William Walter Maurice Keen (born 4 March 1970)Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, Burke's Peerage, Ltd, 2003, p. 1987.Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, 148th edition, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 2011, p. 799 is an English actor. Recognised for his work on stage and screen, he is a prolific figure of modern British theatre and a trustee of the James Menzies Kitchin Award, an award set up for young theatre directors.
Life and career Early years and education Keen was born in Oxford, the son of Charles William Lyle Keen and Lady Priscilla Mary Rose Curzon, daughter of Edward Curzon, 6th Earl Howe.Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, Burke's Peerage, Ltd, 2003, p. 1987 His sisters are the poet Alice Oswald and the author Laura Beatty. He studied at Eton College and has a first class degree in English literature from the University of Oxford.
Acting career Some of his notable British theatre credits include Ghosts, Waste, Tom & Viv, Five Gold Rings, Patriots (Almeida Theatre), Huis Clos (Trafalgar Studios), Macbeth, The Changeling (Cheek by Jowl, Barbican and international tours), The Arsonists (Royal Court Theatre), Kiss of the Spider Woman (Donmar Warehouse), The Rubenstein Kiss (Hampstead Theatre), Hysteria, Don Juan, Man and Superman (Theatre Royal, Bath), Pericles, The Prince of Homburg (Lyric Hammersmith), The Duchess of Malfi, The Coast of Utopia, Mary Stuart, Hove (National Theatre), The Two Noble Kinsmen, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, Dido, Queen of Carthage (Shakespeare's Globe), The Seagull, Present Laughter, The Tempest (West Yorkshire Playhouse), and Quartermaine's Terms, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Elton John's Glasses (West End).
His television credits include Wolf Hall, The Musketeers, Midsomer Murders, Silk, Sherlock, The Impressionists, Wired, Casualty 1907, Elizabeth I, New Tricks, Titanic, Foyle's War, The Colour of Magic, and The Refugees. His film credits include Nine Lives of Tomas Katz and Love and Other Disasters.
In 2016, he played the role of the Queen's longtime Private Secretary, Michael Adeane, in the Netflix series The Crown. In 2019, he appeared in the BBC TV series His Dark Materials, based on the critically acclaimed book trilogy by Philip Pullman, as Father MacPhail (his daughter, Dafne, is the series' lead actress), whilst in 2021 he appeared as David Epstein in Ridley Road. In 2022, he played Vladimir Putin in the opening run of Peter Morgan's play Patriots, about the life of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, at the Almeida Theatre in London.
In Spain, he has performed plays in Spanish, Traición (Betrayal) and Cuento de Invierno (The Winter's Tale) as well as directing Hamlet and Romeo y Julieta. In the musical field, he has recorded the "Seven Scenes from Hamlet" by the Spanish composer Benet Casablancas, in collaboration with the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, conducted by José Ramón Encinar (Stradivarius, 2010).
Personal life He is married to Spanish actress, theatre director, and writer Maria Fernandez Ache with whom he has a daughter, Dafne Keen, who is also an actress.
Acting credits Film Year Title Role Notes 2000 The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz Cuthbert 2006 Love and Other Disasters David Williams 2012 Love Song Garcin 2014 Ghosts Pastor Manders 2015 Victor Frankenstein Surgeon 2018 The Man Who Killed Don Quixote Producer 2021 Operation Mincemeat Salvador Gomez-Beare 2022 The Man from Rome Arzobispo Corvo Spanish: La piel del tambor2023 Consecration John Dead Shot Woodville 2025 The Wizard of the Kremlin Boris Berezovsky TBA The Return of Stanley Atwell Post-production
Television Year Title Role Notes 1993 Between the Lines P.C. James Willetts Episode: "What's the Strength of This?"1994 The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries Ludovic Episode: "Scales of Justice" Martin Chuzzlewit Todgers' Lodger Episode: "Episode Two" 1996, 1997 The Bill Charlie Roberts / Justin Guthrie 2 episodes 2000 Monsignor Renard Jean-Paul Dufosse Episode #1.32004 Murphy's Law Anthony Brody Episode: "Convent" When I'm 64 Doctor Television film2005 Midsomer Murders Preaching Pete Kubatski Episode: "Second Sight" Holby City Andy Brack Episode: "Patience" Elizabeth I Francis Bacon 2 episodes 2006 The Impressionists Paul Cézanne 3 episodes2008 The Colour of Magic Ganmack Treehallett Miniseries; 2 episodes Casualty 1907 Dr. James Sequeira 4 episodes New Tricks Ronnie Glazebrooke Episode: "Mad Dogs" 2010, 2015 Foyle's War Alan Deakin 2 episodes2011 The Man Who Crossed Hitler Hans Frank Television film Garrow's Law Fullerton Episode #3.3 2011, 2012 Silk Michael Connolly 3 episodes 2012 Titanic Chief Officer Wilde 4 episodes 2014 Sherlock Major Reed Episode: "The Sign of Three" 2014–2015 The Refugees Samuel 7 episodes2015 The Musketeers Fernando Perales 4 episodes Wolf Hall Thomas Cranmer 5 episodes The Scandalous Lady W Mr. Bearcroft Television film 2016–2017 The Crown Michael Adeane 15 episodes 2018 Genius: Picasso Paul Rosenberg 2 episodes 2019 Deep State Marcus Hobbes 2 episodes 2019–2022 His Dark Materials Father MacPhail Main role 2020–2021 Tell Me Who I Am Albert James 9 episodes2021 The Pursuit of Love Sir Leicester 2 episodes Ridley Road David Epstein 4 episodes Temple Ed 2 episodes 2023 The Gold Hugh Vincent QC Episode: "Vengeance Is Easy, Justice Is Hard"2024 My Lady Jane Duke of Norfolk 4 episodes The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Belzagar Episode: "The Eagle and the Sceptre" Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Thomas Cranmer 6 episodes 2025 Dope Girls Frederick Asquith-Gore 6 episodes
Theatre YearTitleRolesNotes 2002 The Coast of Utopia Vissarion Belinsky Royal National Theatre, London 2013 Ghosts Pastor Manders Almeida Theatre, London 2022–2023 Patriots Vladimir Putin Almeida TheatreNoël Coward Theatre, West End 2024 Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway Othello Iago Royal Shakespeare Company
See also List of British actors References
External links
Interview with Theatre.com