
Simon Russell Beale
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1961-01-12 (64 years old)
Place of Birth
Penang, Malaysia
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.
Known For
Acting
De Gaulle – Partie 1 : La France Libre
as Winston Churchill
De Gaulle – Partie 2
as Winston Churchill
(2025)
(2024)
Firebrand
as Stephen Gardiner
(2024)
Home! Home!
as Self (narrator)
(2022)
Thor: Love and Thunder
as Dionysus
(2022)
The Outfit
as Roy Boyle
(2022)
Operation Mincemeat
as Winston Churchill
(2021)
Benediction
as Robbie Ross
(2020)
Radioactive
as Professor Lippmann
(2020)
A Christmas Carol
as Scrooge's voice (voice)
(2020)
The Hour
as Himself
(2019)
National Theatre Live: The Lehman Trilogy
as Henry Lehman
(2019)
(2018)
Mary Queen of Scots
as Robert Beale
(2018)
Operation Finale
as David Ben-Gurion
(2018)
Museo
as Frank Graves
(2017)
The Death of Stalin
as Lavrenti Beria
(2017)
My Cousin Rachel
as Couch
(2017)
RSC Live: The Tempest
as Prospero
(2016)
The Legend of Tarzan
as Mr. Frum
(2016)
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
as Richard II
(2016)
Cunk on Shakespeare
as Self - Actor
(2015)
Monteverdi in Mantua - The Genius of the Vespers
as presenter
(2014)
Into the Woods
as Baker's Father
(2014)
National Theatre Live: King Lear
as Lear, King of Britain
(2014)
The Mysterious Mr Webster
as Self - Interviewee
(2013)
(2013)
Muse of Fire
as Self
(2013)
Legacy
as Hookey
(2013)
Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii
as Narrator
(2012)
(2012)
(2011)
My Week with Marilyn
as Cotes-Preedy
(2011)
The Deep Blue Sea
as Sir William Collyer
(2011)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House)
as The Duchess / Introduced by
(2011)
National Theatre Live: Collaborators
as Joseph Stalin
(2010)
National Theatre Live: London Assurance
as Sir Harcourt Courtly
(2010)
BBC Proms: Sondheim's 80th Birthday
as Himself - Performer
(2010)
A Christmas History
as Presenter
(2008)
An Easter Celebration
as presenter
(2006)
Deep Water
as Donald Crowhurst (voice)
(2003)
The Gathering
as Luke Fraser
(2003)
The Young Visiters
as Prince of Wales
(1999)
Alice in Wonderland
as King Cedric of Hearts
(1999)
An Ideal Husband
as Sir Edward
(1999)
Blackadder: Back & Forth
as Wellington
(1996)
Hamlet
as Second Gravedigger
(1995)
Persuasion
as Charles Musgrove
(1992)
Orlando
as Earl of Moray
(1985)
Time and the Conways
as Party Guest