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Roger Allam
Allam in 2009
Born	Roger William Allam (1953-10-26) 26 October 1953 (age 71) Bow, London, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1976–present
Spouse	Rebecca Saire
Children	2
Website	all-allam.com

Roger William Allam (born 26 October 1953) is a British actor who has performed on stage, in film, on television and radio.

He played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical Les Misérables, First Officer Douglas Richardson in the award-winning radio series Cabin Pressure, and DCI Fred Thursday in the TV series Endeavour. He is also known for his roles as Illyrio Mopatis in the HBO series Game of Thrones, Royalton in Speed Racer, Lewis Prothero in the 2005 adaptation of V for Vendetta and as Peter Mannion MP in The Thick Of It.

He has been nominated six times for a Laurence Olivier Award, and has won three times.

Life and career

Allam was born in Bow, London, England. He was educated at Christ's Hospital and Manchester University. His father was rector of St Mary Woolnoth.

He played Mercutio for the Royal Shakespeare Company, in 1983.

From 1985 to 1986, he played Inspector Javert in the original London production of the stage musical Les Misérables.

He has also appeared in many radio dramas for the BBC. In 2001, he starred in BBC Radio 4's adaptation of Les Misérables, as Valjean. In 2000 he played Adolf Hitler at the Royal National Theatre in David Edgar's Albert Speer. He won an Olivier Award as Best Actor 2001, for his role as Captain Terri Denis in a revival of Privates on Parade, opening in December 2001 at the Donmar Warehouse, Covent Garden. In November 2002 at the Comedy Theatre he co-starred with Gillian Anderson in Michael Weller's romantic comedy What the Night Is For.

In 2003, he appeared as former West German federal chancellor Willy Brandt in Michael Frayn's play Democracy which opened at the Cottesloe Theatre, in the Royal National Theatre. He stayed with the show for its transfer to the West End. In December 2004 and January 2005, Allam appeared as the villainous Abanazar in a pantomime of Aladdin at the Old Vic theatre, co-starring Ian McKellen, Maureen Lipman and Sam Kelly. He reprised this role at the Old Vic, once again with Ian McKellen and Frances Barber in 2006–07. In August 2005, Allam appeared in Blackbird by David Harrower alongside Jodhi May at the Edinburgh Festival in a production by German star director Peter Stein. The play transferred to the Albery Theatre in London in February 2006. Blackbird subsequently won a best new play award.

In 2006 he appeared in Stephen Frears's film The Queen, starring Oscar-winner Dame Helen Mirren, as the Queen's private secretary. In February 2007, he performed in the 1960s farce Boeing-Boeing at the Comedy Theatre in the West End, co-starring Mark Rylance, Frances de la Tour and Tamzin Outhwaite. In 2007, he appeared for the first time as Peter Mannion MP in the special episodes of the BBC comedy The Thick of It. He reprised the role in the third series (2009), and returned in the final series (2012) as part of the expanded regular cast.

In 2008, Allam played the role of Max Reinhardt, the Salzburg Festival impresario in Michael Frayn's play Afterlife, the production staged by Michael Blakemore on the National Theatre's Lyttelton stage. In 2009, Allam played Albin/Zaza in La Cage aux Folles at the Playhouse in London. Allam played Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2 at Shakespeare's Globe, in the 2010 season. He won the Olivier Award for Best Actor. In October 2010, Allam was reunited with his former cast mates from Les Misérables in the 25th anniversary concert for a performance of "One Day More".

In January 2012, he starred in the first series of Endeavour, the prequel to the long-running Inspector Morse, playing the gruff but kind-hearted Detective Inspector Fred Thursday, young Endeavour Morse's mentor in 1960s Oxford. By 2018 Allam had portrayed his central character in five additional well-received series, which are also aired in America as part of the PBS Masterpiece Mystery! series. In March 2019, the show's sixth season had concluded on ITV, was scheduled for broadcast in the summer in the United States, and had been recommissioned for a seventh season to be set in 1970.

In April 2012 he also starred as Serebrayakov in the play Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov at the Chichester Festival Theatre. In 2013 he played the role of Prospero in William Shakespeare's play The Tempest at Shakespeare's Globe theatre in London alongside Colin Morgan as Ariel. Allam presented Michael Frayn at the 2013 Olivier Awards with a Special Lifetime Award which was aired by ITV1. Allam has also reteamed with Stephen Frears in Tamara Drewe, the film version of Posy Simmond's popular comic strip. He plays the crime novelist Nicholas Hardiment, who is bewitched by London journalist Tamara Drewe, played by Gemma Arterton. In the closing chapter of his Timebends autobiography (1987) Arthur Miller writes of Allam: "To play Adrian....in the 1986 Royal Shakespeare Company production of The Archbishop's Ceiling, Roger Allam gave up the leading role as Javert in the monster hit Les Misérables because he had done it over sixty times and thought my play more challenging for him at that moment of his career. Nor did he consider his decision a particularly courageous one. This is part of what a theatre culture means and it is something few New York actors would have the sense of security even to dream of doing."

Allam narrated the Channel 4 series The Auction House.

In October and November 2016 Allam appeared as Brigadier Adrian Stone in the BBC series The Missing.

Since January 2020, Allam has co-starred with Joanna Lumley in the BBC Radio 4 comedy drama series Conversations from a Long Marriage. As of February 2023, the show is in its fourth series.

In March 2022, Allam debuted in the lead role of Antoine Verlaque in Murder in Provence, a BritBox cosy crime drama based on the Verlaque & Bonnet detective novels by ML Longworth, alongside Nancy Carroll (The Crown) as his romantic partner Marine Bonnet.

Allam voices the demon Azazel in the 2022 Netflix adaptation of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman.

Personal life

Allam is married to actress Rebecca Saire, with whom he has two sons, William, an actor, and Thomas. Rebecca and William appeared together as mother and son in the Endeavour episode Raga (series 7, episode 2, broadcast February 2020).

Allam identifies as politically left, and has publicly castigated Donald Trump.

Theatre

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio

Audiobooks

Allam has narrated several audiobooks, including Solar by Ian McEwan and An Introduction to Buddhism by the Dalai Lama.

References

1. Lobb, Adrian (11 January 2016). "Roger Allam: "The arts have become elitist"". The Big Issue. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
2. "Drama Pupils Privileged to Learn from the Brilliant Roger Allam". Christs-hospital.org.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
3. Gore-Langton, Robert (25 November 2002). "Acting? This is the real thing". The Times.
4. "Roger Allam on Mercutio from 'Romeo and Juliet'". Official Website of Roger Allam. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
5. "Productions : Afterlife". National Theatre. 16 December 2020.
6. Smith, Alistair (23 April 2010). "Roger Allam to play Falstaff at Globe". The Stage.
7. "Roger Allam Wins Best Actor". Olivier Awards. 13 March 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
8. "ITV Renewed Endeavour For Season 7". rdv5.com. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
9. Mesure, Susie (6 April 2013). "Roger Allam: Lear in waiting". The Independent.
10. "Stage". Official Website of Roger Allam. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
11. Wollaston, Sam (18 June 2014). "The Auction House - TV review". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
12. Gill, James (26 October 2016). "The Missing series 2 episode 2: what is Roger Allam's character Brigadier Stone up to?". Radio Times.
13. Producer: Claire Jones (22 January 2020). "Why Didn't You Ask Me to Dance?". Conversations from a Long Marriage, Series 1. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
14. "Conversations from a Long Marriage, Series 4, She Drives Me Crazy". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
15. "Murder in Provence reveals teaser for Roger Allam's new crime series". Radio Times. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
16. Kanter, Jake (25 May 2021). "BritBox Sets Crime Series 'Murder In Provence' As First U.S. & UK Co-Production". Deadline. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
17. Hodges, Michael (2 June 2017). "Endeavour's Roger Allam on playing an alcoholic and his own boozy days". Radio Times. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
18. Cast list from DVD, ITV Studios, dated 2019
19. "Drama Pupils Privileged to Learn from the Brilliant Roger Allam". Christs-hospital.org.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
20. Billen, Andrew (7 March 2017). "How Roger the leftie got to like Roy the rebel". The Times. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
21. Greenstreet, Rosanna (3 June 2017). "Q&A: Roger Allam: 'I just want to be remembered'". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
22. "Stage". Official Roger Allam Fan Site. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
23. "Rutherford and Son | National Theatre". Nationaltheatre.org.uk. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
24. "A Number". Bridgetheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
25. "Frank and Percy". Retrieved 21 August 2023.
26. "The King's General". BBC.
27. "The Man In The Elephant Mask". radiolistings.co.uk.
28. "BBC Radio 4 - Classic Serial, The Ring and the Book, Episode 1". BBC.
29. "BBC Radio 4 – Will Smith's Midlife Crisis Management". BBC.
30. "BBC Radio 4 – Cabin Pressure". BBC.
31. "BBC Radio 4 - Drama, Mark Lawson - What do you know?". BBC.
32. "British Comedy Guide - How Does That Make You Feel?". comedy.co.uk.
33. "BBC Radio 4 - Drama, The Magnificent Andrea". BBC.
34. "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Noel Coward - Blithe Spirit". BBC.
35. "BBC Radio 4 Extra - Edmund Gosse - Father and Son, Episode 1". BBC.
36. "BBC Radio 4 – War and Peace, Episode 10". BBC.
37. "BBC Radio 4 – Conversations from a Long Marriage". BBC.

External links

• Roger Allam official website
• Roger Allam at IMDb
• Roger Allam at British Comedy Guide

• 1953 births
• Alumni of the University of Manchester
• English male film actors
• English male musical theatre actors
• English male radio actors
• English male stage actors
• English male television actors
• English male voice actors
• Laurence Olivier Award winners
• Living people
• Male actors from London
• People educated at Christ's Hospital
• Actors from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
• 20th-century English male actors
• 21st-century English male actors
• Royal Shakespeare Company members
• People from Bow, London