David Robert Dawson (born 7 September 1982) is an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
actor. He has had a varied career on television, including roles in ''
The Road to Coronation Street
''The Road to Coronation Street'' is a 2010 British drama first broadcast on BBC Four. It is a dramatisation of the creation of '' Coronation Street'', the UK's longest-running television soap opera, from conception to its first transmission in ...
'' (2010), series 2 of ''
Luther
Luther may refer to:
People
* Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation
* Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement
* Luther (gi ...
'' (2011), ''
Ripper Street'' (2012–2016), ''
The Secret Agent
''The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale'' is a novel by Joseph Conrad, first published in 1907.. The story is set in London in 1886 and deals with Mr. Adolf Verloc and his work as a spy for an unnamed country (presumably Russia). ''The Secret Agent ...
'' (2016), as King
Alfred
Alfred may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series
* ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne
* ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák
*"Alfred (Interl ...
in ''
The Last Kingdom'' (2015–2018), and as
Joseph Merrick ("The Elephant Man") in ''
Year of the Rabbit
The rabbit ( 兔) is the fourth in the twelve-year cycle of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The Year of the Rabbit is associated with the Earthly Branch symbol 卯.
In the Vietnamese zodiac and t ...
'' (2019).
On stage, Dawson received a
Laurence Olivier Award
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...
nomination for playing Smike in the 2007 production of ''
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby''. Other notable performances have been in the 2009 production of ''
Comedians'', the 2010 production of ''
Posh
Posh is an informal adjective for " upper class". It may also refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Posh'' (album), a 1980 album by Patrice Rushen
*" Posh!", a 1968 song from the musical ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang''
* ''Posh'' (2006 TV series), a 2006 Phili ...
'', and the 2011 production of ''
Luise Miller
''Intrigue and Love'', sometimes ''Love and Intrigue'', ''Love and Politics'' or ''Luise Miller'' (german: Kabale und Liebe, ; literally "''Cabal and Love''") is a five-act play written by the German dramatist Friedrich Schiller. His third pla ...
''.
Early life
Dawson was born in
Widnes
Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464.
Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form th ...
, England, and attended
Fairfield High School and
Warrington Collegiate
Warrington and Vale Royal College, previously known as Warrington Collegiate, is a vocational learning provider in Warrington and Winsford, Cheshire for people aged 16–19, as well as courses aimed at adult learners. The college mainly offers voca ...
Institute before being accepted to
RADA
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the S ...
on the acting programme in 2002. Whilst at secondary school he was a member of the Musketeer Theatre Company where he played
Dogberry
Dogberry is a character created by William Shakespeare for his play ''Much Ado About Nothing''. He is described by ''The Nuttall Encyclopædia'' as a "self-satisfied night constable" with an inflated view of his own importance as the leader o ...
in
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
Much Ado About Nothing
''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...
'' amongst other roles. At 17 he wrote a play called ''Divorced and Desperate'' which ran at the Queen's Hall Theatre, Widnes, for three nights. A year later he wrote and starred in the play ''The Boy in the Bed'' at the Tower Theatre, Islington, with financial backing from
Barbara Windsor
Dame Barbara Windsor (born Barbara Ann Deeks; 6 August 193710 December 2020) was an English actress, known for her roles in the Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' films and for playing Peggy Mitchell in the BBC One soap opera, ''EastEnders''. and
Julie Walters
Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a B ...
to whom he had written for help. Dawson has a younger brother, James.
Roles
After leaving
RADA
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the S ...
in 2005, Dawson's first professional role was as understudy to
Kevin Spacey
Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolade ...
as the eponymous hero of Shakespeare's ''
Richard II
Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father ...
'' for
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas ...
.
Dawson has appeared in the
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
shows ''
Doc Martin'', ''
The Thick of It'', ''
Secret Diary of a Call Girl
''Secret Diary of a Call Girl'' is a British drama television series that aired from 27 September 2007 to 22 March 2011 on ITV2, based on the blog and books by the pseudonymous Belle de Jour. It stars Billie Piper as Belle, a high-end London ...
'' and ''
Peaky Blinders
The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1910s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to middle-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racke ...
''. He played
Harry Parr-Davies
Harry may refer to:
TV shows
* ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin
* ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons
* ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...
in the
BBC drama ''
Gracie!
''Gracie!'' is a biopic television film on the life of Gracie Fields, with Jane Horrocks playing Fields and Tom Hollander her husband Monty Banks. It covers her career before the Second World War and the decline in her popularity during the war.
...
'' about the life of English singer
Gracie Fields
Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was an English actress, singer, comedian and star of cinema and music hall who was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...
. He starred as ''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Orig ...
'' creator
Tony Warren in the BBC drama ''The Road to Coronation Street''. He played Toby Kent in three episodes of the second series of ''
Luther
Luther may refer to:
People
* Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation
* Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement
* Luther (gi ...
'' for the BBC.
In 2012, Dawson appeared in two
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
literary adaptations, playing Bazzard in ''
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' is the final novel by Charles Dickens, originally published in 1870.
Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, it focuses more on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a precentor, choirmaster and opium ...
'' and Poins in ''
The Hollow Crown ''The Hollow Crown'' may refer to:
* a passage in Shakespeare's play ''Richard II''
* ''The Hollow Crown'' (anthology), a 1961 work by John Barton
* ''The Hollow Crown'' (TV series), a BBC adaptation of Shakespeare plays
* ''Hollow Crown
'' ...
''. He later appeared in the first three BBC-produced series of ''
Ripper Street''. In 2016, he appeared in the
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
's version of ''
The Secret Agent
''The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale'' is a novel by Joseph Conrad, first published in 1907.. The story is set in London in 1886 and deals with Mr. Adolf Verloc and his work as a spy for an unnamed country (presumably Russia). ''The Secret Agent ...
''. Dawson portrayed
David Collins David Collins may refer to:
Persons
* David Collins (Hampshire cricketer), 18th-century cricketer
* David Collins (New Zealand cricketer) (1887–1967)
* David Collins (Scottish footballer) (1912–?)
* David Collins (Australian footballer) ...
in the BBC Two series ''
Banished Banished may refer to:
* ''Banished'' (TV series), a 2015 drama television series
* ''Banished'' (film), a 2007 documentary
* ''Banished'' (video game), a city-building strategy game by Shining Rock Software
* Banished (Halo)
The ''Halo'' vi ...
''
and
King Alfred
Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who ...
in BBC America and BBC Two's historical drama series ''
The Last Kingdom''.
Dawson starred alongside
Harry Styles
Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series '' The X Factor''. Following his elimination, he was brough ...
and
Emma Corrin
Emma-Louise Corrin (born 13 December 1995) is an English actor. They portrayed Diana, Princess of Wales in the fourth season of the Netflix historical drama '' The Crown'' (2020), for which they won a Golden Globe, a Critics' Choice Award ...
in the 2022 film ''
My Policeman'', with critics praising his performance.
Personal life
Dawson is gay and part of the
LGBTQ community
The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and social ...
.
Theatre
Filmography
Radio
Awards
In 2008 Dawson was nominated for
Best Newcomer in a Play at the
Olivier Awards
The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...
for his role as Smike in
Nicholas Nickleby. He was also nominated in 2010 for Best Supporting Actor in the What's On Stage awards for his role as Gethin Price in
Comedians.
Critical acclaim
Dawson drew critical acclaim for his portrayal of writer
Tony Warren in the
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 drama ''
The Road to Coronation Street
''The Road to Coronation Street'' is a 2010 British drama first broadcast on BBC Four. It is a dramatisation of the creation of '' Coronation Street'', the UK's longest-running television soap opera, from conception to its first transmission in ...
''. For the ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
''
Rachel Cooke
Rachel Cooke (born 1969) is a British journalist and writer.
Early life
Cooke was born in Sheffield, and is the daughter of a university lecturer.
She went to school in Jaffa, Israel, until she was 11, before returning to Sheffield, and atten ...
wrote: "I think he's going to be a huge star. When he is doing his thing, it is hard to take your eyes off him". ''
The Daily Express'' said "It is David Dawson and some perfectly judged dialogue which brings this drama to light" while ''
The Mirrors Jane Simon called him "absolutely brilliant".
References
External links
*
Dawson's CV at United Agents
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, David
1982 births
Living people
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English male radio actors
LGBT actors from England
Male actors from Cheshire
People from Widnes
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
English male Shakespearean actors