Douglas William Hodge (born 25 February 1960) is an English actor, director and musician. He has had an extensive career in theatre, as well as film and television where he has appeared inRobin Hood (2010),Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return andDiana (both 2013),Penny Dreadful (2016),Catastrophe (2018),Joker andLost in Space (both 2019), andThe Great (2020–2023).

Hodge was born on 25 February 1960 inPlymouth,Devon.^[2] When he was young, his family moved toWigmore,Gillingham,Kent.^[3] He attended Fairview Primary School andThe Howard School inRainham, Kent. He was awarded a position as student at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA),^[4] in London, but was not happy and left before graduating.^[5] This never affected his desire to be an actor.^[5]

Hodge has acted in plays byHarold Pinter, includingNo Man's Land at theComedy Theatre in February 1993;Moonlight at theAlmeida Theatre in September 1993;A Kind of Alaska,The Lover;The Collection at theDonmar Warehouse in May 1998; as Jerry inBetrayal at theRoyal National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre, in November 1998; and as Aston inThe Caretaker at theComedy Theatre in November 2000, co-starringMichael Gambon (Davies) andRupert Graves (Mick), directed byPatrick Marber – for which he was nominated for anOlivier Award forBest Actor in a Supporting Role.^[6] For theNational Theatre in May 1994 Hodge played the title role inPhyllida Lloyd'sOlivier Theatre staging of Shakespeare'sPericles and Al inStephen Poliakoff'sBlinded by the Sun directed by Ron Daniels at theCottesloe Theatre in May 1997.

In 2002, Hodge played Leontes in anRSC revival ofThe Winter's Tale at theRoundhouse.^[7] In April 2003 he portrayed Andrei inMichael Blakemore's revival ofChekhov'sThree Sisters at thePlayhouse Theatre. In 2004, he made his Royal Court debut as Barry inJoe Penhall's study of entrapment journalismDumb Show, directed byTerry Johnson.^[8] Hodge's directorial debut came in 2004, at theOxford Playhouse in a double bill ofThe Dumb Waiter and Other Pieces.^[5] Hodge appeared in the 2005 revival ofGuys and Dolls at thePiccadilly Theatre playing Nathan Detroit oppositeEwan McGregor playing Sky Masterson.^[9] He received anOlivier Award nomination for his performance.

During the summer of 2006, he acted the title role inTitus Andronicus, atShakespeare's Globe.^[10] Simultaneously, he made his West End directorial debut withSee How They Run, a 1940s wartime farce byPhilip King, preceded by a UK tour.^[11] When his production opened in the West End,Nancy Carroll took over fromHattie Morahan in the role of the vicar's young wife.^[12] In May 2007 he displayed alyric tenor voice as Frank, the neurosurgeon inA Matter of Life and Death with theKneehigh Theatre company at the National Theatre, a production with music, based on events in the film of the same name.^[13] Also in 2007 he guest starred in theDoctor Who audio dramasUrban Myths andSon of the Dragon. In 2008, Hodge starred as Albin in the London revival ofLa Cage aux Folles which played originally at theMenier Chocolate Factory.^[14] He later reprised this role at thePlayhouse Theatre in the West End and won the 2009Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.^[15][6]

In 2010, The London production ofLa Cage aux Folles transferred toBroadway, at theLongacre Theatre, with Hodge as Albin, andKelsey Grammer as Georges. Hodge won the 2010Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for his performance.^[6] A 2011 revival ofJohn Osborne'sInadmissible Evidence at theDonmar Theatre, London, offered Hodge another role, as Maitland, the lawyer in crisis.^[16] Hodge received anOlivier Award nomination for his performance. In 2012, Hodge returned toBroadway when he starred as Cyrano de Bergerac in theRoundabout Theatre Company's revival ofCyrano de Bergerac at theAmerican Airlines Theatre.^[17] In October 2012, Hodge was cast as Willy Wonka in the musicalCharlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical at theTheatre Royal, Drury Lane London.^[18]

In 2015, Hodge made his debut as a Broadway director, helming a revival of Pinter's 1971 playOld Times, which starredClive Owen,Eve Best andKelly Reilly, and opened at theAmerican Airlines Theatre.^[19]

Hodge wrote a musical withAschlin Ditta, temporarily calledMeantime.Josefina Gabrielle,Denis Lawson and several others participated in a cast recording, and actors includingRory Kinnear,Indira Varma andCillian Murphy participated in a reading of the book.^[20]

He wrote the music and lyrics for the musical101 Dalmatians, based on thenovel byDodie Smith with a book by Johnny McKnight (from a stage adaptation byZinnie Harris) at theRegent's Park Open Air Theatre. The musical was due to open in May 2020, however was postponed to July 2022 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.

Hodge has parallel careers as a writer, director and composer, most recently directingTorch Song Trilogy at theMenier Chocolate Factory in 2012.^[21] He was Associate Director at theDonmar Theatre directingDimetos in 2009,^[22]Absurdia in 2007.^[23]

He directed the world premiere ofLast Easter byBryony Lavery atBirmingham Repertory Theatre,^[24] andSee How They Run.^[25]

He also directed theMillennium Dome Show in the year 2000.

Hodge has receivedOlivier Award nominations forBest Actor forInadmissible Evidence in 2012^[26] andBest Actor in a Musical forGuys and Dolls in 2006,^[27] winningBest Actor in a Musical forLa Cage aux Folles in 2010.^[15] He was also nominated for Best Actor in the 2005Evening Standard Awards for his role inDumbshow at theRoyal Court.^[28]

Hodge starred as Albin in the Broadway transfer ofLa Cage aux Folles, for which his performance won him aTony Award forBest Actor in a Musical,^[29] aDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical,^[30] and anOuter Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical.^[31] He originally played the role in London in 2008 at theMenier Chocolate Factory and then at thePlayhouse Theatre in the West End.^[32]

With Peter Searles, Hodge co-wrotePacha Mama's Blessing andForest People, about theAmazon Rainforest, performed by theNational Youth Theatre onBBC Television in 1989. He appeared in theBBC's productionMiddlemarch, adapted byAndrew Davies from the novel byGeorge Eliot and directed byAnthony Page. In the US it aired onMasterpiece Theatre in 1994.

His other TV appearances include leading roles inBehaving Badly (1989);Capital City (1989–1990);A Fatal Inversion (1992);Bliss (1995);Only Fools and Horses (1996)The Uninvited (1997);The Scold's Bridle (1998);Shockers: Dance (1999);The Law (2000); the BBC serial adaptation ofTrollope'sThe Way We Live Now (2001), as Roger Carbury;The Russian Bride (2001);Red Cap (2003–2004);^[33]Spooks (2005);ITV's 2007 adaptation ofMansfield Park, as Sir Thomas Bertram; and themade-for-TV filmLift, directed byJames Hawes, a 2007Hartswood Films production forBBC Four, as Paul Sykes, "a constantly exasperated, highly-strung middle-aged businessman with commitments.".^[34]

In 2010, he appeared in the episode "The Restaurant" of the third series of theBBC sitcomOutnumbered as Brick Bolenger, an American therapist who is married to Auntie Angela (played bySamantha Bond). The character was involved in a story line of the fourth series in 2011, but never appeared on screen. In 2012, Hodge had a role in the BBC dramaOne Night, as well as appearing in the conspiracy thriller miniseriesSecret State, and the ITV-1 dramaThe Town.

In 2016, he featured as Rex Mayhew in the BBC adaptation ofJohn le Carré'sThe Night Manager. In 2017, he appeared in "Black Museum", an episode of theanthology seriesBlack Mirror.^[35] He appeared as Inspector Bartholomew Rusk in the seriesPenny Dreadful.^[36] He played Grimes in a BBC adaptation ofEvelyn Waugh'sDecline and Fall, alongside Jack Whitehall, Stephen Graham and David Suchet.^[37]

From 2020 to 2023, Hodge played the role of General Velementov, head of Catherine the Great's armies inThe Great, alongsideElle Fanning andNicholas Hoult.^[38]

Doug Hodge released two albums of his own compositions: "Cowley Road Songs" in 2005,^[39] and "Nightbus" in 2009.^[40] He won the Stiles and Drewe 2012 Best New Song Award for his song 'Powercut' from "Meantime", the musical he co-wrote withAschlin Ditta.^[41]

"I've been writing songs all my life but — apart from the occasional girlfriend late at night — I'd never sung them to anyone. Then last year I finally started playing at various venues in and aroundOxford. Each time I wrote a new song I'd go down the Ex [on Cowley Road] and sing it... Then Rightback Records asked me to record them. We went into the Blue Moon Studios inBanbury for just four days. This [Cowley Road Songs] is what we came out with..." – Douglas Hodge^[42]

Until 2013, Hodge was in a relationship with actressTessa Peake-Jones with whom he has two children.^[1] He subsequently married American wigmaker Amanda Miller.^[38]

• Douglas Hodge atIMDb
• Qvoice Profile

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