Sir Trevor Robert Nunn, CBE (born 14 January 1940) is an English theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera. His well-known musicals are Cats (1981) and Les Misérables (1985). His dramas include Nicholas Nickleby and Macbeth. He has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical, the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play, the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical, winning the Tony Award (Musical) for Les Misérables and the Olivier Award for Summerfolk / The Merchant of Venice / Troilus and Cressida; and The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby.

Early years[link]

Nunn was born in Ipswich, England, to Robert Alexander Nunn, a cabinetmaker, and Dorothy May Piper.^[1] He was educated at Northgate Grammar School, Ipswich and Downing College, Cambridge, where he began his stage career. He won a Director's Scholarship, becoming a trainee director at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry in 1962.^[2]

Career[link]

In 1964 Nunn joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and in 1968 he was appointed Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, a position he held until 1986.^[2] He became Artistic Director of the Royal National Theatre in September 1997.^[2]

His first wife, Janet Suzman, appeared in many of his productions, such as the 1974 televised version of his Antony and Cleopatra.^[3] Nunn became a leading figure in theatrical circles, and was responsible for many ground-breaking productions, such as the RSC's version of Dickens's Nicholas Nickleby, co-directed with John Caird,^[2] and a 1976 musical adaptation of the Shakespeare play The Comedy of Errors.^[4][5]

A very successful director of musicals, in the non-subsidised sector, Nunn directed the musical Cats (1981),^[6] formerly the longest running musical in Broadway's history, and the first English production of Les Misérables in 1985, also with John Caird, which has been running continuously in London since opening.^[2][7] Nunn also directed the little-known 1986 Webber–Rice musical Cricket, at Windsor Castle.^[8] Besides Cats and Les Misérables Nunn's other musical credits include Starlight Express^[9] and Sunset Boulevard.^[10] Later London credits include My Fair Lady,^[11] South Pacific (at the Royal National Theatre),^[12]The Woman In White,^[13]Othello and Acorn Antiques The Musical (2005),^[14]The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Rock 'n' Roll^[15] and Porgy and Bess in 2006 at the Savoy Theatre (an abridged version with dialogue instead of recitatives, unlike Nunn's first production of the opera).^[16]

Nunn directed the RSC production of Macbeth starring Ian McKellen in the title role and Dame Judi Dench as Lady Macbeth in 1976.^[17] Nunn staged the action of the drama with not only the paying audience, but also the audience of all of the actors in the production not in the ongoing scene—they sat on wooden crates just beyond the main playing space.^[18]

He directed his wife's (Imogen Stubbs), play We Happy Few in 2004.^[19] Stubbs often appears in his productions, including the 1996 Twelfth Night film. Nunn directed a modern production of Shakespeare's Hamlet in 2004, which starred Ben Whishaw in the title role, and Imogen Stubbs as Gertrude, and was staged at the Old Vic Theatre in London.^[20]

In 2007 he directed the RSC productions of King Lear and The Seagull, which played at Stratford before embarking on a world tour (including the Brooklyn Academy of Music) and then playing at the New London Theatre from November 2007. The two plays both starred Ian McKellen, Romola Garai, Frances Barber, Sylvester McCoy, and William Gaunt.^[21] Nunn's television production of King Lear was screened on Boxing Day, 2008 with McKellen in the title role.^[22]

In 2008 he returned to The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry (the theatre where he started his career) to direct Joanna Murray-Smith's adaptation of Ingmar Bergman's film Scenes from a Marriage starring Imogen Stubbs and Iain Glen.^[23] His musical adaptation of Gone With The Wind opened at the New London Theatre in April 2008 and, after poor reviews, closed on 14 June 2008 after 79 performances.^[24] In December 2008, he directed a revival of A Little Night Music at the Menier Chocolate Factory, which transferred to the West End at the Garrick Theatre in 2009.^[25] The production transferred to Broadway, opening in November 2009, with Catherine Zeta-Jones as Desiree Armfeldt and Angela Lansbury as Madame Armfeldt. Other members of the original London cast also transferred with the production. The production closed in January 2011 after 425 performances.^[26]

In 2010, Nunn directed a revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Aspects of Love from July to September 2010 at the Menier Chocolate Factory^[27] and the play Birdsong, which opened in September 2010 at the Comedy Theatre, based on the Sebastian Faulks novel of the same title.^[28]

Nunn marked his debut as Artistic Director of the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, with a revival of Flare Path (as part of the playwright, Terrence Rattigan's, centenary year celebrations). The production, starring Sienna Miller, James Purefoy and Sheridan Smith, opened in March 2011 and closed in June 2011,^[29] and was followed by productions of Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead, (June - August 2011)^[30] and The Tempest, starring Ralph Fiennes (September - October 2011).^[31] His final production at the Haymarket, The Lion in Winter (November 2011 - January 2012), stars Joanna Lumley and Robert Lindsay.^[32]

Film and opera[link]

Nunn has directed opera at Glyndebourne. He re-staged his highly successful Gyndebourne production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess for television in 1993,^[2] and was highly praised.^[33][34]

He has directed for film, including Lady Jane (1986), Hedda, an adaptation of Hedda Gabler, and a 1996 film version of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.^[35]

Personal life[link]

Nunn has been married three times. He was married to actress Janet Suzman from October 17, 1969 until their divorce in 1986. They have one child, Joshua. The Times reported in April 1986: "Janet Suzman, aged 47, the actress, was granted a divorce in London yesterday from Trevor Nunn, aged 46, the theatre director ... They have a son, Joshua, aged five."^[36][37] He has another two children, Laurie and Amy, with his second wife, Sharon Lee-Hill; they divorced in 1991. According to The Times, "Trevor Nunn, the theatre director, was divorced yesterday by his wife Sharon Lee Hill."^[38][39][40]

In 1994, Nunn married actress Imogen Stubbs with whom he has two children, Ellie and Jesse. The Press Association reported on September 18, 1994: "Director Trevor Nunn and actress Imogen Stubbs, who wed in secret at a London register office on Saturday, had their marriage blessed today in a low-key service at a village church."^[41] In April 2011 Stubbs announced that she and Sir Trevor were to separate.^[40]

He was knighted in 2002.^[39]

In 1998 Nunn was named in a list of the biggest private financial donors to the Labour Party (UK).^[42]

Credits[link]

Broadway[link]

Source: Internet Broadway Database Listing^[43]

• A Little Night Music - 13 December 2009 - 20 June 2010, re-opened 13 July 2010
• Rock 'n' Roll - 4 November 2007 – 9 March 2008
• Les Misérables (revival) - 9 November 2006 – 6 January 2008
• The Woman in White - 17 November 2005 – 19 February 2006
• Chess - 22 September 2003 (Benefit Concert)
• Vincent in Brixton (as original producer) - 6 March 2003 – 4 May 2003
• Oklahoma! - 21 March 2002 – 23 February 2003
• Noises Off (as original producer) - 1 November 2001 – 1 September 2002
• Rose Written by Martin Sherman (as original producer) - 12 April 2000 – 20 May 2000
• Copenhagen (as original producer) - 11 April 2000 – 21 January 2001
• Amy's View (as original producer) - 15 April 1999 – 18 July 1999
• Closer (as original producer) - 25 March 1999 – 22 August 1999
• Not About Nightingales - 25 February 1999 – 13 June 1999
• Arcadia - 30 March 1995 – 27 August 1995
• Sunset Boulevard - 17 November 1994 – 22 March 1997
• Aspects of Love - 8 April 1990 – 2 March 1991
• Chess - 28 April 1988 – 25 June 1988
• Starlight Express - 15 March 1987 – 8 January 1989
• Les Misérables - 12 March 1987 – 18 May 2003
• The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby - 24 August 1986 – 12 October 1986
• André DeShield's Harlem Nocturne (Featuring songs with lyrics by Trevor Nunn) - 18 November 1984 – 30 December 1984
• Cyrano de Bergerac (as original producer) - 16 October 1984 – 19 January 1985
• Much Ado About Nothing (as original producer) - 14 October 1984 – 16 January 1985
• All's Well that Ends Well - 13 April 1983 – 15 May 1983
• Good (as original producer) - 13 October 1982 – 30 January 1983
• Cats - 7 October 1982 – 10 September 2000
• The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby - 4 October 1981 – 3 January 1982
• Piaf - 5 February 1981 – 28 June 1981
• London Assurance (as original producer) - 5 December 1974 – 12 January 1975
• Sherlock Holmes (as original producer) -12 November 1974 – 4 January 1976
• Old Times (as original producer) - 16 November 1971 – 26 February 1972
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (as original producer) - 20 January 1971 – 13 March 1971

West End[link]

Source: Shakespeare Birthplace Trust^[44]

• The Lion In Winter - 2011
• Flare Path - 2011
• Birdsong - 2010
• Aspects of Love - 2010
• A Little Night Music - 2009
• Inherit The Wind - 2009
• Gone with the Wind - 2008
• King Lear - 2007
• The Seagull - 2007
• Porgy and Bess - 2006
• Acorn Antiques: The Musical! - 2005
• The Woman in White - 2004
• Anything Goes - 2002
• South Pacific - 2001
• My Fair Lady - 2001
• Oklahoma! - 1998
• Sunset Boulevard -1993
• The Baker's Wife - 1989
• Aspects of Love - 1989
• Chess - 1986
• Les Misérables - 1985
• Starlight Express - 1984
• Cats - 1981

Film[link]

Source: Contemporary British and Irish film Directors^[35]

• Twelfth Night: Or What You Will (director and adaptation) (1996)
• Lady Jane (director) (1986)
• Hedda (director and adaptation) (1976)

Television[link]

• King Lear (2008 TV Movie)
• The Merchant of Venice (2001 TV movie)
• Oklahoma! (1999 TV movie)
• Porgy and Bess (1993 TV movie)
• Othello (1990 TV movie)
• The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1982 TV mini-series)
• The Three Sisters (1981 TV movie)
• BBC2 Playhouse (TV series) - (1 episode, 1979)
• Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1979)

Awards and nominations[link]

Sources: Internet Broadway Database Listing^[43] Tony Awards Database (broadwayworld.com)^[45] Drama Desk History^[46] Olivier Awards, Past Nominees and Winners^[47]

• 2002 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – Oklahoma! [nominee]
• 2002 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical – Oklahoma! [nominee]
• 2002 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement
• 2001 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - The Cherry Orchard [nominee]
• 2000 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director- Summerfolk / The Merchant of Venice / Troilus and Cressida [winner]
• 1999 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - Oklahoma! [nominee]
• 1999 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play – Not About Nightingales [nominee]
• 1999 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play – Not About Nightingales [winner]
• 1995 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical– Sunset Boulevard [nominee]
• 1995 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director- The Merchant of Venice / Summerfolk [winner]
• 1995 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical– Sunset Boulevard [nominee]
• 1994 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - Arcadia [nominee]
• 1990 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical– Aspects of Love [nominee]
• 1987 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical– Les Misérables [winner]
• 1989 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - Othello [nominee]
• 1987 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical– Starlight Express [nominee]
• 1983 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical– Cats [winner]
• 1983 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play– All's Well that Ends Well [nominee]
• 1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play– All's Well that Ends Well [winner]
• 1982 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play– The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby [winner]
• 1981 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - Cats [nominee]
• 1980 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director- The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby [winner]
• 1979 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - Once in a Lifetime [nominee]
• 1977 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director - Macbeth [nominee]
• 1975 Drama Desk Award Unique Theatrical Experience – London Assurance [winner]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Trowbridge, Simon: The Company: A Biographical Dictionary of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Editions Albert Creed (2010) ISBN 978-0-9559830-2-3

External links[link]

• Trevor Nunn at the Internet Broadway Database
• Trevor Nunn at the Internet Movie Database
• The Company: A Biographical Dictionary of the RSC: Online database
• Scenes from a Marriage preview
• Michael Jackson's Peter Pan obsession - by Trevor Nunn 2009

David Suchet
David Suchet in 2003
Born	(1946-05-02) 2 May 1946 (age 66) London, England, United Kingdom
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1970–present
Spouse	Sheila Ferris (1976–present)

David Suchet, CBE, ( /ˈsuːʃeɪ/ SOO-shay; born 2 May 1946) is an English actor, known for his work on British television. He is recognised for his RTS- and BPG award-winning performance as Augustus Melmotte in the 2001 British TV mini-drama The Way We Live Now, alongside Matthew Macfadyen and Paloma Baeza, and a 1991 British Academy Television Award (BAFTA) nomination.

He is known for his role as Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot in the long-running British TV dramatic series Agatha Christie's Poirot.^[1][2][3]

Suchet's older brother, John Suchet, is a British television presenter and newsreader, and his father was gynaecologist Jack Suchet.

Early life[link]

Suchet was born in London,^[4] the son of Joan Patricia (née Jarché; 1916–1992), an actress, and Jack Suchet, who emigrated to England from South Africa in 1932, and trained to be a doctor at St Mary's Hospital, London in 1933.^[5][6][7] Suchet's father was Lithuanian Jewish and his mother was Anglican (she was of Russian Jewish descent on her own father's side, and of English descent on her mother's side).^[8] Suchet was raised without religion, but has been a practising Anglican since 1986, having been confirmed in 2006.^{[5][9][10][11][12]}

Suchet and his two brothers, Peter and John, attended Grenham House boarding school in Birchington-on-Sea, Kent; then, after attending another private school, Wellington School in Somerset, he took an interest in acting and joined the National Youth Theatre at the age of 18. He studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, where he now serves as a council member.

Career[link]

Suchet began his acting career at the Watermill Theatre, Bagnor, Berkshire, and retains a great affection for the place, saying that it "fulfils my vision of a perfect theatre". In 1973, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Suchet performed the role of John in the play Oleanna at the Royal Court Theatre, London in 1993. It was directed by Harold Pinter and Lia Williams co-starred as Carol. He was also featured as Salieri from 1998–2000 in the Broadway production Amadeus. In 2007 at the Chichester Festival Theatre, he played a lead role as Cardinal Benelli in The Last Confession, about the death of Pope John Paul I.^[13]

Television and film[link]

After making his first TV appearance in 1970, he appeared in the 1980 made-for-TV film version of A Tale of Two Cities. In 1980, he also played Edward Teller, later developer of the US H-bomb, in the joint BBC-US TV serial about the US Manhattan Project called Oppenheimer. In 1983, he played the insidious half-Chinese policeman with orders to kill British spy Sidney Reilly in Reilly, Ace of Spies. In 1985, he played Blott in the television series Blott on the Landscape, and corporate whistle-blower Stanley Adams in A Song for Europe. Suchet appeared as Inspector Japp in the 1985 film adaptation of Lord Edgware Dies, screen-name Thirteen at Dinner, with Peter Ustinov portraying Poirot.

In 1988, he played Leopold Bloom ^[14] in the Channel 4 documentary, The Modern World: Ten Great Writers - James Joyce's 'Ulysses, where some of the most famous scenes from the novel were dramatised.

In 1989, he took the title role himself for the long-running television series Agatha Christie's Poirot. He also portrayed Sigmund Freud (young and old) in the 6-hour mini-series Freud, co-produced by the BBC in 1984.

In 2001, he starred as the lead role in the David Yates-directed BBC television serial The Way We Live Now and, in April 2002, he played the famous barrister, George Carman QC, in the BBC's biographical drama Get Carman: The Trials of George Carman QC. In 2003, Suchet starred as the ambitious Cardinal Wolsey in the 2-part ITV drama Henry VIII opposite Ray Winstone as Henry VIII and Helena Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn.

In May 2006, he played the role of the fallen press baron Robert Maxwell in Maxwell, a BBC2 dramatisation of the final 18 months of Maxwell's life.^[2][3] During the same year, he voiced Poirot in the adventure game Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express.

In December 2006, he appeared on the ITV programme Extinct, presented by Sir Trevor McDonald and Zoe Ball, which saw Suchet and seven other well-known celebrities visit critically endangered species of animals and try and plead their case for the viewers so that they would pick up the phone and vote for the animal. The animal with the most votes would receive a large sum of money, which would be used to try to save them. Suchet and his animal, the Giant Panda, did not win; however, they finished in the top three. The winners were Pauline Collins and the Bengal Tiger.

At Christmas 2006, he played the vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing in a BBC adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. He appears in the disaster film Flood, released in August 2007, as the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at a time when London is devastated by flooding. Suchet appeared on daytime TV chat show Loose Women on 6 February 2008 to talk about his film The Bank Job, in which he played Lew Vogel, alongside Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows.

In 2008, he took part in the genealogy documentary series Who Do You Think You Are?, and discovered facts about his family history.^[15]

He starred in the 2009 CBC made-for-TV film, Diverted. He also starred as the main antagonist, Reacher Gilt, in the 2010 Sky TV adaptation of Going Postal, based on Prachett's book of the same name.

Suchet appeared in the film Act of God as Benjamin Cisco. In 1987, Suchet played a bigfoot hunter in Harry and the Hendersons. He had roles in two Michael Douglas films, A Perfect Murder and The In-Laws. In 1997, he starred in the independent film Sunday.

In November 2011, Suchet and ITV announced that Suchet would complete the canon of Poirot novels, in a thirteenth and final series of Poirot. With the exception of one short story, Suchet will have played the role in adaptations of every novel and short story featuring the character written by Dame Agatha Christie.^[16]

Radio[link]

His first broadcast job was to read a "Morning Story" for BBC Pebble Mill Talks producer David Shute. They had met at the Mayor of Stratford's annual cocktail party to welcome members of the Royal Shakespeare Company to their new season.

Suchet provided the voice of Aslan in Focus on the Family's radio version of C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia.

Suchet performed as the voice of the villainous Dr. Julius No in BBC Radio 4's radio adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel Dr. No. In 1991, Suchet played the part of Henrik Ibsen alongside Martin Shaw playing August Strindberg, in a one-off documentary on BBC Radio 3 about the meeting of the two playwrights.

In March 2010 he played the title role in a BBC radio version of David Golder.

Other work[link]

Canal Trust River Thames Alliance[link]

Suchet is vice-president of the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Trust, whose most challenging achievement to date has been securing funding (both via an appeal and from influencing government decisions) concerning the building of the new M6 Toll motorway where it cuts the lines of the Lichfield Canal and the Hatherton Canal, both of which the Trust wishes to see reopened. He has also been officially voted in as chairman of the River Thames Alliance in November 2005.^[17] At the July 2006 Annual General Meeting of the River Thames Alliance, he agreed to continue being chairman for another year. He is also a Patron of the River Thames Boat Project ^[18]

Awards and honours[link]

Suchet's first major award was the Royal Television Society's award for best male actor for A Song for Europe in 1985. His performance as Agatha Christie's famous detective Hercule Poirot in the television series Poirot earned him a 1991 British Academy Television Award (BAFTA) nomination. In preparation for the role he says that he has read every novel and short story and compiled an extensive file on Poirot.^[1][2][3]

Suchet was given a Variety Club Award in 1994 for best actor for portraying John in David Mamet's play Oleanna at the Royal Court Theatre, London. He later won another Variety Club Award (as well as a 2000 Tony nomination for best performance by a leading actor in a play) for his portrayal of Antonio Salieri in a revival of Amadeus.

Suchet was nominated for another Royal Television Society award in 2002 for his performance as Augustus Melmotte in The Way We Live Now, which also earned him a BAFTA nomination. The same year, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

On 10 October 2008, Suchet was awarded an honorary degree for his contributions to the Arts, from the University of Chichester. This was presented by the Vice Chancellor at the Chichester Festival Theatre.

On 24 November 2008, David Suchet won the 'Best Actor' accolade at the 2008 International Emmy Awards in New York for his role as tycoon Robert Maxwell in the 2007 BBC drama, Maxwell. He said: "It's been an unbelievable night for the Brits. I'm absolutely thrilled to bits, I can't believe it's really true. This is my first Emmy ever, and I can't tell you what it feels like to win for England because it's international, and to represent my acting community as well."^{[citation needed]}

On 7 January 2009, David Suchet was awarded Freedom of the City of London, at the Guildhall in London.

On 13 July 2010, David Suchet was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Kent at Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury.^[19]

He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to drama.^[20][21]

Personal life[link]

One of Suchet's hobbies is photography. His maternal grandfather, James Jarché, was a famous Fleet Street photographer notable for the first pictures of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson and also for his pictures of Louis Blériot (1909) and the Siege of Sidney Street. Suchet first became interested in photography when his grandfather gave him a Kodak camera as a present. Suchet also plays the clarinet,^[22] and drums.^[22]

He affectionately calls his fat suit for Hercule Poirot his "armadillo padding".

He lived in Pinner, a London suburb, for many years.

Family[link]

In 1972, Suchet first met his wife, Sheila Ferris, at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, where they were both working; he says that he fell in love with her as soon as he saw her, and that it took a while to persuade her to go out for a meal with him.^[22] They were married on 30 June 1976, and they have one son, Robert, a captain in the Royal Marines, and a daughter, Katherine, a physiotherapist.^[6]

Suchet is the brother of John Suchet, a national news presenter for Five News and Breakfast Show Presenter on Classic FM (January 2011).^[23] His maternal grandfather's Jarché family was originally named Jarchy, and were Russian Jews.^[5][15] His paternal grandfather, Isidor Shokhet (from shochet, meaning "kosher butcher" in Hebrew), lived in Kretinga, a city in the Pale of Settlement of the Russian Empire (now in Lithuania), and changed his surname to the Germanised Suchedowitz after escaping to Memel, Prussia, and then to Suchet after moving to Cape Town, South Africa.^[15][24]

Suchet's maternal grandmother's great-grandfather, George Jezzard, was a master mariner. He was captain of the brig Hannah, which foundered nine miles off the coast of Suffolk during a terrible storm on 28 May 1860, in which more than 100 vessels and at least 40 lives were lost. Jezzard and six others of his crew were saved by local rescuers just before their ship sank.^[8]

Suchet has spoken of some of his ancestors coming to England from Lithuania.^[25]

Religious beliefs[link]

Suchet's father was Jewish and his mother an Anglican (of paternal Jewish heritage); neither was religious. Likewise, Suchet's upbringing was without religious observance. In 1986, he underwent a religious conversion after reading Romans 8 in a hotel Bible; soon afterwards, he was baptised into the Anglican Church. Suchet stated in an interview with Strand Magazine, "I’m a Christian by faith. I like to think it sees me through a great deal of my life. I very much believe in the principles of Christianity and the principles of most religions, actually—that one has to abandon oneself to a higher good."^[26]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• David Suchet at the Internet Movie Database

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2011)

Joseph Fiennes
Joseph Fiennes in London, 2005
Born	Joseph Twisleton Wykeham Fiennes (1970-05-27) 27 May 1970 (age 42) Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, UK
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1993–present
Spouse	María Dolores Diéguez (2009–present)

Joseph Twisleton Wykeham Fiennes ( /ˈfaɪnz/; b. 27 May 1970) is an English film and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayals of William Shakespeare in Shakespeare in Love, Sir Robert Dudley in Elizabeth, Commisar Danilov in Enemy at the Gates, Martin Luther in Luther, Merlin in Camelot, and his portrayal of Mark Benford in the 2009 TV series FlashForward.

Early life and family[link]

Fiennes was born in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England in 1970, the son of photographer Mark Fiennes and novelist Jennifer Lash. The youngest of six siblings, his elder siblings are actor Ralph Fiennes, filmmakers Sophie Fiennes and Martha Fiennes, composer Magnus Fiennes, and conservationist Jacob Fiennes, his twin brother. His foster brother, Michael Emery, is an archaeologist.

Education[link]

Fiennes was briefly educated in the Republic of Ireland and then at Swan School For Boys (now known as Leehurst Swan School, following a merger with another school), an independent school in Salisbury, before passing his 11+ exam and continuing to Bishop Wordsworth's School, a voluntary-aided state day grammar school, in the Cathedral Close of the city. He then attended art school in Suffolk for a year, before joining the Young Vic Youth Theatre. Fiennes subsequently trained for three years at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1993.

Career[link]

Stage and film[link]

His first professional stage appearance was in the West End in The Woman in Black, followed by A Month in the Country opposite Helen Mirren. Fiennes then became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company for two seasons.

He made his television debut as Willy in The Vacillations of Poppy Carew. His first feature film was 1996's Stealing Beauty, co-starring Liv Tyler. In 1998, Fiennes appeared in two films that were nominated at the Academy Awards: he played Robert Dudley opposite Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth and he portrayed William Shakespeare opposite Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. He and Paltrow were reunited onscreen in Running with Scissors (2006). In 2002 he starred in the independent film, Killing Me Softly.

In 2003 he lent his voice as Proteus in the DreamWorks animated film Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas opposite Brad Pitt. The same year he starred in the limited-release film Luther, playing Martin Luther, and he also appeared in The Merchant of Venice, in which he portrayed Bassanio. Fiennes returned to the theatre in 2006 to perform in the one-man play Unicorns, Almost about World War II poet Keith Douglas at the Old Vic.

In 2006, he appeared in the films The Darwin Awards and Goodbye Bafana. Goodbye Bafana was filmed by director Bille August in South Africa, and released in 2007. Fiennes portrayed James Gregory, author of the book Goodbye Bafana: Nelson Mandela, My Prisoner, My Friend.

Television[link]

Fiennes starred in the ABC science fiction series FlashForward, which debuted on 24 September 2009 and ran through 27 May 2010, as Mark Benford.^[1] Fiennes stars in Starz's 10-part series, Camelot, as the wizard Merlin.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Fiennes married María Dolores Diéguez, a Swiss model, in a Roman Catholic ceremony in Tuscany in August 2009.^[3]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

• Stealing Beauty (1996) – Christopher
• Shakespeare in Love (1998) – William Shakespeare
• Elizabeth (1998) – Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
• Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence (released in the U.S. as The Very Thought of You) (1998) – Laurence
• Forever Mine (1999) – Manuel Esquema/Alan Riply
• Rancid Aluminium (2000) – Sean Deeny
• Enemy at the Gates (2001) – Commisar Danilov
• Dust (2001) – Elijah
• Leo (2002) – Stephen
• Killing Me Softly (2003) – Adam
• Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) (voice) – Proteus
• Luther (2003) – Martin Luther
• The Merchant of Venice (2004) – Bassanio
• The Great Raid (2005) – Major Gibson
• Man to Man (2005) – Jamie Dodd
• Running with Scissors (2006) – Neil Bookman
• The Darwin Awards (2006) – Michael Burrows
• Goodbye Bafana/The Color Of Freedom (2007) – James Gregory
• The Escapist (2008) – Lenny Drake
• The Red Baron (2008) – Captain Arthur Roy Brown
• You Me and Captain Longbridge (2008) – Narrator
• Spring 1941 (2008) – Artur Planck
• Against the Current (2009) – Paul Thompson

TV[link]

• FlashForward (2009–2010) – Mark Benford
• Camelot (2011) – Merlin
• Pretty/Handsome (2008) – Bob Fitzpayne

Plays[link]

• The Woman in Black, Fortune Theatre London (1993)
• A Month in the Country, Belyaev, Guildford, Richmond and the Albery Theatre London (1994)
• A View from the Bridge, Rodolpho, Guildford, Bristol Old Vic, Strand Theatre London (1995)
• Son Of Man, Jesus Christ, Royal Shakespeare Company, London (1996)||(1997)
• Les Enfants du Paradis, Lacenaire, Royal Shakespeare Company, London (1996)
• Troilus and Cressida, Troilus, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford Upon Avon and London (1996)||(1997)
• The Herbal Bed, Rafe Smith, Royal Shakespeare Company, Stratford Upon Avon and London (1996)||(1997)
• As You Like It, Silvius, Royal Shakespeare Company, London (1997)
• Real Classy Affair, Billy, Royal Court Theatre Company, London (1998)
• Christopher Marlowe's Edward II, Edward II, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield (2001)
• War Poet's Reading, Apollo Theatre (2001)
• Othello, Iago, West End, London (2002)
• Love's Labour's Lost, Berowne, Royal National Theatre, London (2003)
• Epitaph for George Dillon, George Dillon, Royal National Theatre, London (2005)||(2006)
• 2,000 Feet Away, Deputy, Bush Theatre, London (2008)
• Cyrano de Bergerac, Cyrano, Chichester Festival Theatre (2009)

Other projects and contributions[link]

• 2002 – contributed to the compilation album, When Love Speaks, which consists of Shakespearean sonnets and play excerpts – "Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises" and "Our revels are now ended" (both from The Tempest)
• 2010 – starred in a series of readings of literary love scenes for The Carte Noire Readers.
• Joseph Fiennes reads Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow
• Joseph Fiennes reads The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes

Awards[link]

Nominations[link]

• 1998 – Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Most Promising Actor – Shakespeare in Love
• 1999 – Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Male Newcomer – Shakespeare in Love
• 1999 – Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Breakthrough Artist – Elizabeth
• 1999 – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor – Shakespeare in Love
• 1999 – MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (with Gwyneth Paltrow) – Shakespeare in Love
• 1999 – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast – Shakespeare in Love
• 1999 – BAFTA Film Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role – Shakespeare in Love
• 1999 – MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Male Performance – Shakespeare in Love
• 1999 – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role – Shakespeare in Love
• 1999 – Teen Choice Award for Sexiest Love Scene – Shakespeare in Love
• 2005 – Golden Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical – The Merchant of Venice

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joseph Fiennes

• Joseph Fiennes at the Internet Movie Database
• Joseph Fiennes biography and credits at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
• Joseph Fiennes in Angola BBC News
• Goodbye Bafana – Official movie site
• The Peerage Site
• The Carte Noire Readers

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