Robert Hugh Carvel (born 6 September 1977) is a British actor. He has twice won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his role as Miss Trunchbull in Matilda the Musical, and for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as Rupert Murdoch in Ink. For the latter role, he also won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Play.
On television, Carvel is known for playing Jonathan Strange in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2015), Simon Foster in Doctor Foster (2015–2017), Adam Dalgliesh in Dalgliesh (2021–2024), Tony Blair in The Crown (2022–2023), and Prince Baelor "Breakspear" Targaryen in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2026).
Early life and education Robert Hugh Carvel was born on 6 September 1977 in Marylebone, London, the son of psychologist Patricia and journalist John Carvel. His father worked for The Guardian, his grandfather for The Standard, and his great-grandfather for The Star. Carvel was educated at University College School in London and studied English at the University of Sussex, graduating with a first-class honours degree. He trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 2000 to 2003, supported by scholarships from The Wall Trust and the Sir John Cass Foundation.
Career
2003–2010 Carvel has appeared in Revelations at the Hampstead Theatre, in Rose Bernd at the Arcola Theatre, as Alexander Ashbrook in the 2005–2006 and 2006–2007 National Theatre production of Helen Edmundson's Coram Boy and in their productions of The Life of Galileo and The Man of Mode, in Parade at the Donmar Warehouse, and in Matilda the Musical at the Cambridge Theatre, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Carvel was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his performance in Parade in 2008. He won the award in the same category in 2012 for his performance as Miss Trunchbull in Matilda the Musical, a production that won six other Oliviers. Carvel also won the UK's TMA Award for Best Performance in a Musical and was similarly nominated for the London's Evening Standard Award. He played Enrico in Damned By Despair at the National Theatre.
2011–2020 From 2011 to 2024, Carvel was the voice of the male Imperial Agent in the MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic until the role was reassigned to Wilf Scolding. In March 2013, he reprised his role as Miss Trunchbull in Matilda on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre. This won him a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical and a nomination for Tony 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."Nominations Announced for 67th Annual Tony Awards" , Playbill.com; 30 April 2013.2013 Drama Desk Nominations Announced - Giant & Hands On A Hardbody Lead with 9, Followed by Matilda, Passion & Drood, broadwayworld.com; 29 April 2013. From August to October 2015, Carvel played both Pentheus and Agave in Bakkhai at the Almeida Theatre. Carvel also performed as Yank in the play The Hairy Ape at the Old Vic in November of the same year. In February 2016, Carvel announced his directorial debut. He directed the play Strife at the Minerva Theatre, Chichester, which opened in August 2016.
In September 2017, Carvel played the role of Rupert Murdoch in the play Ink by James Graham, which debuted at the Almeida Theatre before transferring to the West End. In April 2019 Ink transferred to Broadway, with Carvel reprising his role. This performance won him a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
Carvel other project’s include The Wrong Mans, Babylon, Doctor Who (episode "The Lazarus Experiment"), Sherlock (episode "The Blind Banker"), Bombshell, Hawking, The Crimson Petal and the White, Money and Midsomer Murders (episode "The Great and the Good"). He played Lord Carmarthen in John Adams. In the television film Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures, he played Christie's second husband Max Mallowan. Carvel appeared as Bamatabois in the film Les Misérables, based on the musical of the same name. In 2009, Carvel played Wormwood in Focus on the Family's audio adaptation of The Screwtape Letters, alongside Andy Serkis as Screwtape. This production was a 2010 Audie Award finalist.
In 2015, Carvel starred as Jonathan Strange in the BBC One adaptation of Susanna Clarke's novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, opposite Eddie Marsan as Gilbert Norrell. He played Nick Clegg in the Channel 4 drama Coalition and in September appeared as the unfaithful husband of Suranne Jones's title character in the BBC One thriller series Doctor Foster. The second series of Doctor Foster started filming in September 2016 and was broadcast in September 2017.
2021–present Since 2021, Carvel has starred as Adam Dalgliesh in Helen Edmundson's Dalgliesh. He plays former Prime Minister Tony Blair in the fifth and sixth series of The Crown. In April 2025, it was revealed that Bertie Carvel would serve as the narrator for the upcoming revival of Walking With Dinosaurs. In 2022, he returned to The Old Vic to play US President Donald Trump in The 47th, a play by Mike Bartlett.
Carvel portrays Baelor Targaryen in the series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2026). On June 9, 2025, it was reported that Carvel would play Cornelius Fudge in the upcoming Harry Potter television series.
Personal life Carvel and actress Sally Scott met in 2009 through close friends. Scott proposed to him on WhatsApp while he was working on Baghdad Central, and they married in January 2019. Their son was born in May 2020.
Carvel is a patron of the Globe Theatre's education department's "Playing Shakespeare" programme, which provides free educational resources and free theatre tickets to secondary school students. In 2013, he ran for and was elected to Equity's 11-person Stage Committee, and was re-elected for a further two-year term in 2015.
Acting credits
Film Year Title Role NotesRef. 2012Les MisérablesBamatabois 2021The Tragedy of MacbethBanquo 2026InkHugh Cudlipp
Television Year Title Role NotesRef. 2004 Hawking George Ellis Television film 2004 Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures Max Mallowan Television film 2005 Beethoven Ferdinand Ries 2 episodes 2006 Bombshell Lieutenant Roddy Frost 7 episodes 2006 Holby City Martin Phillips Episode: "Looking After Number One" 2007 Doctor Who Mysterious Man Episode: "The Lazarus Experiment" 2008 John Adams Lord Carmarthen Episode: "Reunion" 2009 Primeval Ryan Mason Episode: "Haunted House" 2009 Waking the Dead Dr Dench 2 episodes 2009 Midsomer Murders Justin Hooper Episode: "The Great and the Good" 2010 Sherlock Sebastian WilkesEpisode: "The Blind Banker" 2010 Just William Uncle Neville Episode: "Parrots for Ethel" 2011The Crimson Petal and the White Ashwell 3 episodes 2011 Hidden Alexander Wentworth 4 episodes 2012 Restless Mason Harding Episode: "Part Two" 2014 Babylon Finn Kirkwood 7 episodes 2014 The Wrong Mans Nathan Cross Episode: "White Mans" 2015 Coalition Nick Clegg Television film 2015 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Jonathan Strange 7 episodes 2015–2017 Doctor Foster Simon Foster Two series, lead role 2016Revolting RhymesVarious voices 2 episodes 2017The CrownRobin DayEpisode: "Marionettes" 2018Big CatsNarrator3 episodes 2020The Pale HorseZachariah Osborne2 episodes 2020Baghdad CentralFrank Temple6 episodes 2020 The SisterRobert “Bob” Morrow 4 episodes 2021–present Dalgliesh Adam Dalgliesh Lead role 2022–2023 The Crown Tony Blair Supporting role (Season 5);Main role (Season 6) 2025 Walking with Dinosaurs Narrator 6 episodes 2026 A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Prince Baelor "Breakspear" Targaryen 4 episodes 2026–present Harry Potter Cornelius Fudge Supporting role
Theatre Year Title Role Theatre Ref. 2003 Revelations JackHampstead Theatre 2004 Victory? A Musical Drama For Peace UriDonmar Warehouse 2005 Rose Bernd Heinzel/Policeman Oxford Stage Company/Arcola Theatre/Dumbfounded Theatre 2004 Macbeth MacbethUnion Theatre, London 2005 Faustus FaustusEtcetera Theatre 2005–07 Coram Boy Alexander Ashbrook (adult) / Ensemble National Theatre 2005 Professor Bernhardi Dr Kurt Pflugfelder/Professor Filitz Arcola Theatre 2006 The Life of Galileo Ludovico Marsili National Theatre 2007 The Man of Mode Medley National Theatre 2008 The Pride Oliver Royal Court Theatre 2008 Parade Leo Frank Donmar Warehouse 2008 The Circle Edward Luton Chichester/Tour 2009 Rope Rupert Cadell Almeida Theatre 2011Dr Dee Dr Dee Palace Theatre, Manchester2010–13 Matilda the Musical Miss Trunchbull Courtyard Theatre 9 November 2010 30 January 2011Cambridge Theatre25 October 2011 July 2012Shubert Theatre4 March 2013 1 September 2013 2011 Damned By Despair Enrico National Theatre 2015 Bakkhai Pentheus, Agave Almeida Theatre 2015 The Hairy Ape Yank The Old Vic 2016 Splendid's Policeman Trafalgar StudiosRehearsed reading2017–19InkRupert MurdochAlmeida Theatre17 June 5 August 2017Duke of York's Theatre9 September 2017 6 January 2018Samuel J. Friedman Theatre2 April 2019 7 July 2019 2022 The 47th Donald Trump The Old Vic29 Mar - 28 May 2022 2023 Pygmalion Henry Higgins The Old Vic 2025 The Winter's Tale Leontes Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Video games Year Title RoleRef. 2008HazeShane Carpenter 2011–2024Star Wars: The Old RepublicMale Imperial Agent 2012The Secret WorldThe Forest God, Callisto
Audio YearTitleRoleRef.2004The OdysseyHermes2009The Screwtape LettersWormwood
Accolades Theatre Year Award Category Work Result Ref. 2008 Laurence Olivier Award Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical Parade 2011 Evening Standard Theatre AwardBest ActorMatilda the Musical 2012 Laurence Olivier Award Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical 2013 Tony Award Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical 2017 Evening Standard Theatre Award Best Actor Ink 2018 Laurence Olivier Award Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play 2019 Tony Award Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Television Year Award Category Work Result Ref. 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series The Crown
See also List of British actors
References
External links
Bertie Carvel | Stage | The Guardian