Bertie Carvel
Carvel asRupert Murdoch inInk (2019)
Born	Robert Hugh Carvel (1977-09-06)6 September 1977 (age 48) Marylebone,London, England
Alma mater	University of Sussex Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2003–present
Spouse	Sally Scott ​ (m. 2019)​ [1]
Children	1

Robert Hugh Carvel (born 6 September 1977) is a British actor. He has twice won aLaurence Olivier Award: forBest Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role asMiss Trunchbull inMatilda the Musical, and forBest Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance asRupert Murdoch inInk. For the latter role, he won theTony Award for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Play.

On television, Carvel is known for playing Jonathan Strange inJonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2015), Simon Foster inDoctor Foster (2015–2017),Adam Dalgliesh inDalgliesh (2021–2024),Tony Blair inThe Crown (2022–2023), and Prince Baelor "Breakspear" Targaryen inA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2026).

Robert Hugh Carvel was born on 6 September 1977 inMarylebone, London,^[2] the son of a psychologist named Patricia and journalist John Carvel.^[3][4] He was educated atUniversity College School in London and then studied English at theUniversity of Sussex,^[2] where he obtained a first class honours degree.^[5] He trained as an actor at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art from 2000 to 2003,^[6] where he received scholarships from The Wall Trust and theSir John Cass Foundation.^[7][8]

Carvel has appeared inRevelations at theHampstead Theatre, inRose Bernd at theArcola Theatre, as Alexander Ashbrook in the 2005–2006 and 2006–2007National Theatre production ofHelen Edmundson'sCoram Boy^[9] and in their productions ofThe Life of Galileo andThe Man of Mode, inParade at theDonmar Warehouse, and inMatilda the Musical at theCambridge Theatre, produced by theRoyal Shakespeare Company.

Carvel was nominated for theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his performance inParade in 2008. He won the award in the same category in2012 for his performance asMiss Trunchbull inMatilda the Musical,^[10] a production that won six other Oliviers. Carvel also won the UK'sTMA Award for Best Performance in a Musical and was similarly nominated for the London'sEvening Standard Award.^[11] He played Enrico inDamned By Despair at theNational Theatre.^[12]

From 2011 to 2024, Carvel was^[13] the voice of the male Imperial Agent in theMMORPGStar Wars: The Old Republic until the role was reassigned toWilf Scolding. In March 2013, he reprised his role asMiss Trunchbull in Matilda onBroadway at theShubert Theatre.^[14] This won him aDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical and a nomination forTony Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical, one of only a handful of nominations for an actor portraying a character of the opposite sex.^[15][16] From August to October 2015, Carvel played both Pentheus and Agave inBakkhai at the Almeida Theatre.^[17] Carvel also performed as Yank in the playThe Hairy Ape atthe Old Vic in November of the same year. In February 2016, Carvel announced his directorial debut. He directed the playStrife at theMinerva Theatre, Chichester, which opened in August 2016.

In September 2017, Carvel played the role ofRupert Murdoch in the playInk by James Graham, which debuted at the Almeida Theatre before transferring to the West End.^[18] In April 2019Ink transferred to Broadway, with Carvel reprising his role. This performance won him aTony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

Carvel other project’s includeThe Wrong Mans,Babylon,Doctor Who (episode "The Lazarus Experiment"),Sherlock (episode "The Blind Banker"),Bombshell,Hawking,The Crimson Petal and the White,Money andMidsomer Murders (episode "The Great and the Good"). He playedLord Carmarthen inJohn Adams. In the television filmAgatha Christie: A Life in Pictures, he played Christie's second husbandMax Mallowan. Carvel appeared as Bamatabois in the filmLes Misérables, based on the musical ofthe same name. In 2009, Carvel played Wormwood inFocus on the Family's audio adaptation ofThe Screwtape Letters, alongsideAndy Serkis as Screwtape. This production was a 2010 Audie Award finalist.

In 2015, Carvel starred as Jonathan Strange in theBBC One adaptation ofSusanna Clarke's novelJonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, oppositeEddie Marsan as Gilbert Norrell.^[19] He playedNick Clegg in theChannel 4 dramaCoalition and in September appeared as the unfaithful husband ofSuranne Jones's title character in the BBC One thriller seriesDoctor Foster. The second series ofDoctor Foster started filming in September 2016 and was broadcast in September 2017.

Since 2021, Carvel has starred asAdam Dalgliesh inHelen Edmundson'sDalgliesh.^[20] He plays former Prime MinisterTony Blair in the fifth and sixth series ofThe Crown.^[21] In April 2025, it was revealed that Bertie Carvel would serve as the narrator for the upcoming revival ofWalking With Dinosaurs.^[22] In 2022, he returned toThe Old Vic to play US PresidentDonald Trump inThe 47th, a play byMike Bartlett.

Carvel portrays Baelor Targaryen in the seriesA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2026).^[23] On June 9, 2025, it was reported that Carvel would play Cornelius Fudge in the upcomingHarry Potter television series.^[24][25]

Carvel's father, John, worked as a journalist forThe Guardian, his grandfather, Bob, forThe Standard, and his great-grandfather, John, forThe Star.^[4] His mother, Patricia, had him at the age of 38. In March 2019, she underwent surgery after suffering astroke, and passed away in November at the age of 80.^[3] Shortly afterwards, in May 2020, Carvel had a son with actress Sally Scott,^[3][26] whom they named Ernest.^[27] They met in 2009 through close friends and Scott proposed to him viaWhatsApp while he was working onBaghdad Central; they married in January 2019.^[28]

Carvel is a patron of theGlobe Theatre's education department's 'Playing Shakespeare' programme, which provides free educational resources and free theatre tickets to secondary school students.^[29] In 2013, he ran for and was elected toEquity's 11-person Stage Committee. He was re-elected for a further two-year term in 2015.^[30]

• List of British actors

• Bertie Carvel atIMDb
• Bertie Carvel | Stage | The Guardian

• 1977 births
• Living people
• 20th-century English male actors
• 21st-century English male actors
• Actors from the City of Westminster
• English male film actors
• English male musical theatre actors
• English male television actors
• English male video game actors
• English male voice actors
• English male singers
• Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
• Alumni of the University of Sussex
• Male actors from London
• People from Marylebone
• Drama Desk Award winners
• Laurence Olivier Award winners
• Tony Award winners
• Theatre World Award winners
• People educated at University College School

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