Orlando Wells (born 9 June 1973) is an English actor and writer.

Career

As an actor, Wells is best known for starring as Alex Stanton in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

drama '' As If'', and playing Irwin in

Alan Bennett Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two ...

's '' History Boys''. Wells has written five original plays: ''The Winter Room'' (RSC fringe festival), ''Cold Enough'', ''The Tin Horizon'' (Theatre 503), ''The Woodcutter's Tale'' (developed with NT Studio), and '' Four Days in Hong Kong'' (about

Glenn Greenwald Glenn Edward Greenwald (born March 6, 1967) is an American journalist, author and lawyer. In 2014, he cofounded ''The Intercept'', of which he was an editor until he resigned in October 2020. Greenwald subsequently started publishing on Substac ...

's and Laura Poitras's first meeting with Edward Snowden), produced as part of the

Orange Tree Theatre The Orange Tree Theatre is a 180-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south-west London, which was built specifically as a theatre in the round. It is housed within a disused 1867 primary school, built in Victorian Gothic style. T ...

Festival 2014. Michael Billington wrote in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' of '' The Tin Horizon'', 'a play that proves Wells has a gift for gothic futurism... a name to watch... shows a wild imagination at work and displays unmistakable signs of talent.' Wells revised and adapted Patrick Hamilton's '' The Duke in Darkness'' for a 2013 production at the

Tabard Theatre The Tabard Theatre is a small 96-seat theatre in Chiswick in the London Borough of Hounslow. Close to Turnham Green Underground station, it is situated above the Tabard public house on Bath Road. The Tabard Theatre was licensed and opened for t ...

, Chiswick, directed by Phoebe Barran. The following year Wells co-wrote, with Opera Erratica director Patrick Eakin Young, the libretto for the experimental opera Triptych, performed in 2014 at The Print Room and

Wilton's Music Hall Wilton's Music Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Shadwell, built as a music hall and now run as a multi-arts performance space in Graces Alley, off Cable Street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is one of very few surviving music ...

. He was a series-writer for the animated children programs '' Xolight'' and '' Noksu''. He has written the full-length feature ''Bait the Hook'', and a short film, ''Shrike'', longlisted for Channel 4's Coming Up.

Personal life

He is the son of actress Susannah York and Michael Wells, and is married with four children.

Selected credits

Theatre

Abigail's Party ''Abigail's Party'' is a play for stage and television, devised and directed in 1977 by Mike Leigh. It is a suburban situation comedy of manners, and a satire on the aspirations and tastes of the new middle class that emerged in Britain in the ...

(2022) as Lawrence Moss (Watford Palace Theatre). *'' This House'' (2016 - 2018 stage play, Chichester Festival Theatre, the Garrick Theatre, London, and tour) as an ensemble cast member playing various characters including

John Stonehouse John Thomson Stonehouse (28 July 192514 April 1988) was a British Labour and Co-operative Party politician and cabinet minister under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Stonehouse is remembered for his unsuccessful attempt at faking his own death i ...

and

Alan Clark Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark (13 April 1928 – 5 September 1999) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), author and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Tr ...

*''

Noises Off ''Noises Off'' is a 1982 play by the English playwright Michael Frayn. Frayn conceived the idea in 1970 while watching from the wings a performance of '' The Two of Us'', a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, "It was funnier ...

'' (2016, ETT, Nottingham Playhouse) as Lloyd Dallas, the director *'' Tonight at 8.30'' (2014, stage play, ETT/ Nuffield) as Christian in The Astonished Heart, Jasper in Family Album, Mr Wadhurst in Hands Across the Sea, Murdoch in Ways and Means, Stanley in Still Life, George in Shadow Play and Major Blake in We Were Dancing *''

The Turn of the Screw ''The Turn of the Screw'' is an 1898 horror novella by Henry James which first appeared in serial format in '' Collier's Weekly'' (January 27 – April 16, 1898). In October 1898, it was collected in ''The Two Magics'', published by Macmil ...

'' (2013, stage play, The Almeida) as Sackville *'' The Woman in Black'' (2010, stage play, Fortune Theatre) as The Actor *''Katrina'' (2009, stage play, The Bargehouse, South Bank) as Larry *''

Our Country's Good ''Our Country's Good'' is a 1988 play written by British playwright Timberlake Wertenbaker, adapted from the Thomas Keneally novel '' The Playmaker''. The story concerns a group of Royal Marines and convicts in a penal colony in New South Wales ...

'' (2009, stage play, The Watermill) as Lieutenant Ralph Clark *''

The History Boys ''The History Boys'' is a play by British playwright Alan Bennett. The play premiered at the Royal National Theatre in London on 18 May 2004. Its Broadway debut was on 23 April 2006 at the Broadhurst Theatre where 185 performances were staged be ...

'' (2006–07, stage play, RNT) as Irwin *'' Pirandello's Henry IV'' (2004, stage play, Donmar Warehouse) as Count Di Nolli *'' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (2003, stage play, The Crucible) as Demetrius *''The Modernists'' (2003, stage play, The Crucible) as Clifford *'' The Tempest'' (2002, stage play, Thelma Holt) as Ferdinand *'' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1999-2000, stage play, RSC) as Flute *'' Othello'' (1999-2000, stage play, RSC) *''

Anthony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in around ...

'' (1999-2000, stage play, RSC) as the Messenger

TV and film

A Spy Among Friends ''A Spy Among Friends'' is a British espionage thriller television series, starring Guy Pearce and Damian Lewis. It is based on the book of the same name by Ben Macintyre, adapted by Alex Cary and directed by Nick Murphy. It was available to ...

(2021, ITV) as Michael Straight * Spotify Untold (2021, Netflix) as Peter Thiel * ''Grantchester'' (2020, ITV) as Hugo Drinkwater * ''

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective who is featured in 53 short stories published between 1910 and 1936 written by English author G. K. Chesterton. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intui ...

'' (2018, BBC) as Eugene Cornelius *''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' (2015, BBC) *'' Doctors'' (2010/ 12/ 14, BBC) *'' Holby City'' (2010, BBC) *''

The King's Speech ''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ...

'' (2010, See Saw Films) as The Duke of Kent *''Nowhere Left to Hide'' (2009, Blast Films) *''A Very British Sex Scandal'' (2007, TV drama-documentary) as Edward (Lord) Montagu *'' Midsummer Madness'' (2007, feature film) as Curt *''The Great San Francisco Earthquake'' (2006, Blast Films) as James *''Slave Dynasty'' (2006, BBC) as William Beckford *''Trust'' (BBC, 2005) as Charles Drinkwater *'' As If'' (2001–04, TV series) as Alex Stanton *''A Rather English Marriage'' (1998, TV movie) as Dogleg *''After the War'' (1987, TV series) as a child *''The Ploughman's Lunch'' (1983, Channel 4 TV film) from a screenplay by Ian McEwen *''

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

'' (1987, Merchant Ivory Productions) as the young Maurice

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Orlando 1973 births 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Alumni of the University of Oxford British expatriate male actors in Australia English expatriates in Australia English male child actors English male film actors English male Shakespearean actors English male stage actors English male television actors Living people Male actors from Kent Royal Shakespeare Company members