# Julian Ovenden

Julian Mark Ovenden (born 29 November 1976) is an English actor and singer. He has starred on Broadway and West End stages, in television series in both the United Kingdom and United States, in films, and performed internationally as a concert and recording artist.

## Early life and education

Ovenden was born on 29 November 1976 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. He is one of three children of the Reverend Canon John Ovenden, a former chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II. He sang in the St Paul's Cathedral Choir, London as a child. He later won a music scholarship to Eton College. He subsequently read music at New College, Oxford on a choral scholarship.
Whilst he has received training as an opera singer, he has professionally used his music training in musical theatre. He continued academic studies in drama at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art.

## Career

His theatre work includes the multi award-winning Merrily We Roll Along and Grand Hotel for Michael Grandage at the Donmar Warehouse; Annie Get Your Gun for Richard Jones at The Young Vic; Michel Legrand's Marguerite at the Haymarket for Jonathan Kent; King Lear for Yukio Ninagawa at the RSC; Butley at the Booth Theatre on Broadway opposite Nathan Lane; Death Takes a Holiday for The Roundabout Theatre Company in New York; A Woman of No Importance for Adrian Noble at the Haymarket; Finding Neverland for The Weinstein Company; the Parisian premiere of Sunday in the Park with George; Show Boat at the Lincoln Center in New York; My Night with Reg at the Donmar Warehouse; Ivo van Hove's All About Eve at the Noël Coward Theatre opposite Gillian Anderson; and South Pacific at the Chichester Festival Theatre.
Ovenden has also sung musical theatre songs in several concerts at the Proms, in particular concerts of Stephen Sondheim and of Rodgers and Hammerstein. In 2015, he played Captain Georg von Trapp in the ITV live musical adaptation, The Sound of Music Live.
Ovenden first appeared on British TV in a recurring role over five seasons of Foyle's War opposite Michael Kitchen. He also appeared in two seasons of Downton Abbey. Other British TV work includes The Forsyte Saga, Any Human Heart, and The Royal. On US TV, Ovenden was a recurring cast member in Person of Interest (Jeremy Lambert) for three years. He has also appeared in seasons of Cashmere Mafia, Related and SMASH. Recently he has portrayed Robert F. Kennedy in The Crown and is starring as William de Nogaret in Knightfall.
Ovenden's film work includes Colonia opposite Emma Watson and Daniel Bruhl, The Confessions with Daniel Auteuil, Toni Servillo and Connie Nielsen and British indie war film, Allies (Captain Gabriel Jackson).
As a solo singer Ovenden has appeared with many of the world's leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the New York Pops, The Northern Sinfonia, the Liverpool Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the John Wilson Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the BBC Concert Orchestra. He has also appeared at The Proms at London's Royal Albert Hall, where he is a regular performer. Ovenden made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2014 and followed it up with another concert in 2015.
Ovenden recorded a debut album for Decca Records in 2013 titled If You Stay and has since made a Rodgers and Hammerstein record with John Wilson for Warner Classics and a Downton Abbey Christmas record for Warner Music that went double platinum. In late 2015, he signed a multiple record deal with East West Records and his new album was released in February 2016.

## Personal life

Ovenden lives with his wife, opera singer Kate Royal, and their son and daughter.

## Discography
### Albums

* Rodgers & Hammerstein at the Movies (2012) (with the John Wilson Orchestra and various artists)
* If You Stay (2013)
* Christmas at Downton Abbey (2014) (with various artists)
* Be My Love (2016)
* Together at a Distance (2021) (with Sierra Boggess)

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2010 | 1st Night | Tom Chambers |
| 2014 | Allies | Captain Gabriel Jackson |
| 2015 | Colonia | Roman Breuer |
| 2015 | The Sound of Music Live | Captain von Trapp |
| 2016 | The Confessions | Matthew Price |
| 2018 | Made in Italy | Gordon |
| 2018 | Head Full of Honey | Serge |
| 2018 | Surviving Christmas with the Relatives | Dan |
| 2022 | The People We Hate at the Wedding | Alcott |
| 2022 | The Lost Girls | Clayton |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | Come Together | Matt | Television film |
| 2002–2003 | The Forsyte Saga | Val Dartie | 6 episodes |
| 2002–2008 | Foyle's War | Andrew Foyle | 6 episodes |
| 2003–2004 | The Royal | Dr David Cheriton | Main role (series 1–3) |
| 2004 | A Christmas Carol | Fred Anderson | Television film |
| 2005 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Michael Shane | Episode: "After the Funeral" |
| 2005–2006 | Related | Jason Greenstein | 13 episodes |
| 2006 | Charmed | Novak | Episode: "12 Angry Zen" |
| 2008 | Cashmere Mafia | Eric Burden | Main role |
| 2010 | Any Human Heart | Ernest Hemingway | Miniseries; 3 episodes |
| 2011 | Midsomer Murders | Ben Viviani | Episode: "Dark Secrets" |
| 2013 | Smash | Simon | 4 episodes |
| 2013–2014 | Downton Abbey | Charles Blake | 9 episodes |
| 2014 | The Assets | Gary Grimes | Miniseries; 5 episodes |
| 2014 | Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey | Michael Faraday (voice) | Episode: "The Electric Boy" |
| 2014–2016 | Person of Interest | Jeremy Lambert | 7 episodes |
| 2015 | Tim Rice: A Life In Song | Featured Solo Singer | |
| 2016 | Death in Paradise | Dan Hagen | Episode: "The Complex Murder" |
| 2016 | Major Crimes | Peter Ogden | Episode: "Tourist Trap" |
| 2017 | The Crown | Bobby Kennedy | Episode: "Dear Mrs. Kennedy" |
| 2017–2019 | Knightfall | William de Nogaret | Main role |
| 2020 | Bridgerton | Henry Granville | 5 episodes |
| 2020 | Adult Material | Tom Pain | |
| 2020 | Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance | Himself | |
| 2024 | Trigger Point | Commander John Francis | 6 episodes |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Theatre | Location |
| 2000-2001 | Merrily We Roll Along | Franklin Shepard | Donmar Warehouse | Off-West End |
| 2001 | King Lear | Fool | Royal Shakespeare Company | London |
| 2003 | A Woman of No Importance | Francis | Theatre Royal Haymarket | West End |
| 2004 | Grand Hotel | Baron Felix von Gaigern | Donmar Warehouse | Off-West End |
| 2006 | Butley | Joseph Keyston | Booth Theatre | Broadway |
| 2008 | Marguerite | Georges | Theatre Royal Haymarket | West End |
| 2009 | Annie Get Your Gun | Frank Butler | Young Vic | West End |
| 2010 | Oklahoma! | Curly Mclain | — | UK National Tour |
| 2011 | Death Takes A Holiday | Death | Roundabout Theatre Company | New York City |
| 2012 | Finding Neverland | J. M. Barrie | Leicester Curve Theatre | Leicester |
| 2013 | Sunday in the Park with George | George | Theatre de Chatelet | Paris |
| 2015 | My Night With Reg | John | Donmar Warehouse | Off-West End |
| 2016 | Show Boat | Gaylord Ravenal | Lincoln Center | New York City |
| 2018 | All About Eve | Bill Sampson | Noël Coward Theatre | West End |
| 2021 | South Pacific | Emile de Becque | Chichester Festival Theatre | Chichester |
| 2022-2023 | South Pacific | Emile de Becque | Sadler's Wells Theatre / Various | London / UK National Tour |
| 2023 | Annie Get Your Gun | Frank Butler | London Palladium | West End |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
| 2016 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Downton Abbey | Won | |
| 2021 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Bridgerton | Nominated | |