Rupert Simeon Graves (born 30 June 1963) is an English

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

, and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

actor. He is known for his roles in '' A Room with a View'', '' Maurice'', '' The Madness of King George'' and '' The Forsyte Saga''. From 2010 to 2017 he starred as DI Lestrade in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television series '' Sherlock''.

Early life and education

Graves was born in

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the North Somerset unitary district, in the county of Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. Its population ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England, to Mary Lousilla (''

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Roberts) Graves, a travel co-ordinator, and Richard Harding Graves, a music teacher and musician. Graves was educated at Wyvern Community School, a state comprehensive school in his home town of Weston-super-Mare, which he left at the age of 16.

Career

Graves's first job after leaving school was as a

circus clown Circus clowns are a sub-genre of Clown, clowns. They typically perform at circus, circuses and are meant to amuse, entertain and make guests laugh. Traditional types There are traditionally three basic types of clowns that appear in the circus: ...

. He has appeared in more than 25 films and more than 35 television productions. He has also appeared on stage. He first came to prominence in costume-drama adaptations of E. M. Forster's novels '' A Room with a View'' (1985) and '' Maurice'' (1987), before appearing in films including '' A Handful of Dust'' (1988), '' The Madness of King George'' (1994), '' Different for Girls'' (1996), and '' Intimate Relations'' (1996). His role in ''Intimate Relations'' won him the Best Actor award at the 1996

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (), commonly abbreviated MWFF in English or FFM in French, was an annual film festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from 1977 to 2019.miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

'' The Forsyte Saga'' (2002). In addition to his screen work, Graves has won acclaim for his stage acting, including roles in Broadway productions, in New York City, of the plays '' Closer'' (2000) and ''

The Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890) was an English man known for his severe physical deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "The Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital, ...

'' (2002). His notable London theatre credits include his performance as Presley Stray in the original production of Philip Ridley's '' The Pitchfork Disney'' (1991) at the Bush Theatre, west London, which won him Best Actor at the 1991 Charrington London Fringe Awards; in Martin Sherman's '' A Madhouse in Goa'' (1989) opposite Vanessa Redgrave; and as Eddie in the Peter Hall Company's production of David Rabe's '' Hurlyburly'' (1997–98) at the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

and Queen's Theatre, for which he was nominated for the 1998

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 ...

for Best Actor.

Personal life

In 1987, Graves met Yvonne, a

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

artist. They lived together in London, and he helped raise her two daughters. The couple were together for 13 years. He later married Australian-born production co-ordinator Susie Lewis.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

and primary archive sources.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, Rupert Living people 1963 births 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male voice actors Actors from Weston-super-Mare Male actors from Somerset Theatre World Award winners