# Nigel Lindsay

Nigel Lindsay (born 17 January 1969) is an English actor. He is best known on television for his roles as Sir Robert Peel in the first two seasons of Victoria, Jo Jo Marshall in the Netflix series Safe and as Barry in the BAFTA-winning Chris Morris film Four Lions for which he was nominated for Best British Comedy Performance in Film at the 2011 British Comedy Awards.
In 2012 he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his performance in the title role in the original West End run of Shrek the Musical at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and won the Whatsonstage Award for Best Supporting Actor in the 2011 production of Arthur Miller's Broken Glass at the Tricycle Theatre.

## Early life and education

Lindsay was born in St John's Wood and grew up in North West London. He attended Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood, an independent private day school for boys before going on to the University of Birmingham, where he studied English and French. After university, he worked for three years as a financial analyst, specialising in French and Belgian equities at London stockbrokers Savory Milln and Swiss Bank Corporation (SBC). But he gave up the city and won a place at bar school and drama school starting on the same day. He opted for the two-year drama course at the Webber Douglas Academy, where he won the Amherst Webber Scholarship. His finals show, in which he appeared as the eponymous Charley's Aunt, was directed by Michael Fry, who gave him his first professional job with the Lincolnshire touring company Great Eastern Stage.

## Career

Lindsay's early work was mainly in theatre. One of his first London stage roles saw him play the King of France in King Lear at the Royal Court Theatre, with Tom Wilkinson as Lear and Andy Serkis as the Fool. At a weekly Monday night poker game, Lindsay was asked by Patrick Marber to attend a week's improvisational workshop of a play he was devising about poker. This became Dealer's Choice, which premiered at the National Theatre in February 1995 with Lindsay as Mugsy and Ray Winstone and Phil Daniels among the original cast. The play transferred to the Vaudeville Theatre, and won that year's Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy and Writers' Guild Award for Best Play. Other theatre work includes: Max in The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard, which won three Tonys on Broadway in 2000; Ariel in the 2004 Olivier award-winning National Theatre production of Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman, with Jim Broadbent and David Tennant; twice as Nathan Detroit in Michael Grandage's Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre in 2005 and again at the Phoenix Theatre in 2015, and Charlie Maggs in Sucker Punch, with Daniel Kaluuya at the Royal Court in 2010. Lindsay has appeared in five plays at the Almeida Theatre, including as Lenny in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming with Ken Cranham and Danny Dyer in 2009 and as Moe Axelrod alongside Stockard Channing and Jodie Whittaker in Awake and Sing by Clifford Odets, for which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in the 2008 Whatsonstage Awards.
Lindsay has appeared in many regular series, including: Unforgotten, Spooks, Silent Witness, Waking the Dead, Poirot, New Tricks and Inspector George Gently. He played Odo Stevens in the 1997 Channel 4 adaptation of A Dance to the Music of Time; Ewan McGregor's boss Ron Baker in the film Rogue Trader; the Jewish terrorist Levi in Rome; and Lt Col Mervyn Gonin in the BAFTA nominated The Relief of Belsen. He has worked with Steve Coogan on I'm Alan Partridge, Mid-Morning Matters with Alan Partridge, and Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa; with Armando Iannucci on The Armando Iannucci Shows; with Jennifer Saunders in two series of Jam and Jerusalem; and again with Chris Morris on Brass Eye. More recently he appeared as Tony Walsh in two series of the BBC comedy White Gold.
Later theatre work includes playing Bolingbroke opposite David Tennant in the RSC production of Richard II at Stratford and the Barbican; Jack McCracken in the National Theatre revival of the Alan Ayckbourn play A Small Family Business in the Olivier theatre; and Charlie Fox opposite Lindsay Lohan and Richard Schiff in David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow at the Playhouse Theatre in the West End. In 2021, Lindsay made his debut at Ireland's National Theatre, the Abbey Theatre, in Brian Friel's Faith Healer alongside Niamh Cusack and Aidan Gillen to great critical acclaim. In 2023 he appeared as Henry Lehman in a 17 week, sold out revival of The Lehman Trilogy at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London's West End, directed by Sam Mendes.

## Theatre and filmography
### Theatre

| Year | Play | Role | Theatre | Notes |
| 1991 | The Girl Who Fell to Earth | Potoriek/Danilo | Lilian Baylis & tour | for Great Eastern Stage |
| 1992 | Anna Karenina | Stiva | Tricycle & tour | for Shared Experience, Time Out Award |
| 1992 | Relative Values | Lord Marshwood | Salisbury Playhouse | |
| 1993 | King Lear | King of France | Royal Court | dir: Max Stafford-Clark |
| 1995 | Dealer's Choice | Mugsy | Royal National Theatre /Vaudeville | Evening Standard, Writer's Guild Award |
| 1995 | The Tower | Landry | Almeida Theatre | dir: Howard Davies |
| 1996 | Blue Remembered Hills | John | Royal National Theatre | |
| 1998 | The London Cuckolds | Townly | Royal National Theatre | dir: Terry Johnson |
| 1999 | Morphic Resonance | Jim | Donmar Warehouse | |
| 1999–2000 | The Real Thing | Max | Donmar/Albery/Ethel Barrymore – Broadway | Tony Award – Best Revival |
| 2002 | Push Up | Frank | Royal Court | |
| 2002 | Bedroom Farce | Nick | Aldwych Theatre | |
| 2003 | The Tempest | Stephano | Old Vic | dir: Michael Grandage |
| 2003 | World Music | Geoff Fallon | Sheffield Crucible | dir: Josie Rourke |
| 2003 | The Pillowman | Ariel | Royal National Theatre | Laurence Olivier Award – Best Play |
| 2004 | Earthly Paradise | William Morris | Almeida Theatre | |
| 2005 | Woman Before | Frank | Royal Court | |
| 2005 | Romance | Defendant | Almeida Theatre | by David Mamet |
| 2005 | Guys and Dolls | Nathan Detroit | Piccadilly Theatre | |
| 2007 | Awake and Sing | Moe Axelrod | Almeida Theatre | Nom: Best Supporting Actor Whatsonstage.com Awards |
| 2008 | The Homecoming | Lenny | Almeida Theatre | dir: Michael Attenborough |
| 2008 | Under the Blue Sky | Robert | Duke of York's Theatre | |
| 2010 | Sucker Punch | Charlie Maggs | Royal Court | |
| 2010 | Broken Glass | Harry Hyman | Tricycle Theatre | Winner: Best Supporting Actor Whatsonstage.com Awards |
| 2011 | Shrek the Musical | Shrek | Theatre Royal Drury Lane | Nom: Best Actor in a Musical Laurence Olivier Award and Whatsonstage.com Awards |
| 2013 | The Same Deep Water as Me | Barry Patterson | Donmar Warehouse | dir: John Crowley |
| 2013 | Richard II | Bolingbroke | RSC Stratford/Barbican | dir: Greg Doran David Tennant as Richard |
| 2014 | A Small Family Business | Jack McCracken | Royal National Theatre | |
| 2014 | Speed the Plow | Charlie Fox | Playhouse Theatre | with Lindsay Lohan and Richard Schiff |
| 2015 | Bull | Carter | Young Vic | |
| 2016 | Guys and Dolls | Nathan Detroit | Phoenix Theatre | takeover from Richard Kind for 6-week run |
| 2016 | Harrogate | Him | Royal Court | for High Tide at Royal Court and tour |
| 2018 | God of Carnage | Michael | Theatre Royal Bath | |
| 2021 | Faith Healer | Teddy | Abbey Theatre | By Brian Friel; directed by Joe Dowling |
| 2022 | The Trials | Defendant One | Donmar Warehouse | Directed by Natalie Abrahami |
| 2022 | Woman in Mind | Gerald | Chichester Festival Theatre | |
| 2023 | The Lehman Trilogy | Henry Lehman | Gillian Lynne Theatre | Directed by Sam Mendes |
| 2023 | Farewell Mister Haffmann | Joseph Haffmann | Ustinov Theatre, Bath |
| 2024 | An Enemy of the People | Morten Kiil | Duke of York's Theatre | Directed by Thomas Ostermeier |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1992 | Bye Bye Baby | Father | TV film written by Jack Rosenthal |
| 1992 | Between the Lines | Insp. Alan Grant | Episode: "Nothing to Declare" |
| 1993 | The Bill | PC Tyler | Episode: "The Right Man for the Job" |
| 1994 | A Few Short Journeys of the Heart | Drunk | Written by Andrew Davies |
| 1995 | The Bill | Peter Robinson | Episode: "Mitigating Circumstances" |
| 1995–1998 | Dressing for Breakfast | Dave | 21 episodes |
| 1997 | Brass Eye | Various Roles | Written by Chris Morris |
| 1997 | A Dance to the Music of Time | Odo Stevens | 2 episodes of 4 |
| 1999 | Déjà Vu | Tim | TV movie part of Channel 4 "Shockers" Season |
| 2000 | Harbour Lights | Charlie Badden | Episode: "A Quiet Storm" |
| 2000 | Too Much Sun | Dave Stamp | Directed by Mel Smith |
| 2001 | The Armando Iannucci Shows | Various | 5 episodes of 8 |
| 2002 | I'm Alan Partridge | Bob Fraser | Episode: "Brave Alan" |
| 2003 | Midsomer Murders | DS James Noland | Episode: "Painted in Blood" |
| 2003 | Casualty | Jed Blackburn | Episode: "Never Judge a Book" |
| 2003 | My Family | Tube Driver/Roy | 2 episodes inc. Christmas Special |
| 2004 | Murphy's Law | DC Gary Fender | Episode: "Bent Moon on the Rise" |
| 2004 | Frances Tuesday | Lambert | TV movie |
| 2004 | Tunnel of Love | Geoff | Written by Simon Nye |
| 2005 | The Bill | DS Pete Lancaster | Episode: "301" |
| 2005 | New Tricks | Alan | 1 episode |
| 2005 | All About George | Mac | |
| 2006–2008 | Jam and Jerusalem | Marcus | Known as Clatterford in the US. Nigel was in 9 episodes over 2 series |
| 2007 | Rome | Levi | 6 episodes second series. Joint HBO/BBC production |
| 2007 | The Gunfight at the OK Corral | Sheriff John Behan | Part 3 of the 3-part BBC Wild West series |
| 2007 | The Relief of Belsen | Mervyn Gonin | BAFTA winning Channel 4 TV Film |
| 2009 | Waking the Dead | Devlin | Nigel appeared in both episodes of "Substitute" |
| 2010 | Silent Witness | DS Gus Rogerson | Nigel appeared in both episodes of "Intent" |
| 2010 | Spooks | Jacob Chapman | Episode: 9.02 |
| 2011 | Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge | Tommy Gaskell | Episode: "Tora Bora Alan" |
| 2012 | The Best of Men | Mr Heath | TV movie |
| 2012 | Inspector George Gently | DS Reece Statham | Episode: "Gently in the Cathedral" |
| 2012 | The Fear | Donny | Channel 4 series |
| 2013 | Gifted | Michael | Part of Sky Playhouse series |
| 2013 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Francesco | Penultimate episode: "The Labours of Hercules" |
| 2013 | The Tunnel | Jonno | 4 episodes of 10 |
| 2015 | Foyle's War | Clayton del Mar | Episode: "High Castle" |
| 2015 | You, Me and the Apocalypse | DS Frank Arden | Sky Atlantic/NBC Ep 1 directed by Michael Engler |
| 2015 | The Devil You Know | Dr Griggs | HBO pilot directed by Gus Van Sant |
| 2016 | Death in Paradise | Andy Hammond | Episode: "One for the Road" |
| 2016 | Victoria | Sir Robert Peel | ITV 8 part series |
| 2017 | Unforgotten | Tony Kelsey | Series 2 |
| 2017 | White Gold | Tony Walsh "Walshy" | Nigel in 10 of 12 eps of this BBC comedy series |
| 2018 | Innocent | DCI William Beech | All 4 parts of this ITV series |
| 2018 | Safe | JoJo Marshall | Netflix series |
| 2018 | No Offence | DCI Terry Taylor | 2 episodes in Series 3 |
| 2018 | Magnum PI | Ian Pryce | Guest lead one episode. Shot in Hawaii for CBS |
| 2019 | The Capture | DSI Tom Kendricks | 4 episodes of 6 for BBC1 |
| 2019 | Plebs | Atlas | Filmed in Bulgaria for ITV2 |
| 2019 | Tin Star | Clive | Episode: "Collateral" |
| 2020 | The Salisbury Poisonings | DCC Paul Mills | 3 of 3 episodes for BBC |
| 2020 | The Last Kingdom | Rhodri | |
| 2021 | This Time with Alan Partridge | Tommy Gaskell | BBC |
| 2022 | The Chelsea Detective | Ricky Hopkinson | |
| 2023 | Kidnapped | Adrian Sington | BBC |

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | Rogue Trader | Ron Baker | |
| 2001 | Mike Bassett: England Manager | Mirror Journo | |
| 2003 | Blackball | Targitex chairman | |
| 2005 | On a Clear Day | Sharp Suit | |
| 2006 | Scoop | Strombel's Co-worker | Directed by Woody Allen |
| 2010 | Four Lions | Barry | Nominated for British Film Comedy Award |
| 2010 | First Night | Martin Mayes | |
| 2012 | The Date | Short Film | |
| 2013 | Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa | Jason Tresswell | |
| 2013 | Breakfast with Jonny Wilkinson | Nigel Maitland | |
| 2013 | Royal Shakespeare Company: Richard II | Bolingbroke | Live worldwide cinema screenings |
| 2014 | Captcha | Short Film | |
| 2014 | National Theatre: A Small Family Business | Jack McCracken | Live worldwide cinema screenings |
| 2014 | The Divorce | Short Film | |
| 2017 | Access All Areas | Mack | |
| 2018 | Dead In A Week (or your money back) | Brian | |
| 2018 | Six Minutes to Midnight | Mr Wheatley | |

### Radio

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1995 | Crossing the Equator | Jack | BBC World Service |
| 1997 | People Like Us | Salesman | BBC Radio 4 Episode "The Photographer" |
| 2001 | Morphic Resonance | Jim | BBC World Service |
| 2002 | Frederick and Augusta | Frederick | BBC Woman's Hour Play |
| 2003 | The House of Milton Jones | Ian | BBC Radio 4 All six episodes Series One |
| 2005 | The Face of the Enemy | Jerome Angust | BBC Book at Bedtime |
| 2006 | Lucky Numbers | Reading | BBC PM |
| 2007 | A Pin to See the Peepshow | Harry | BBC Play for Today |
| 2008 | The Far West | Reading | BBC PM |
| 2009 | Number Ten | Lewis Smiley MP | BBC Radio 4 |
| 2009 | Alex Tripped on my Fairy | Mark | BBC Play for Today |
| 2012 | The Great Animal Orchestra | Reading | BBC Book of the Week |
| 2012 | Two Minute Hate | Barry | BBC Radio 4 Play |
| 2012 | A Canticle for Leibowitz | Book of the Week | BBC Radio 4 Extra |
| 2012 | On the Map | Reading | BBC4 Book of the Week |
| 2013 | The Reluctant Spy | Duncan Kavanagh | BBC 3 Part Series |
| 2013 | The Stranger's Will | Charlie | BBC Radio 3 Play |
| 2015 | The Hook | Louis | BBC Radio 4 screenplay season written by Arthur Miller |
| 2015 | The Mermaid of Zennor | Jack | BBC Radio 4 |
| 2016 | Thunderball | Captain Clark | BBC Radio 4 |
| 2018 | The Proposal | Mike | BBC Radio 2 |
| 2018 | Jack and Millie | Harry | BBC Radio 4 series written by Jeremy Front |
| 2018 | The White Hotel | Victor | BBC Radio 4 directed by Jon Amiel |
| 2019 | A Charles Paris Mystery: Star Trap | Chris Watt | BBC Radio 4 series written by Jeremy Front based on novel by Simon Brett |
| 2022 | Nuremberg: The trial of the Nazi War Criminals | Herman Goering | BBC Radio 4 series written and directed by Jonathan Myerson |