Simon Russell Beale

Simon Russell Beale

Born 1961-01-12 (age 65) Penang, Malaysia
View on IMDb ↗

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.

Photos

Known For

Thor: Love and Thunder
Thor: Love and Thunder

2022

as Dionysus

The Magic Faraway Tree
The Magic Faraway Tree

2026

as Know All

The Legend of Tarzan
The Legend of Tarzan

2016

as Mr. Frum

De Gaulle: Tilting Iron
De Gaulle: Tilting Iron

2026

as Winston Churchill

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

2025

as Sir Hector Moreland

The Outfit
The Outfit

2022

as Roy Boyle

Into the Woods
Into the Woods

2014

as Baker's Father

The Death of Stalin
The Death of Stalin

2017

as Lavrenti Beria

The Choral
The Choral

2025

as Sir Edward Elgar

Mary Queen of Scots
Mary Queen of Scots

2018

as Robert Beale

Persuasion
Persuasion

1995

as Charles Musgrove

Firebrand
Firebrand

2024

as Stephen Gardiner

Operation Mincemeat
Operation Mincemeat

2022

as Winston Churchill

Operation Finale
Operation Finale

2018

as David Ben-Gurion

Hamlet
Hamlet

1996

as Second Gravedigger

Radioactive
Radioactive

2020

as Professor Lippmann

My Week with Marilyn
My Week with Marilyn

2011

as Cotes-Preedy

Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland

1999

as King Cedric of Hearts

Orlando
Orlando

1992

as Earl of Moray

The Gathering
The Gathering

2003

as Luke Fraser