
Simon Russell Beale
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- January 12, 1961
- Birthplace
- Penang, Malaysia
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.
Filmography

This Is Your Five Minute Call TBA
as Malcolm

Prima Facie 2026
Actor

De Gaulle: Liberté 2026
as Winston Churchill

De Gaulle: Résistance 2026
as Winston Churchill

The Magic Faraway Tree 2026
as Know All

The Choral 2025
as Sir Edward Elgar

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale 2025
as Sir Hector Moreland

Firebrand 2024
as Stephen Gardiner

Home! Home! 2024
as Narrator (voice)

Thor: Love and Thunder 2022
as Dionysus

Operation Mincemeat 2022
as Winston Churchill

The Outfit 2022
as Roy Boyle

Benediction 2021
as Robbie Ross

A Christmas Carol 2020
as Scrooge's voice (voice)

The Hour 2020
as Himself

Radioactive 2020
as Professor Lippmann

National Theatre Live: The Lehman Trilogy 2019
as Henry Lehman

National Theatre Live: The Tragedy of King Richard the Second 2019
as Richard II

Mary Queen of Scots 2018
as Robert Beale

Operation Finale 2018
as David Ben-Gurion

Museo 2018
as Frank Graves

The Death of Stalin 2017
as Lavrenti Beria

My Cousin Rachel 2017
as Couch

RSC Live: The Tempest 2017
as Prospero

The Legend of Tarzan 2016
as Mr. Frum

Cunk on Shakespeare 2016
as Self - Actor

Shakespeare Live! From the RSC 2016
as Richard II

Monteverdi in Mantua - The Genius of the Vespers 2015
as presenter

Into the Woods 2014
as Baker's Father

The Mysterious Mr Webster 2014
as Self - Interviewee

National Theatre Live: King Lear 2014
as Lear, King of Britain

Legacy 2013
as Hookey

Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii 2013
as Narrator

National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage 2013
as Hamlet

Muse of Fire 2013
as Self

National Theatre Live: Timon of Athens 2012
as Timon

Shakespeare's Sonnets 2012
Actor

A Musical Nativity with John Rutter 2011
Actor

Sacred Music: God's Composer 2011
as Presenter

National Theatre Live: Collaborators 2011
as Joseph Stalin

The Deep Blue Sea 2011
as Sir William Collyer

My Week with Marilyn 2011
as Cotes-Preedy

Royal Opera House: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 2011
as The Duchess / Introduced by

Sacred Music: A Christmas History 2010
as Presenter

National Theatre Live: London Assurance 2010
as Sir Harcourt Courtly

BBC Proms: Sondheim's 80th Birthday 2010
as Himself - Performer

An Easter Celebration 2008
as presenter

Deep Water 2006
as Donald Crowhurst (voice)

The Young Visiters 2003
as Prince of Wales

The Gathering 2003
as Luke Fraser

Blackadder: Back & Forth 1999
as Wellington

Alice in Wonderland 1999
as King Cedric of Hearts

An Ideal Husband 1999
as Sir Edward

The Temptation of Franz Schubert 1997
as Franz Schubert

Hamlet 1996
as Second Gravedigger

Persuasion 1995
as Charles Musgrove

Orlando 1992
as Earl of Moray
- Time and the Conways
Time and the Conways 1985
as Party Guest
Credits from TMDB.