Rufus Sewell

Rufus Frederik Sewell ( ; born 29 October 1967) is a British actor.

In film he has appeared in Carrington (1995), Hamlet (1996), Dangerous Beauty (1998), Dark City (1998), A Knight's Tale (2001), The Legend of Zorro (2005), The Illusionist (2006), Amazing Grace (2006), The Holiday (2006), The Tourist (2010), Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012), Judy (2019), The Father (2020), and Old (2021).

In television he has appeared in Middlemarch (1994), Cold Comfort Farm (1995), Arabian Nights (2000), Charles II: The Power and the Passion (2003), John Adams (2008), Eleventh Hour (2008–2009), Zen (2011), The Pillars of the Earth (2010), Parade's End (2012), Victoria (2016–2017), The Man in the High Castle (2014–2019), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2019) and The Pale Horse (2020). He currently stars in the Netflix series The Diplomat (2023–present).

On stage he originated the role of Septimus Hodge in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia (1993) and the role of Jan in Stoppard's Rock 'n' Roll (2006), with the latter earning him an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Play as well as a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

Early life and education Rufus Frederik Sewell was born on 29 October 1967, the son of Jo, a Welsh artist and classically trained pianist. His father, William John Frederick Sewell (1924–1978), was born in Australia to British parents and worked as an animator on the "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" segment of animation for the Beatles' Yellow Submarine film. His parents divorced when Sewell was five and his father died when he was ten. Sewell's mother subsequently lived at The Pelican, Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, formerly home to the parents of the Welsh poet and writer Dylan Thomas. Sewell has said that he was a difficult teenager. a state comprehensive school in Twickenham, which he left in 1984. This was followed by enrolling at West Thames College, where a drama teacher sent him to audition for drama school. He later matriculated to the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

Career Sewell's breakthrough year was 1993, in which he starred as the unpleasant Tim in Michael Winner's film Dirty Weekend. Winner chose him after seeing him in a play at the Criterion Theatre.

Sewell is known for his villainous roles, such as those in A Knight's Tale, The Legend of Zorro, Bless the Child, Helen of Troy and The Illusionist. He spoke of his unhappiness about this, saying that " don't want to play a baddie again."

He co-starred in the controversial film Downloading Nancy, which was released on 5 June 2009. At the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, audiences walked out of the screening. Despite the controversy, Sewell continues to staunchly support the film. "It's a film I'm very proud of, whether you consider that it fails or succeeds, whether you like it or don't like it. I'm proud to be in it." He played Petruchio in the BBC's 2005 version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, a modern retelling of the story which earned him a Best Actor nomination at the 2006 BAFTA Television Awards. This was the fourth time that Sewell had acted in a Shakespeare play since becoming a professional actor: he previously portrayed Hotspur in Henry IV, Part 1 in 1995, Fortinbras in Hamlet in 1996 and the title role in Macbeth in 1999. He appeared in the premiere and first run of Tom Stoppard's play Rock 'n' Roll at the Royal Court Theatre from June to July 2006 and at the Duke of York's Theatre from July until November 2006.

He has recorded eleven of Ian Fleming's James Bond books on 36 CDs for Collins. He continues to work in film, television and theatre, playing the lead role of Dr. Jacob Hood in the CBS TV series Eleventh Hour. He finished filming in November 2009 for the miniseries The Pillars of the Earth, which was shown on TV in 2010.

In 2010 he played the Italian detective Aurelio Zen, based on the best-selling novels by Michael Dibdin, for the BBC One drama series Zen. The three episodes were filmed in Rome and shown on BBC One in early January 2011. The series was cancelled by the BBC after just one season. He also had a small part in the film The Tourist, which also starred Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp and was released in cinemas in 2010. He played the lead vampire, Adam, in the film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which was filmed in New Orleans and released in June 2012.

Sewell played the role of Ethics Man in Darkside, Tom Stoppard's 2013 radio drama based on Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side of the Moon. Sewell co-starred with Dwayne Johnson, as Autolycus, in the film Hercules, which was released in July 2014. In 2015, Sewell voiced the role of Sir Claude, a feral cat, in Blinky Bill the Movie. Sewell has most recently appeared as high-ranking American-turned-Nazi official John Smith in The Man in the High Castle, and as Lord Melbourne in Victoria.

In February 2023, it was announced that Sewell had been cast as Prince Andrew, Duke of York in Scoop, a Netflix drama about Andrew's 2019 Newsnight interview, co-starring Gillian Anderson as Emily Maitlis, Billie Piper, and Keeley Hawes.

Personal life Sewell has been married three times. His first wife was his long-term girlfriend, He married his second wife, the scriptwriter and producer Amy Gardner, in 2004 They have a son. Rufus Sewell also has a daughter with Ami Komai. In July 2024 he married Vivian Benitez, an American actress, 29 years his junior.

Filmography Film

Television Year Title Role Notes 1992 Gone to Seed Billy 6 episodes 1992–1994 Screen Two Mike CostainClive 2 episodes 1994 Middlemarch Will Ladislaw 7 episodes Citizen Locke Midshipman Clarke Television movie 1995 Cold Comfort Farm Seth Starkadder Television film Performance Harry Percy Episode: "Henry IV, Part 1" 2000 Arabian Nights Ali Baba Miniseries 2001 She Creature Angus Television movie 2003 Helen of Troy Agamemnon Miniseries Charles II: The Power and the Passion Charles II 4 episodes 2004 Taste Michael Kuhleman Television movie 2005 ShakespeaRe-Told Petruchio Episode: "The Taming of the Shrew" 2006 9/11: Out of the Blue The Man Television movie 2008 John Adams Alexander Hamilton 2 episodes 2008–2009 Eleventh Hour Dr. Jacob Hood 18 episodes 2010 The Pillars of the Earth Tom Builder Miniseries 2011 Zen Aurelio Zen 3 episodes 2012 Parade's End Reverend Duchemin 3 episodes Restless Lucas Romer 2 episodes 2015 Killing Jesus Caiaphas Television movie 2016 Secret History Narrator Episode: "China's Forgotten Emperor" 2016–2017 Victoria Lord Melbourne 7 episodes 2018 The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Declan Howell Episode: "Look, She Made a Hat" 2014–2019 The Man in the High Castle John Smith 40 episodes 2020 The Pale Horse Mark Easterbrook BBC1 Miniseries 2023 Kaleidoscope Roger Salas Miniseries 2023–present The Diplomat Hal Wyler Main role 2025 The Sandman Time Episode: "Time and Night" TBA Pride and Prejudice Mr. Bennet Filming

Music videos Year Title Artist Role 2026 "Do Me Right" Mr. Fantasy Himself

Theatre

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result1994 Laurence Olivier Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role Arcadia 1998 London Film Critics' Circle British Supporting Actor The Very Thought of You 2006 British Academy Television Award Best Actor of the Year ShakespeaRe-Told: The Taming of the Shrew 2006 Evening Standard Theatre Award Best Actor in a Play Rock 'n' Roll 2007 Laurence Olivier Award Best Actor in a Play 2008 Tony Award Best Actor in a Play 2008 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Play 2008 Drama League Award Distinguished Performance 2016 Critics' Choice Television Award Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series The Man in the High Castle 2019 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel 2024 Astra TV Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama The Diplomat 2024 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series 2025 Best Actor in a Drama Series 2026 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series