Steve Toussaint
{{Short description|British actor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| image = File:Steve toussaint 2022 3.jpg
| caption = Toussaint at the 2022 German Comic Con Dortmund
| birth_name = Stephen Toussaint
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1965|03|22|df=y}}
| birth_place = Birmingham, England
| occupation = Actor
| education = University of Sussex (BA)
| years_active = 1994–present
| website = {{url|https://stevetoussaint.com/}}
}}
Stephen Toussaint (born 22 March 1965) is a British actor and writer. He first gained prominence through his role in the ITV crime drama The Knock (1994–2000). Currently, he plays Lord Corlys Velaryon in the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon.
His films include Shooting Dogs (2005) and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010). On television, he appeared in the second series of Line of Duty (2014), the ninth series of Lewis (2015), the Australian series Pine Gap (2018), and Small Axe: Red, White and Blue (2020).
Early life
Toussaint was born in Birmingham to Barbadian parents and grew up on an estate in the New Cross area of South London,{{cite web|url= http://www.afridiziak.com/interviews/steve-toussaint/|title=Steve Toussaint – interview Father Comes Home From the Wars, Royal Court Theatre|website=Afridiziak Theatre News|date=2016|accessdate=3 October 2022}} where his father worked for the London Underground and his mother worked as a nurse. His first taste of acting came in a school nativity play as a Roman centurion in a suit of Armour made from cardboard.{{Cite web|url=https://www.londontheatre1.com/interviews/interview-with-steve-toussaint-star-of-line-of-duty-and-a-dolls-house/|title=Interview with Steve Toussaint star of Line of Duty and A Doll's House|website=London Theatre|first=Neil|last=Cheesman|date=23 January 2014|accessdate=3 October 2022}} He studied politics at the University of Sussex. During his time there, he was scouted for a role in a play and joined the drama society. After graduating, he briefly worked in merchant banking and hospital administration before deciding to try acting again. He took evening drama classes.{{Cite journal|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/aug/19/nothing-is-too-big-to-fail-steve-toussaint-on-starring-in-the-game-of-thrones-prequel|title='Nothing is too big to fail': Steve Toussaint on starring in the Game of Thrones prequel|journal=The Guardian|first=Stuart|last=Heritage|date=19 August 2022|accessdate=3 October 2022}}
Toussaint changed his surname to Toussaint because his birth name conflicted with a pre-existing member of his actors' union. He chose the name from Toussaint Louverture, the Haitian revolutionary leader (as at the time he had been reading about him in The Black Jacobins by C. L. R. James).{{cite tweet |last=Toussaint |first=Steve |author-link=Steve Toussaint |user=StevieToussaint |number=1468931986853187591 |date=9 December 2021 |title=@TheTonyTeflon Toussaint was the name I chose, as my own legal name would have clashed with an existing member of our actors' union. I was reading "The Black Jacobins" by CLR James at the time. You're right, a real hero. |language=en |access-date=12 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902232327/https://twitter.com/StevieToussaint/status/1468931986853187591 |archive-date=2 September 2022 |url-status=live}}
Career
Toussaint's first professional role in acting, was as the Genie in the Lamp in Aladdin at the Churchill Theatre in 1990 in a cast that included John Inman, Paul Shane, Susan Maughan, Eli Woods and David Janson. His other extensive theatre career included performances in A Doll's House at the Young Vic, Macbeth and The Merchant of Venice for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Twelfth Night at the Nottingham Playhouse, and more.{{cite web|url= https://royalcourttheatre.com/cast/steve-toussaint/|title=Steve Toussaint, Royal Court Theatre|website=royalcourttheatre.com/|access-date=27 October 2022}}
Toussaint's big break on television was starring as Barrie Christie in all 37 episodes of the ITV crime drama The Knock from 1994 to 2000. He appeared in Waking the Dead in 2002, My Dad's the Prime Minister in 2004, and Mutant Chronicles in 2008.
In 2010, Toussaint starred in the Mike Newell-directed film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley. Toussaint appeared as CS Ray Mallick in the second season of the BBC2 police drama series Line of Duty in 2014. In 2015 he starred in Lewis, In 2018 he starred in 6 episodes of Pine Gap.
In 2022, Toussaint began starring as Corlys Velaryon, the head of House Velaryon, in the HBO fantasy series House of the Dragon, a Game of Thrones spin-off. He then appeared in the BBC One series Rain Dogs as the Duke.
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
!Title !Role !Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="3" | 1995
| I.D. | Shadwell Fan | |
| Judge Dredd
| Hunter Squad Leader | |
| You'll Soon Get the Hang of It: The Technique of One to One Training
| Camera Operator | Documentary short |
| 2000
| Circus | Black | |
| 2001
| Dog Eat Dog | Darcy | |
| 2002
| The Perfect Moment | News Anchor | Short Film |
| 2003
| New York Detective | |
| 2005
| Roland | |
| rowspan="2" | 2007
| Col. Ratcher | |
| Roadblock
| Sgt Garret Young | Short Film |
| rowspan="2" | 2008
| Capt John McGuire | |
| Broken Lines
| Physio | |
| 2010
| Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time | Seso | |
| 2012
| Dr. Rank | Recording |
| rowspan="2" | 2014
| Asylum | Powell | |
| Darkness
| | Short Film |
| 2015
| FBI Dept. Director #1 | |
| 2016
| A Viable Candidate | Sylvan Bradshaw | Short Film Also credited as writer {{Citation |title=A Viable Candidate Interview |url=https://vimeo.com/458348779 |language=en |access-date=2 September 2022}} |
| 2018
| Forgive Me, Father | Father Matthew | Short Film |
| 2019
| Masters of Love | Dad | |
| 2023
| Roy | Amazon Prime film{{Cite web |title=Steve Toussaint on Instagram: "So. There's a film. It's called "Gassed Up". It's gonna be exclusively on @primevideouk. It's got these lovely people in it. And a bit of me! @steviegambles @taz_skylar @officiallymagic @tobiasjowett @mohammed_mansaray @maemuller @jelenagavrilovicofficial @yungfilly @harrypinero @arrdeegram @msbanks @tomi.may @rxwdat @davidmonteith" |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CgPasBjrrig/ |access-date=2 September 2022 |website=Instagram |language=en}} |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
!Title !Role !Notes |
|---|
| 1994
| The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes | Steve Dixie | Episode: The Three Gables |
| 1994–2000
| Barrie Christie | 37 episodes |
| 1994–2005
| The Bill | Clive Isley / Mike Hurley / Nick Austin | 11 episodes |
| 1995
| Backup | Ralf Johnson | Episode: "Toleration Zone" |
| 1996
|Crucial Tales | Robert | Episode: "Spiders and Flies" |
| rowspan="2" | 1998
| Macbeth | Lennox | Television Film |
| Dangerfield
| P.C. Lyle | Episode: "Harvest Time" |
| rowspan="4" | 1999
| Barry Wills | Episode: "The Witness" |
| Jack of Hearts
| Joe | 5 episodes |
| Doomwatch: Winter Angel
| Luke | Television Film |
| Casualty
| Martin Devern | Episode: "Peace on Earth" |
| 1999–2009
| Charles Harrison / Sean Horton / Martin Devern | 4 episodes |
| 2002
| Charlie Bellows | 2 episodes |
| 2002–2010
| Doctors | D.I. Mike Trent / Tom Dumasai / D.I. Mike Trent | 16 episodes |
| rowspan="3" | 2003
| DC Chris Hewson | Episode: "Suicide" |
| Murphy's Law
| Sammy | Episode: "Kiss and Tell" |
| Rosemary & Thyme
| D.I. Scott | Episode: "Sweet Angelica" |
| rowspan="3" | 2004
| Caleb Andrew | 3 episodes |
| England Expects
| Pete | Television Film |
| My Dad's the Prime Minister
| Transport Secretary | 7 episodes |
| 2005
| Adam Lockwood - PVS | 6 episodes |
| 2007
| Them | Uriah Selleck | Television Film |
| 2007–2008
| Judge Hugo Kemp | 3 episodes |
| 2007–2014
| Richard Parkwood / Pastor Funmi Lambo | 4 episodes |
| 2009
| Grant Lindon | Episode: "The Last Laugh" |
| rowspan="2" | 2010
| Skins | Father Babajide | Episode: "Thomas" |
| Spooks
| Felix Osuba | Season 9 Episode 2 |
| rowspan="2" | 2014
| CS Ray Mallick | 3 episodes |
| Scott & Bailey
| DSI Will Pemberton | 4 episodes |
| rowspan="5" | 2015
| Banana | Pete Monroe | 1 episode |
| DCI Banks
| Michael Osgood | 2 episodes |
| A.D. The Bible Continues
| Julius | 1 episode |
| Tut
| 3 episodes |
| Lewis
| CS Joseph Moody / Ch. Supt. Moody / Ch. Supt. Joe Moody | 6 episodes |
| rowspan="3" | 2016
| Victor Campbell | Episode: "The Incident at Cooper Hill" |
| Grantchester
| Dicky Evans | 1 episode |
| Berlin Station
| Benjamin Taylor | 3 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2017
| Lamont Bailey | 2 episodes |
| Upstart Crow
| Otello | Episode: "The Green-Eyed Monster" |
| rowspan="4" | 2018
| Steadman King | Episode: "The Healer" |
| Killed by My Debt
| Bentley Duncan | |
| Our Girl
| Roger Mendez | 2 episodes |
| Pine Gap
| Ethan James | 6 episodes |
| 2019
| Deep Water | Adam | 3 episodes |
| rowspan="3" | 2020
| Feekat | Episode: "Ascension of the Cybermen" |
| In the Long Run
| Charles Lander / Charles Quigley | 3 episodes |
| Small Axe
| Kenneth Logan | Episode: "Red, White and Blue" |
| rowspan="2" | 2021
| Alan Baxter | 2 episodes |
| Before We Die
| Kane | 3 episodes |
| 2022–present
| Main Role |
| 2023
| The Duke | |
| 2025
| {{TBA}} (voice) | In production |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
!Title !Role !Notes |
|---|
| rowspan="2" | 2018
|George Lambert |voice |
| World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth
| |voice |
| 2021
|George Lambert |voice |
| 2022
|Charlie Crawford |Season 2 |
Stage
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1996
| The No Boys Cricket Club | Michael |
| 2000–2001
| Florindo | Royal Shakespeare Company tour |
| 2002
| 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | Ned | Theatre Royal Stratford East |
| 2003
| Urban Afro-Saxons | Dennis | Talawa Theatre Company, Theatre Royal Stratford East |
| 2004
| Fix Up | Kwesi | Cottesloe at the National Theatre, London |
| 2008
| Hapgood | The American | Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham |
| rowspan="2" | 2010
| Ruined | Commander Osembenga | Almeida Theatre, London |
| Twelfth Night
| Orsino | Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham |
| rowspan="2" | 2011
| Salerio | rowspan="2" | Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon |
| Macbeth
| Banquo |
| 2011–2012
| Stafford Scott | Tricycle Theatre / Bernie Grant Arts Centre, London |
| 2012–2014
| Dr. Rank | Young Vic / Duke of York's Theatre, London |
| 2016
| Father Comes Home from the Wars | Hero | Royal Court Theatre, London |
References
External links
- {{IMDb name|0869750}}
- [https://www.stevetoussaint.com/ Steve Toussaint Official Website]
- [https://twitter.com/stevietoussaint Steve Toussaint] at Twitter
- [https://www.instagram.com/thegenuinetoussaint/ Steve Toussaint] at Instagram
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toussaint, Steve}}
Category:20th-century British male actors
Category:21st-century British male actors
Category:Alumni of the University of Sussex
Category:Black British male actors
Category:British male television actors
Category:British male film actors
Category:British male voice actors
Category:English people of Barbadian descent
Category:Male actors from Birmingham, West Midlands
Category:Male actors from London
Category:Actors from the London Borough of Lewisham
Category:British male stage actors