Tobias Menzies
Tobias Simpson Menzies is an English actor. He is known for playing Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in the third and fourth seasons of the series The Crown, for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and received Golden Globe and British Academy Television Award nominations. Menzies also played Frank and Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall in Starz's Outlander, for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination, in addition to his roles as Brutus in Rome and Edmure Tully in Game of Thrones.
Early years
Menzies was born in Hammersmith, London, England, the son of Peter Menzies and Gillian. His mother was a teacher and his father a BBC radio producer. He has one younger brother, Luke, who is a solicitor. Menzies attended the Perry Court Rudolf Steiner School in Canterbury, Kent, where he was trained in the Steiner System, which includes movement, singing and instrumental music. Then, he attended the Frensham Heights School, near Farnham in Surrey, at the same time as Hattie Morahan and Jim Sturgess.Menzies attended Deborah Moody's Year Out Drama Company in Stratford-upon-Avon from 1993 to 1994 before enrolling in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, eventually graduating with a BA Degree in Acting. Upon completion of his BA, Menzies participated in improvisation workshops through The Spontaneity Shop, a British improvisation comedy company, as part of a graduate scheme through RADA.
Career
Television
Menzies' first professional television role, beginning in 1998, was an eleven-episode stint on BBC's long-running medical drama Casualty. Then he featured in director David Attwood's made-for-TV film Summer in the Suburbs and a series-three episode of ITV's crime drama Midsomer Murders. In 2002, Menzies portrayed Vince in ITV's romantic comedy series I Saw You, appeared in three episodes of SAS drama Ultimate Force and featured in a series-one episode of WWII drama Foyle's War. He also appeared in made-for-television film A Very Social Secretary, directed by Jon Jones, which launched UK Channel 4's spin-off station, More4.From 2005 to 2007, Menzies portrayed Marcus Junius Brutus, Julius Caesar's friend and later co-assassin, in the HBO/BBC historical drama series Rome. He next appeared as William Elliot in ITV's production of Jane Austen's classic Persuasion, and Derrick Sington in Channel 4's feature-length drama The Relief of Belsen, which chronicled the British liberation of Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp at the end of WWII. In 2008, Menzies starred in two stylistically different miniseries; the first was BBC's anthology mini-series Fairy Tales, in an episode entitled The Empress's New Clothes, where he portrayed Aidee. The second was the series finale of BBC's Bonekickers, which followed a team of British archaeologists as they investigated mysteries and conspiracy theories surrounding historical artifacts. The next year saw Menzies return to episodic television, with roles in ITV's legal drama Kingdom, alongside Stephen Fry, a special episode of BBC's comedy Pulling and several episodes of BBC One's spy drama Spooks.
The Deep, BBC's 2010 science fiction-thriller mini-series set on submarines in the deep waters below Arctic ice, saw Menzies star alongside Minnie Driver and James Nesbitt. That same year he portrayed real-life Naval Intelligence officer Ian Fleming in PBS's mini-series Any Human Heart, an adaptation of William Boyd's 2002 novel, which chronicled historical events through fictional protagonist Logan Mountstuart. He would go on to feature in a series four episode of ITV's Law & Order: UK, a British adaptation of Dick Wolf's long-running American procedural franchise. In 2011, Menzies featured as tabloid journalist Ross McGovern in BBC Two's seven part mini-series The Shadow Line, opposite Stephen Rea and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The next year, in ITV's supernatural courtroom drama Eternal Law, Menzies portrayed a fallen angel who had become a prosecuting attorney in York, England. He would go on to feature in an episode of BBC Two's political satire The Thick of It, an episode of Channel 4's political thriller mini-series Secret State, three episodes of BBC's medical satire Getting On, and two episodes of BBC's Shakespearean documentary Simon Schama's Shakespeare.
In 2013, Menzies first appeared as Edmure Tully, the heir to House Tully of Riverrun, in HBO's Game of Thrones, which was based upon George R. R. Martin's fantasy book series. The role was recurring, with Menzies' final appearance occurring in the 2019 series finale. That same year, Menzies starred in the series two finale of Channel 4's anthology series Black Mirror, and a two episode stint on BBC's long-running crime drama Silent Witness. 2014 saw Menzies portray Maggie Gyllenhaal's bodyguard, Nathaniel Bloom, in the BBC's Emmy nominated mini-series The Honourable Woman, and Alexander in the series premier of BBC's dog training comedy Puppy Love. The same year, Menzies first appeared in time travel drama series, Outlander, which is based upon author Diana Gabaldon's best-selling series of novels. He portrayed the recurring dual roles of Frank Randall, a 20th-century historian, and Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall, his brutal 18th-century ancestor. From 2015 to 2019, Menzies appeared in the recurring role of Dr. Harries, OB/GYN to lead character Sharon, in Amazon's original series Catastrophe.
BBC One's adaptation of John le Carré's espionage novel The Night Manager saw Menzies, opposite Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie, in the role of British intelligence director Geoffrey Dromgoole, in the spring of 2016. That same year, he starred in Channel 4's series pilot The Circuit, a comedy set at a neighborhood dinner party. In 2017, in his first voice over work on television, Menzies portrayed Mandalorian warrior Tiber Saxon on Disney XD's animated series Star Wars Rebels. It was announced in 2016 that Menzies had been cast as James Fitzjames, Captain of the Royal Navy vessel HMS Erebus, in AMC's anthology series The Terror. The series, based upon Dan Simmons' 2007 novel of the same name, chronicled a fictionalized account of real-life expeditionary ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror during the third Franklin Expedition of the Arctic in 1848. That same year, he appeared as the Duke of Cornwall in BBC Two's adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear, opposite Anthony Hopkins and Emily Watson.
In March 2018, it was announced that Menzies had been cast to portray Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, in seasons 3 and 4 of Netflix's historical drama series The Crown, opposite Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II. His performance in the series earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, in addition to nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama, the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series and the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He was also a part of the ensemble cast that won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2019 and 2020.
Menzies was announced, in June 2019, as a cast member for the Channel 4/Hulu original series This Way Up, a comedy set around the life of an English as a Second/Foreign Language teacher, from actress and writer Aisling Bea. In January 2022, he was set to lead limited drama series Manhunt created by Monica Beletsky, based on the book Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James Swanson.
Film
Menzies' first professional film role was 2000's dramatic comedy The Low Down, opposite Aidan Gillen, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival. His next role, in Miramax's 2004 biographical drama Finding Neverland, saw Menzies feature opposite Johnny Depp's J.M. Barrie, the creator of beloved children's character Peter Pan. The next year, Menzies appeared in the romantic comedy Piccadilly Jim, opposite Sam Rockwell, and director Adrian Shergold's drama Pierrepoint: The Last Hangman, opposite Timothy Spall. He also featured in Casino Royale, Columbia Pictures' 2006 reboot of the James Bond film franchise, as personal aide to M, chief of British secret intelligence agency Mi6.In 2007, Menzies portrayed a Naval officer on the beaches of Normandy, opposite James McAvoy, in the Academy Award-nominated adaptation of Ian McEwan's WWII drama Atonement. The Rose Theatre, an Elizabethan theatre outside London, produced a short video which was shown in 2009, and featured Menzies in the role of Mephistophilis, in Christopher Marlowe's play Doctor Faustus. He would go on to appear in three films in 2010. The first was Independent Pictures' adaptation of Russian author Anton Chekhov's The Duel, where he portrayed Von Koren. Second was Swipe Films' production of Jackboots on Whitehall, an animated film featuring puppets. Menzies, alongside Alan Cumming and Timothy Spall, provided voice work for the comedy spoof, which explored the idea of Nazis invading the United Kingdom at the end of WWII. In his third film of 2010, Menzies starred opposite Genevieve O'Reilly in the drama Forget Me Not, an independent film which premiered at the Culver Plaza Theater in Culver City, CA..
The dramatic comedy Hysteria featured Menzies, opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy, in the story of the creation of the first Victorian era vibrator. That same year, he would feature in writer Andrew Steggall's short film The Door, an official selection at the 28th annual Warsaw International Film Festival, which was based upon the tale The Door in the Wall by H.G. Wells. In 2012, Menzies starred in director Carrie Cracknell's Nora, a short film inspired by the Young Vic's theatrical production of Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House. His next film was 2014's thriller The Birthday Gift, a short film which was screened at the Aesthetica Short Film Festival that year. Menzies would go on to star in the short film/micro-play Groove is in the Heart, a collaboration between the Royal Court Theatre and The Guardian, which was screened at the BFI London Film Festival, and submarine action film Black Sea, a modern-day pirate thriller, opposite Jude Law.
2016 saw Menzies feature in three films. First was director Benedict Andrews' forbidden relationship drama Una, which was based upon the play Blackbird from Scottish playwright David Harrower, followed by filmmaker James Hughes' experimental film The Velvet Abstract, which saw Menzies provide narration, and was screened at the New Renaissance Film Festival. Last was Underworld: Blood Wars, the fifth installment in the Underworld franchise, with Menzies starring as the main antagonist, Marius, opposite Kate Beckinsale's Selene.
In August 2017, it was announced that Menzies had been cast in director Emily Harris' adaptation of Carmilla, a fantasy film based upon the Gothic novella of the same name by Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu.