Gwilym Lee
Gwilym Lee (born 24 November 1983) is a Welsh actor. He is known for his roles in The Tourist (2010), A Song for Jenny (2015), Jamestown (2017), Midsomer Murders, and playing guitarist Brian May in the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (2018).
Gwilym Lee | |
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Lee interviewed about Bohemian Rhapsody in 2018 | |
Born | Bristol, England | 24 November 1983
Alma mater | Cardiff University Guildhall School of Music and Drama |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1997–present |
Home town | Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England |
Early life
Lee was born in Bristol to Welsh parents, Tom and Ceinwen. He has three older siblings: Geraint, Owen and Rhiannon. When he was young the family moved to Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham,[1] although he identifies strongly with his Welsh heritage.[2][3] He studied English literature at Cardiff University and drama at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he received the Guildhall Gold Medal in 2008.[1] Lee lives in London.[4]
Career
Lee joined a drama group as a teen. He then starred in the 1997-1998 television adaptation of the Animal Ark books. Aged 16 he started working on Richard III with the Royal Shakespeare Company.[4] Lee appeared in a leading role in the final series of Land Girls (2011) and had several guest roles on television (including Ashes to Ashes, Fresh Meat, Monroe and Henry V). He has also worked on radio (The Emerald Tiger, The Silver Turk and in an adaptation of The Cruel Sea).
Lee was commended in the 2008 Ian Charleson Awards for his appearance in the National Theatre's production of Oedipus and in 2009 played Laertes to Jude Law's Hamlet in the Donmar West End season.[5]
He won first prize of the 2011 Ian Charleson Award for his role as Edgar in the 2010 King Lear production at the Donmar Warehouse.[6] In 2012 Lee starred in the Donmar Trafalgar Studios production of Aleksei Arbuzov's The Promise.[7]
At Christmas 2013 Lee began a television starring role as DCI Barnaby's new sergeant, DS Charlie Nelson, in the 16th series of Midsomer Murders, which also included the show's 100th episode, partially shot in Denmark in collaboration with the local national broadcasting corporation, DR.[8] In early 2014 he appeared in Versailles at the Donmar Warehouse.[5]
In April 2016 it was announced by ITV that Lee was not returning for season 19 of Midsomer Murders. Lee, on his Twitter account, indicated he would be involved in an upcoming series Jamestown.[9] Lee played guitarist Brian May in the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (2018),[10] which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards.[11]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | The Escort | Short film | |
2010 | The Tourist | Senior Technician Mountain | |
2011 | Isle of Dogs | D.C. Block | |
2018 | The Last Witness | John Underwood | |
2018 | Bohemian Rhapsody | Brian May | |
2019 | Top End Wedding | Ned | Premiered at the Sundance film festival in January 2019 |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1997–1998 | Animal Ark | James Hunter | 13 episodes |
2008 | Mutual Friends | Young Man | |
2009 | Lewis | Terry Bainbridge | Episode: "The Quality of Mercy" |
2009 | Waterloo Road | Steven | |
2009 | Ashes to Ashes | Young Summers | |
2010 | Doctors | Anatole Karpski | Episode: "Idle Hands" |
2011 | Land Girls | Reverend Henry Jameson | 5 episodes |
2012 | Henry V | Williams | Television film |
2012 | Fresh Meat | Giles | |
2012 | Monroe | Alex Scholfield | |
2012 | Restless | Sean Gilmartin | Miniseries |
2013–2016 | Midsomer Murders | DS Charlie Nelson | 15 episodes |
2015 | A Song for Jenny | James | Television film |
2017 | The Royal House of Windsor | Narrator | Documentary Series |
2017 | Jamestown | Samuel Castell | 8 episodes |
2019 | Sticks and Stones | Mark Baxter | |
2020 | The Great | Grigor Dymov | Hulu series |
Theatre
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | King Lear | Edgar | |
Video games
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Cloud Chamber | Tom | |
2015 | Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below | Psaro the Manslayer | English voice |
2015 | Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward | Cid | English voice |
References
- Kirstie McCrum (13 December 2013). "Actor Gwilym's got murder in mind at Midsomer". Wales Online.
- Lee, Gwilym (17 February 2016). "Two contrasting birthday cards from family and friends illustrating the difficulty of growing up Welsh in England...pic.twitter.com/sHsNKywJZG". @Gwilymlee. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
- Lee, Gwilym (7 July 2018). "Apparently, it's coming home. (I know I'm Welsh - but just for this one day.....) #itscominghome #worldcup". @Gwilymlee. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
- Mark Kebble (16 December 2013). "Why Gwilym Lee is one to watch". The Resident. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- "Hamlet at the Donmar Warehouse 2009". Archived from the original on 31 January 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- Louis Wise (19 June 2011). "Award for young actors". The Sunday Times.
- "Photo Flash: First Look at Max Bennett, Gwilym Lee and More in Donmar Warehouse's THE PROMISE". 20 November 2012.
- Tom Cole (15 April 2013). "Midsomer Murders: Gwilym Lee joins as Barnaby's new partner". Radio Times.
- "Twitter". mobile.twitter.com. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
- Queen Pic ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Finds Bandmates In Ben Hardy, Gwilym Lee & Joe Mazzello, Retrieved August 22, 2017.
- Nordyke, Kimberly (12 December 2018). "SAG Awards: Full List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 December 2018.