Gwilym Lee (born 24 November 1983) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

'' (2013–2016), '' A Song for Jenny'' (2015), '' Jamestown'' (2017), '' Top End Wedding'' (2019), '' The Great'' (2020–2023), and for playing guitarist

Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...

in the

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

biopic ''

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''A Night at the Opera (Queen album), A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by Queen's lead si ...

'' (2018).

Early life

Lee was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

to Welsh parents, Tom and Ceinwen. He has three older siblings: Geraint, Owen and Rhiannon. When he was young the family moved to

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield ( ), is a town and civil parish in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south of L ...

, West Midlands, although he identifies strongly with his Welsh heritage. He studied English literature at

Cardiff University Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

and drama at

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a music school, music and drama school located in the City of London, England. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz al ...

, where he received the Guildhall Gold Medal in 2008. Lee lives in London.

Career

Lee joined a drama group as a teen. He then starred in the 1997–1998 television adaptation of the '' Animal Ark'' books. Aged 16 he started working on ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'' with the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratf ...

. Lee appeared in a leading role in the final series of '' Land Girls'' (2011) and had several guest roles on television (including '' Ashes to Ashes'', '' Fresh Meat'', '' Monroe'' and '' Henry V''). He has also worked on radio ('' The Emerald Tiger'', '' The Silver Turk'' and in an adaptation of '' The Cruel Sea''). Lee was commended in the 2008 Ian Charleson Awards for his appearance in the National Theatre's production of ''

Oedipus Oedipus (, ; "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby bringing disaster to his city and family. ...

'' and in 2009 played Laertes to

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He began his career in theatre before landing small roles in various British television productions and feature films. Law gained international recognition for his role in An ...

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in the Donmar West End season. He won first prize of the 2011 Ian Charleson Award for his role as Edgar in the 2010 ''

King Lear ''The Tragedy of King Lear'', often shortened to ''King Lear'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is loosely based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his ...

'' production at the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

. In 2012, Lee starred in the Donmar

Trafalgar Studios Trafalgar Theatre is a West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. The Grade II listed building was built in 1930 with interiors in the Art Deco style as the Whitehall Theatre; it regularly staged ...

production of Aleksei Arbuzov's ''The Promise''. At Christmas 2013, Lee began a television starring role as DCI Barnaby's new sergeant, DS Charlie Nelson, in the 16th series of ''

'', which also included the show's 100th episode, partially shot in Denmark in collaboration with the local national broadcasting corporation, DR. In early 2014 he appeared in ''

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

'' at the Donmar Warehouse. In April 2016, it was announced by ITV that Lee was not returning for season 19 of ''Midsomer Murders''. Lee, on his Twitter account, indicated he would be involved in an upcoming series '' Jamestown''. Lee played guitarist

in the

biopic ''

'' (2018), which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2018, it was announced that Lee had joined the cast of the

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

series '' The Great''; on the series airing for three seasons from 2020 to 2023, Lee starred amongst the

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

as Grigory "Grigor" Dymov, a

composite character In a work of media adapted from a real or fictional narrative, a composite character is a character based on more than one individual from the story. It is an example of dramatic license. Examples Film *'' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939): Glinda, Goo ...

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

's historical lovers

Grigory Orlov Prince Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov (; 17 October 1734 – 24 April 1783) was a favourite of the Empress Catherine the Great of Russia, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (1772), state and military figure, collector, patron of arts, and General-in ...

and

Grigory Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.) was a Russian mi ...

, and a childhood friend of Peter III. In 2023, it was announced that Lee had been cast in the second season of '' SAS: Rogue Heroes''.Filming begins on SAS Rogue Heroes series two, as new and returning cast are announced
Retrieved 13 May 2023.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
CV at Hamilton Hodell Talent Management
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Gwilym 1983 births 20th-century British male actors 21st-century British male actors English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male video game actors English male voice actors English people of Welsh descent Ian Charleson Award winners Living people Male actors from Sutton Coldfield Alumni of Cardiff University Male actors from London Male actors from Bristol Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama