Alex Jennings

Early life and education

Alex Michael Jennings was born in Romford, Essex, the son of Peggy Patricia (née Mahoney) and Michael Thomas Jennings. He attended Abbs Cross Technical High School in Hornchurch and studied English and theatre studies at the University of Warwick, graduating in 1978. He said he saw his first theatre while in high school and went to the Old Vic Theatre, which inspired him to be an actor.

Jennings trained as an actor for two years at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Career

1980s

In the early 1980s, Jennings began his career in regional repertory theatre. In 1985, playing a range of roles including Maximilien Robespierre in The Scarlet Pimpernel. Jennings met director Nicholas Hytner during this production and has worked with him many times since. For his performance as Gloumov in Too Clever by Half at the Old Vic, he won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance in 1988. He was nominated in the same category the following year for portraying Dorante in The Liar. He has performed for the Royal National Theatre in a number of plays, including Leontes in The Winter's Tale and the title role in Albert Speer.

Jennings's work in television includes appearances in The State Within, Smiley's People, The Franchise Affair, Inspector Morse, Lewis, Alfonso Bonzo, the title role in Ashenden, Dead Poets Society, Inspector Alleyn, Hard Times, Bad Blood, and Peter Ackroyd's London. His many radio credits include Casino Royale, The Way of the World, Strange Meeting, Vorbis in Small Gods, and The Old Curiosity Shop.

1990s

Jennings's Royal Shakespeare Company roles include the title role in Peer Gynt (for which he won an Olivier Award 1995-06 for Best Actor), the title role in Richard II (opposite Anton Lesser as Henry Bolingbroke), Theseus/Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream (UK, American tour and Broadway), Angelo in Measure for Measure, and the title role in Hamlet.

Jennings also appeared in War Requiem, the RSC's film version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1999). Jennings also appeared as Lord Mark in the romantic drama film The Wings of the Dove starring Helena Bonham Carter, Elizabeth McGovern, Charlotte Rampling, and Sir Michael Gambon. The film received great acclaim and many awards nominations including four Academy Award nominations and five British Academy Film Award nominations.

2000s

In 2002, Jennings appeared in the Cameron Mackintosh/Trevor Nunn revival of My Fair Lady at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and won an Olivier Award as Best Actor in a Musical. He was an Associate Artist at the Royal Shakespeare Company. That year he also appeared in The Four Feathers (2002) as Colonel Hamilton alongside Heath Ledger, Kate Hudson, and Michael Sheen. In 2004, he played George W. Bush in London in the original National Theatre production of David Hare's "Stuff Happens."

In 2006, Jennings made his breakthrough film role as Charles, Prince of Wales opposite Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen. The film was directed by Stephen Frears, and written by Peter Morgan. The film depicts the death of Diana, Princess of Wales on 31 August 1997 and the reaction from the British public and the British royal family. The film was an immense critical and box office success after it premiered at the Venice Film Festival. The film received six Academy Award nominations including a win for Mirren's performance.

In 2007, Jennings played the role of Garry Essendine in Noël Coward's Present Laughter at the NT. Also in 2007, he portrayed the Rev. Hutton in the BBC miniseries Cranford starring Judi Dench. He also played John Le Mesurier in the one-off BBC drama Hancock and Joan. In 2009, he appeared in The Habit of Art as Benjamin Britten.

In June 2008, Jennings made his debut in the Operetta at the ENO in Robert Carsen's production of Bernstein's Candide, in which he played Voltaire and Doctor Pangloss.

Jennings has recorded the audio versions of the books: Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer, The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham, The Horse and His Boy, Out of the Silent Planet, and Perelandra by C.S. Lewis, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne, and Attention All Shipping by Charlie Connelly, which was selected in June 2008 as one of the top 40 audiobooks of all time. In 2006, he recorded an abridgement of A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon. He is also a regular narrator on BBC Radio 4's Book at Bedtime. He was also a member of the BBC's Radio Drama Company.

2010s

In 2010, Jennings played Captain Shipshape in the CBeebies second series of Grandpa in my Pocket and starred in the film Belle. After that, he played Henry Tizard in Castles in the Sky. In 2011, he played Mikhail Bulgakov in the National Theatre's production of Collaborators. In 2014, he played the role of Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical, which was directed by Sam Mendes and was performed on London's West End theatre district. He took over the role from Douglas Hodge in 2014.

From 2011 to 2014, Jennings played Alan Cowdrey QC in the BBC One legal drama Silk. He has also appeared in the ITV television series Lewis (2012), and Foyle's War (2015).

Jennings portrayed playwright Alan Bennett in the 2015 film The Lady in the Van opposite Academy Award winner Dame Maggie Smith in the title role. The film is directed by Nicolas Hytner, who is a long-time collaborator from the theatre. The film also featured performances from Jim Broadbent, Claire Foy, Frances de la Tour, and James Corden. The film premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival to great acclaim, specifically for Smith's performance. To promote the film Maggie Smith, and Jennings, appeared on The Graham Norton Show, this is Smith's first chat show appearance in over 40 years.

In 2016, Jennings reprised his role as Professor Henry Higgins in the Australian 60th anniversary production of My Fair Lady, directed by Julie Andrews. On television, from 2016 to 2017, he appeared in the Netflix series The Crown alongside Claire Foy and Jared Harris, as Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor, uncle to Queen Elizabeth and great-uncle to Prince Charles (whom Jennings played in The Queen). The series has received widespread acclaim from audiences and critics alike. Jennings also portrayed King Leopold I of Belgium in the ITV/PBS series Victoria (2016–2019) alongside Jenna Coleman.

In 2018, Jennings played Liberal MP Peter Bessell in the BBC One series, A Very English Scandal alongside Hugh Grant, and Ben Whishaw, a miniseries about the Jeremy Thorpe affair directed by Stephen Frears. The film received widespread critical acclaim with a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes with the critics consensus reading, "Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw impress in A Very English Scandal, an equally absorbing and appalling look at British politics and society". The series also received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations including a win for Whishaw for his performance.

In 2019, Jennings played Andrew Aldridge, a Conservative MP, in the American TV miniseries Four Weddings and a Funeral.

2020s

In 2020, Jennings appeared in the Small Axe miniseries directed by Steve McQueen, specifically the television movie, Mangrove as Judge Edward Clarke alongside Letitia Wright as physician and British Black Panther Altheia Jones-LeCointe. In Mangrove, the story revolves around the true story based on the Mangrove Nine who were British black activists tried for inciting a riot at a protest, in 1970, against the police targeting of the Mangrove restaurant, Notting Hill, in west London. The film received widespread critical acclaim, with the critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reading, "Anchored by strong performances and an even stronger sense of conviction, Mangrove is a powerful indictment of institutional racism."

Work

Film

Television

Theatre

Filmed Theatrical Events

• 1999: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as Butler
• 2010: National Theatre Live: The Habit of Art as Henry / Benjamin Britten
• 2011: National Theatre Live: Collaborators as Mikhail Bulgakov
• 2013: National Theatre Live: 50 Years on Stage as Henry Higgins
• 2019: National Theatre Live: Hansard as Robin Hesketh

Awards and nominations

Jennings was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2024 Birthday Honours for services to drama.

References

References

1. (19 September 2007). "'I wanted to be Fred Astaire'". [[The Guardian]].
2. (7 February 2014). "Alex Jennings takes on Willy Wonka role". [[BBC News]].
3. (7 February 2014). "Bold casting choices and versatile actors". [[The Stage (magazine).
4. Lawson, Richard. (7 December 2017). "The Crown Season 2 Review: A Stately Soap Opera We Just Can't Resist".
5. (2 October 2013). "National Histories: Nancy Carroll and Alex Jennings". [[Royal National Theatre]].
6. (21 June 2014 }}{{dead link). "Alex Jennings interview: the new Willy Wonka on Roald Dahl's 'child killer'". [[The Spectator]].
7. (31 March 1996 }}{{dead link). "Who's Who in the Cast: Who's Who – Alex Jennings; A Midsummer Night's Dream – Opening Night: March 31, 1996". [[Playbill]].
8. (22 October 2011). "5 days in the life of ... Alex Jennings". [[The Independent]].
9. "Radio and audio book companies", in Lloyd Trott, ed., ''Actors and Performers Yearbook 2016'', pp. 353–354
10. (17 February 2014). "Alex Jennings to take over from Douglas Hodge as Willy Wonka". Best of Theatre.
11. "BBC One – Silk – Alan Cowdrey".
12. (27 May 2015). "The Lady in the Van: Maggie Smith as you've never seen her". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
13. (19 August 2016). "Alex Jennings is Henry Higgins in 'My Fair Lady'.".
14. (20 May 2018). "A Very English Scandal review: funny and confident – like Jeremy Thorpe". The Guardian.
15. "A Very English Scandal: Miniseries".
16. "Four Weddings and a Funeral".
17. "Small Axe: Mangrove".
18. Kanter, Jake. (June 24, 2021). "'This Is Going To Hurt': Harriet Walter, Alex Jennings Join BBC/AMC Series; First Look At Lead Ben Whishaw".
19. "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
20. (4 September 2019). "'Hansard' review". [[Time Out (magazine).
21. "Olivier Winners 1988".
22. "Olivier Winners 1989/90".
23. "Olivier Winners 1996".
24. "Olivier Winners 2003".
25. "Supporting Actor".
26. "Awards for Birthday Honours List 2024".