Simon Haines is a British actor, director and writer. He portrayed Malendol in the fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Owen Michaels in Emmerdale and Rod Reed in Murder Most Puzzling.
Early life and education Simon Haines was born in Bristol and grew up in Clevedon, Somerset. He studied English at Selwyn College, Cambridge and trained as an actor at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, at the same time as Michaela Coel and Paapa Essiedu. He also trained in the Meisner technique, and with American acting and directing coach Adrienne Weiss. He received a Laurence Olivier Bursary from SOLT and he was highly commended at the Michael Bryant Awards by Sir Nicholas Hytner.
Career Whilst at Cambridge, Haines wrote and performed with the Cambridge Footlights, co-writing and performing the comedy sketch show Good Clean Men with Joey Batey, Ben Ashenden and Alex Owen (The Pin). He played Claudius in a production of Hamlet in Elsinore Castle and wrote a translation of Chekhov's The Seagull, starring Lily Cole, Joey Batey and Genevieve Gaunt.
His first professional role after drama school was as Demetrius/Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream for London's Orange Tree Theatre. He made his West End debut as Christopher Wren in Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap in 2017. He has played a variety of stage roles including leading roles of Patrick, a "smoothly menacing" Hollywood screenwriter, in the 2018 UK premiere of Mart Crowley's play For Reasons That Remain Unclear, and Drew (the role originated by Armie Hammer on Broadway) in the UK premiere of Young Jean Lee's Straight White Men.
On screen, he portrayed the young Pope Boniface VIII in the Knights Templar series Knightfall, and he played pathologist Dr Benjamin Swift in ITV's true-crime drama Litvinenko, with David Tennant. His feature film debut was playing the role of police Sergeant Dan Byrne in the 2024 British crime thriller, Forgive Me Father, directed by Fredi Nwaka. He also played Paul Weyland ("the Einstein-killer from Berlin") in the Netflix feature film Einstein and the Bomb, sociologist Bezalel Sherman in BBC-PBS film Bombing Auschwitz, and the leading role of Jonas in the film Honeywell.
In 2024, he played the recurring role of elf commander Malendol in Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. He was already a Tolkien fan, but in preparing to play the role, he read Unfinished Tales and The Fall of Gondolin.
In 2025, he played villain Owen Michaels in 4 episodes of Emmerdale, until the character's death. He plays regional news anchorman Rod Reed in cozy crime series Murder Most Puzzling opposite Phyllis Logan. He improvised several of his character's news reports.
He plays an antagonist in Edgar Wright's 2025 feature film The Running Man, opposite Glen Powell. Wright and his co-writer Michael Bacall added some of Haines's improvisations from his audition into the final screenplay.
He plays Marine Sergeant Davis Carter in Ponies opposite Emilia Clarke and White Lotus star Haley Lu Richardson.
He stars in upcoming A24 comedy series It Gets Worse as Lucas, opposite Lena Dunham and Andrew Scott.
Filmmaking Haines's debut film as writer/director, Senior Consultant, premiered at the 2025 BAFTA-qualifying London Comedy Film Festival (LOCO). He admires the work of filmmaker Mike Leigh.
Personal life Haines is bisexual and dyspraxic. He was assessed for dyspraxia whilst studying at Cambridge University; he said: "The diagnosis was super helpful to just have the label and to sort of have a gentler relationship with myself". He plays jazz piano and supports Manchester United F.C.
Filmography Film Year Title Role 2024 Forgive Me Father Sgt. Dan Byrne Einstein and the Bomb Paul Weyland Honeywell Jonas (lead) 2025 The Running Man Technico 2026World on FireMitch
Television Year Title Role Notes 2019 Bombing Auschwitz Bezalel Sherman Television film Knightfall Father Benedetto 2 episodes 2022 Litvinenko Benjamin Swift 2 episodes 2024 The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Malendol 3 episodes 2025 Emmerdale Owen Michaels 4 episodes 2025–26 Murder Most Puzzling Rod Reed 6 episodes 2026 PoniesSgt Davis CarterIt Gets WorseLucas
Stage Year Title Role Venue 2008–2011 Cambridge Footlights Writer/Performer 2010 Twelfth Night Orsino Cambridge Arts Theatre 2011 Much Ado About Nothing Leonato The Seagull Trigorin ADC Theatre, Cambridge Hamlet Claudius Elsinore Castle, Denmark Animals and Children Max Het Nationale Theater (Dutch National Theatre) 2014 Sam Wanamaker Festival Iachimo Shakespeare's Globe A Midsummer Night's Dream Demtrius/Flute Orange Tree Theatre Told Look Younger Obrad/Marco/Louise Jermyn Street Theatre 2015 The Rubenstein Kiss Matthew Rubenstein Nottingham Theatre Posh Dmitri Nottingham Playhouse / Yvonne Arnaud Theatre 2016–2017 The Mousetrap Christopher Wren West End (London) 2018 For Reasons That Remain Unclear Patrick King's Head Theatre Europe After the Rain Max Mercury Theatre 2019 Wireless Operator Alf (voice) Park Theatre / Edinburgh Festival 2020 Everything Is Absolutely Fine Anxiety Theatr Clwyd 2021 Straight White Men Drew Southwark Playhouse 2022 Distinguished Villa Alec Finborough Theatre
Video games Year Title Role Notes 2024 Age of Empires II: Battle for Greece Brasidas Voice
References
External links
Official Website Spotlight profile