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Simon Callow

Simon Phillip Hugh Callow CBE[1] (born 15 June 1949) is an English actor. He is the voice of Poetry Pete in the children's televisions series Sarah & Duck. Known as a character actor on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Olivier Award and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for two BAFTA Awards. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to acting by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999.

Simon Callow

Callow in 2009
Born
Simon Phillip Hugh Callow

(1949-06-15) 15 June 1949 (age 74)
Streatham, London, England
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • author
  • musician
  • singer
Years active1973–present
Spouse
Sebastian Fox
(m. 2016)

Callow rose to prominence originating the title role of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the 1979 Peter Shaffer play Amadeus, for which he received a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role nomination. Callow joined the Miloš Forman 1984 film adaptation, this time portraying Emanuel Schikaneder. In 1992, Callow won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director of a Musical for Carmen Jones. As an actor, he won acclaim for his comedic roles in A Room with a View (1985) and Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) earning BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for each. Other notable roles include in Maurice (1987), Howards End (1992), Shakespeare in Love (1998), and The Phantom of the Opera (2004).

His television roles include Tom Chance in the Channel 4 series Chance in a Million (1984) and The Duke of Sandringham in the series Outlander from 2014 to 2016. He portrayed Napoleon in The Man of Destiny (1981), and Charles Dickens in numerous television projects. He's also appeared on numerous shows such as Midsomer Murders, Rome, Angels in America, Doctor Who, Galavant, Hawkeye, and The Witcher.

Early years edit

Callow was born on 15 June 1949 in Streatham, south London, the son of Yvonne Mary (née Guise), a secretary and Neil Francis Callow, a businessman.[2] His father was of French descent and his mother was of Danish and German ancestry.[3] His father left when Simon was eighteen months old, and he was brought up by his mother and grandmothers. He and his mother travelled to Northern Rhodesia (now called Zambia) when he was nine to try and reconcile with his father. This did not happen, and Callow was sent for three years to boarding school in South Africa. He and his mother returned to Britain when he was twelve. He was raised as a Catholic.[3] Callow was a student at the London Oratory School in west Brompton,[4] and then went on to study briefly at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland,[5] where he was active in the gay liberation movement.[5] He gave up his degree course after a year to take a three-year acting course at the Drama Centre London.[4]

Career edit

Acting edit

Callow's immersion in the theatre began after he wrote a fan letter to Sir Laurence Olivier, the artistic director of the National Theatre, and received a response suggesting he join their box-office staff. While watching actors rehearse, he realised he wanted to act.[6]

Callow made his stage debut in 1973, appearing in The Three Estates at the Assembly Rooms Theatre, Edinburgh. In the early 1970s, he joined the Gay Sweatshop theatre company and performed in Martin Sherman's critically acclaimed Passing By.[7][8] In 1977, he took various parts in the Joint Stock Theatre Company's production of Epsom Downs and in 1979, he starred in Snoo Wilson's The Soul of the White Ant at the Soho Poly.[9]

Callow appeared as Verlaine in Total Eclipse (1982), Lord Foppington in The Relapse (1983) and the title role in Faust (1988) at the Lyric Hammersmith, where he also directed The Infernal Machine (with Dame Maggie Smith) in 1986.[10] In 1985, he played Molina in Kiss of the Spiderwoman at the Bush Theatre, London.[10] He played Mozart in the premiere of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus at the National Theatre (1979), also appearing in the 1983 BBC original cast radio production.[10] He later wrote of having "discovered Mozart quite early: the operas, the symphonies, the concertos, the wind serenades were all very much part of my musical landscape when I was asked to play the part of the composer in Peter Shaffer's Amadeus; possibly this was one of the reasons I got the job."[11] He appeared at the National Theatre as Orlando in As You Like It (1979) and Fulganzio in Life of Galileo (1980).[10]

Callow appeared with Saeed Jaffrey in the 1994 British television drama series Little Napoleons, playing a scheming Conservative councillor in local government. In 1996, Callow directed Cantabile in three musical pieces (Commuting, The Waiter's Revenge, Ricercare No. 4) composed by his friend Stephen Oliver. Ricercare No. 4 was commissioned by Callow especially for Cantabile. He voice-acted the sly and traitorous Wolfgang in Shoebox Zoo. In 2004, he appeared on a Comic Relief episode of Little Britain for charity causes. In 2006, he wrote a piece for the BBC1 programme This Week bemoaning the lack of characters in modern politics. He has starred as Count Fosco, the villain of Wilkie Collins's novel The Woman in White, in film (1997) and on stage (2005, in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in the West End).

Callow starred in the three-part original Gold comedy The Rebel in 2016.[12]

In 2022, he joined the cast of the UK revival of Cole Porter's Anything Goes replacing Gary Wilmot as Elisha Whitney. The production would complete a UK tour before finishing with a run at the Barbican Centre.[13] From 11 July to 3 August 2008, Callow appeared at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada in There Reigns Love, a performance of the sonnets of William Shakespeare.[14] The same year, he appeared at the Edinburgh Festival, performing "Dr. Marigold" and "Mr. Chops" by Charles Dickens, adapted and directed by Patrick Garland; repeating them from December 2009 to January 2010 at the Riverside Studios and on tour in 2011.

In February 2008, he played the psychiatrist in the Chichester Festival Theatre's production of Peter Shaffer's Equus.

Between March and August 2009, he played Pozzo in Sean Mathias's production of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett with Ian McKellen as Estragon, Patrick Stewart as Vladimir, and Ronald Pickup as Lucky. The production toured Britain before a run at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, in London

From June to November 2010, he appeared in a national tour of a new one-man play, Shakespeare: the Man from Stratford, written by Jonathan Bate, directed by Tom Cairns, and produced by the Ambassador Theatre Group. The play was renamed Being Shakespeare for its West End debut at the Trafalgar Studios, where it opened on 15 June 2011. It was revived at the same theatre in March 2012, prior to a run in New York City and Chicago. In March 2014, it returned to the West End, this time at the Harold Pinter Theatre.[15]

In October 2014, Callow appeared in a comedy sketch made for Channel 4's The Feeling Nuts Comedy Night to raise awareness of testicular cancer. The same year, he played the recurring role of the fictional Duke of Sandringham in the Starz period TV series, Outlander.[16]

In December 2022, Callow appeared as Dick in the Christmas special of BBC dark comedy Inside No. 9, "The Bones of St Nicholas".[17][18]

Film edit

He made his first film appearance in 1984 as Schikaneder in Amadeus. The following year, he appeared as the Reverend Mr. Beebe in A Room with a View. His first television role was in the Carry On Laughing episode "Orgy and Bess" in 1975, but it was cut from the final print. He starred in several series of the Channel 4 situation comedy Chance in a Million, as Tom Chance, an eccentric individual to whom coincidences happened regularly. Roles like this and his part in Four Weddings and a Funeral brought him to a wider audience.[19] Callow portrayed Pliny the Elder in CBBC's 2007 children's drama series, Roman Mysteries in the episode "The Secrets of Vesuvius". He played Armand Duquesne in Marvel's Hawkeye on Disney+.[20]

Directing edit

Callow also directed plays and wrote: his Being An Actor (1984) was a critique of 'director dominated' theatre, in addition to containing autobiographical sections relating to his early career as an actor. In 1992, he directed the play Shades by Sharman MacDonald and the musical My Fair Lady, featuring costumes designed by Jasper Conran.[21] In 1995, he directed a stage version of the classic French film Les Enfants du Paradis for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Among opera productions directed by Callow are a Così fan tutte in Lucerne, Die Fledermaus for Scottish Opera in 1988,[22] Il tritico for the Broomhill Trust, Kent in August 1995,[23] Menotti's The Consul at Holland Park Opera, London in 1999 and Le roi malgré lui by Chabrier at Grange Park Opera in 2003.[24] He also directed Carmen Jones at the Old Vic, London in 1991, with Wilhelmenia Fernandez in the title role.[25]

One of Callow's best-known books is Love Is Where It Falls, an analysis of his 11-year relationship with Peggy Ramsay (1908–91), a prominent British theatrical agent from the 1960s to the 1980s. He has also written extensively about Charles Dickens, whom he has played several times: in a one-man show, The Mystery of Charles Dickens by Peter Ackroyd; in the films Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale, and Christmas Carol: The Movie; and on television several times including An Audience with Charles Dickens (BBC, 1996) and in "The Unquiet Dead", a 2005 episode of the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who. He returned to Doctor Who for the 2011 season finale, again taking the role of Dickens.[26]

In December 2004, he hosted the London Gay Men's Chorus Christmas Show, Make the Yuletide Gay at the Barbican Centre in London. He is currently one of the patrons of the Michael Chekhov Studio London. In July 2006, the London Oratory School Schola announced Callow as one of their new patrons. In November 2007, he threatened to resign the post over controversy surrounding the Terrence Higgins Trust (an AIDS charity of which Callow is also a patron). Other patrons of the Catholic choir are Princess Michael of Kent and the leading Scottish composer James MacMillan. He reprised his role as Wolfgang in Shoebox Zoo and voice-acted the wild and action-seeking Hunter, as well.[when?]

Author edit

Callow has written biographies of Oscar Wilde, Charles Laughton, Orson Welles, and Richard Wagner. He has also written an anthology of Shakespeare passages, Shakespeare on Love, and contributed to Cambridge's Actors on Shakespeare series.

A devotee of classical music, he has contributed articles to Gramophone and The New York Review of Books.

Narration edit

Callow was the reader of The Twits and The Witches in the Puffin Roald Dahl Audio Books Collection (ISBN 978-0-140-92255-4), and has done audio versions of several abridged P.G. Wodehouse books that feature, among others, the fictional character Jeeves. They include Very Good, Jeeves and Aunts Aren't Gentlemen. Callow is the reader of the audio book edition of William E. Wallace's Michelangelo, God's Architect, published by Princeton University Press.[27] Callow narrated the audiobook of Robert Fagles' 2006 translation of Virgil's The Aeneid. In November 2009, "Mini Stories", a recording by the Caput Ensemble of Haflidi Hallgrimsson's settings of the surreal poetry of Daniil Kharms, featuring Callow as the narrator, was released by Hyperion Records.[28]

Callow played Stroganoff in the 1987 Saturday Night Theatre production of A Bullet in the Ballet dramatised by Pat Hooker on BBC Radio 4.[29]

Personal life edit

Callow was one of the first actors to declare their homosexuality publicly, doing so in his 1984 book Being An Actor. He was listed 28th in The Independent's 2007 listing of the most influential gay men and women in the UK.[30] He married Sebastian Fox in June 2016.[31][32]

In an interview, Callow stated:

I'm not really an activist, although I am aware that there are some political acts one can do that actually make a difference and I think my coming out as a gay man was probably one of the most valuable things I've done in my life. I don't think any actor had done so voluntarily and I think it helped to change the culture.[33]

In August 2014, Callow was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue.[34]

In the 1999 Birthday Honours, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to acting.[35]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Title Role Notes
1984 Amadeus Emanuel Schikaneder / Papageno Callow created the role of Mozart in the premiere stage production
1985 The Good Father Mark Varda
A Room with a View The Reverend Mr. Beebe Nominated – BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
1987 Maurice Mr. Ducie
1988 Manifesto Police Chief Hunt
1990 Postcards from the Edge Simon Asquith
Mr. & Mrs. Bridge Dr. Alex Sauer
1991 The Ballad of the Sad Cafe Director
Nominated – Golden Berlin Bear
1992 Howards End Music and Meaning Lecturer Cameo
Soft Top Hard Shoulder Eddie Cherdowski
1994 Four Weddings and a Funeral Gareth Nominated – BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Street Fighter A.N. Official
1995 England, My England Charles II
Victory Zangiacomo
Jefferson in Paris Richard Cosway
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls Vincent Cadby Main antagonist
1996 James and the Giant Peach Mr. Grasshopper Voice
1998 The Scarlet Tunic Captain Fairfax
Bedrooms and Hallways Keith
Shakespeare in Love Sir Edmund Tilney Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1999 Around the World in 80 Days Phileas Fogg Voice
Junk
Notting Hill Himself uncredited film-within-a-film role
2001 No Man's Land Colonel Soft
Christmas Carol: The Movie Ebenezer Scrooge Voice
2002 Thunderpants Sir John Osgood
Merci Docteur Rey Bob
2003 Bright Young Things King of Anatolia
2004 George and the Dragon King Edgar
The Phantom of the Opera Andre
2005 Rag Tale Fat Boy Rourke
The Civilization of Maxwell Bright Mr. Wroth
Bob the Butler Mr. Butler
2006 Sabina Eugene Bleuler
2007 Chemical Wedding Professor Haddo / Aleister Crowley
Arn - The Knight Templar Father Henry
2011 No Ordinary Trifle Guy Witherspoon
2012 Acts of Godfrey Godfrey
2014 Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles Himself
2016 Golden Years Royston
Viceroy's House Cyril Radcliffe
2017 Hampstead The Judge
Victoria & Abdul Giacomo Puccini
The Man Who Invented Christmas John Leech
2018 Blue Iguana Uncle Martin
2024 Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 Cavendish Post production
TBA The Pay Day Post-production
TBA Surprised by Oxford Post-production
TBA Doctor Jekyll Post-production
TBA Eternal Return Malcolm Post-production

Television edit

Year Title Role Notes
1975 Get Some In! Wally
1976 The Sweeney Detective Sergeant
1980 Instant Enlightenment Including VAT Max
1981 The Man of Destiny Napoleon
W.H.Auden Monologue W.H.Auden
1984 Chance in a Million Tom Chance
1985 Honour, Profit and Pleasure Handel Television film
1986 Dead Head Hugo Silver
David Copperfield Mr Micawber
1987 Inspector Morse Theodore Kemp Episode: "The Wolvercote Tongue"
1990 Old Flames Nathaniel Quass
1993 Femme Fatale Vicar Ronnie
1994 Little Napoleons Edward Feathers
1995 El pasajero clandestino Major Owens
1996 An Audience With Charles Dickens Charles Dickens
1997 The Woman in White Count Fosco
1998 Trial & Retribution II Rupert Halliday
2000 The Mystery of Charles Dickens Charles Dickens Television film
2001 Don't Eat the Neighbours Fox & Bear
2002 NOVA: Galileo's Battle for the Heavens Galileo Documentary
2003 Angels in America Prior Walter ancestor 2 Miniseries
2004 Shoebox Zoo Wolfgang the Wolf
Hunter the Horse
TV series, 12 episodes
Agatha Christie's Marple Colonel Terence Melchett Episode: "The Body in the Library"
2005 Rome Publius Servilius Isauricus Episode: "Egeria"
2005, 2011 Doctor Who Charles Dickens Episodes: "The Unquiet Dead", "The Wedding of River Song"
2006 Midsomer Murders Dr. Richard Wellow Episode: "Dead Letters"
Classical Destinations Narrator[36]
2007 Roman Mysteries Pliny the Elder Episodes: "The Secrets of Vesuvius"
The Company Elihu
How Gay Sex Changed the World Himself
Trick or Treat 1 episode
2008 The Mr. Men Show Narrator
2009 Lewis Vernon Oxe Episode: "Counter Culture Blues"
The Sarah Jane Adventures Tree Blathereen Voice
Episode: "The Gift"
2011 This is Jinsy Threcker Episode: "Nameworm"
Popstar to Operastar Himself
Jamie's Dream School
2013 Agatha Christie's Poirot Dr. Heinrich Lutz Episode: "The Labours of Hercules"
2014–2016 Outlander The Duke of Sandringham 5 episodes in seasons 1 and 2
2014 Plebs Victor Episode: "The Candidate"
The Feeling Nuts Comedy Night Himself
2015 Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway Guest in The End of The Show Show Season 12, episode 2
2016 Galavant Edwin the Magnificent Episode: "World's Best Kiss"
The Rebel Henry Palmer Lead character
The Life of Rock with Brian Pern Bennett St John Series 3, episode 3
2017 George III: The Genius of the Mad King George III Voice; BBC Documentary on George III
Midsomer Murders Vernon De Harthog Episode: "The Curse of the Ninth"
2018 Death in Paradise Larry South Series 7, episode 3
A Christmas Carol Narrator/Actor BBC4
The Dead Room Aubrey Judd
2021 Hawkeye Armand Duquesne III Episode: "Never Meet Your Heroes"
2021-2023 The Witcher Codringher 2 episodes
2022 Inside No. 9 Dick Series 8 episode 1: "The Bones of St Nicholas"[37]
2023 The Cleaner Mr. Abahassine Episode: "The Clown"
Dodger The Archbishop of Canterbury Episode: "Coronation"[38]

Bibliography edit

  • Callow, Simon (1986) [1984], Being an Actor, St. Martin's Press, ISBN 978-0-312-07276-6, OCLC 13092196
  • Callow, Simon (1991), Acting in Restoration Comedy, The Applause acting series, Applause Theatre Books, ISBN 978-1-55783-119-4, OCLC 24218256
  • Callow, Simon (1995), Orson Welles: Volume 1: The Road to Xanadu, Jonathan Cape, ISBN 978-0-224-03852-2, OCLC 32454874
  • Callow, Simon (1997), Charles Laughton: A Difficult Actor, Fromm International Pub, ISBN 978-0-88064-180-7, OCLC 36315809
  • Callow, Simon (2000), The Night of the Hunter, BFI film classics., BFI Publishing, ISBN 978-0-85170-822-5, OCLC 59582358
  • Callow, Simon (2003), Dickens' Christmas: A Victorian Celebration, Harry N. Abrams, ISBN 978-0-8109-4534-0, OCLC 51942509
  • Callow, Simon (2003), Shooting the Actor, Picador, ISBN 978-0-312-42244-8, OCLC 52178208
  • Callow, Simon (2006), Orson Welles: Volume 2: Hello Americans, Jonathan Cape, ISBN 978-0-224-03853-9, OCLC 63185891
  • Callow, Simon (2007), Love Is Where It Falls, Nick Hern, ISBN 978-1-85459-976-6, OCLC 77258353
  • Callow, Simon (2012), Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World, Vintage Books, ISBN 9780345803238
  • Callow, Simon (2015), Orson Welles: Volume 3: One-Man Band, Jonathan Cape
  • Callow, Simon (2017), Being Wagner, William Collins, ISBN 9780008105693

References edit

  1. ^ "Queen's Birthday Honours: The Full List". The Independent. 12 June 1999.
  2. ^ "Simon Callow Biography". filmreference. 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
  3. ^ a b Lee, Luaine (30 October 2002). "Spending time in Africa shaped who Simon Callow is today". Star News. Wilmington, North Carolina. p. 9.
  4. ^ a b "Simon Callow in Being Shakespeare". chicagoshakes.com. 18 April 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Simon Callow muses on coffee, causes and life in Belfast as a student". irishnews.com. 16 July 2016.
  6. ^ Fryer, Jonathan (24 March 2010). "Simon Callow Laid Bare". Jonathan Fryer. WordPress.
  7. ^ Church, Michael (20 June 1975). "Passing By". The Times. p. 13.
  8. ^ Callow, Simon (31 October 2008). "Sexual healing: From The Boys in the Band to Brokeback Mountain, gay roles in cinema have come a long way from their tortured beginnings". The Observer.
  9. ^ Snoo Wilson, Plays 1, Methuen 1999
  10. ^ a b c d Biographical note for Simon Callow in programme book for Faust at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, London, 2 July 1988.
  11. ^ My Mozart : Simon Callow. Opera, January 2006, Vol. 57, No.1, pg. 35.
  12. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "The Rebel – Gold Sitcom – British Comedy Guide". British Comedy Guide.
  13. ^ "Anything Goes announces further casting for tour and London run". Retrieved 15 April 2022.
  14. ^ . Stratford Festival. Archived from the original on 25 January 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  15. ^ "Being Shakespeare Official Website". Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  16. ^ "Scots-based Outlander TV show casts Simon Callow". The Scotsman. 7 December 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  17. ^ Rees, Jasper (22 December 2022). "Inside No 9, review: there was an unexpected ghost at this macabre Christmas feast". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  18. ^ "Inside No. 9: The Bones of St Nicholas". BBC. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  19. ^ "Simon Callow Biography (1949-) Career to 2003". filmreference.com. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  20. ^ Bondi, Gabrielle (24 November 2021). "Who killed [SPOILERS] in 'Hawkeye' Episode 1? Marvel's Swordsman, explained". Inverse.
  21. ^ . Jasper Conran. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013.
  22. ^ Monelle, Raymond. Review of Die Fledermaus at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow. Opera, December 1988, Vol.39 No.12, p1491-92.
  23. ^ Allison, John. II trittico and The Reluctant Highwayman, The Broomhill Trust. Opera, October 1995, Vol.46 No.10, p1233-35.
  24. ^ Maddocks, Fiona. "Le roi malgré lui: Grange Park Opera". Opera, September 2003, pp. 1130-31. For this production the dialogue was prepared by Callow from the original Ancelot play.
  25. ^ Milnes, Rodney. Review of Carmen Jones at the Old Vic. Opera, June 1991, Vol.42, No.6, p727-728.
  26. ^ "Doctor Who: Series 6 – 13. The Wedding of River Song". Radio Times. BBC Magazines.
  27. ^ Michelangelo, God's Architect.
  28. ^ ."Hallgrímsson: Mini Stories". Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  29. ^ Saturday-Night Theatre: A Bullet in the Ballet, Sat 3rd Jan 1987, 19:00 on BBC Radio 4 FM (from Radio Times issue 3293, 3rd January 1987) accessed 1 September 2023.
  30. ^ "Gay Power: The pink list". The Independent. 2 July 2006.
  31. ^ "Simon Callow: 'Marriage is a remarkable thing to happen to someone at the age of 67'". The Times (Interview). Interviewed by Nick Curtis. 31 December 2016.
  32. ^ "Simon Callow on love and loss". RadioTimes (Interview). Interviewed by Michael Hodges. 20 July 2016.
  33. ^ Byrnes, Sholto (26 April 2004). . The Independent. Archived from the original on 4 February 2010.
  34. ^ "Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories". The Guardian. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  35. ^ "Queen's Birthday Honours: The Full List". The Independent. 12 June 1999. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  36. ^ . Sky Arts. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011.
  37. ^ "Inside No. 9 Christmas special 2022". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  38. ^ "BAFTA-winning hit BBC family comedy, Dodger, returns for Christmas special". bbc.co.uk/mediacentre. Retrieved 24 December 2023.

External links edit

simon, callow, simon, phillip, hugh, callow, born, june, 1949, english, actor, voice, poetry, pete, children, televisions, series, sarah, duck, known, character, actor, stage, screen, received, numerous, accolades, including, olivier, award, screen, actors, gu. Simon Phillip Hugh Callow CBE 1 born 15 June 1949 is an English actor He is the voice of Poetry Pete in the children s televisions series Sarah amp Duck Known as a character actor on stage and screen he has received numerous accolades including an Olivier Award and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for two BAFTA Awards He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire CBE for his services to acting by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999 Simon CallowCBECallow in 2009BornSimon Phillip Hugh Callow 1949 06 15 15 June 1949 age 74 Streatham London EnglandOccupationsActor director author musician singerYears active1973 presentSpouseSebastian Fox m 2016 wbr Callow rose to prominence originating the title role of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the 1979 Peter Shaffer play Amadeus for which he received a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role nomination Callow joined the Milos Forman 1984 film adaptation this time portraying Emanuel Schikaneder In 1992 Callow won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director of a Musical for Carmen Jones As an actor he won acclaim for his comedic roles in A Room with a View 1985 and Four Weddings and a Funeral 1994 earning BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for each Other notable roles include in Maurice 1987 Howards End 1992 Shakespeare in Love 1998 and The Phantom of the Opera 2004 His television roles include Tom Chance in the Channel 4 series Chance in a Million 1984 and The Duke of Sandringham in the series Outlander from 2014 to 2016 He portrayed Napoleon in The Man of Destiny 1981 and Charles Dickens in numerous television projects He s also appeared on numerous shows such as Midsomer Murders Rome Angels in America Doctor Who Galavant Hawkeye and The Witcher Contents 1 Early years 2 Career 2 1 Acting 2 2 Film 2 3 Directing 2 4 Author 2 5 Narration 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 4 1 Film 4 2 Television 5 Bibliography 6 References 7 External linksEarly years editCallow was born on 15 June 1949 in Streatham south London the son of Yvonne Mary nee Guise a secretary and Neil Francis Callow a businessman 2 His father was of French descent and his mother was of Danish and German ancestry 3 His father left when Simon was eighteen months old and he was brought up by his mother and grandmothers He and his mother travelled to Northern Rhodesia now called Zambia when he was nine to try and reconcile with his father This did not happen and Callow was sent for three years to boarding school in South Africa He and his mother returned to Britain when he was twelve He was raised as a Catholic 3 Callow was a student at the London Oratory School in west Brompton 4 and then went on to study briefly at Queen s University Belfast in Northern Ireland 5 where he was active in the gay liberation movement 5 He gave up his degree course after a year to take a three year acting course at the Drama Centre London 4 Career editActing edit Callow s immersion in the theatre began after he wrote a fan letter to Sir Laurence Olivier the artistic director of the National Theatre and received a response suggesting he join their box office staff While watching actors rehearse he realised he wanted to act 6 Callow made his stage debut in 1973 appearing in The Three Estates at the Assembly Rooms Theatre Edinburgh In the early 1970s he joined the Gay Sweatshop theatre company and performed in Martin Sherman s critically acclaimed Passing By 7 8 In 1977 he took various parts in the Joint Stock Theatre Company s production of Epsom Downs and in 1979 he starred in Snoo Wilson s The Soul of the White Ant at the Soho Poly 9 Callow appeared as Verlaine in Total Eclipse 1982 Lord Foppington in The Relapse 1983 and the title role in Faust 1988 at the Lyric Hammersmith where he also directed The Infernal Machine with Dame Maggie Smith in 1986 10 In 1985 he played Molina in Kiss of the Spiderwoman at the Bush Theatre London 10 He played Mozart in the premiere of Peter Shaffer s Amadeus at the National Theatre 1979 also appearing in the 1983 BBC original cast radio production 10 He later wrote of having discovered Mozart quite early the operas the symphonies the concertos the wind serenades were all very much part of my musical landscape when I was asked to play the part of the composer in Peter Shaffer s Amadeus possibly this was one of the reasons I got the job 11 He appeared at the National Theatre as Orlando in As You Like It 1979 and Fulganzio in Life of Galileo 1980 10 Callow appeared with Saeed Jaffrey in the 1994 British television drama series Little Napoleons playing a scheming Conservative councillor in local government In 1996 Callow directed Cantabile in three musical pieces Commuting The Waiter s Revenge Ricercare No 4 composed by his friend Stephen Oliver Ricercare No 4 was commissioned by Callow especially for Cantabile He voice acted the sly and traitorous Wolfgang in Shoebox Zoo In 2004 he appeared on a Comic Relief episode of Little Britain for charity causes In 2006 he wrote a piece for the BBC1 programme This Week bemoaning the lack of characters in modern politics He has starred as Count Fosco the villain of Wilkie Collins s novel The Woman in White in film 1997 and on stage 2005 in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in the West End Callow starred in the three part original Gold comedy The Rebel in 2016 12 In 2022 he joined the cast of the UK revival of Cole Porter s Anything Goes replacing Gary Wilmot as Elisha Whitney The production would complete a UK tour before finishing with a run at the Barbican Centre 13 From 11 July to 3 August 2008 Callow appeared at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada in There Reigns Love a performance of the sonnets of William Shakespeare 14 The same year he appeared at the Edinburgh Festival performing Dr Marigold and Mr Chops by Charles Dickens adapted and directed by Patrick Garland repeating them from December 2009 to January 2010 at the Riverside Studios and on tour in 2011 In February 2008 he played the psychiatrist in the Chichester Festival Theatre s production of Peter Shaffer s Equus Between March and August 2009 he played Pozzo in Sean Mathias s production of Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett with Ian McKellen as Estragon Patrick Stewart as Vladimir and Ronald Pickup as Lucky The production toured Britain before a run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in LondonFrom June to November 2010 he appeared in a national tour of a new one man play Shakespeare the Man from Stratford written by Jonathan Bate directed by Tom Cairns and produced by the Ambassador Theatre Group The play was renamed Being Shakespeare for its West End debut at the Trafalgar Studios where it opened on 15 June 2011 It was revived at the same theatre in March 2012 prior to a run in New York City and Chicago In March 2014 it returned to the West End this time at the Harold Pinter Theatre 15 In October 2014 Callow appeared in a comedy sketch made for Channel 4 sThe Feeling Nuts Comedy Night to raise awareness of testicular cancer The same year he played the recurring role of the fictional Duke of Sandringham in the Starz period TV series Outlander 16 In December 2022 Callow appeared as Dick in the Christmas special of BBC dark comedy Inside No 9 The Bones of St Nicholas 17 18 Film edit He made his first film appearance in 1984 as Schikaneder in Amadeus The following year he appeared as the Reverend Mr Beebe in A Room with a View His first television role was in the Carry On Laughing episode Orgy and Bess in 1975 but it was cut from the final print He starred in several series of the Channel 4 situation comedy Chance in a Million as Tom Chance an eccentric individual to whom coincidences happened regularly Roles like this and his part in Four Weddings and a Funeral brought him to a wider audience 19 Callow portrayed Pliny the Elder in CBBC s 2007 children s drama series Roman Mysteries in the episode The Secrets of Vesuvius He played Armand Duquesne in Marvel s Hawkeye on Disney 20 Directing edit Callow also directed plays and wrote his Being An Actor 1984 was a critique of director dominated theatre in addition to containing autobiographical sections relating to his early career as an actor In 1992 he directed the play Shades by Sharman MacDonald and the musical My Fair Lady featuring costumes designed by Jasper Conran 21 In 1995 he directed a stage version of the classic French film Les Enfants du Paradis for the Royal Shakespeare Company Among opera productions directed by Callow are a Cosi fan tutte in Lucerne Die Fledermaus for Scottish Opera in 1988 22 Il tritico for the Broomhill Trust Kent in August 1995 23 Menotti s The Consul at Holland Park Opera London in 1999 and Le roi malgre lui by Chabrier at Grange Park Opera in 2003 24 He also directed Carmen Jones at the Old Vic London in 1991 with Wilhelmenia Fernandez in the title role 25 One of Callow s best known books is Love Is Where It Falls an analysis of his 11 year relationship with Peggy Ramsay 1908 91 a prominent British theatrical agent from the 1960s to the 1980s He has also written extensively about Charles Dickens whom he has played several times in a one man show The Mystery of Charles Dickens by Peter Ackroyd in the films Hans Christian Andersen My Life as a Fairytale and Christmas Carol The Movie and on television several times including An Audience with Charles Dickens BBC 1996 and in The Unquiet Dead a 2005 episode of the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who He returned to Doctor Who for the 2011 season finale again taking the role of Dickens 26 In December 2004 he hosted the London Gay Men s Chorus Christmas Show Make the Yuletide Gay at the Barbican Centre in London He is currently one of the patrons of the Michael Chekhov Studio London In July 2006 the London Oratory School Schola announced Callow as one of their new patrons In November 2007 he threatened to resign the post over controversy surrounding the Terrence Higgins Trust an AIDS charity of which Callow is also a patron Other patrons of the Catholic choir are Princess Michael of Kent and the leading Scottish composer James MacMillan He reprised his role as Wolfgang in Shoebox Zoo and voice acted the wild and action seeking Hunter as well when Author edit Callow has written biographies of Oscar Wilde Charles Laughton Orson Welles and Richard Wagner He has also written an anthology of Shakespeare passages Shakespeare on Love and contributed to Cambridge s Actors on Shakespeare series A devotee of classical music he has contributed articles to Gramophone and The New York Review of Books Narration edit Callow was the reader of The Twits and The Witches in the Puffin Roald Dahl Audio Books Collection ISBN 978 0 140 92255 4 and has done audio versions of several abridged P G Wodehouse books that feature among others the fictional character Jeeves They include Very Good Jeeves and Aunts Aren t Gentlemen Callow is the reader of the audio book edition of William E Wallace s Michelangelo God s Architect published by Princeton University Press 27 Callow narrated the audiobook of Robert Fagles 2006 translation of Virgil s The Aeneid In November 2009 Mini Stories a recording by the Caput Ensemble of Haflidi Hallgrimsson s settings of the surreal poetry of Daniil Kharms featuring Callow as the narrator was released by Hyperion Records 28 Callow played Stroganoff in the 1987 Saturday Night Theatre production of A Bullet in the Ballet dramatised by Pat Hooker on BBC Radio 4 29 Personal life editCallow was one of the first actors to declare their homosexuality publicly doing so in his 1984 book Being An Actor He was listed 28th in The Independent s 2007 listing of the most influential gay men and women in the UK 30 He married Sebastian Fox in June 2016 31 32 In an interview Callow stated I m not really an activist although I am aware that there are some political acts one can do that actually make a difference and I think my coming out as a gay man was probably one of the most valuable things I ve done in my life I don t think any actor had done so voluntarily and I think it helped to change the culture 33 In August 2014 Callow was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September s referendum on that issue 34 In the 1999 Birthday Honours he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire CBE for his services to acting 35 Filmography editFilm edit Year Title Role Notes1984 Amadeus Emanuel Schikaneder Papageno Callow created the role of Mozart in the premiere stage production1985 The Good Father Mark VardaA Room with a View The Reverend Mr Beebe Nominated BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role1987 Maurice Mr Ducie1988 Manifesto Police Chief Hunt1990 Postcards from the Edge Simon AsquithMr amp Mrs Bridge Dr Alex Sauer1991 The Ballad of the Sad Cafe DirectorNominated Golden Berlin Bear1992 Howards End Music and Meaning Lecturer CameoSoft Top Hard Shoulder Eddie Cherdowski1994 Four Weddings and a Funeral Gareth Nominated BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleStreet Fighter A N Official1995 England My England Charles IIVictory ZangiacomoJefferson in Paris Richard CoswayAce Ventura When Nature Calls Vincent Cadby Main antagonist1996 James and the Giant Peach Mr Grasshopper Voice1998 The Scarlet Tunic Captain FairfaxBedrooms and Hallways KeithShakespeare in Love Sir Edmund Tilney Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture1999 Around the World in 80 Days Phileas Fogg VoiceJunkNotting Hill Himself uncredited film within a film role2001 No Man s Land Colonel SoftChristmas Carol The Movie Ebenezer Scrooge Voice2002 Thunderpants Sir John OsgoodMerci Docteur Rey Bob2003 Bright Young Things King of Anatolia2004 George and the Dragon King EdgarThe Phantom of the Opera Andre2005 Rag Tale Fat Boy RourkeThe Civilization of Maxwell Bright Mr WrothBob the Butler Mr Butler2006 Sabina Eugene Bleuler2007 Chemical Wedding Professor Haddo Aleister CrowleyArn The Knight Templar Father Henry2011 No Ordinary Trifle Guy Witherspoon2012 Acts of Godfrey Godfrey2014 Magician The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles Himself2016 Golden Years RoystonViceroy s House Cyril Radcliffe2017 Hampstead The JudgeVictoria amp Abdul Giacomo PucciniThe Man Who Invented Christmas John Leech2018 Blue Iguana Uncle Martin2024 Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey 2 Cavendish Post productionTBA The Pay Day Post productionTBA Surprised by Oxford Post productionTBA Doctor Jekyll Post productionTBA Eternal Return Malcolm Post productionTelevision edit Year Title Role Notes1975 Get Some In Wally1976 The Sweeney Detective Sergeant1980 Instant Enlightenment Including VAT Max1981 The Man of Destiny NapoleonW H Auden Monologue W H Auden1984 Chance in a Million Tom Chance1985 Honour Profit and Pleasure Handel Television film1986 Dead Head Hugo SilverDavid Copperfield Mr Micawber1987 Inspector Morse Theodore Kemp Episode The Wolvercote Tongue 1990 Old Flames Nathaniel Quass1993 Femme Fatale Vicar Ronnie1994 Little Napoleons Edward Feathers1995 El pasajero clandestino Major Owens1996 An Audience With Charles Dickens Charles Dickens1997 The Woman in White Count Fosco1998 Trial amp Retribution II Rupert Halliday2000 The Mystery of Charles Dickens Charles Dickens Television film2001 Don t Eat the Neighbours Fox amp Bear2002 NOVA Galileo s Battle for the Heavens Galileo Documentary2003 Angels in America Prior Walter ancestor 2 Miniseries2004 Shoebox Zoo Wolfgang the WolfHunter the Horse TV series 12 episodesAgatha Christie s Marple Colonel Terence Melchett Episode The Body in the Library 2005 Rome Publius Servilius Isauricus Episode Egeria 2005 2011 Doctor Who Charles Dickens Episodes The Unquiet Dead The Wedding of River Song 2006 Midsomer Murders Dr Richard Wellow Episode Dead Letters Classical Destinations Narrator 36 2007 Roman Mysteries Pliny the Elder Episodes The Secrets of Vesuvius The Company ElihuHow Gay Sex Changed the World HimselfTrick or Treat 1 episode2008 The Mr Men Show Narrator2009 Lewis Vernon Oxe Episode Counter Culture Blues The Sarah Jane Adventures Tree Blathereen VoiceEpisode The Gift 2011 This is Jinsy Threcker Episode Nameworm Popstar to Operastar HimselfJamie s Dream School2013 Agatha Christie s Poirot Dr Heinrich Lutz Episode The Labours of Hercules 2014 2016 Outlander The Duke of Sandringham 5 episodes in seasons 1 and 22014 Plebs Victor Episode The Candidate The Feeling Nuts Comedy Night Himself2015 Ant amp Dec s Saturday Night Takeaway Guest in The End of The Show Show Season 12 episode 22016 Galavant Edwin the Magnificent Episode World s Best Kiss The Rebel Henry Palmer Lead characterThe Life of Rock with Brian Pern Bennett St John Series 3 episode 32017 George III The Genius of the Mad King George III Voice BBC Documentary on George IIIMidsomer Murders Vernon De Harthog Episode The Curse of the Ninth 2018 Death in Paradise Larry South Series 7 episode 3A Christmas Carol Narrator Actor BBC4The Dead Room Aubrey Judd2021 Hawkeye Armand Duquesne III Episode Never Meet Your Heroes 2021 2023 The Witcher Codringher 2 episodes2022 Inside No 9 Dick Series 8 episode 1 The Bones of St Nicholas 37 2023 The Cleaner Mr Abahassine Episode The Clown Dodger The Archbishop of Canterbury Episode Coronation 38 Bibliography editCallow Simon 1986 1984 Being an Actor St Martin s Press ISBN 978 0 312 07276 6 OCLC 13092196 Callow Simon 1991 Acting in Restoration Comedy The Applause acting series Applause Theatre Books ISBN 978 1 55783 119 4 OCLC 24218256 Callow Simon 1995 Orson Welles Volume 1 The Road to Xanadu Jonathan Cape ISBN 978 0 224 03852 2 OCLC 32454874 Callow Simon 1997 Charles Laughton A Difficult Actor Fromm International Pub ISBN 978 0 88064 180 7 OCLC 36315809 Callow Simon 2000 The Night of the Hunter BFI film classics BFI Publishing ISBN 978 0 85170 822 5 OCLC 59582358 Callow Simon 2003 Dickens Christmas A Victorian Celebration Harry N Abrams ISBN 978 0 8109 4534 0 OCLC 51942509 Callow Simon 2003 Shooting the Actor Picador ISBN 978 0 312 42244 8 OCLC 52178208 Callow Simon 2006 Orson Welles Volume 2 Hello Americans Jonathan Cape ISBN 978 0 224 03853 9 OCLC 63185891 Callow Simon 2007 Love Is Where It Falls Nick Hern ISBN 978 1 85459 976 6 OCLC 77258353 Callow Simon 2012 Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World Vintage Books ISBN 9780345803238 Callow Simon 2015 Orson Welles Volume 3 One Man Band Jonathan Cape Callow Simon 2017 Being Wagner William Collins ISBN 9780008105693References edit Queen s Birthday Honours The Full List The Independent 12 June 1999 Simon Callow Biography filmreference 2008 Retrieved 1 September 2008 a b Lee Luaine 30 October 2002 Spending time in Africa shaped who Simon Callow is today Star News Wilmington North Carolina p 9 a b Simon Callow in Being Shakespeare chicagoshakes com 18 April 2012 a b Simon Callow muses on coffee causes and life in Belfast as a student irishnews com 16 July 2016 Fryer Jonathan 24 March 2010 Simon Callow Laid Bare Jonathan Fryer WordPress Church Michael 20 June 1975 Passing By The Times p 13 Callow Simon 31 October 2008 Sexual healing From The Boys in the Band to Brokeback Mountain gay roles in cinema have come a long way from their tortured beginnings The Observer Snoo Wilson Plays 1 Methuen 1999 a b c d Biographical note for Simon Callow in programme book for Faust at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre London 2 July 1988 My Mozart Simon Callow Opera January 2006 Vol 57 No 1 pg 35 Guide British Comedy The Rebel Gold Sitcom British Comedy Guide British Comedy Guide Anything Goes announces further casting for tour and London run Retrieved 15 April 2022 Stratford Shakespeare Festival There Reigns Love Stratford Festival Archived from the original on 25 January 2008 Retrieved 5 February 2008 Being Shakespeare Official Website Retrieved 27 May 2011 Scots based Outlander TV show casts Simon Callow The Scotsman 7 December 2013 Retrieved 26 April 2015 Rees Jasper 22 December 2022 Inside No 9 review there was an unexpected ghost at this macabre Christmas feast The Telegraph Retrieved 30 April 2023 Inside No 9 The Bones of St Nicholas BBC Retrieved 30 April 2023 Simon Callow Biography 1949 Career to 2003 filmreference com Retrieved 13 June 2022 Bondi Gabrielle 24 November 2021 Who killed SPOILERS in Hawkeye Episode 1 Marvel s Swordsman explained Inverse My Fair Lady Performing Arts Jasper Conran Archived from the original on 20 March 2013 Monelle Raymond Review of Die Fledermaus at the Theatre Royal Glasgow Opera December 1988 Vol 39 No 12 p1491 92 Allison John II trittico and The Reluctant Highwayman The Broomhill Trust Opera October 1995 Vol 46 No 10 p1233 35 Maddocks Fiona Le roi malgre lui Grange Park Opera Opera September 2003 pp 1130 31 For this production the dialogue was prepared by Callow from the original Ancelot play Milnes Rodney Review of Carmen Jones at the Old Vic Opera June 1991 Vol 42 No 6 p727 728 Doctor Who Series 6 13 The Wedding of River Song Radio Times BBC Magazines Michelangelo God s Architect Hallgrimsson Mini Stories Retrieved 18 September 2018 Saturday Night Theatre A Bullet in the Ballet Sat 3rd Jan 1987 19 00 on BBC Radio 4 FM from Radio Times issue 3293 3rd January 1987 accessed 1 September 2023 Gay Power The pink list The Independent 2 July 2006 Simon Callow Marriage is a remarkable thing to happen to someone at the age of 67 The Times Interview Interviewed by Nick Curtis 31 December 2016 Simon Callow on love and loss RadioTimes Interview Interviewed by Michael Hodges 20 July 2016 Byrnes Sholto 26 April 2004 Simon Callow Laughter in the dark The Independent Archived from the original on 4 February 2010 Celebrities open letter to Scotland full text and list of signatories The Guardian 7 August 2014 Retrieved 26 August 2014 Queen s Birthday Honours The Full List The Independent 12 June 1999 Retrieved 5 May 2018 Simon Callow s Classical Destinations Part 1 Salzburg Sky Arts Archived from the original on 7 August 2011 Inside No 9 Christmas special 2022 radiotimes com Retrieved 14 December 2022 BAFTA winning hit BBC family comedy Dodger returns for Christmas special bbc co uk mediacentre Retrieved 24 December 2023 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Simon Callow Simon Callow at the Internet Broadway Database nbsp Selected performances in Bristol University Theatre Archive Simon Callow at IMDb Simon Callow at the British Film Institute Simon Callow s MusicalTalk discussing his role as Captain Hook in Peter Pan at the Richmond Theatre Christmas 2008 Simon Callow Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing org September 2006 Simon Callow on BBC1 s This Week theartsdesk Q amp A Simon Callow 2 October 2010 Simon Callow s essays at The New York Review of Books Simon Callow on Charlie Rose Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Simon Callow amp oldid 1207568112, wikipedia, 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