Acting · Penang, Malaysia · Born January 12, 1961
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.
MoviePrima Facie
2026
MovieDe Gaulle: Liberté
2026
as Winston Churchill
MovieDe Gaulle: Résistance
2026
as Winston Churchill
MovieThe Magic Faraway Tree
2026
as Know All
MovieThe Choral
2025
as Sir Edward Elgar
MovieDownton Abbey: The Grand Finale
2025
as Sir Hector Moreland
TVDouglas Is Cancelled
2024
as Bently
MovieFirebrand
2024
as Stephen Gardiner
TVMary & George
2024
as Sir George Villiers
MovieHome! Home!
2024
as Narrator (voice)
TVHouse of the Dragon
2022
as Ser Simon Strong
MovieThor: Love and Thunder
2022
as Dionysus
TVRemembers…
2022
as Self
MovieOperation Mincemeat
2022
as Winston Churchill
MovieThe Outfit
2022
as Roy Boyle
MovieBenediction
2021
as Robbie Ross
MovieA Christmas Carol
2020
as Scrooge's voice (voice)
MovieThe Hour
2020
as Himself
MovieRadioactive
2020
as Professor Lippmann
MovieNational Theatre Live: The Lehman Trilogy
2019
as Henry Lehman
MovieNational Theatre Live: The Tragedy of King Richard the Second
2019
as Richard II
MovieMary Queen of Scots
2018
as Robert Beale
TVVanity Fair
2018
as John Sedley
MovieOperation Finale
2018
as David Ben-Gurion
MovieMuseo
2018
as Frank Graves
MovieThe Death of Stalin
2017
as Lavrenti Beria
MovieMy Cousin Rachel
2017
as Couch
MovieRSC Live: The Tempest
2017
as Prospero
MovieThe Legend of Tarzan
2016
as Mr. Frum
MovieCunk on Shakespeare
2016
as Self - Actor
MovieShakespeare Live! From the RSC
2016
as Richard II
MovieMonteverdi in Mantua - The Genius of the Vespers
2015
as presenter
MovieInto the Woods
2014
as Baker's Father
MovieThe Mysterious Mr Webster
2014
as Self - Interviewee
TVPenny Dreadful
2014
as Ferdinand Lyle
MovieNational Theatre Live: King Lear
2014
as Lear, King of Britain
MovieLegacy
2013
as Hookey
MovieLava Land - Glowing Hawaii
2013
as Narrator
MovieNational Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage
2013
as Hamlet
MovieMuse of Fire
2013
as Self
MovieNational Theatre Live: Timon of Athens
2012
as Timon
MovieShakespeare's Sonnets
2012
TVThe Hollow Crown
2012
as Falstaff
TVSimon Schama's Shakespeare
2012
MovieA Musical Nativity with John Rutter
2011
MovieSacred Music: God's Composer
2011
as Presenter
MovieNational Theatre Live: Collaborators
2011
as Joseph Stalin
MovieThe Deep Blue Sea
2011
as Sir William Collyer
MovieMy Week with Marilyn
2011
as Cotes-Preedy
TVSymphony
2011
MovieRoyal Opera House: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
2011
as The Duchess / Introduced by
MovieSacred Music: A Christmas History
2010
as Presenter
MovieNational Theatre Live: London Assurance
2010
as Sir Harcourt Courtly
MovieBBC Proms: Sondheim's 80th Birthday
2010
as Himself - Performer
MovieAn Easter Celebration
2008
as presenter
TVSacred Music
2008
as Presenter
MovieDeep Water
2006
as Donald Crowhurst (voice)
TVDunkirk
2004
as Winston Churchill
MovieThe Young Visiters
2003
as Prince of Wales
MovieThe Gathering
2003
as Luke Fraser
TVSpooks
2002
as William Towers
MovieBlackadder: Back & Forth
1999
as Wellington
MovieAlice in Wonderland
1999
as King Cedric of Hearts
MovieAn Ideal Husband
1999
as Sir Edward
MovieThe Temptation of Franz Schubert
1997
as Franz Schubert
TVA Dance to the Music of Time
1997
as Widmerpool
MovieHamlet
1996
as Second Gravedigger
MoviePersuasion
1995
as Charles Musgrove
The Mushroom Picker
1993
as Anthony
MovieOrlando
1992
as Earl of Moray
TVAmerican Experience
1988
as John Adams (voice)
TVA Very Peculiar Practice
1986
as Mark Stibbs
Time and the Conways
1985
as Party Guest
MovieThis Is Your Five Minute Call
as Malcolm
