Philip James Dunster is an English actor. He is known for his roles in the

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

drama '' Strike Back'' (2017–2018), the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

series ''

Humans Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

'' (2018), the ITV comedy-drama '' The Trouble with Maggie Cole'' (2020), the

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription over-the-top streaming service owned by Apple. The service launched on November 1, 2019, and it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service w ...

sports series ''

Ted Lasso ''Ted Lasso'' ( ) is an American sports film, sports comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence (TV producer), Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly. It is based on a character Sudeikis portrayed in a series ...

'' (2020–2023), and the

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

thriller ''

The Devil's Hour ''The Devil's Hour'' is a British drama thriller television series created by Tom Moran, and executive produced by Sue Vertue and Steven Moffat through their production company Hartswood Films. The first series consists of six episodes, and ...

'' (2022). For his role in ''Ted Lasso'', Dunster was nominated for a

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre, or even gender, specific. Beginning ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Early life and education

Philip James Dunster was born in

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

, England. He attended Leighton Park School in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, where he served as

head boy The two Senior Prefects, individually called Head Boy (for the male), and Head Girl (for the female) are students who carry leadership roles and are responsible for representing the school's entire student body. Although mostly out of use, in some ...

. He played rugby as a child, though he realised at the age of fifteen that he was too small after a failed trial for

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...

. He also considered following in the footsteps of his father and brother and joining the military. He went on to train at the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS) is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS was an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance a ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Acting in 2014.

Career

In 2015, Dunster played Claudio in the Reading Theatre production of ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, 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. ...

'' and made his television debut in the

sitcom '' Catastrophe''. He also played Dickie Baker in the low budget film '' The Rise of the Krays'', a role he would reprise in its sequel the following year '' The Fall of the Krays''. Dunster starred as Arthur in ''Pink Mist'' at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

and Bush Theatre in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, for which he received an affiliate

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

nomination in 2016. That same year, he appeared in '' The Entertainer'' at the Garrick Theatre and two episodes of the

crime drama '' Stan Lee's Lucky Man''. From 2017 to 2018, Dunster was in the main cast of '' Strike Back'' as Lance Corporal Will Jensen for its sixth series, also known as '' Strike Back: Retribution'', also on Sky One. He had recurring roles in the

Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group, Sky Group Limited that launched in 2011 and broadcasts in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel airs original British-produced dramas like ''Fortitude (TV series), F ...

drama '' Save Me'' as BJ McGory, and the third series of the

science fiction series ''

'' as Tristan. He also appeared in the films '' Megan Leavey'', ''

Murder on the Orient Express ''Murder on the Orient Express'' is a work of detective fiction by English writer Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 1 January 1934. In the U ...

'', and '' All Is True''. In 2019, he appeared in the

miniseries ''

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 ...

'' as well as the films '' Judy'' and '' The Good Liar''. In 2020, Dunster began starring as Jamie Tartt in the

sports comedy ''

'', which earned him a nomination for a

. In 2020 he played Jamie Cole in the ITV comedy-drama '' The Trouble with Maggie Cole'', and appeared in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

three-parter ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

''. He played Mike Stevens in the 2022

thriller ''

''.

Personal life

Dunster is a lifelong football fan, supporting AFC Wimbledon. He has been in a relationship with filmmaker Eleanor "Ellie" Heydon since November 2017. In August 2024, Dunster confirmed he and Heydon were engaged.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Audio

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Phil Dunster
at Spotlight * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunster, Phil 1992 births Living people 21st-century English male actors Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors English male voice actors Actors educated at Leighton Park School Male actors from Northampton