Anton Lesser

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Anton Lesser
Anton Lesser (2011).jpg
Lesser in June 2011
Born (1952-02-14) 14 February 1952 (age 72)
Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
Alma mater
OccupationActor
Years active1979–present
SpouseMadeleine Lesser
Children2

Anton Lesser (born 14 February 1952 [1] ) is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Qyburn in the HBO series Game of Thrones , Harold Macmillan in The Crown , Clement Attlee in A United Kingdom , Chief Superintendent Bright in Endeavour , [2] and Major Partagaz in Star Wars: Andor . An associate of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he has performed numerous Shakespearean roles on stage and television.

Contents

Early life and education

Anton Lesser was born in Birmingham [3] on 14 February 1952, [4] the son of David Lesser and his wife Amelia Cohen.[ citation needed ] He is of Jewish background. [5]

He was educated at Moseley Grammar School [6] and at the University of Liverpool, where he earned a degree in architecture in 1973. [7]

Lesser went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1974 until 1976, [3] and on graduation in 1977 [8] was awarded the Bancroft Gold Medal as the most promising actor of his year. His final performance there was as Gethin Price in Comedians by Trevor Griffiths. [3]

Career

Lesser was spotted in Comedians and offered a contract by the casting director for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). [3]

As an associate artist with the RSC, Lesser played many of Shakespeare's great roles. [3] In the BBC Television Shakespeare productions he was Troilus ( Troilus and Cressida ), Edgar ( King Lear ), and Feste ( Twelfth Night ). On stage, he has portrayed Romeo (a titular character in his play), Prince Hamlet (the titular character of his play), Brutus ( Julius Caesar ), Petruchio ( The Taming of the Shrew ), Richard III (the titular character of his play), and others. [9]

When he moved down to London, the reviews were less flattering than he had become accustomed to at the RSC. However he continued to win roles on stage, including as Stanley in Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party, Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew , Rover in Wild Oats and Brutus in Deborah Warner’s Julius Caesar in 1975. [3]

Lesser is a frequent radio contributor and played the title role in the BBC Radio adaptations of the first five Marcus Didius Falco mysteries by Lindsey Davis. He has also recorded many audiobooks, including much of the work of Charles Dickens. His recording of Great Expectations won him a Talkie Award. Other books range from John Milton's Paradise Lost , Homer and Rumi [10] to contemporary novels by Robert Harris ( Fatherland ) and Philip Pullman. For two months in 2013, Lesser was a regular cast member playing Robin Carrow in Ambridge Extra , a BBC Radio 4 Extra spin-off from the BBC Radio 4 drama The Archers . [11]

In 2013, during the third season of the HBO Max series Game of Thrones , Lesser began playing the recurring role of Qyburn, an enigmatic mad scientist who served as part of the retinue of Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey). Qyburn, and Lesser's portrayal of him, were popular with fans, particularly as the series went on and the character appeared more frequently and had greater influence over the narrative. [12] [13] The Ringer described him as "the last curious man in Westeros" and noted that the character "refuses to seem like a MacGuffin, despite totally being one." [14] The character returned across the remainder of the series run until the penultimate episode in 2019; Qyburn was one of the characters who perished in the episode, which led to many fans producing memes about his abrupt death. [15]

In 2015, Lesser was announced as a public supporter of Chapel Lane Theatre Company based in Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom. [16]

Lesser portrayed Thomas More in the BBC mini-series Wolf Hall , and received a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. [17]

In 2022, Lesser played Major Partagaz, a supporting antagonist in the Star Wars spinoff Andor . His performance of Partagaz, a ranking member of the Empire's intelligence agency, the Imperial Security Bureau, was noted by critics. Digital Spy noted that Lesser delivered dialogue on Imperial bureaucracy with "powerful coolness." [18]

Personal life

With his wife Madeleine Adams, Lesser has two children, Harry and Lily. Lily Lesser is an actress and has acted alongside her father in Endeavour and Wolf Hall. [19]

Filmography

Film

Television

Podcasts

Podcasts by year—sortable
YearTitleRoleNotes
2020 The Sandman Dr. John HathawayVoice role, 20 episodes

Video games

Video game roles by year—sortable
YearTitleRoleNotes
2020 South of the Circle Professor HargreavesVoice role

Theatre performances

Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations by year—sortable
YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.
2016 BAFTA TV Awards Best Supporting Actor Wolf Hall Nominated [21]
2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Game of Thrones Nominated [22] [23]
The Crown Nominated

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References

  1. ↑ Gullen, Zoë; Sefton, Daniel, eds. (2006). Debrett's People of Today 2006. London: Debrett's. p. 969. ISBN   9781870520324 . Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "Anton Lesser talks Qyburn, Jaime Lannister's Gold Hand, & The Mountain". flicksandthecity.com. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Smurthwaite, Nick (28 May 2019). "Actor Anton Lesser: 'I'd much rather be here than stuck halfway up a mountain'" . The Stage. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  4. ↑ Gullen, Zoë; Sefton, Daniel, eds. (2006). Debrett's People of Today 2006. London: Debrett's. p. 969. ISBN   9781870520324 . Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "Jews in the News: Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks and David H. Steinberg | Tampa JCCS and Federation".
  6. ↑ "Moseley's Hall Of Fame". The Moseleians Association. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  7. ↑ "Alumni Profile: Anton Lesser" (PDF). University of Liverpool Alumni. 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  8. ↑ "Anton Lesser - RADA". Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  9. ↑ "Anton Lesser". IMDb. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  10. ↑ Arnold, Sue (1 December 2007). "Verse yourself in Rumi's words". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  11. ↑ Delaney, Zoe (20 September 2021). "Endeavour star Anton Lesser's secretly famous daughter who appears alongside him". mirror. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  12. ↑ Shepherd, Jack (13 June 2016). "Game of Thrones season 6 episode 8: What rumour does Qyburn confirm for Cersei?". The Independent. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  13. ↑ Han, Karen (7 May 2019). "Qyburn is playing the long game (of thrones)". Polygon. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  14. ↑ Siquig, Alex (19 April 2019). "In Praise of Qyburn, Westeros's Resident Freak". The Ringer. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  15. ↑ Taylor, Jordyn (13 May 2019). "How Fans Reacted to Qyburn's Death on Game of Thrones". Men's Health. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  16. ↑ Harvey-Ball, Thom. "New Supporter - Anton Lesser!". Chapel Lane Theatre Company. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  17. ↑ Fabrique. "BAFTA TV awards for RADA alumni — RADA". www.rada.ac.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  18. ↑ Griffiths, Al (29 September 2022). "What Andor gets right that the Star Wars prequel trilogy got wrong". Digital Spy. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  19. ↑ "Lily Lesser" at IMDb.
  20. ↑ as spelled in The life and death of Richard II programme by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre 1990
  21. ↑ "BAFTA Television Awards 2016 – winners in full". RadioTimes. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  22. ↑ "Nominations Announced for the 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards" (PDF). Screen Actors Guild. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2017.
  23. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (13 December 2017). "SAG Award Nominations: Complete List". Variety . Retrieved 13 December 2017.
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