wellington
Alice in Wonderland
1999
as King Cedric of Hearts
A Dance to the Music of Time
1997
as Widmerpool
Hamlet
1996
as Second Gravedigger
Persuasion
1995
as Charles Musgrove
The Mushroom Picker
1993
as Anthony
Orlando
1992
as Earl of Moray
American Experience
1988
as John Adams (voice)
A Very Peculiar Practice
1986
as Mark Stibbs
Time and the Conways
1985
as Party Guest
Blackadder
1983
as Napoléon
The Choral
De Gaulle – Partie 1 : La France Libre
as Winston Churchill
The Magic Faraway Tree
De Gaulle – Partie 2
as Winston Churchill
Home! Home!
as Narrator