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Adrian Lester CBE
Born	Anthony Harvey (1968-08-14)14 August 1968 (age 57) Birmingham, England
Alma mater	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1987–present
Spouse	Lolita Chakrabarti ​ ​ (m. 1997; div. 2024)​
Children	2
Adrian Lester's voice from the BBC seriesFront Row, 2013[1]

Adrian Anthony LesterCBE (bornAnthony Harvey on 14 August 1968)^[2] is a British actor. He is the recipient of aLaurence Olivier Award, anEvening Standard Theatre Award and aCritics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the London stage, and has also been nominated for aTony Award.

Lester was born on 14 August 1968 inBirmingham, the son ofJamaican immigrants, Monica, a medical secretary, and Reginald, a manager for a contract cleaning company.^[3][4][5]

From the age of 9, Lester sang as a boy treble in the choir ofSt Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham. At 14, he began acting with theBirmingham Youth Theatre.^[6][7] After leaving Archbishop Masterson RC School,^[8] Lester attendedJoseph Chamberlain Sixth Form College for one year,^[9] before winning a place at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 1986,^[8] at which he completed three years of training,^[7] graduating in 1989.^[10]

Lester received anIan Charleson Award commendation^[11] and aTime Out Award^[12] for his 1991 performance asRosalind inCheek by Jowl's all-male production ofAs You Like It.^[13] In 1992 he played Paul in the UK premiere of John Guare'sSix Degrees Of Separation, alongside Stockard Channing at the Royal Court Theatre in a production that transferred to the West End's Comedy Theatre. In 1993, he played Anthony Hope in theNational Theatre's production ofSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.^[14] He has also appeared on stage as Robert in theDonmar Warehouse production of theStephen Sondheim musicalCompany, for which he won anOlivier Award, and in the title role ofHamlet^[15] (Carlton TV Theatre Award).

In 2003, he played the title role inHenry V at the National Theatre.

In 2010, he played the part of Brick inTennessee Williams' playCat on a Hot Tin Roof at theNovello Theatre in London.

In 2012, he appeared asIra Aldridge in the playRed Velvet, written by his wifeLolita Chakrabarti.

Lester played the part ofOthello in the Shakespeare play of the same name in 2013 alongsideRory Kinnear asIago at the National Theatre. Both actors won the Best Actor award in theEvening Standard Theatre Awards for their roles; the award is traditionally given to only one actor, but the judges were unable to choose between the pair.^[16]

In 2018, he played Sky Masterson in theRoyal Albert Hall production ofGuys and Dolls.^[17]

In 2021, he appeared in the live-streamed production ofHymn written by his wifeLolita Chakrabarti for theAlmeida Theatre. The play co-starredDanny Sapani and was performed with social distancing in place in accordance with COVID-19 restrictions.^[18]

He made his Broadway debut in the 2021 production ofThe Lehman Trilogy, directed bySam Mendes. His performance earned him aTony Award nomination.^[19]

In 1997, Lester starred in an episode ofSilent Witness. It was in a two-part episode of series two entitled "Cease upon the Midnight", where he played the part of Danny Morris.

He is known for playing a big-time con artist named Michael "Mickey Bricks" Stone on the BBC television seriesHustle between 2004 and 2012. The character was written out of the fourth series and replaced byAshley Walters, although Lester returned from the fifth series (2009) onwards.

On American television, he appeared on the sitcomGirlfriends from 2002 to 2003, as Ellis Carter, a film star who datedTracee Ellis Ross's character, Joan Clayton.

In late 2005, he had a major guest-starring role inChannel 4's police dramaThe Ghost Squad.

In 2008, he starred on theBBC dramaBonekickers, a programme focusing on a team of archaeologists.

He played the character Myror in a 2009 episode of the British television dramaMerlin.^[20]

In 2024,Netflix announced that Lester will play the role of Destiny of theEndless in the upcoming second season ofThe Sandman.^[21]

Lester played campaign manager Henry Burton inMike Nichols' filmPrimary Colors (1998), based on the novel by Anonymous (Joe Klein). His character is believed to representGeorge Stephanopoulos. This part earned him aChicago Film Critics Association award nomination for "Most Promising Actor".

He appeared inKenneth Branagh'sLove's Labour's Lost, a musical adaptation of theWilliam Shakespeare play, set in the 1930s. The film itself was poorly received, but Lester received aBritish Independent Film Awards nomination for his performance.

InThe Day After Tomorrow, Lester had a small but important role as Simon, one of the three researchers who drink a toast of "twelve-year-oldScotch" shortly before freezing to death.

He filmed scenes forSpider-Man 3 (2007), as a research scientist who is sought after by theSandman (Thomas Haden Church) to find a cure for his ailing daughter. He was seen in one teaser trailer for the film; however, his scenes were cut from the final theatrical version.

In 2010, Lester appeared in the documentaryWhen Romeo Met Juliet together with his wifeLolita Chakrabarti as acting mentors to the pupils of twoCoventry schools involved in a production ofRomeo and Juliet.

He recordedAlpha Force: Survival, an audio book written byChris Ryan.Lester was the presenter at the 2024 Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance Festival at the Royal Albert Hall.

In 1997 Lester married actress and writerLolita Chakrabarti, whom he met while they were both students atRADA.^[22][23] They lived inEast Dulwich, south-east London with their two daughters.^[24][25][26] They divorced in 2024.^[27]

In 2007, Lester took part inEmpire's Children, a Channel 4 documentary exploring the journey taken by the "Windrush Generation" to the United Kingdom. Lester's grandfather, Kenneth Nathaniel Lester, was to be included in the documentary, but was unwell during filming in Jamaica and could not be interviewed. Kenneth died soon after the documentary completed filming and never saw the programme aired.^{[citation needed]}

In April 2013, Lester appeared on the Cultural Exchange feature ofFront Row onBBC Radio 4, a feature of the programme where people had to choose a piece of art that meant a great deal to them. He chose "Redemption Song" byBob Marley.

Lester holds a 4th Danblack belt inMoo Duk Kwan Taekwondo.^[28][29]

Lester was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours^[31] andCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2020 Birthday Honours,^[32][33] both for services to drama.

In July 2013, he received an honorary degree from theUniversity of Warwick.^[34]

In December 2013, he received an honorary doctorate from theUniversity of Birmingham.^[35]

In July 2019, Lester was made an Honorary Doctor of Arts atDe Montfort University, Leicester.^[36]

• Adrian Lester at theBritish Film Institute
• Adrian Lester atIMDb

• 1968 births
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• English male taekwondo practitioners
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