George Asprey

Of Asprey's origins, the Daily Mirror said that his world had been one of "indecent wealth" and he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth but a "silver shovel". The only son of Edward Asprey, of Asprey the jewellers, he was educated at Charterhouse School and was expected to join the family business on leaving school. Asprey rebelled, wishing instead to pursue an acting career. This was not welcomed by his father, and the pair did not speak for several months.Carole Aye Maung, "Rough diamond; Asprey rebel has a golden future as an actor", Daily Mirror (London), 23 May 1996, [https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Rough+diamond%3B+Asprey+rebel+has+a+golden+future+as+an+actor.-a061330592 archived] at thefreelibrary.com, accessed 23 November 2021 Asprey subsequently studied business in the United States, with a view to joining the family firm, but while there was cast in a stage production of The Tempest. This led him to audition for entry to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA), and at the age of twenty he was one of nineteen new students accepted out of some 2,500 applicants.[https://www.londontheatredirect.com/actor/george-asprey George Asprey], London Theatre Direct, accessed 23 November 2021

Soon after leaving LAMDA, Asprey was cast as Sean Devereux in the television film The Dying of the Light (Yorkshire Television, 1992). His character was a UNICEF aid worker who was murdered, and Asprey received good reviews for the performance. He appeared as a policeman in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994).

In 1995, Asprey was cast as Tony Paterson, a promiscuous hairdresser, in the ITV television serial An Independent Man. In 2003 he played Doc Holliday in a BBC production, in 2016 appeared as Walter Monckton in The Crown,Robert Lacey, The Crown: The official book of the hit Netflix series (Bonnier Publishing, 2017), p. 407 and in 2021 played Jonathan Rees QC in Four Lives.

Asprey's longest-running part on stage is as Scar in the West End production of The Lion King, which he began to play in 2008 and was still performing in October 2019, when in an interview he described Scar as "probably the greatest baddie that Disney has ever written".Matt Wolf, [https://www.broadway.com/buzz/197296/longtime-london-the-lion-king-star-george-asprey-reflects-on-the-shows-20-years-in-the-west-end/ "Longtime London The Lion King Star George Asprey Reflects on the Show's 20 Years in the West End"], broadway.com, 18 October 2019, accessed 23 November 2021 The production had to close in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 lockdown, but it reopened at the Lyceum Theatre in July 2021, with Asprey returning as Scar.[https://www.itv.com/news/london/2021-07-29/the-lion-king-cast-ecstatic-ahead-of-shows-west-end-reopening "The Lion King cast ‘ecstatic’ ahead of show’s West End reopening"], itv.com, 29 July 2021, accessed 23 November 2021

In 1992, while they were both appearing in The Sound of Music, Asprey dated Amanda Holden.Jim Maloney, Amanda Holden (Kings Road Publishing, 2011), [https://books.google.com/books?id=oyKtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT22 p. 22]

Asprey and his wife Kirsten have three daughters.Warren Humphries, [https://discover.ticketmaster.co.uk/theatre/ticketmaster-meets-lion-kings-george-asprey-8524/ "Ticketmaster meets The Lion King’s George Asprey"], ticketmaster.co.uk, 19 September 2014, accessed 23 November 2021

• The Dying of the Light (TV movie, 1992) as Sean Devereux
• Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) as PolicemanJohn Kenneth Muir, Horror Films of the 1990s (2011), p. 330
• Secrets & Lines (2000) as Andrew
• AKA (2002) as David, Lord GlendeningLeonard Maltin, Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide: The Modern Era (2017), p. 18
• Out of Bounds (2003) as Matthew Van Huet
• The Wedding Date (2005) as Pat
• Ian Fleming: Bondmaker (2005) as Officer
• The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005) as Wilfred ReidJohn Willis, Barry Monush, Screen World: 2006 Film Annual (2006), p. 126
• Riot at the Rite (2005) as Voucher, journalist
• The Gentlemen (2019) as Lord Snowball
• Without Remorse (2021) as Denis Stewart[https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2021/04/movie-review-tom-clancys-without-remorse-2021/ Without Remorse review], flickeringmyth.com, accessed 24 November 2021

• A Breed of Heroes (BBC, 1994) as Second Lieutenant
• An Independent Man (1995) as Tony Patterson
• The Peter Principle (1995) as Frank
• Supply and Demand (1997) as Barry Guard
• Coming Home (1998) as Dr Jeremy Wells
• Trial & Retribution (1998) as DC Jack Hutchens
• The Bill (1998) as Andrew Stirling
• Nancherrow (1999) as Dr Jeremy Wells
• Holby City (2003) as Simon Hargreaves
• The Wild West: Gunfight at the OK Corral (BBC, 2003) as Doc HollidayShirley Ayn Linder, Doc Holliday in Film and Literature (McFarland, 2014), [https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5qdAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA150 p. 150]
• Mayo (2006) as Adam Hendrick
• Waking the Dead (2007) as Young Bruno Rivelli
• Psychoville (2009) as John Haigh
• Upstairs Downstairs (2010) as Oswald Mosley
• The Crown (2016) as Walter Monckton
• The Barking Murders (2021) as Jonathon Rees QC[https://waringandmckenna.com/clients/george-asprey/ "George Asprey"], waringandmckenna.com, accessed 26 November 2021

{{reflist}}

• [https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0039697/ "George Asprey"], IMDb
• [https://www.londontheatredirect.com/actor/george-asprey "George Asprey"], London Theatre Direct
• [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IS0Rvwoacqs THE LION KING Education series: Episode 4 - An actor prepares], YouTube

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Category:1966 births

Category:Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art

Category:English male film actors

Category:English male stage actors

Category:English male television actors

Category:Living people

Category:People educated at Charterhouse School

Category:20th-century English male actors

Category:21st-century English male actors