# Rupert Graves

Rupert Simeon Graves (born 30 June 1963) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. He is known for his roles in A Room with a View, Maurice, The Madness of King George and The Forsyte Saga. From 2010 to 2017 he starred as DI Lestrade in the BBC television series Sherlock.

## Early life and education

Graves was born in Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England, to Mary Lousilla (née Roberts) Graves, a travel co-ordinator, and Richard Harding Graves, a music teacher and musician.
Graves was educated at Wyvern Community School, a state comprehensive school in his home town of Weston-super-Mare, which he left at the age of 16.

## Career

Graves's first job after leaving school was as a circus clown. He has appeared in more than 25 films and more than 35 television productions. He has also appeared on stage.
He first came to prominence in costume-drama adaptations of E. M. Forster's novels A Room with a View (1985) and Maurice (1987), before appearing in films including A Handful of Dust (1988), The Madness of King George (1994), Different for Girls (1996), and Intimate Relations (1996).
His role in Intimate Relations won him the Best Actor award at the 1996 Montreal World Film Festival. He was also acclaimed for his portrayal of Young Jolyon Forsyte in the television miniseries The Forsyte Saga (2002).

## Personal life

In 1987, Graves met Yvonne, a stained glass artist. They lived together in London, and he helped raise her two daughters. The couple were together for 13 years.
He later married Australian-born production co-ordinator Susie Lewis.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1985 | A Room with a View | Freddie Honeychurch | |
| 1987 | Maurice | Alec Scudder | |
| 1988 | A Handful of Dust | John Beaver | |
| 1990 | The Plot to Kill Hitler | Axel von dem Busche | |
| 1990 | The Children | Gerald Ormerod | |
| 1991 | Where Angels Fear to Tread | Philip Herriton | |
| 1992 | Damage | Martyn Fleming | |
| 1992 | The Sheltering Desert | Hermann Korn | |
| 1994 | The Madness of King George | Robert Fulke Greville | |
| 1996 | Different for Girls | Paul Prentice | |
| 1996 | The Innocent Sleep | Alan Terry | |
| 1996 | Intimate Relations | Harold Guppy | Montreal World Film Festival – Best Actor |
| 1997 | Bent | Officer on train | |
| 1997 | Mrs Dalloway | Septimus Warren Smith | |
| 1998 | The Soldier's Leap | Christian | Short film |
| 1998 | Sweet Revenge | Oliver Knightly | |
| 1999 | All My Loved Ones | Nicholas Winton | Original title: Vsichni moji blízcí |
| 1999 | Dreaming of Joseph Lees | Joseph Lees | |
| 2000 | Room to Rent | Mark | |
| 2002 | Extreme Ops | Jeffrey | |
| 2005 | Rag Tale | Eddy Taylor | |
| 2005 | V for Vendetta | Dominic | |
| 2007 | Death at a Funeral | Robert | |
| 2007 | Intervention | Mark | |
| 2007 | The Waiting Room | George | |
| 2010 | Made in Dagenham | Peter Hopkins | |
| 2012 | Fast Girls | David Temple | |
| 2015 | Bone in the Throat | Rupert | based on Anthony Bourdain's novel |
| 2016 | Native | Cane | |
| 2016 | Sacrifice | Duncan Guthrie | based on Sharon Bolton's novel |
| 2018 | Swimming with Men | Luke | |
| 2019 | Horrible Histories: The Movie – Rotten Romans | Governor General Paulinus | |
| 2020 | Emma | Mr. Weston | |
| 2021 | Smyrna my Beloved | George Horton | |
| 2022 | Dalíland | Captain Moore | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1978 | Return of the Saint | Prefect | Episode: "Yesterday's Hero" |
| 1979 | The Famous Five | Yan | 2 episodes |
| 1981 | Vice Versa | Tipping | 6 episodes |
| 1982 | All for Love | | Episode: "Mona" |
| 1983 | St. Ursula's in Danger | Teddy | |
| 1983 | Good and Bad at Games | Guthrie | |
| 1984 | Puccini | Tonio | |
| 1987 | Fortunes of War | Simon Boulderstone | 3 episodes |
| 1991 | A Private Affair | Milton | |
| 1992 | Inspector Morse | Billy | Episode: "Happy Families" |
| 1993 | Screen One | Neil | Episode: "Royal Celebration" |
| 1994 | Doomsday Gun | Jones | |
| 1994 | Open Fire | David Martin | |
| 1995 | Harry | Dominic Collier | Series 2, Episode 6 |
| 1996 | 1914–1918 | | 3 episodes |
| 1996 | The Tenant of Wildfell Hall | Arthur Huntingdon | 3 episodes |
| 1999 | The Blonde Bombshell | Dennis Hamilton | |
| 1999 | Cleopatra | Octavian | |
| 2000 | Take a Girl Like You | Patrick Standish | TV movie |
| 2002 | The Forsyte Saga | Young Jolyon Forsyte | |
| 2003 | The Forsyte Saga: To Let | Young Jolyon Forsyte | 4 episodes |
| 2003 | Charles II: The Power & the Passion | George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham | 4 episodes |
| 2004 | Pride | Linus | Voice only |
| 2005 | Spooks | William Sampson | Series 4, Episode 2 |
| 2005 | A Waste of Shame | William Shakespeare | |
| 2006 | Son of the Dragon | The Lord of the North | |
| 2007 | To Be First | Dr. Christiaan Barnard | |
| 2007 | Clapham Junction | Robin Cape | |
| 2007 | The Dinner Party | Roger | |
| 2008 | Ashes to Ashes | Danny Moore | Series 1, Episode 2 |
| 2008 | Waking the Dead | Colonel John Garrett | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Midnight Man | Daniel Cosgrave | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | God on Trial | Mordechai | |
| 2008 | Marple: A Pocket Full of Rye | Lance Fortescue | |
| 2009 | The Good Times Are Killing Me | Lexy | |
| 2009–2011 | Garrow's Law | Sir Arthur Hill | 12 episodes |
| 2010 | Wallander | Alfred Harderberg | Episode: "The Man Who Smiled" |
| 2010 | Lewis | Alec Pickman | Episode: "Falling Darkness" |
| 2010 | Law & Order: UK | John Smith | Episode: "Defence" |
| 2010 | Single Father | Stuart | 3 episodes |
| 2010 | New Tricks | Adrian Levene | Episode: "Fashion Victim" |
| 2010–2017 | Sherlock | D.I. Lestrade | 13 episodes |
| 2011 | Case Sensitive | Mark Bretherick | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Scott & Bailey | Nick Savage | 5 episodes |
| 2011 | Death in Paradise | James Lavender | Series 1 episode 1 |
| 2012 | Putin, Russia & The West | Narrator | 4 episodes |
| 2012 | Terror at Sea: The Sinking of the Concordia | Narrator | |
| 2012 | The Hunt for bin Laden | Narrator | |
| 2012 | Air Force One Is Down | Arkady Dragutin | 2 Episodes |
| 2012 | Doctor Who | Riddell | Series 7, Episode 2: "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" |
| 2012 | Secret State | Felix Durrell | 4 Episodes |
| 2013 | The White Queen | Lord Stanley | 6 episodes |
| 2014 | Turks & Caicos | Stirling Rogers | |
| 2014 | Salting the Battlefield | Stirling Rogers | |
| 2014 | The Crimson Field | Maj. Edward Crecy | Episode 2 |
| 2014 | Last Tango in Halifax | Gary | Series 3 |
| 2015 | Valentine's Kiss | Nicholas Whiteley | |
| 2016 | The Nightmare Worlds of H. G. Wells: The Moth | Hapley | |
| 2016 | The Family | John Warren | |
| 2017 | 12 Monkeys | Sebastian | Series 3, Episode 8 |
| 2018 | Krypton | Ter-El | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2019 | The War of the Worlds | Frederick | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Riviera | Gabriel Hirsch | 8 episodes |
| 2023 | The Burning Girls | Simon Harper | Main role |
| TBA | Washington Black | Mr. Goff | Upcoming TV series |

## Theatre

In addition to his screen work, Graves has won acclaim for his stage acting, including roles in Broadway productions, in New York City, of the plays Closer (2000) and The Elephant Man (2002).
His notable London theatre credits include his performance as Presley Stray in the original production of Philip Ridley's The Pitchfork Disney (1991) at the Bush Theatre, west London, which won him Best Actor at the 1991 Charrington London Fringe Awards; in Martin Sherman's A Madhouse in Goa (1989) opposite Vanessa Redgrave; and as Eddie in the Peter Hall Company's production of David Rabe's Hurlyburly (1997–98) at the Old Vic and Queen's Theatre, for which he was nominated for the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1983 | The Killing Of Mr. Toad by David Gooderson | Alistair Graham, Mr. Toad | The King's Head Theatre, London, director David Gooderson |
| 1983, 1984 | Sufficient Carbohydrate by Dennis Potter | Clayton Vosper | Hampstead Theatre and Albery Theatre, London, director Nancy Meckler |
| 1985 | Torch Song Trilogy (Part 2: 'Fugue in a Nursery') by Harvey Fierstein | Alan | Albery Theatre, London, director Robert Allan Ackerman |
| 1986 | Amadeus by Peter Shaffer | Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Theatr Clwyd, director Simon Callow |
| 1987 | The Importance Of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde | Algernon Moncrieff | Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, director Clare Venables |
| 1986-7 | Candida by George Bernard Shaw | Marchbanks | The King's Head Theatre, London, director Frank Hauser (director) |
| 1988 | 'Tis Pity She's a Whore by John Ford (dramatist) | Giovanni | Royal National Theatre (Olivier), London, director Alan Ayckbourn |
| 1989 | The History Of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding, adapted by Andrew Wickes | Tom Jones | Watford Palace Theatre, director Matthew Francis |
| 1989 | A Madhouse In Goa by Martin Sherman | David, Barnaby Grace | Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith) and Apollo Theatre, London, director Robert Allan Ackerman |
| 1991 | The Pitchfork Disney by Philip Ridley | Presley Stray | Bush Theatre, London, director Matthew Lloyd |
| 1992 | A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare | Lysander | Royal National Theatre (Olivier), London, director Robert Lepage |
| 1994 | Toyer by Gardner McKay | Peter Matson | Redgrave Theatre, Farnham, director Wyn Jones |
| 1995 | Design for Living by Noël Coward | Otto | Gielgud Theatre, London, director Sean Mathias |
| 1996 | Les Enfants du Paradis by Jacques Prévert, adapted by Simon Callow | Baptiste | Barbican Centre, London, director Simon Callow |
| 1997, 1998 | Hurlyburly by David Rabe | Eddie | Peter Hall Company at the Old Vic and Queen's Theatre, London, director Wilson Milam |
| 1998 | The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill | Don Parrit | Almeida Theatre, London, director Howard Davies (director) |
| 1999 | Closer by Patrick Marber | Dan | Music Box Theater, Broadway, director Patrick Marber |
| 2000, 2000–01 | The Caretaker by Harold Pinter | Mick | Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, and Comedy Theatre, London, director Patrick Marber |
| 2001 | Speak Truth To Power: Voices From Beyond The Dark by Ariel Dorfman | Third Voice | Playhouse Theatre, London, director Gari Jones |
| 2002 | The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance | Dr. Frederick Treves | Royale Theatre, Broadway, director Sean Mathias |
| 2003 | A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde | Lord Illingworth | Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, director Adrian Noble |
| 2004 | Dumb Show by Joe Penhall | Greg | Royal Court Theatre, London, director Terry Johnson (dramatist) |
| 2006 | The Exonerated by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen | Kerry | Riverside Studios, London, director Bob Balaban |
| 2018 | Pinter Five – The Room/Victoria Station/Family Voices by Harold Pinter | Bert Hudd/Driver/Voice Three | Harold Pinter Theatre, London, director Patrick Marber |
and primary archive sources.