# Anton Lesser

Anton Lesser (born 14 February 1952) is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Qyburn in the HBO series Game of Thrones, Harold Macmillan in The Crown, Clement Attlee in A United Kingdom, Chief Superintendent Bright in Endeavour, and Major Partagaz in Star Wars: Andor. An associate of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he has performed numerous Shakespearean roles on stage and television.

## Early life and education

Anton Lesser was born in Birmingham on 14 February 1952, the son of David Lesser and his wife Amelia Cohen. He is of Jewish background.
He was educated at Moseley Grammar School and at the University of Liverpool, where he earned a degree in architecture in 1973.
Lesser went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1974 until 1976, and on graduation in 1977 was awarded the Bancroft Gold Medal as the most promising actor of his year. His final performance there was as Gethin Price in Comedians by Trevor Griffiths.

## Career

Lesser was spotted in Comedians and offered a contract by the casting director for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).
As an associate artist with the RSC, Lesser played many of Shakespeare's great roles. In the BBC Television Shakespeare productions he was Troilus (Troilus and Cressida), Edgar (King Lear), and Feste (Twelfth Night). On stage, he has portrayed Romeo (a titular character in his play), Prince Hamlet (the titular character of his play), Brutus (Julius Caesar), Petruchio (The Taming of the Shrew), Richard III (the titular character of his play), and others.
When he moved down to London, the reviews were less flattering than he had become accustomed to at the RSC. However he continued to win roles on stage, including as Stanley in Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party, Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, Rover in Wild Oats and Brutus in Deborah Warner's Julius Caesar in 2005.
Lesser is a frequent radio contributor and played the title role in the BBC Radio adaptations of the first five Marcus Didius Falco mysteries by Lindsey Davis. He has also recorded many audiobooks, including much of the work of Charles Dickens. His recording of Great Expectations won him a Talkie Award. Other books range from John Milton's Paradise Lost, Homer and Rumi to contemporary novels by Robert Harris (Fatherland) and Philip Pullman. For two months in 2013, Lesser was a regular cast member playing Robin Carrow in Ambridge Extra, a BBC Radio 4 Extra spin-off from the BBC Radio 4 drama The Archers.
In 2013, during the third season of the HBO Max series Game of Thrones, Lesser began playing the recurring role of Qyburn, an enigmatic mad scientist who served as part of the retinue of Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey). Qyburn, and Lesser's portrayal of him, were popular with fans, particularly as the series went on and the character appeared more frequently and had greater influence over the narrative. The Ringer described him as "the last curious man in Westeros" and noted that the character "refuses to seem like a MacGuffin, despite totally being one." The character returned across the remainder of the series run until the penultimate episode in 2019; Qyburn was one of the characters who perished in the episode, which led to many fans producing memes about his abrupt death.
In 2015, Lesser was announced as a public supporter of Chapel Lane Theatre Company based in Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom.
Lesser portrayed Thomas More in the BBC mini-series Wolf Hall, and received a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.
In 2022, Lesser played Major Partagaz, a supporting antagonist in the Star Wars spinoff Andor. His performance of Partagaz, a ranking member of the Empire's intelligence agency, the Imperial Security Bureau, was noted by critics. Digital Spy noted that Lesser delivered dialogue on Imperial bureaucracy with "powerful coolness."

## Personal life

With his wife Madeleine Adams, Lesser has two children. His daughter Lilit Lesser is also an actor.

## Acting credits
### Film

Filmography—sortable :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | The Missionary | Young Man | |
| 1985 | The Assam Garden | Mr. Sutton | |
| 1997 | FairyTale: A True Story | Wounded Corporal | |
| 2000 | Esther Kahn | Sean | |
| 2001 | Charlotte Gray | Monsieur Renech | |
| 2003 | Imagining Argentina | General Guzmán | |
| 2003 | Y Mabinogi | Teyrnon | Voice role |
| 2005 | River Queen | Major Baine | |
| 2006 | Miss Potter | Harold Warne | |
| 2009 | Deep Sleep | | Short film |
| 2011 | Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | Lord John Carteret | |
| 2011 | The Lady | Professor Finnis | |
| 2011 | Flutter | Bruno | |
| 2012 | The Scapegoat | Father McReady | |
| 2014 | Closer to the Moon | Comrade Holban | |
| 2016 | A United Kingdom | Prime Minister Attlee | |
| 2016 | Allied | Emmanuel Lombard | |
| 2016 | The Exception | General Falkenberg | |
| 2017 | On Chesil Beach | Reverend Woollett | |
| 2017 | Disobedience | Rav Krushka | |
| 2017 | The Other Door | Interviewer 1 | Short film |
| 2017 | Catherine the Great: Lovers and Sons | Peter III | |
| 2018 | Seasonal Contract | The Narrator | Voice role, short film |
| 2020 | The Courier | Bertrand | |
| 2020 | Tick Tick Tick | Narrator | Short film |
| 2020 | Kindred | Dr. Richards | |
| 2020 | Gatecrash | Sid | |
| 2021 | A Cold Supper Behind Harrods | Leo | |
| 2021 | Galahad Jones | Mitch Mullins | Short film |
| 2021 | Benediction | Stephen Tennant (Older) | |
| 2025 | The World Will Tremble | TBA | |

### Television

Television roles by year—sortable :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1979 | The Mill on the Floss | Philip Waken | Miniseries, 6 episodes |
| 1979 | Oresteia | Orestes | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1981 | The Cherry Orchard | Trofimov | Television film |
| 1981 | Troilus & Cressida | Troilus | Television film |
| 1982 | Crown Court | John Peat | 3 episodes |
| 1982 | King Lear | Edgar | Television film |
| 1983 | Good and Bad at Games | Cox | Television film |
| 1984 | Sakharov | Valery Chalidze | Television film |
| 1984 | Freud | Wilhelm Fliess | Miniseries, 5 episodes |
| 1985 | Anna of the Five Towns | Willie Price | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1987 | Great Performances | Robber | Episode: "Monsignor Quixote" |
| 1987 | London Embassy | Robert Bronhouse | Miniseries, 1 episode: "Tomb with a View" |
| 1988 | Twelfth Night, or What You Will | Feste | Television film |
| 1988 | Screen Two | Stanley Spencer | Episode: "Stanley" |
| 1988 | The Play on One | Vincenzo | Episode: "Airbase" |
| 1988 | A Vote for Hitler | A.L. Rowse | Television film |
| 1989 | Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story | Karl | Television film |
| 1990 | ScreenPlay | Robert Cecil | Episode: "Traitors" |
| 1991 | The Strauss Dynasty | Gustav Levi | Miniseries, 8 episodes |
| 1992 | Downtown Lagos | Mungo Dawson | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1994 | Guinevere | Envoy | Television film |
| 1994 | Shakespeare: The Animated Tales | Leontes | Voice role, 1 episode: "The Winter's Tale" |
| 1995 | The Politician's Wife | Mark Hollister | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1995 | Bugs | Patrick Marcel | Episode: "Pulse" |
| 1995 | Moses | Eliav | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Sharman | Galilee | Episode: "Pretend We're Dead" |
| 1996 | Testament: The Bible in Animation | Joseph | Voice role, 1 episode: "Joseph" |
| 1996 | The Moonstone | Ezra Jennings | Television film |
| 1997 | Bodyguards | Dusan Mesic | Episode: "A Choice of Evils" |
| 1997 | Into the Blue | Dr. John Ockleton | Television film |
| 1998 | Invasion: Earth | Lt. Charles Terrell | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 1998 | Vanity Fair | Mr. Pitt Crawley | Miniseries, 5 episodes |
| 1998 | The Echo | Billy Blake | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Pure Wickedness | Dr. Andrew Ward | 1 episode |
| 1999 | Trial by Fire | Brian Redwood | Television film |
| 2000 | The Miracle Maker | King Herod | Voice role, television film |
| 2000 | Safe as Houses | Mr. Dunn | Television film |
| 2000 | The Scarlet Pimpernel | Antoine Picard | Episode: "Friends & Enemies" |
| 2000 | Lorna Doone | Counsellor Doone | Television film |
| 2001 | Perfect Strangers | Stephen | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 2001 | Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes | Milburn | Miniseries, 1 episode: "The White Knight Stratagem" |
| 2001 | Uprising | Nathan Lensky | Television film |
| 2001 | Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story | Vidas Merlinis - Research Scientist | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Swallow | Paul Valley | 3 episodes |
| 2002 | Animated Tales of the World | The Flower of Fern | Voice role, 1 episode: "Flower of Fern, a Tale from Poland" |
| 2002 | Dickens | Charles Dickens | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 2002 | Sir Gawain and the Green Knight | Bertilak - Green Knight | Voice role, television film |
| 2002 | Waking the Dead | Professor Ray Levin | Episode: "Special Relationship" |
| 2002 | The Project | Stanley Hall | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2002 | Foyle's War | Austin Carmichael | Episode: "Eagle Day" |
| 2003 | Eroica | Sukowaty | Television film |
| 2003 | Midsomer Murders | Eddie Darwin | Episode: "Birds of Prey" |
| 2003 | Danielle Cable: Eyewitness | Henry Batten | Television film |
| 2004 | Silent Witness | Marcus Gwilym | Episode: "Death by Water" |
| 2004 | Dirty Filthy Love | Charles | Television film |
| 2004 | Spooks | Nicholas Ashworth | Episode: "A Prayer for My Daughter" |
| 2005 | Ahead of the Class | Graham Ranger | Television film |
| 2005 | The Girl in the Café | George | Television film |
| 2005 | Class of '76 | Martin Gibson | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Nova | Voltaire | Episode: "E=mc²: Einstein's Big Idea" |
| 2006 | Dalziel and Pascoe | Paul Goodman | Episode: "Guardian Angel" |
| 2006 | Vital Signs | Dr. Lindsay | 4 episodes |
| 2006 | New Tricks | Pete Mackintyre | Episode: "Bank Robbery" |
| 2006 | The Outsiders | Maurice Heston | Television film |
| 2006 | A Touch of Frost | Dennis Prior | Episode: "Endangered Species" |
| 2008 | Midsomer Murders | Reverend Wallace Stone | Episode: "Talking to the Dead" |
| 2008 | The Palace | Archbishop of Canterbury | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Inspector Kelsey | Episode: "Cat Among the Pigeons" |
| 2008 | Einstein and Eddington | Fritz Haber | Television film |
| 2008 | Little Dorrit | Mr. Merdle | 9 episodes |
| 2009 | Casualty 1909 | Dr. Henry Head | 4 episodes |
| 2010 | Holby City | Sol Caplin | Episode: "Faith No More" |
| 2010 | Five Daughters | Dr. Nat Cary | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Garrow's Law | John Farmer | 4 episodes |
| 2010 | Primeval: Webisodes | Gideon | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 2011 | Primeval | Gideon | Recurring role, 6 episodes |
| 2011 | The Hour | Clarence Fendley | Main role, 5 episodes |
| 2011 | The Man Who Crossed Hitler | Rudolf Olden | Television film |
| 2012 | Secret State | Sir Michael Rix | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2012–2016 | The Hollow Crown | Duke of Exeter | 4 episodes |
| 2013 | Spies of Warsaw | Doctor Lapp | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 2013 | Mad Dogs | Alex | 1 episode |
| 2013 | Ripper Street | Dr. Karl Crabbe | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | The Escape Artist | Richard Mayfield, QC | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Atlantis | Kyros | Episode: "Pandora's Box" |
| 2013–2019 | Game of Thrones | Qyburn | Recurring role, 22 episodes |
| 2013–2023 | Endeavour | Chief Superintendent / ACC Reginald Bright | Main role, 35 episodes |
| 2014 | Father Brown | Father Ignatius | Episode: "The Mysteries of the Rosary" |
| 2014 | The Musketeers | Émile De Mauvoisin | Episode: "The Homecoming" |
| 2014 | The Game | C | Miniseries, 1 episode |
| 2015 | Wolf Hall | Thomas More | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 2015 | Life in Squares | Dr. Hyslop | Miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Le Donne | Salvatore | Miniseries, 5 episodes |
| 2015–2016 | Dickensian | Fagin | Main role, 15 episodes |
| 2016 | Hooten & the Lady | Hercules | Miniseries, 1 episode: "Moscow" |
| 2017 | Will | Walsingham | Episode: "The Play's the Thing" |
| 2017 | The Crown | Harold Macmillan | Main role (season 2), 8 episodes |
| 2019–2020 | The Trial of Christine Keeler | Michael Eddowes | Miniseries, 6 episodes |
| 2021 | A Discovery of Witches | Rabbi Loew | 1 episode |
| 2022 | Killing Eve | Robert | Episode: "Making Dead Things Look Nice" |
| 2022 | Andor | Major Partagaz | 7 episodes |
| 2022 | 1899 | Henry Singleton | 8 episodes |
| 2023 | Better | Vernon Marley | 4 episodes |

### Podcasts

Podcasts by year—sortable :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2020 | The Sandman | Dr. John Hathaway | Voice role, 20 episodes |

### Video games

Video game roles by year—sortable :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2020 | South of the Circle | Professor Hargreaves | Voice role |

### Theatre

* Romeo and Juliet Romeo, 1980, RSC
* Hamlet Hamlet, 1982, Donmar Warehouse, London
* Troilus and Cressida Troilus, 1981, RSC
* The Plantagenets (Henry VI, part 1–3 and Richard III) Richard III, 1988, RSC
* Two Shakespearean Actors Edwin Forrest, 1990, RSC
* Richard II Henry Bullingbrook, 1990, RSC
* The Taming of the Shrew Petruchio, 1992, RSC
* The Merry Wives of Windsor Frank Ford, 1992, RSC
* 'Art' Serge, 1997, Wyndham's Theatre, London
* Private Lives Elyot, 1999, Lyttelton Theatre, London
* Cymbeline Iachimo, 2003, RSC
* Julius Caesar Marcus Brutus, 2005, Barbican, London
* The Winter's Tale Leontes, 2006, RSC
* The Vertical Hour Oliver Lucas, 2008, Royal Court Theatre, London
* A Doll's House Dr. Rank, 2009, Donmar Warehouse, London

## Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations by year—sortable :
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2016 | BAFTA TV Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Wolf Hall | Nominated |
| 2018 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Game of Thrones | Nominated |
| 2018 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Crown | Nominated |