Alex Jennings

Alexander "Alex" Jennings (born May 10, 1957 in Essex , England ) is a British actor . He is the only actor to have won Olivier Awards in the Drama, Musical and Comedy categories.

Life

Alex Jennings was born in Essex to Peggy Patricia, b. Mahoney, and Michael Thomas Jennings were born. He attended Abbs Cross Technical High School in Hornchurch and then studied English and drama at the University of Warwick , where he graduated in 1978. He also trained as an actor for two years at the Bristol Old Vic Theater School .

He is married and has two children.

Career

theatre

Alex Jennings began his career in regional repertoire theaters, where he played several roles in 1985, including Maximilien Robespierre in The Scarlet Pimpernel . During this production, Jennings met director Nicholas Hytner and has worked with him many times since. For his portrayal of Gloumov in a stupidity even the cleverest makes the Old Vic Theater , he won the 1988 Olivier Award for Comedy. The following year he was nominated in the same category for his portrayal of Dorante in The Liar .

Jennings played several times at the Royal National Theater , including the Leontes in Winter's Tale and the title role in Albert Speer . His engagements at the Royal Shakespeare Company include the title role in Peer Gynt (for which he won the Olivier Award for Best Actor), the title role in Richard II, Theseus / Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream , Angelo in Maß für Maß and the title role in Hamlet .

In 2002 he joined the revival of My Fair Lady by Cameron Mackintosh and Trevor Nunn at the Theater Royal, Drury Lane and won an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He also became an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company. At the National Theater he played Garry Essendine in Noël Cowards Present Laughter in 2007 and Mikhail Bulgakov in Collaborators in 2011 . In 2014 he played the role of Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical , and in 2016 resumed the role of Professor Henry Higgins in the Australian anniversary production of My Fair Lady , directed by Julie Andrews .

Movie

Jennings played among others on the side of Helen Mirren's Prince Charles in the film The Queen by Stephen Frears . He has also had roles in War Requiem , A Midsummer Night's Dream in the RSC film version, The Wings of the Dove , Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , The Four Feathers and The Lady in the Van .

watch TV

Jennings appeared on television in Die Schattenmacht - The State Within , Smiley's People , The Franchise Affair , Inspector Morse, Mordkommission Oxford , Lewis - Der Oxford Krimi , Alfonso Bonzo , Ashenden , The Dead Poets Club , Inspector Alleyn , Hard Times , Bad Blood , as well as in Peter Ackroyd's London on

In 2007 he played Rev Hutton on the BBC series Cranford . He also played John Le Mesurier in the BBC drama Hancock and Joan and appeared in The Habit of Art as Benjamin Britten in 2009 . In 2010 he played Captain Shipshape in the CBeebies series Grandpa In My Pocket and starred in the film Dido Elizabeth Belle . He then played Henry Tizard in Castles in the Sky . From 2011 to 2014, Jennings played Alan Cowdrey QC in the BBC One drama Silk . He also took on the role of Edward, Duke of Windsor , and Leopold I, King of the Belgians in the ITV series Victoria in the first two seasons of the Netflix series The Crown . In 2018 he played the Lib Dem -MP Peter Bessell in A Very English Scandal , a miniseries about the Jeremy Thorpe affair.

Opera

Alex Jennings made his English National Opera debut in 2008 in Robert Carsen's production of Bernstein's Candide , in which he featured Voltaire and Dr. Pangloss was playing.

Audio book and stories

Jennings has recorded the audiobook versions of The Ride of Narnia , Beyond the Silent Star and Perelandra by CS Lewis , 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne and Attention All Shipping by Charlie Connelly. The last one was voted one of the top 40 audiobooks of all time in June 2008. In 2006 he recorded a short version of A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon . He is also a regular narrator on BBC Radio 4's Book at Bedtime .

He was also a member of the BBC's Radio Drama Company.

Awards

Jennings has won three Olivier Awards:

• 1988: Even the cleverest do something stupid - Olivier Award for the best comedy performance
• 1996: Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen - Olivier Award for Best Actor
• 2003: My Fair Lady, as Henry Higgins - Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical

Filmography

theatre

• 1985: The Scarlet Pimpernel at Her Majesty's Theater
• 1987–1988: Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare with the Royal Shakespeare Company as Lucio
• 1988: Even the smartest man does something stupid at the Old Vic Theater in London
• 1988: The Country Wife at the Royal Exchange, Manchester
• 1988: Even the smartest man does something stupid at the Old Vic Theater in London
• 1989: Ghetto at the National Theater as a smock
• 1990: The Wild Duck at Peter Hall Company as Hjalmar Ekdal
• 1990: The Liars at the Old Vic Theater in London as Dorante
• 1990: Richard II by William Shakespeare with the Royal Shakespeare Company as Richard II
• 1992: The Recruiting Officer at the National Theater as Captain Plume
• 1993: The Importance of Being Earnest at the AldwychTheatre as John Worthing
• 1994: Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen at the Royal Shakespeare Company as Peer Gynt
• 1994–1995: Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare with the Royal Shakespeare Company as Angelo
• 1996: Easter Bonnet Competition at the Palace Theater in New York City
• 1996: William Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream as Oberon and Theseus
  • March 1996 to May 1996: Lunt-Fontanne Theater on Broadway in New York City
• Hyde Park at the Royal Shakespeare Company
• The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare at the Royal Shakespeare Company
• 1997: Hamlet by William Shakespeare for the Royal Shakespeare Company as Hamlet
  • May 1997 to June 1998: productions in the UK and USA
• 2000: Albert Speer at the Lyttelton Theater in London
• 2001: The Winter's Tale at the Royal National Theater in New York City
• 2001: The Relapse at the Royal National Theater in New York City
• 2001: My Fair Lady at the Royal National Theater as Professor Henry Higgins
• 2003: Fire at the Theater Royal Haymarket in London
• 2009: The Habit of Art by Alan Bennett at the National Theater of Great Britain as Henry
  • November 2009 to September 2010: Lyttelton Theater in London
• 2011: Collaborators of John Hodge at the National Theater of Great Britain as Michail Bulgakow
  • October 2011 to June 2012: Cottesloe Theater in London
• 2012: Hymn by Alan Bennett at the National Theater of Great Britain
  • November 2012 to March 2013: Lyttelton Theater in London
• 2012: Cocktail Sticks by Alan Bennett at the National Theater of Great Britain
  • December 2012 to March 2013: Lyttelton Theater in London
• 2013: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl as Willy Wonka
  • May 2014 to May 2015: Theater Royal Drury Lane in London
• 2016: My Fair Lady at the Sydney Opera House as Professor Henry Higgins

Theater (filmed)

• 1999: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as butler
• 2010: National Theater Live: The Habit of Art as Henry / Benjamin Britten
• 2011: National Theater Live: Collaborators as Mikhail Bulgakov
• 2013: National Theater Live: 50 Years on Stage as Henry Higgins

Movie

• 1989: Was Requiem as Blinded Soldier
• 1996: A Midsummer Night's Dream as Theseus / Oberon
• 1997: The Wings of the Dove as Lord Mark
• 2002: The Four Feathers as Colonel Hamilton
• 2004: Five Children and It as Father
• 2004: Bridget Jones - On the Edge of Madness as Horatio
• 2006: Babel as Ken Clifford
• 2006: The Queen as Prince Charles
• 2008: The Disappeared as Adrian Ballan
• 2010: Words of the Blitz as George Orwell
• 2013: Trap for Cinderella as an opportunity
• 2013: Dido Elizabeth Belle as Lord Ashford
• 2014: Castles in the Sky as Henry Tizard
• 2015: The Lady in the Van as Alan Bennett

Mini-series and TV films

• 1982: Smiley's People (TV mini-series) as PC Hall (one episode)
• 1991: Ashenden (TV mini-series) as John Ashenden
• 1991: Bye Bye Columbus (TV movie) as King Ferdinand
• 1994: Hard Times (TV mini-series) as Bitzer (one episode)
• 1997: Liberty! The American Revolution (TV mini-series) as King George III
• 1999: The Hunley (TV movie) as Lt. Alexander
• 2001: Bad Blood (TV movie) as Joe Harker
• 2002: Great Britons (TV mini-series / documentary) as Winston Churchill (voice)
• 2004: London (TV movie) as Stephen Spender
• 2005: A Very Social Secretary (TV movie) as Alastair Campbell
• 2005: Riot at the Rite (TV movie) as Sergei Diaghilev
• 2008: Fairy Tales (TV mini-series) as Roger Bateman (an episode ")
• 2008: Hancock & Joan (TV movie) as John Le Mesurier
• 2008: The 39 Steps (TV movie) as Captain Kell
• 2009: The Last Days of Lehman Brothers (TV movie) as Timothy 'Tim' Geithner
• 2010: On Expenses (TV movie) as Andrew Walker
• 2012: We'll Take Manhattan (TV movie) as John Parsons
• 2013: The Lady Vanishes (TV movie) as The Professor
• 2015: Churchill's Secret (TV movie) as Anthony Eden

watch TV

• 1986: Kit Curran as PC Woods (one episode)
• 1988: The Franchise Affair as Nevil Bennet
• 1989: The Return of Shelley as Jeremy (one episode)
• 1990: Inspector Morse, Oxford Homicide Squad as Victor Preece (an episode)
• 1990: Alfonso Bonzo as Alfonso Bonzo
• 1992: Screenplay as Byron (one episode)
• 1993: Alleyn Mysteries as Sebastian Parish (one episode)
• 2000: Too Much Sun as Julian Edgbaston-Bowles
• 2005: Agatha Christie's Poirot as Dr Roberts (one episode)
• 2006: Spooks - In the sights of MI5 as James Allan (one episode)
• 2006: The State Within as James Sinclair
• 2007: Waking the Dead as James Andrews
• 2008: 10 Days to War as Vincent (one episode)
• 2009: Agatha Christie's Marple as Inspector Curry (one episode)
• 2007–2009: Cranford as Reverend Hutton / The Rev Hutton
• 2010: Masterpiece Classic as Captain Kell (one episode)
• 2010: Grandpa in My Pocket as Captain Shipshape (one episode)
• 2009-2010: Whitechapel as Commander Anderson
• 2012: Being Human as Griffin (one episode)
• 2012: Lewis as Rev Conor Hawes (one episode)
• 2012: New Tricks - The crime specialists as Professor Blake (one episode)
• 2011-2014: Silk - robes of silk as Alan Cowdrey, QC
• 2015: Foyle's War as Clive Ord-Smith (an episode)
• 2016–2019: Victoria as King Leopold I.
• 2016-2017: The Crown as Edward, Duke of Windsor
• 2017: The Halcyon as Lord Hamilton (guest appearance, one episode)
• 2018: A Very English Scandal as Peter Bessell
• 2018: Unforgotten as Tim Finch
• 2019: Gold Digger as Ted

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Alex Jennings 2019: Wife, net worth, tattoos, smoking & body facts. Retrieved July 23, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Maddy Costa: Despite awards and fame Alex Jennings is still unsatisfied. In: The Guardian. September 19, 2007, accessed July 23, 2019 . 
3. ↑ 5 days in the life of ... Alex Jennings. In: The Independent. March 29, 1998, accessed July 23, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Alex Jennings is Henry Higgins in 'My Fair Lady'. In: ABC Radio National. August 21, 2016, accessed on July 23, 2019 . 
5. ^ ^{A b} Mark Shenton: Bold casting choices and versatile actors. In: The Stage. February 7, 2014, accessed July 23, 2019 .