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.
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (42)
The Magic Faraway Tree
2026
The Choral
as Sir Edward Elgar
2025
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
as Sir Hector Moreland
2025
Firebrand
as Stephen Gardiner
2024
Home! Home!
as Narrator (voice)
2024
Thor: Love and Thunder
as Dionysus
2022
Operation Mincemeat
as Winston Churchill
2022
The Outfit
as Roy Boyle
2022
Benediction
as Robbie Ross
2021
A Christmas Carol
as Scrooge's voice (voice)
2020
The Hour
as Himself
2020
Radioactive
as Professor Lippmann
2020
National Theatre Live: The Lehman Trilogy
as Henry Lehman
2019
National Theatre Live: The Tragedy of King Richard the Second
as Richard II
2019
Mary Queen of Scots
as Robert Beale
2018
Operation Finale
as David Ben-Gurion
2018
Museo
as Frank Graves
2018
The Death of Stalin
as Lavrenti Beria
2017
My Cousin Rachel
as Couch
2017
RSC Live: The Tempest
as Prospero
2017
The Legend of Tarzan
as Mr. Frum
2016
Cunk on Shakespeare
as Self - Actor
2016
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
as Richard II
2016
Monteverdi in Mantua - The Genius of the Vespers
as presenter
2015
Into the Woods
as Baker's Father
2014
The Mysterious Mr Webster
as Self - Interviewee
2014
National Theatre Live: King Lear
as Lear, King of Britain
2014
Legacy
as Hookey
2013
Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii
as Narrator
2013
National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
as Hamlet
2013
Muse of Fire
as Self
2013
National Theatre Live: Timon of Athens
as Timon
2012
Shakespeare's Sonnets
2012
A Musical Nativity with John Rutter
2011
Sacred Music: God's Composer
as Presenter
2011
National Theatre Live: Collaborators
as Joseph Stalin
2011
The Deep Blue Sea
as Sir William Collyer
2011
My Week with Marilyn
as Cotes-Preedy
2011
Royal Opera House: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
as The Duchess / Introduced by
2011
Sacred Music: A Christmas History
as Presenter
2010
National Theatre Live: London Assurance
as Sir Harcourt Courtly
2010
BBC Proms: Sondheim's 80th Birthday
as Himself - Performer
2010
