Hugh Dancy

Hugh Michael Horace Dancy (born 19 June 1975) is an English actor who rose to prominence for his role as the title character in the television film adaptation of David Copperfield as well as for roles in feature films as Kurt Schmid in Black Hawk Down (2001) and Prince Charmont in Ella Enchanted (2004). Other film roles include Joe Conner in Shooting Dogs (2005), Grigg Harris in The Jane Austen Book Club (2007), Luke Brandon in Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009), Adam Raki in Adam (2009) and Ted in Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011). On television, he portrayed criminal profiler Will Graham in the NBC television series Hannibal (2013–2015), Cal Roberts in the Hulu original series The Path (2016–2018) and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, in the Channel 4 miniseries Elizabeth I (2005); the latter role earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. Dancy currently portrays Senior Assistant District Attorney Nolan Price on NBC's revival of the original Law & Order (2022–present).

Early life, family and education Dancy was born in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, and raised in Newcastle-under-Lyme. His mother, Sarah Ann Dancy (née Birley, born 1952), works in academic publishing. Hugh is the oldest of three children, followed by brother Jack Dancy (born 1977), who is co-director of the travel company Trufflepig Travel, and sister Katharine Sarah Redman (née Dancy, born 1980), who works for UNESCO.

From age 5–10, Dancy was educated at Edenhurst Preparatory School in Newcastle-under-Lyme. At age 10, Dancy attended boarding school at the Dragon School in Oxford, then, at 13

Notable roles from film include Dancy's Prince Charmont from the 2004 film Ella Enchanted alongside Anne Hathaway and, from the same year, Galahad in King Arthur alongside later Hannibal co-star Mads Mikkelsen. In 2005, he starred as Adam Raki in Adam, an independent film which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2009 and follows the story of a young man diagnosed with autism. He went on to appear in various other films.

In theatre, Dancy has appeared in MCC Theater's The Pride, written by Alexi Kaye Campbell, at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York City. The off-Broadway production was directed by Joe Mantello and co-starred Ben Whishaw and Andrea Riseborough. In 2007, Dancy had a starring role on Broadway as Captain Dennis Stanhope in Journey's End (Belasco Theatre). From 2010 until 2011, he starred in Manhattan Theatre Club's Broadway production of Venus in Fur alongside Nina Arianda. His performance was praised by The New York Times theatre critic Charles Isherwood. In August 2018, it was announced he would appear with Stockard Channing in Roundabout Theatre Company's off-Broadway premiere of Apologia, written by Alexi Kay Campbell, in the dual roles of Peter and Simon.

In March 2012, NBC announced that Dancy had been cast as Will Graham in Hannibal, the television adaptation based on the main character of Thomas Harris' 1981 novel Red Dragon. The show received critical acclaim and was nominated for numerous awards. It was cancelled after three seasons and concluded in 2015, though there are hopes for its revival. From 2016 to 2018, he appeared for three seasons as Cal Roberts, a lead character in Hulu's The Path, alongside Aaron Paul and Michelle Monaghan. In November 2021 Dancy was announced as one of the leads in NBC's 2022 revival of Law & Order, playing an assistant district attorney.

Personal life From 1997, Dancy dated British artist Annie Morris, before the two parted ways after roughly a decade. Dancy was rumoured to have dated briefly his Ella Enchanted co-star Anne Hathaway, though this has not been publicly confirmed by either of them.

In 2006, Dancy met American actress Claire Danes on the set of Evening. They have three children: two sons born in 2012 and 2018, and a daughter born in 2023. The couple live in the West Village neighborhood of New York City.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2001 Black Hawk Down SFC Kurt Schmid Young Blades D'Artagnan 2003 Tempo Jack Ganzer The Sleeping Dictionary John Truscott 2004 King Arthur Galahad Ella Enchanted Prince Charmont 2005 Shooting Dogs Joe Connor 2006 Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction Adam Towers 2007 The Jane Austen Book Club Grigg Harris Evening Buddy Wittenborn Savage Grace Sam Green Blood & Chocolate Aiden 2009 Confessions of a Shopaholic Luke Brandon Adam Adam Raki Nominated–Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama 2010 Coach Nick Direct-to-DVD The Wildest Dream Andrew Irvine Voice; Documentary 2011 Our Idiot Brother Christian Martha Marcy May Marlene Ted Nominated–Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Performance Hysteria Dr. Mortimer Granville 2013 Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return Marshal Mallow Voice Poe Edgar Allan Poe 2018 Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People Alleyne Ireland 2019 Late Night Charlie Fain 2022 Downton Abbey: A New Era Jack Barber TBA Filming

Television

Theatre Year Title Role Notes 1999 Billy and the Crab Lady Fred Soho Theatre 2000 To the Green Fields Beyond Mo Donmar Warehouse 2007 Journey's End Captain Dennis Stanhope Belasco Theatre 2010 The Pride Philip Lucille Lortel TheatreMCC Theater 2011–2012 Venus in Fur Thomas Novachek Lyceum TheatreNominated–Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play 2018 Apologia Peter / SimonLaura Pels Theater

Awards and nominations Year Award Nominated work Result 2006OFTA award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture or MiniseriesElizabeth I Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television 2009 Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama Adam 2014 Critics' Choice TV Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television 2015 Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best TV Actor 2016 Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best TV Actor iHorror Award for Best Male Performance – Horror Series