Simon Russell Beale

Simon Russell Beale was born in Penang, Malaysia. He became a chorister at St. Paul’s Cathedral then went to Clifton College before going to Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge were he received a First in English.

An Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre, his performances for the RSC include ‘Konstantin’ in The Seagull; ‘Ariel’ in The Tempest, ‘Edgar’ in King Lear, ‘Oswald’ in Ghosts, Edward II and Richard III. For the National Theatre his extensive work includes ‘Iago’ in Othello, ‘Mosca’ in Volpone , ‘Guildenstern’ in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, ‘Alfred Evelyn’ in Money, Hamlet, for which he won the Evening Standard Best Actor Award and the John & Wendy Trewin Award for Best Shakespearean Performance from the Critics Circle; the lead in Humble Boy (also West End), ‘George’ in Jumpers (also West End and on Broadway), Candide for which he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical, ‘Face’ in The Alchemist, ‘Benedick’ in Much Ado About Nothing, ‘Undershaft’ in Major Barbara, ‘Edward’ in A Slight Ache and in 2010 he starred as ‘Sir Harcourt Courtly’ in London Assurance.

Performances as ‘Vanya’ in Uncle Vanya and ‘Malvolio’ in Twelfth Night at the Donmar Warehouse and the Brooklyn Academy New York won him Best Actor at the 2002 Olivier, Critics’ Circle and Evening Standard Awards as well as a Village Voice Obie in America. Simon also played ‘Philip’ in The Philanthropist at the Donmar Warehouse, for which he won the 2005 Evening Standard Award for Best Actor.

He starred as ‘King Arthur’ in Spamalot on Broadway and in the West End. He was part of Sam Mendes’ first British/American Theatre Company, the Bridge Project, and appeared in A Winter’s Tale and The Cherry Orchard at the Brooklyn Academy, on an International Tour, at the Old Vic Theatre in London and finally at Epidaurus, throughout 2009. Television includes A Dance To The Music of Time for which he won the 1997 Royal Television Society Award and the BAFTA Best Actor Award, Persuasion, The Young Visiters, Dunkirk and two series of Spooks. He has also presented two series and a Christmas Special of Sacred Music for BBC4.

His film credits include Simon Curtis' My Week with Marilyn, Brian Gilbert's The Gathering and Oliver Parker's An Ideal Husband. Extensive Radio credits include ‘George Smiley’ in The Complete Smiley for BBC Radio 4. Simon was made a CBE in 2003 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his services to the Arts.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, an Honorary Fellow of Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge and of the British Institute of Psychoanalysis and he holds Honorary Doctorates from Warwick University and City University, London.

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