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