External links
- "George Asprey", IMDb
- "George Asprey", London Theatre Direct
- THE LION KING Education series: Episode 4 - An actor prepares, YouTube
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George Asprey (born 1 October 1966) is a British stage, film, and television character actor. Since 2008, Asprey has played the part of Scar in the West End theatre production of the musical The Lion King .
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". [1] 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. [1] 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. [2] [3]
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. [1] He appeared as a policeman in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994). [4]
In 1995, Asprey was cast as Tony Paterson, a promiscuous hairdresser, in the ITV television serial An Independent Man. [1] In 2003 he played Doc Holliday in a BBC production, [5] in 2016 appeared as Walter Monckton in The Crown , [6] 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". [2] 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. [7]
In 1992, while they were both appearing in The Sound of Music , Asprey dated Amanda Holden. [8]
Asprey and his wife Kirsten have three daughters. [9]
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Jonathan Lee Miller is a British actor. He achieved early success for his portrayal of Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson in the dark comedy-drama film Trainspotting (1996) and as Dade Murphy in Hackers (1995) before earning further critical recognition for his performances in Afterglow (1997), Mansfield Park (1999), The Flying Scotsman (2006), Endgame (2009), and T2 Trainspotting (2017). For The Flying Scotsman he received a London Film Critics' Circle nomination for Actor of the Year. He was also part of the principal cast in the films Melinda and Melinda (2004), Dark Shadows (2012), and Byzantium (2013). He has appeared in several theatrical productions, most notably After Miss Julie and Frankenstein, the latter of which earned him an Olivier Award for Best Actor.
Toby Stephens is a British actor who has appeared in films in the UK, US and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film Die Another Day, for which he was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, of William Gordon in the 2005 Mangal Pandey: The Rising film and Edward Fairfax Rochester in the 2006 BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre. From 2014 to 2017, he starred as Captain Flint in the Starz television series Black Sails, followed by one of the lead roles in the Netflix science fiction series Lost in Space from 2018 to 2021. He has starred as the Greek God Poseidon in the series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo is a British actor, director, and producer. His accolades include a Critics' Choice Award and two NAACP Image Awards as well as nominations for two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award. In 2016, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama.
Martin Shaw is an English stage, television, and film actor. He came to national recognition as Doyle in ITV crime-action television drama series The Professionals (1977–1983). Further notable television parts include the title roles in The Chief (1993–1995), Judge John Deed (2001–2007) and Inspector George Gently (2007–2017). He has also acted on stage and in film, and has narrated numerous audiobooks and presented various television series.
Ian McNeice is an English film and television actor, best known for playing Bert Large in the dramedy Doc Martin. He found fame portraying government agent Harcourt in the 1985 television series Edge of Darkness, and went on to feature in popular films such as The Englishman Who Went up a Hill but Came down a Mountain, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and Frank Herbert's Dune.
The Lion King is a stage musical with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and a book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi, with additional music and lyrics by Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor, and Hans Zimmer. It is based on the 1994 Walt Disney Animation Studios' film of the same name. Directed by Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. The show is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions.
Anna Maxwell Martin, sometimes credited as Anna Maxwell-Martin, is a British actress. She won two British Academy Television Awards, for her portrayals of Esther Summerson in the BBC adaptation of Bleak House (2005) and N in the Channel 4 adaptation of Poppy Shakespeare (2008). She is also known for her roles as DCS Patricia Carmichael in BBC One crime drama Line of Duty (2019–2021) and Kelly Major in Code 404 (2020–present). Since 2016, Martin has starred in the BBC comedy Motherland, for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Female Comedy Performance.
Alec Newman is a Scottish actor best known for portraying Paul Atreides in the Sci Fi Channel's 2000 miniseries adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune.
Anthony Calf is an English actor. He studied acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He had recurring roles in the television medical drama Holby City, as Michael Beauchamp, and New Tricks as DAC Robert Strickland. He has also worked in theatre, where his credits include productions of The Madness of George III with the National Theatre and A Midsummer Night's Dream, The false servant at the National Theatre and Rock'n Roll at the Duke of York's Theatre. He was nominated as best actor in the Irish Times Theatre Awards 2008 for his work in Uncle Vanya at the Gate Theatre. He was featured in King Charles III on Broadway in 2015.
David Holliday was an American Broadway actor and television voice actor. He is best known as the voice of Virgil Tracy, pilot of Thunderbird 2, in the first series of Thunderbirds (1965–66).
Rory Michael Kinnear is an English actor. He won two Olivier Awards, both at the National Theatre, in 2008 for his portrayal of Sir Fopling Flutter in The Man of Mode, and for playing the William Shakespeare villain Iago in Othello in 2014.
Harry John Newman Treadaway is a British actor. His credits include Control (2007), Fish Tank (2009), Pelican Blood (2010), Flight of the Storks (2012), Mr. Mercedes (2017-2018), The Crown (2019), Star Trek: Picard (2020), Deceit (2021), and The Chemistry of Death (2023).
Robert Urquhart was a Scottish character actor who worked on the stage, for British television, and in film. His breakthrough role was Paul Krempe in The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957, along with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.
Anthony Stewart Head is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, which led to major roles in several television series. He is best known for his roles as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003), the Prime Minister in Little Britain (2003–2006), Uther Pendragon in Merlin (2008–2012) and Rupert Mannion in Ted Lasso (2020-2023), as well as voicing Herc Shipwright in BBC Radio 4's Cabin Pressure.
The Lion King is a Disney media franchise comprising a film series and additional media. The success of animated original 1994 American feature film, The Lion King, directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, led to a direct-to-video sequel and prequel, a live-action remake in 2019, a television film sequel, two spin-off television series, three educational shorts, several video games, merchandise, and the third-longest-running musical in Broadway history, which garnered six Tony Awards including Best Musical. The franchise, led by the musical's box office at $8.1 billion, is the highest-grossing entertainment property. The franchise as a whole has EGOT-ed, meaning it has won the four biggest awards of American show business.
Vanessa Nuala Kirby is a British actress. She made her professional acting debut on stage, with acclaimed performances in the plays All My Sons (2010), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2010), Women Beware Women (2011), Three Sisters (2012), and as Stella Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (2014).
Andrew Gower is an English actor. A staple in British television and theatre, he is best known for his recurring role as Cutler in Being Human and his turn as Prince Charles Stuart in Outlander. Gower won the Spotlight Prize for Best Actor in 2010.
"The Madness of King Scar" is a song written by English musician Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice, which premiered in the musical The Lion King, a stage adaptation of Disney's 1994 animated feature film of the same name. "The Madness of King Scar" had been added to the musical along with two other songs. It is one of two tracks that more prominently features vocals from the character Nala. The title is a reference to the 1994 film The Madness of King George.
Joseph Quinn is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Eddie Munson in the fourth season of the Netflix series Stranger Things (2022). His previous appearances were in the BBC One series Dickensian (2016), Howards End (2017), and Les Misérables (2018), and the Sky Atlantic series Catherine the Great (2019).
Hugh Coles is an English film and television actor. He is known for his roles in The Festival (2018), Defending the Guilty (2019) and Atlanta (2022) as well as originating the role of George McFly in Back to the Future: The Musical. for which he was nominated for the 2022 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical.
