Simon Haines | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bristol, England |
| Education | Selwyn College, Cambridge Guildhall School of Music & Drama |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, director, writer |
| Years active | 2009–present |
Simon Haines is a British actor, director and writer. He portrayed Malendol in the fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power , Owen Michaels in Emmerdale and Rod Reed in Murder Most Puzzling .
Simon Haines was born in Bristol and grew up in Clevedon, Somerset. [1] He studied English at Selwyn College, Cambridge [2] and trained as an actor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, at the same time as Michaela Coel and Paapa Essiedu. He also trained in the Meisner technique, and with American acting and directing coach Adrienne Weiss. [3] [4] He received a Laurence Olivier Bursary from SOLT and he was highly commended at the Michael Bryant Awards by Sir Nicholas Hytner. [5] [6]
Whilst at Cambridge, Haines wrote and performed with the Cambridge Footlights, co-writing and performing the comedy sketch show Good Clean Men with Joey Batey, Ben Ashenden and Alex Owen (The Pin). [7] [8] [9] He played Claudius in a production of Hamlet in Elsinore Castle [7] and wrote a translation of Chekhov's The Seagull , starring Lily Cole, Joey Batey and Genevieve Gaunt. [10]
His first professional role after drama school was as Demetrius/Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream for London's Orange Tree Theatre. He made his West End debut as Christopher Wren in Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap in 2017. [2] He has played a variety of stage roles including leading roles of Patrick, a "smoothly menacing" Hollywood screenwriter, in the 2018 UK premiere of Mart Crowley's play For Reasons That Remain Unclear, and Drew (the role originated by Armie Hammer on Broadway) in the UK premiere of Young Jean Lee's Straight White Men. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]
On screen, he portrayed the young Pope Boniface VIII in the Knights Templar series Knightfall , and he played pathologist Dr Benjamin Swift in ITV's true-crime drama Litvinenko, with David Tennant. [16] [17] His feature film debut was playing the role of police Sergeant Dan Byrne in the 2024 British crime thriller, Forgive Me Father, directed by Fredi Nwaka. [18] He also played Paul Weyland ("the Einstein-killer from Berlin") [19] in Netflix feature film Einstein and the Bomb, sociologist Bezalel Sherman in BBC-PBS film Bombing Auschwitz [20] , and leading role Jonas in upcoming feature film Honeywell. [21]
In 2024, he played the recurring role of elf commander Malendol in Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power . He was already a Tolkien fan, but in preparing to play the role, he read Unfinished Tales and The Fall of Gondolin. [22] [23]
In 2025, he played villain Owen Michaels in Emmerdale , until the character's death. [24]
He plays regional news anchorman Rod Reed in cozy crime series Murder Most Puzzling opposite Phyllis Logan. He improvised several of his character's news reports. [4]
He plays a role in Edgar Wright's upcoming feature film The Running Man , acting opposite Glen Powell. [23] [25] Co-writers Edgar Wright and Michael Bacall added some of Haines's improvisations from his audition into the final screenplay. [4]
Haines's debut film as writer/director, Senior Consultant, premiered at the 2025 BAFTA-qualifying London Comedy Film Festival (LOCO). [26] [21] He admires the work of filmmaker Mike Leigh. [27]
He is set to star in upcoming American TV series Ponies , opposite Emilia Clarke and White Lotus star Haley Lu Richardson. [28]
Haines is bisexual and dyspraxic. [27] He was assessed for dyspraxia whilst studying at Cambridge University; he said: "The diagnosis was super helpful to just have the label and to sort of have a gentler relationship with myself". [29] He plays jazz piano and supports Manchester United F.C. [4]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Bombing Auschwitz | Bezalel Sherman | Television film |
| 2019 | Knightfall | Father Benedetto | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Litvinenko | Benjamin Swift | 2 episodes |
| 2024 | The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power | Malendol | 3 episodes [23] |
| 2025 | Emmerdale | Owen Michaels | 4 episodes |
| 2025 | Murder Most Puzzling | Rod Reed | 6 episodes [30] |
| 2025 | Ponies | TBA |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Forgive Me Father | Sgt Dan Byrne |
| 2024 | Einstein and the Bomb | Paul Weyland |
| 2025 | Honeywell | Jonas (lead) |
| 2025 | World on Fire | TBA |
| 2025 | The Running Man | TBA |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Age of Empires II: Battle for Greece | Brasidas | Voice |