Bertie Carvel

Robert Hugh Carvel (born 6 September 1977) is a British film and theatre actor. He has twice won a Laurence Olivier Award: for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as Miss Trunchbull in '' Matilda the Musical'', and for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as Rupert Murdoch in '' Ink''. For the latter role, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Play.

On television, Carvel is known for playing Jonathan Strange in '' Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell'', Simon Foster in '' Doctor Foster'', Adam Dalgliesh in '' Dalgliesh'', and Tony Blair in ''The Crown''. He also starred in ITV drama ''The Sister'' in 2020.

Early life and education

Carvel was born in Marylebone, London, the son of a psychologist mother and John Carvel, a journalist. Carvel was educated at University College School, Hampstead. He gained a first class honours degree in English at the University of Sussex, going on to win a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (his acting training was paid for via scholarships from The Wall Trust and the Sir John Cass Foundation), graduating in 2003 after a three-year course.

Career

Theatre

Carvel has appeared in ''Revelations'' at the Hampstead Theatre, in ''Rose Bernd'' at the Arcola Theatre, as Alexander Ashbrook in the 2005–2006 and 2006–2007 National Theatre production of Helen Edmundson's '' Coram Boy'' and in their productions of ''The Life of Galileo'' and '' The Man of Mode'', in '' Parade'' at the Donmar Warehouse, and in '' Matilda the Musical'' at the Cambridge Theatre, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Carvel was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his performance in ''Parade'' in 2008. He won the award in the same category in 2012 for his performance as Miss Trunchbull in '' Matilda the Musical'', a production that won six other Oliviers. Carvel also won the UK's TMA Award for Best Performance in a Musical and was similarly nominated for the London's Evening Standard Award. He played Enrico in ''Damned By Despair'' at the National Theatre.

In March 2013, he reprised his role as Miss Trunchbull in Matilda on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre. This won him a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical and a nomination for Tony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, one of only a handful of nominations for an actor portraying a character of the opposite sex.

From August to October 2015, Carvel played both Pentheus and Agave in '' Bakkhai'' at the Almeida Theatre. Carvel also performed as Yank in the play '' The Hairy Ape'' at the Old Vic in November of the same year.

In February 2016, Carvel announced his directorial debut. He directed the play ''Strife'' at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, which opened in August 2016.

In September 2017, Carvel played the role of Rupert Murdoch in the play '' Ink'' by James Graham, which debuted at the Almeida Theatre before transferring to the West End. In April 2019 ''Ink'' transferred to Broadway, with Carvel reprising his role. This performance won him a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

In 2022, he returned to The Old Vic to play US President Donald Trump in '' The 47th'', a play by Mike Bartlett.

Roles in other media

Carvel has appeared in several other film, TV and theatre roles, including '' The Wrong Mans'', '' Babylon'', '' Doctor Who'' (episode " The Lazarus Experiment"), '' Sherlock'' (episode " The Blind Banker"), '' Bombshell'', '' Hawking'', '' The Crimson Petal and the White'', '' Money'' and '' Midsomer Murders'' (episode "The Great and the Good"). He played Lord Carmarthen in '' John Adams''. In the television film '' Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures'', he played Christie's second husband Max Mallowan. Carvel appeared as Bamatabois in the film '' Les Misérables'', based on the musical of the same name. From 2011 to 2024, Carvel was the voice of the male Imperial Agent in the MMORPG '' Star Wars: The Old Republic'' until the role was reassigned to Wilf Scolding. In 2009, Carvel played Wormwood in Focus on the Family's audio adaptation of '' The Screwtape Letters'', alongside Andy Serkis as Screwtape. This production was a 2010 Audie Award finalist.

In 2015, Carvel starred as Jonathan Strange in the BBC One adaptation of Susanna Clarke's novel '' Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell'', opposite Eddie Marsan as Gilbert Norrell. He played Nick Clegg in the Channel 4 drama '' Coalition'' and in September appeared as the unfaithful husband of Suranne Jones's title character in the BBC One thriller series '' Doctor Foster''. The second series of ''Doctor Foster'' started filming in September 2016 and was broadcast in September 2017.

Since 2021, Carvel has starred as Adam Dalgliesh in Helen Edmundson's '' Dalgliesh''. He plays former Prime Minister Tony Blair in the fifth and sixth series of ''The Crown''. In June 2024, it was announced that Carvel would portray Baelor Targaryen in the upcoming series '' A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms''. In April 2025, it was revealed that Bertie Carvel would serve as the narrator for the upcoming revival of ''Walking With Dinosaurs''.

On June 9, 2025, it was revealed that Carvel would play Cornelius Fudge in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series.

Personal life

Carvel is a Patron of the Globe Theatre's education department's 'Playing Shakespeare' programme, which provides free educational resources and free theatre tickets to secondary school students. In 2013, he ran for and was elected to Equity's 11-person Stage Committee. He was re-elected for a further two-year term in 2015.

Carvel married actress Sally Scott on 5 January 2019 after dating for ten years. Their first child was born in May 2020.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

Audio

Accolades

Theatre

Television

See also

* List of British actors

References

External links

*
Bertie Carvel , Stage , The Guardian

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carvel, Bertie
1977 births
Living people
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
Actors from the City of Westminster
English male film actors
English male musical theatre actors
English male television actors
English male video game actors
English male voice actors
English male singers
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Alumni of the University of Sussex
Male actors from London
People from Marylebone
Drama Desk Award winners
Laurence Olivier Award winners
Tony Award winners
Theatre World Award winners
People educated at University College School