Anton Lesser

Anton Lesser (born 14 February 1952^[1]) 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,^[2] and Major Partagaz in Star Wars: Andor. An associate of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he has performed numerous Shakespearean roles on stage and television.

Quick Facts Born, Alma mater ...

Anton Lesser
Lesser in June 2011
Born	(1952-02-14) 14 February 1952 (age 72) Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
Alma mater	University of Liverpool Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1979–present
Spouse	Madeleine Lesser
Children	2

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Anton Lesser was born in Birmingham^[3] on 14 February 1952,^[4] the son of David Lesser and his wife Amelia Cohen.^{[citation needed]} He is of Jewish background.^[5]

He was educated at Moseley Grammar School^[6] and at the University of Liverpool, where he earned a degree in architecture in 1973.^[7]

Lesser went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1974 until 1976,^[3] and on graduation in 1977^[8] 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.^[3]

Lesser was spotted in Comedians and offered a contract by the casting director for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).^[3]

As an associate artist with the RSC, Lesser played many of Shakespeare's great roles.^[3] 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.^{[9][better source needed]}

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.^[3]

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^[10] 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.^[11]

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.^[12][13] 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."^[14] 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.^[15]

In 2015, Lesser was announced as a public supporter of Chapel Lane Theatre Company based in Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom.^[16]

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.^[17]

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."^[18]

With his wife Madeleine Adams, Lesser has two children, Harry and Lily. Lily Lesser is an actress and has acted alongside her father in Endeavour and Wolf Hall.^[19]

• 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,^[20] 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