Bertie Carvel
{{Short description|British actor (born 1977)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bertie Carvel
| image = Bertie Carvel in 'Ink' 2019.jpg
| caption = Carvel as Rupert Murdoch in Ink (2019)
| birth_name = Robert Hugh Carvel
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1977|9|6|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Marylebone, London, England
| years_active = 2003–present
| alma_mater = University of Sussex
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
| occupation = Actor
| spouse = {{marriage|Sally Scott|5 January 2019}}{{cite AV media |date=9 June 2019 |title=73rd Tony Awards |medium=Television broadcast |location=New York City |publisher=CBS}}
| children = 1
}}
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, and Adam Dalgliesh in Dalgliesh. 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/dec/04/bertie-carvel-roald-dahl-matilda-interview|location=London, UK|work=The Guardian|first=Kate|last=Kellaway|title=Bertie Carvel: 'The Trunch needs to be a tyrant over 5-year-olds'|date=4 December 2011}} 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),{{Citation|title=Damned by Despair programme|work=National Theatre|location=London, UK|date=October 2012}} graduating in 2003 after a three-year course.[http://ashbee.net/rada/grad03/car.html Profile] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005120657/http://ashbee.net/rada/grad03/car.html |date=5 October 2011}}, ashbee.net; accessed 14 September 2014.
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{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Taylor |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/coram-boy-national-theatre-olivier-london-515892.html |title=Coram Boy, National Theatre, Olivier, London |newspaper=The Independent |date=18 November 2005 }} 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,{{cite web|url=http://www.olivierawards.com/news/view/item140082/carvel-takes-home-best-actor-in-a-musical|title=Carvel Takes Home Best Actor|publisher=Olivier Awards|work=olivierawards.com|date=15 April 2012|access-date=8 November 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504011808/http://www.olivierawards.com/news/view/item140082/carvel-takes-home-best-actor-in-a-musical/|archive-date=4 May 2012}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/arts/theatre/evening-standard-theatre-awards-two-frankensteins-go-head-to-head-6365384.html|title=Evening Standard Theatre awards|work=London Evening Standard|date=7 November 2011|access-date=20 April 2012}} He played Enrico in Damned By Despair at the National Theatre.{{cite web|url=http://www.metro.co.uk/lifestyle/914424-bertie-carvel-my-damned-by-despair-character-is-on-a-bender-of-violence|title=Bertie Carvel: My Damned By Despair character is on a bender of violence|publisher=Metro|work=metro.co.uk|date=9 October 2012|access-date=8 November 2012}}
In March 2013, he reprised his role as Miss Trunchbull in Matilda on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre.{{cite web|url=http://www.broadway.com/buzz/165344/olivier-winner-bertie-carvel-to-reprise-role-as-evil-headmistress-miss-trunchbull-in-matilda-on-broadway|title=Olivier Winner Bertie Carvel to Reprise Role as Evil Headmistress Miss Trunchbull in Matilda on Broadway|publisher=Broadway World|work=broadway.com|date=8 November 2012|access-date=8 November 2012}} 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.[http://www.playbill.com/news/article/177440-Nominations-Announced-for-67th-Annual-Tony-Awards-Kinky-Boots-Earns-13-Nominations "Nominations Announced for 67th Annual Tony Awards"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021194132/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/177440-Nominations-Announced-for-67th-Annual-Tony-Awards-Kinky-Boots-Earns-13-Nominations |date=21 October 2013 }}, Playbill.com; 30 April 2013.[http://broadwayworld.com/article/2013-Drama-Desk-Nominations-Announced-GIANT-HANDS-ON-A-HARDBODY-Lead-with-9-Followed-by-MATILDA-PASSION-DROOD-20130429 2013 Drama Desk Nominations Announced - Giant & Hands On A Hardbody Lead with 9, Followed by Matilda, Passion & Drood], broadwayworld.com; 29 April 2013.
From August to October 2015, Carvel played both Pentheus and Agave in Bakkhai at the Almeida Theatre.{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/aug/02/bakkhai-review-almeida-ben-whishaw-bertie-carvel|title=Bakkhai review -Ben Whishaw and Bertie Carvel share the honours |work=The Guardian| first=Susannah|last=Clapp|author-link=Susannah Clapp |date=2015-08-02 |access-date=14 December 2015}} 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.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/21/theater/rupert-murdoch-play-london.html?_r=0 |title=Writing Rupert, Playing Murdoch, Making 'Ink' |newspaper=The New York Times |date=21 September 2017 |last=Sulcas |first=Roslyn}} 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{{cite web | url=https://forums.swtor.com/topic/935259-game-update-75-desperate-defiance-coming-may-29th/#comment-9815981 | title=Game Update 7.5 "Desperate Defiance" coming May 29th! | date=23 May 2024 }} 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.{{cite news |url= http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Bertie-Carvel-and-Eddie-Marsan-to-Star-in-BBCs-JONATHAN-STRANGE-MR-NORELL-20131010 |title=Bertie Carvel and Eddie Marsan to Star in BBC's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell |work=Broadway World |date=10 October 2013}} 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/dalgliesh-tv-series-bertie-carvel-newsupdate/ |title=Dalgliesh's Bertie Carvel says series is "about the first year of grief"}} He plays former Prime Minister Tony Blair in the fifth and sixth series of The Crown.{{cite web|last=Baker|first=Emily|date=24 November 2021|title=Bertie Carvel on joining The Crown season 5: 'I can't tell the whole truth of Tony Blair'|url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/bertie-carvel-interview-the-crown-season-5-tony-blair-netflix-tragedy-macbeth-1315842|access-date=24 November 2021|website=INews}} In June 2024, it was announced that Carvel would portray Baelor Targaryen in the upcoming series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.{{cite news|last=Vary|first=Adam B.|title='Game of Thrones' Spinoff 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' Begins Filming as 'The Crown,' 'True Detective' Actors Join Cast|url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/game-of-thrones-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-production-1236041563/|work=Variety|date=18 June 2024}} In April 2025, it was revealed that Bertie Carvel would serve as the narrator for the upcoming revival of Walking With Dinosaurs.{{Cite web |title=Walking With Dinosaurs – BBC Factual and PBS release trailer and confirms award-winning actor Bertie Carvel as narrator for the new series |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2025/walking-with-dinosaurs-trailer-narrator-bertie-carvel |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en}}
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.{{cite news|location=London, UK|work=Teaching Drama Magazine|title=Drama and Me: Bertie Carvel|date=Spring 2011}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2013/bertie-carvel-among-new-faces-elected-to-equity-committees/|location=London, UK|work=The Stage|first=Alistair|last=Smith|title=Bertie Carvel among new faces elected to Equity committees|date=15 July 2013}}
Carvel married actress Sally Scott on 5 January 2019 after dating for ten years. Their first child was born in May 2020.{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/from-matilda-to-agatha-christie-why-bertie-carvel-is-the-great-transformer-m9sk5mv3h|location=London, UK|work=The Times|first=Andrew|last=Billen|title=From Matilda to Agatha Christie: why Bertie Carvel is the great transformer|date=30 January 2020}}
Acting credits
=Film=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="margin-right: 0;" |
| scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| scope="row" | 2012
|Bamatabois | |
| scope="row" | 2021
| |
=Television=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="margin-right: 0;" |
| scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| scope="row" | 2004
| Hawking | George Ellis | Television film |
| scope="row" | 2004
| Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures | Max Mallowan | Television film |
| scope="row" | 2005
| Beethoven | 2 episodes |
| scope="row" | 2006
| Lieutenant Roddy Frost | 7 episodes |
| scope="row" | 2006
| Martin Phillips | Episode: "Looking After Number One" |
| scope="row" | 2007
| Mysterious Man | Episode: "The Lazarus Experiment" |
| scope="row" | 2008
| Episode: "Reunion" |
| scope="row" | 2009
| Primeval | Ryan Mason | Episode: "Haunted House" |
| scope="row" | 2009
| Dr Dench | 2 episodes |
| scope="row" | 2009
| Justin Hooper | Episode: "The Great and the Good" |
| scope="row" | 2010
| Sherlock | Sebastian Wilkes |Episode: "The Blind Banker" |
| scope="row" | 2010
| Uncle Neville | Episode: "Parrots for Ethel" |
| scope="row" | 2011
|The Crimson Petal and the White | Ashwell | 3 episodes |
| scope="row" | 2011
| Hidden | Alexander Wentworth | 4 episodes |
| scope="row" | 2012
| Restless | Mason Harding | Episode: "Part Two" |
| scope="row" | 2014
| Babylon | Finn Kirkwood | 7 episodes |
| scope="row" | 2014
| Nathan Cross | Episode: "White Mans" |
| scope="row" | 2015
| Television film |
| scope="row" | 2015
| Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell | Jonathan Strange | 7 episodes |
| scope="row" | 2015–2017
| Simon Foster | Two series, lead role |
| scope="row" | 2016
|Various voices |2 episodes |
| scope="row" | 2017
|Episode: "Marionettes" |
| scope="row" | 2018
|Big Cats |Narrator{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05q59zk/credits|work=BBC iPlayer|title=Big Cats|access-date=14 January 2018}} |3 episodes |
| scope="row" | 2020
|Zachariah Osborne |2 episodes |
| scope="row" | 2020
|Frank Temple |6 episodes |
| scope="row" | 2020
|Robert “Bob” Morrow | 4 episodes |
| scope="row" | 2021-present
| Lead role |
| scope="row" | 2022–2023 |
| scope="row" | 2025
| A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms | Prince Baelor Targaryen | Supporting role |
| scope="row" | 2025
| Walking With Dinosaurs | Narrator |6 episodes |
=Theatre=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="margin-right: 0;" |
| scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" | Theatre ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Refs. |
|---|
| scope="row" | 2003
| Revelations | Jack | |
| scope="row" | 2004
| Victory? A Musical Drama For Peace | Uri | |
| scope="row" | 2005
| Heinzel/Policeman | Oxford Stage Company/Arcola Theatre/Dumbfounded Theatre |
| scope="row" | 2004
| Macbeth | Macbeth | |
| scope="row" | 2005
| Faustus | Faustus |
| scope="row" | 2005–07
| Alexander Ashbrook (adult) / Ensemble |{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Taylor |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/coram-boy-national-theatre-london-6229494.html |title=Coram Boy, National Theatre, London |newspaper=The Independent |date=21 December 2006 }} |
| scope="row" | 2005
| Dr Kurt Pflugfelder/Professor Filitz | |
| scope="row" | 2006
| Ludovico Marsili | |
| scope="row" | 2007
| Medley | |
| scope="row" | 2008
| Oliver | |
| scope="row" | 2008
| Parade | |
| scope="row" | 2008
| Edward Luton | Chichester/Tour | |
| scope="row" | 2009
| Rope | Rupert Cadell | |
| scope="row" | 2011
| Dr Dee | |
| scope="row" rowspan="3" |2010–13
|rowspan=3| Matilda the Musical |rowspan=3| Miss Trunchbull | Courtyard Theatre | |
| Cambridge Theatre 25 October 2011 {{ndash}} July 2012 | |
| Shubert Theatre 4 March 2013 {{ndash}} 1 September 2013 | |
| scope="row" | 2011
| Damned By Despair | Enrico | |
| scope="row" | 2015
| Bakkhai | Pentheus, Agave | Almeida Theatre | |
| scope="row" | 2015
| Yank | |
| scope="row" | 2016
| Policeman | Trafalgar Studios | |
| scope="row" rowspan="3" |2017–19
| rowspan="3" |Ink | rowspan="3" |Rupert Murdoch |Almeida Theatre | |
| Duke of York's Theatre 9 September 2017 {{ndash}} 6 January 2018 | |
| Samuel J. Friedman Theatre 2 April 2019 {{ndash}} 7 July 2019 | |
| scope="row" | 2022
| The 47th | The Old Vic | |
| scope="row" | 2023
| |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role |
|---|
| 2008
|Haze |Shane Carpenter |
| 2011–2024
|Male Imperial Agent |
| 2012
|The Forest God, Callisto |
=Audio=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
!Title !Role |
|---|
| 2009
|Wormwood |
Accolades
=Theatre=
= Television =
| class="wikitable" width="100%" |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Work ! Result ! Ref |
|---|
| align="center"| 2023
| Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | {{nom}} | align="center"| {{cite press release|url=https://www.sagawards.org/media/news/releases/nominations-announced-30th-annual-screen-actors-guild-awardsr|title=Nominations Announced for the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards®|publisher=Screen Actors Guild |date=January 10, 2024|access-date=January 10, 2024}} |
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=1584487|name=Bertie Carvel}}
- [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/bertie-carvel Bertie Carvel | Stage | The Guardian]
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Bertie Carvel
| list =
{{DramaDesk MusicalFeaturedActor 2001–2025}}
{{OlivierAward MusicalActor 2001–2025}}
{{OlivierAward PlaySupportingPerformance}}
{{TonyAward PlayFeaturedActor}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carvel, Bertie}}
Category:20th-century English male actors
Category:21st-century English male actors
Category:Actors from the City of Westminster
Category:English male film actors
Category:English male musical theatre actors
Category:English male television actors
Category:English male video game actors
Category:English male voice actors
Category:Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Category:Alumni of the University of Sussex
Category:Male actors from London
Category:People from Marylebone
Category:Drama Desk Award winners
Category:Laurence Olivier Award winners