Will Keen

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Will Keen
Will Keen-7740.jpg
Keen in 2025
Born
William Walter Maurice Keen

(1970-03-04) 4 March 1970 (age 55)
Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
OccupationActor
Years active1993–present
Spouse
María Fernández Ache
(m. 2002)
Children Dafne Keen
Relatives

William Walter Maurice Keen (born 4 March 1970) [1] [2] is an English actor. Recognised for his work on stage and screen, he is a prolific figure of modern British theatre and a trustee of the James Menzies Kitchin Award, an award set up for young theatre directors.

Contents

Life and career

Early years and education

Keen was born in Oxford, the son of Charles William Lyle Keen and Lady Priscilla Mary Rose Curzon, daughter of Edward Curzon, 6th Earl Howe. [3] His sisters are the poet Alice Oswald and the author Laura Beatty. [4] [5] He studied at Eton College and has a first class degree in English literature from the University of Oxford.[ citation needed ]

Acting career

Some of his notable British theatre credits include Ghosts , Waste , Tom & Viv , Five Gold Rings, Patriots (Almeida Theatre), Huis Clos (Trafalgar Studios), Macbeth , The Changeling (Cheek by Jowl, Barbican and international tours), The Arsonists (Royal Court Theatre), Kiss of the Spider Woman (Donmar Warehouse), The Rubenstein Kiss (Hampstead Theatre), Hysteria , Don Juan, Man and Superman (Theatre Royal, Bath), Pericles , The Prince of Homburg (Lyric Hammersmith), The Duchess of Malfi , The Coast of Utopia , Mary Stuart , Hove (National Theatre), The Two Noble Kinsmen , The Tempest , The Winter's Tale , Dido, Queen of Carthage (Shakespeare's Globe), The Seagull , Present Laughter , The Tempest (West Yorkshire Playhouse), and Quartermaine's Terms , A Midsummer Night's Dream and Elton John's Glasses (West End).[ citation needed ]

His television credits include Wolf Hall , The Musketeers , Midsomer Murders , Silk , Sherlock , The Impressionists , Wired , Casualty 1907 , Elizabeth I , New Tricks , Titanic , Foyle's War , The Colour of Magic , and The Refugees . His film credits include Nine Lives of Tomas Katz and Love and Other Disasters .

In 2016, he played the role of the Queen's longtime Private Secretary, Michael Adeane, in the Netflix series The Crown . In 2019, he appeared in the BBC TV series His Dark Materials , based on the critically acclaimed book trilogy by Philip Pullman, as Father MacPhail (his daughter, Dafne, is the series' lead actress), whilst in 2021 he appeared as David Epstein in Ridley Road . In 2022, he played Vladimir Putin in the opening run of Peter Morgan's play Patriots, about the life of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, at the Almeida Theatre in London. [6]

In Spain, he has performed plays in Spanish, Traición ( Betrayal ) and Cuento de Invierno (The Winter's Tale) as well as directing Hamlet and Romeo y Julieta . In the musical field, he has recorded the "Seven Scenes from Hamlet" by the Spanish composer Benet Casablancas, in collaboration with the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, conducted by José Ramón Encinar (Stradivarius, 2010).[ citation needed ]

Personal life

He is married to Spanish actress, theatre director, and writer Maria Fernandez Ache with whom he has a daughter, Dafne Keen, who is also an actress.

Acting credits

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2000 The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz Cuthbert
2006 Love and Other Disasters David Williams
2012Love SongGarcin
2014GhostsPastor Manders
2015 Victor Frankenstein Surgeon
2018 The Man Who Killed Don Quixote Producer
2021 Operation Mincemeat Salvador Gomez-Beare
2022 The Man from Rome Arzobispo CorvoSpanish: La piel del tambor
2023 Consecration John
Dead Shot Woodville
2025 The Wizard of the Kremlin Boris Berezovsky

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1993 Between the Lines P.C. James WillettsEpisode: "What's the Strength of This?"
1994 The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries LudovicEpisode: "Scales of Justice"
Martin Chuzzlewit Todgers' LodgerEpisode: "Episode Two"
1996, 1997 The Bill Charlie Roberts / Justin Guthrie2 episodes
2000 Monsignor Renard Jean-Paul DufosseEpisode #1.3
2004 Murphy's Law Anthony BrodyEpisode: "Convent"
When I'm 64 DoctorTelevision film
2005 Midsomer Murders Preaching Pete KubatskiEpisode: "Second Sight"
Holby City Andy BrackEpisode: "Patience"
Elizabeth I Francis Bacon 2 episodes
2006 The Impressionists Paul Cézanne 3 episodes
2008The Colour of MagicGanmack TreehallettMiniseries; 2 episodes
Casualty 1907 Dr. James Sequeira4 episodes
New Tricks Ronnie GlazebrookeEpisode: "Mad Dogs"
2010, 2015 Foyle's War Alan Deakin2 episodes
2011 The Man Who Crossed Hitler Hans Frank Television film
Garrow's Law FullertonEpisode #3.3
2011, 2012 Silk Michael Connolly3 episodes
2012 Titanic Chief Officer Wilde 4 episodes
2014 Sherlock Major ReedEpisode: "The Sign of Three"
2014–2015 The Refugees Samuel7 episodes
2015 The Musketeers Fernando Perales4 episodes
Wolf Hall Thomas Cranmer 5 episodes
The Scandalous Lady W Mr. BearcroftTelevision film
2016–2017 The Crown Michael Adeane 15 episodes
2018 Genius: Picasso Paul Rosenberg 2 episodes
2019 Deep State Marcus Hobbes2 episodes
2019–2022 His Dark Materials Father MacPhailMain role
2020–2021 Tell Me Who I Am Albert James9 episodes
2021 The Pursuit of Love Sir Leicester2 episodes
Ridley Road David Epstein4 episodes
Temple Ed2 episodes
2023 The Gold Hugh Vincent QCEpisode: "Vengeance Is Easy, Justice Is Hard"
2024 My Lady Jane Duke of Norfolk 4 episodes
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power BelzagarEpisode: "The Eagle and the Sceptre"
Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Thomas Cranmer 6 episodes
2025 Dope Girls Frederick Asquith-Gore6 episodes

Theatre

YearTitleRolesNotes
2013 Ghosts Pastor Manders Almeida Theatre, London
2022–2023 Patriots Vladimir Putin Almeida Theatre
Noël Coward Theatre, West End
2024 Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway
Othello Iago Royal Shakespeare Company

See also

References

  1. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, Burke's Peerage, Ltd, 2003, p. 1987.
  2. Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, 148th edition, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 2011, p. 799
  3. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, Burke's Peerage, Ltd, 2003, p. 1987
  4. Armitstead, Claire (22 July 2016). "Alice Oswald: 'I like the way that the death of one thing is the beginning of something else'". The Guardian.
  5. Dehn, Georgia (10 October 2015). "Mary Keen interview: 'people have accused me of being too traditional'". The Telegraph.
  6. "Patriots review – Peter Morgan's compelling study of Russian dissidence". The Guardian. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.