Toby Stephens extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Toby Stephens
Born	21 April 1969 (1969-04-21) (age 39) London, England
Occupation	actor
Spouse(s)	Anna-Louise Plowman

Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English stage, television and film actor, best known for playing supervillain Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day (2002) and Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre (2006).

Contents 1 Biography 2 Filmography 3 Television 4 Theatre 5 Radio and CD audio drama 6 Notes 7 Awards 8 Interviews and articles 9 External links

Biography

Stephens, the son of actors Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens, was born in London, England. He was educated at Aldro and Seaford College and trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He began his film career with the role of Othello in 1992's Orlando. He has since made regular appearances on television (including in The Camomile Lawn) and on stage.

He has gained acclaim as a stage actor of distinction, notably playing the title role in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of Coriolanus shortly after graduation from LAMDA; that same season he played Claudio in Measure for Measure for the RSC. He also played Stanley Kowalski in a West End production of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, and Hamlet in 2004. He has appeared on Broadway in Ring Round the Moon. He played the lead in the film Photographing Fairies and played Orsino in Trevor Nunn's film of Twelfth Night. In 2002 he took on the role for which he is most widely known, that of Gustav Graves in the James Bond movie Die Another Day.

In 2005 he played the role of a British army captain in the Indian film, Mangal Pandey: The Rising, portraying events in the Indian rebellion of 1857. The following year he returned to India to play a renegade British East India Company officer in Sharpe's Challenge.

In autumn 2006 he starred as Edward Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre (broadcast in the United States on PBS in early 2007) and The Wild West in February 2007 for the BBC in which he played General George Armstrong Custer in Custer's Last Stand.

On 31 May 2007 The Guardian announced that Toby Stephens and his wife of six years, New Zealand actress Anna-Louise Plowman, had their first child, a son named Eli Alistair.¹ The late Simon Gray, the renowned British playwright (who penned Japes, a stage play, and Missing Dates, a radio drama, both of which starred Stephens), was reportedly Eli's godfather.²

During the summer of 2007, Stephens played the role of Jerry in a revival of Harold Pinter's Betrayal under the direction of Roger Michell. Most recently, Stephens starred as Horner in Jonathan Kent's revival of William Wycherley's The Country Wife. The play was the inaugural production of The Theatre Royal Haymarket Company, which in addition to Stephens includes the actors Eileen Atkins, Patricia Hodge, David Haig and Ruthie Henshall. Various members of the Company are expected to star in upcoming productions at the Haymarket Theatre with various artistic directors. The formation of the Company is considered by many London theatre critics to be a bold move for West End theatre.³

In February 2008, Fox Broadcasting Company gave the go-ahead to cast Stephens as the lead in a potential one hour, prime time U.S. television show, Inseparable, to be produced by Shaun Cassidy. Billed as a modern Jekyll and Hyde story, the show was to feature a partially paralyzed forensic psychologist whose other personality is a charming criminal. Stephens' casting was highly unusual, because Fox had not yet approved a script nor purchased a pilot for the show. However, in mid-May 2008, The Hollywood Reporter announced that "[b]y the time the network picked up the pilot . . . [the producers'] hold on Stephens had expired . . . ."⁴⁵

In May 2008, Stephens performed the role of James Bond in a BBC Radio 4 production of Ian Fleming's Dr. No, as part of the centenary celebration of Fleming's birth. The production is reportedly the first radio dramatization of the novel. Stephens continues to prolifically narrate audiobooks and perform in radio dramas; between November 2007 and May 2008, he will have given 5 such performances.

Also in May 2008, Stock-pot Productions announced that Stephens will have the lead role in a feature-length film entitled Fly Me, co-starring Tim McInnerny.⁶ Stock-pot was also the producer of One Day, a short 2006 film shown at international film festivals, in which Stephens played a small part as the boss of McInnerny's character.

As of June 2008, Stephens has been tapped to play Prince John in Season 3 of the BBC series Robin Hood.⁷ Filming has reportedly taken place in Hungary and the series with Stephens is expected to air in early 2009.

On October 5, 2008, Stephens appeared onstage at the London Palladium as part of a benefit entitled "The Story of James Bond, A Tribute to Ian Fleming." The event, organized by Fleming's neice, Lucy Fleming, featured music from various James Bond films and Bond film stars reading from Fleming's Bond novels. Stephens took the part of James Bond himself in the readings.

In October 2008, Stephens played Crawford Hill, a detective investigating Internet banking fraud in the ITV three-part television drama, "Wired."

In December 2008, Stephens is scheduled to read from the last book written by his good friend Simon Gray for BBC Radio 4. The reading is expected to include mention of Gray's participation as godfather in the christening of Stephens' Eli.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Director	Other Notes
1992	Orlando	Othello	Sally Potter	Written by Sally Potter, based on the novel Orlando by Virginia Woolf
1996	Twelfth Night	Duke Orsino	Trevor Nunn	Based on the Shakespeare play Twelfth Night
1997	Sunset Heights	Luke Bradley	Colm Villa
1997	Photographing Fairies	Charles Castle	Nick Willing	Based on the book by Steve Szilagyi
1998	Cousin Bette	Victorin Hulot	Des McAnuff	Based on the book Cousin Bette by Honoré de Balzac
1999	Onegin	Vladimir Lensky	Martha Fiennes	Based on the poem Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin
2000	The Announcement	Ross	Troy Miller
2000	Space Cowboys	Frank	Clint Eastwood
2001	Possession	Fergus Wolfe	Neil LaBute	Based on the novel Possession: A Romance by A. S. Byatt
2002	Die Another Day	Gustav Graves	Lee Tamahori	Based on the characters of Ian Fleming
2004	Terkel in Trouble	Voice of Justin	Kresten Vestbjerg Andersen, Thorbjørn Christoffersen, Stefan Fjeldmark	Animated film
2005	Midsummer Dream	Voice of Demetrius	Ángel de la Cruz, Manolo Gómez	Animated film Based on the play A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare
2005	Mangal Pandey: The Rising	Captain William Gordon	Ketan Mehta
2006	Dark Corners	Dr Woodleigh	Ray Gower	Written by Ray Gower
2006	Severance	Harris	Christopher Smith

Television

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1992	The Camomile Lawn	Oliver	Based on the book The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley
1996	The Tenant of Wildfell Hall	Gilbert Markham	Based on the book The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
2000	The Great Gatsby	Jay Gatsby	Based on the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2001	Perfect Strangers	Charles
2002	Napoléon	Tsar Alexander I	Based on the book by Max Gallo
2003	Essential Byron	Reader	Dramatised documentary focusing on poet Lord Byron's work
2003	Cambridge Spies	Kim Philby
2003	Agatha Christie's Poirot Five Little Pigs	Philip Blake	Based on the book Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie
2004	London	Casanova
2005	Waking the Dead	Dr Nick Henderson	Episode 22, Subterraneans
2005	The Queen's Sister	Anthony Armstrong-Jones
2006	The Best Man	Peter
2006	Sharpe's Challenge	William Dodd
2006	Jane Eyre	Edward Fairfax Rochester	Based on the book Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
2007	The Wild West - Custer's Last Stand	General George Armstrong Custer
2008	Wired	Crawford Hill
2008	Robin Hood - Series 3	Prince John of England

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1992	Tartuffe	Damis	Directed by Sir Peter Hall (Playhouse); play by Molière; Stephens' West End theatre debut
1992	Tamburlaine	Celebinus/King of Algier	Directed by Terry Hands (RSC); play by Christopher Marlowe
1992	Antony and Cleopatra	Pompey	Directed by John Caird (RSC); play by Shakespeare
1992	All's Well That Ends Well	Bertram	Directed by Sir Peter Hall (RSC); play by Shakespeare
1993	Wallenstein	Max Piccolomini	Directed by Tim Albery (RSC); play by Friedrich von Schiller
1994	Unfinished Business	Young Beamish	Directed by Steven Pimlott (RSC); play by Michael Hastings
1994	Coriolanus	Caius Marcius Coriolanus	Directed by David Thacker (RSC); play by Shakespeare
1994	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Lysander	Directed by Adrian Noble (RSC); play by Shakespeare
1994	Measure for Measure	Claudio	Directed by Steven Pimlott (RSC); play by Shakespeare
1996	A Streetcar Named Desire	Stanley Kowalski	Directed by Sir Peter Hall (The Haymarket); play by Tennessee Williams
1998/99	Phedre	Hippolytus	Directed by Jonathan Kent (Almeida & Brooklyn Academy); play by Jean Racine
1998/99	Britannicus	Nero	Directed by Jonathan Kent (Almeida & Brooklyn Academy); play by Jean Racine
1999	Ring Round the Moon	Hugo/Frederick	Directed by Gerry Gutierrez (Lincoln Center Theatre NY); play by Jean Anouilh; Stephens' Broadway debut
2001	Japes	Japes	Directed by Sir Peter Hall (The Haymarket); play by Simon Gray
2001	The Royal Family	Anthony Cavendish	Directed by Sir Peter Hall (The Haymarket); play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber
2004	Hamlet	Hamlet	Directed by Michael Boyd (RSC); play by Shakespeare
2004	The Pilate Workshop	Jesus	Directed by Michael Boyd (RSC); play by Helen Edmundson, based on Ann Wroe's Pontius Pilate: The Biography of an Invented Man
2007	Betrayal	Jerry	Directed by Roger Michell (Donmar); play by Harold Pinter
2007	The Country Wife	Mr. Horner	Directed by Jonathan Kent (Haymarket); play by William Wycherley

Radio and CD audio drama

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1994	Time and the Conways	Robin	Radio drama based on the play Time and the Conways by J.B. Priestley
1995	The Prince's Choice	Coriolanus, Hamlet, Henry V, Henry IV and Edward Poins	A selection from Shakespeare's works; narrators include the Prince of Wales and Stephens' parents, Sir Robert Stephens and Dame Maggie Smith, Hodder & Stoughton Audio Books
1997	As You Like It	Orlando	BBC dramatised recording of Shakespeare's play
1997	The Lifted Veil	Latimer	BBC dramatised recording of the novella by George Eliot
1997	The Guns of Navarone	Mallory	BBC two part dramatised recording of the novel by Alistair MacLean, BBC Radio Collection Audiobook
1997	Birdsong	Stephen Wraysford	BBC three-part drama based on the Sebastian Faulks novel (sometimes listed under the title of Part I, 'France 1910')
1997	Anna Karenina	Count Vronsky	BBC dramatised recording of the Leo Tolstoy novel, BBC Classic Collection Audiobook
1998	The Troy trilogy	Achilles	3 x 90 minute plays by Andrew Rissik for the BBC with Paul Scofield King Priam and His Sons; The Death of Achilles; Helen at Ephesus
1999	Tales from the Arabian Nights	Narrator	Includes Aladdin and His Magic Lamp, Sinbad and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Naxos Audiobooks
1999	Macbeth	Macbeth	Voice of Macbeth for the Movingstage Marionette Company's production of the Shakespeare play
2000	Conversations with Napoleon	Reader	The words of Napoleon Bonaparte
2001	King Lear	Edmund	Paul Scofield is King Lear in a dramatised reading of Shakespeare's play, Naxos Audiobooks
2001	On the Road	Narrator	BBC radio reading of the Jack Kerouac book
2002	The Riddle of the Sands	Narrator	Novel by Robert Erskine Childers, Penguin Audiobooks
2002	The Woman in White	Walter Hartright	BBC dramatised recording of novel by Wilkie Collins, BBC Radio Collection Audiobook
2002	Aeneid	Aeneas	Virgil's Classical Poem abridged by James Burbidge with Paul Scofield, Naxos Audiobooks
2003	Dionysos	Pentheus, King of Thebes	BBC radio drama by Andrew Rissik with Paul Scofield
2004	Will in the World	Reader	Based on Stephen Greenblatt's book, a reconstruction of Shakespeare's life & era
2005	Much Ado About Nothing	Benedick	BBC dramatised recording of Shakespeare's play
2006	Shylock	Bassanio	BBC Radio 3 dramatised recording of play by Sir Arnold Wesker
2007	Heart of Darkness	Narrator	Novel by Joseph Conrad, Silksoundbooks Audiobook
2007	Flashman on the March	Narrator	Novel by George MacDonald Fraser, HarperCollins Audiobook
2008	Flashman and the Dragon	Narrator	Novel by George MacDonald Fraser, HarperCollins Audiobook
2008	Missing Dates	Jason (Japes)	BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of play by Simon Gray (a reworking of his play Japes, in which Stephens also played the title role, see Theatre above)
2008	The Good Soldier	Narrator	BBC Radio 4 reading of the novel by Ford Madox Ford
2008	Dr. No	James Bond	BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of novel by Ian Fleming
2008	Let's Murder Vivaldi	Ben	BBC Radio 4 adaptation of David Mercer's television drama
2008	Coda	Narrator	Simon Gray's book featured as BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week

Notes

Awards

• 1994—Ian Charleson Award (best classical actor under 30): Coriolanus
• 1994—Sir John Gielgud Award (best actor): Coriolanus
• 1999—Theatre World Award (debut performance on Broadway): Ring Round the Moon

Interviews and articles

• The New York Times - It's Not Romantic or Oedipal: It's Just the Family Business 24 April 1999
• The Independent - 1 Minute in the Mind of Toby Stephens 4 February 2001)
• The Independent - Theatre Debut - Toby Stephens (7 February 2001)
• The Evening Standard - Toby's Second Act (15 November 2002)
• The Times - My Cultural Life (23 November 2002)
• The Sunday Telegraph - Villain with a Past (16 December 2002)
• San Francisco Chronicle - Traitor? It's No Easy Gig (19 October 2003)
• Stephens on Hamlet, Essay for RSC Website (2004)
• The Times - Interview: Toby Stephens (4 July 2004)
• The Independent on Sunday - This Cultural Life (5 December 2004)
• The Independent - How do I look? (13 August 2005)
• The Telegraph - The Perils of Being Posh on TV (16 March 2006)
• The Independent - Toby Stephens (18 March 2006)
• The Times - Every Woman Has Her Own Idea of Mr. Rochester (29 August 2006)
• The Guardian - Prodigal Son (31 May 2007)
• The Times - Mr. Rochester Takes His Bow (3 September 2007)
• The Evening Standard - Restoring His Humour (2 October 2007)
• Angel & North - Charming Chameleon (2007)
• SFX - Meet the New James Bond (20 May 2008)

External links

• RSC Hamlet website Includes clips of Toby Stephens and the cast rehearsing the 2004 production of Hamlet.
• Toby Stephens at the Internet Movie Database
• Toby Stephens agent's page

Preceded by Sophie Marceau & Robert Carlyle

Official James Bond villain actor 2002

Succeeded by Mads Mikkelsen

v • d • e Actors who have played James Bond Official films Sean Connery · George Lazenby · Roger Moore · Timothy Dalton · Pierce Brosnan · Daniel Craig Other productions Barry Nelson · Bob Holness · David Niven · Sean Connery · Maxwell Caulfield · Adam Blackwood · Tim Bentinck · Jason Carter · Toby Stephens Actresses who have portrayed Bond girls