Oliver Dimsdale
Encyclopedia
Oliver Dimsdale is an English
actor
, known for portraying Louis Trevelyan in the BBC
TV serial
He Knew He Was Right
.
, Dimsdale is the son of a Swiss
mother. He has a sister, Anna. He developed a stammer at age six which he has since partially brought under control through speech therapy. Dimsdale attended the Dragon School
and then Eton College
, and went on to study French and Economics at university. He trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama
, graduating in 1999.
Dimsdale married actress Zoe Tapper
on December 30, 2008.
for the BBC. He has lent his voice to the radio productions In The Company of Men and Sharp Focus. His film credits include RocknRolla
(2008), Cosi (2010) and the short film Pest.
On television, he played the lead roles of Louis Trevelyan in the 2004 adaptation of He Knew He Was Right
, and Dr Felix Quinn in the 2008 ITV1
medical drama
Harley Street
. He has also made guest appearances in Doctors, Casualty
and Lark Rise to Candleford
.
Dimsdale is the co-founder and co-Artistic Director of Filter Theatre
. His theatre work includes Great Expectations, The Changeling, Five Finger Exercise and The Tempest.
, for the Royal Exchange
performance of Paul Herzberg
’s The Dead Wait.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, known for portraying Louis Trevelyan in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV serial
Serial (radio and television)
Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...
He Knew He Was Right
He Knew He Was Right (TV serial)
He Knew He Was Right was a 2004 BBC TV adaptation of the novel of the same name by Anthony Trollope. It was directed by Tom Vaughan.*Jenny Uglow consultant*Nigel Stafford-Clark producer-Cast:*Oliver Dimsdale - Louis Trevelyan...
.
Background
Raised in HertfordshireHertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, Dimsdale is the son of a Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
mother. He has a sister, Anna. He developed a stammer at age six which he has since partially brought under control through speech therapy. Dimsdale attended the Dragon School
Dragon School
The Dragon School is a British coeducational, preparatory school in the city of Oxford, founded in 1877 as the Oxford Preparatory School, or OPS. It is primarily known as a boarding school, although it also takes day pupils...
and then Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, and went on to study French and Economics at university. He trained at Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
, graduating in 1999.
Dimsdale married actress Zoe Tapper
Zoe Tapper
Zoe Tapper is an English actress who first came to prominence playing Nell Gwynne in Richard Eyre's award-winning film Stage Beauty in 2004. She is known for portraying Anya Raczynski in Survivors and Mina Harker in Demons.-Background:...
on December 30, 2008.
Career
Dimsdale began his performing career at the age of thirteen in a radio playRadio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
for the BBC. He has lent his voice to the radio productions In The Company of Men and Sharp Focus. His film credits include RocknRolla
RocknRolla
RocknRolla is a 2008 British crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, and starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, Toby Kebbell, Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, Karel Roden, and Thandie Newton...
(2008), Cosi (2010) and the short film Pest.
On television, he played the lead roles of Louis Trevelyan in the 2004 adaptation of He Knew He Was Right
He Knew He Was Right
He Knew He Was Right is an 1869 novel written by Anthony Trollope which describes the failure of a marriage caused by the unreasonable jealousy of a husband exacerbated by the stubbornness of a willful wife. As is common with Trollope's works, there are also several substantial subplots. Trollope...
, and Dr Felix Quinn in the 2008 ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
medical drama
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program, in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment.In the United States, most medical episodes are one hour long and, more often than not, are set in a hospital. Most current medical Dramatic programming go beyond the...
Harley Street
Harley Street (TV series)
Harley Street is a British television medical drama shown on ITV in 2008.The series was made by Carnival Films and was set in Harley Street, London...
. He has also made guest appearances in Doctors, Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
and Lark Rise to Candleford
Lark Rise to Candleford (TV series)
Lark Rise to Candleford is a British television costume drama series, adapted by the BBC from Flora Thompson's trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels about the English countryside, published between 1939 and 1943. The first episode aired on 13 January 2008 on BBC One and BBC HD in the UK. In the...
.
Dimsdale is the co-founder and co-Artistic Director of Filter Theatre
Filter Theatre
Filter Theatre is a British theatre company, specialising in the re-interpretation of class works, such as Three Sisters .-External links:*...
. His theatre work includes Great Expectations, The Changeling, Five Finger Exercise and The Tempest.
Awards
Dimsdale won Best Fringe Performer in the 2002 Manchester Evening News Theatre AwardsManchester Evening News Theatre Awards
The Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards, commonly referred to as the MEN or M.E.N. Awards, recognise excellence in live British theatre. They are administered by the Manchester Evening News, and are presented at an annual ceremony in Manchester, England...
, for the Royal Exchange
Royal Exchange, Manchester
The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed Victorian building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on the land bounded by St Ann’s Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street...
performance of Paul Herzberg
Paul Herzberg
Paul Herzberg is a South African-born actor and playwright.Born in Cape Town, he studied acting at the University of Cape Town and scriptwriting at the University of Pretoria. He moved to the UK in 1976, after having served as a conscripted soldier on the Namibian border, during the period of the ...
’s The Dead Wait.
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Doctors | James Byford | 1 episode: Thin Ice |
| 2003 | The Inspector Lynley Mysteries The Inspector Lynley Mysteries The Inspector Lynley Mysteries is a series of BBC television programmes about Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley, 8th Earl of Asherton of Scotland Yard and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers... |
Mark Penellin | 1 episode: A Suitable Vengeance |
| 2003 | Byron | Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron... |
TV movie |
| 2004 | He Knew He Was Right He Knew He Was Right (TV serial) He Knew He Was Right was a 2004 BBC TV adaptation of the novel of the same name by Anthony Trollope. It was directed by Tom Vaughan.*Jenny Uglow consultant*Nigel Stafford-Clark producer-Cast:*Oliver Dimsdale - Louis Trevelyan... |
Louis Trevelyan | |
| 2005 | Dalziel and Pascoe Dalziel and Pascoe (BBC TV series) Dalziel and Pascoe is a popular British television crime drama based on the Dalziel and Pascoe books by Reginald Hill, which was first broadcast in March 1996. It is set in Yorkshire, and is about two detectives... |
Danny Latimer | 2 episodes: Dead Meat, Parts One and Two |
| 2005 | Casualty Casualty (TV series) Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The... |
Michael Mallins | 1 episode: And On That Farm |
| 2006 | Nostradamus | Michael Nostradamus Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame , usually Latinised to Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous worldwide. He is best known for his book Les Propheties , the first edition of which appeared in 1555... |
TV movie |
| 2007 | Fallen Angel | Michael Appleton | |
| 2008 | Harley Street Harley Street (TV series) Harley Street is a British television medical drama shown on ITV in 2008.The series was made by Carnival Films and was set in Harley Street, London... |
Dr Felix Quinn | |
| 2009 | Lark Rise to Candleford Lark Rise to Candleford (TV series) Lark Rise to Candleford is a British television costume drama series, adapted by the BBC from Flora Thompson's trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels about the English countryside, published between 1939 and 1943. The first episode aired on 13 January 2008 on BBC One and BBC HD in the UK. In the... |
George Ellison | 1 episode: Episode 2.4 |
| 2009 | Breaking the Mould | Ernst Chain Ernst Boris Chain Sir Ernst Boris Chain was a German-born British biochemist, and a 1945 co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work on penicillin.-Biography:... |
TV movie |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Pest | Jonathan Kitcher | Short film |
| 2008 | RocknRolla RocknRolla RocknRolla is a 2008 British crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, and starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, Toby Kebbell, Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, Karel Roden, and Thandie Newton... |
Posh Man in Shorts | |
| 2010 | Cosi | Phillip | |
| 2011 | What You Will | Sir Toby Belch Toby Belch Sir Toby Belch is a character in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. He is considered one of William Shakespeare's finest comic characters, an ambiguous mix of high spirits and low cunning. He first appears in the play's third scene, when he storms onto the stage the morning after a hard night... |
Mockumentary |
Theatre
- Water, Lyric Hammersmith, October - November 2007
- Pravda, Chichester Festival TheatreChichester Festival TheatreChichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
, September 2006 (playing Andrew May) - The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Cottesloe TheatreRoyal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, March - April 2006, (playing Fat Prince) - Twelfth Night, Tricycle TheatreTricycle TheatreThe Tricycle Theatre is located on Kilburn High Road in Kilburn in the London Borough of Brent, England. During the last 30 years, the Tricycle has been presenting plays reflecting the cultural diversity of its community; in particular Black, Irish, Jewish, Asian and South African works, as well as...
, September 2008 (playing Toby Belch)