David Thewlis

Early life

Thewlis was born David Wheeler in Blackpool on 20 March 1963, the middle child of Maureen (née Thewlis) and Alec Raymond Wheeler. His parents ran a toy and wallpaper shop. As a teenager, he played in a rock band called QED and played lead guitar with a punk rock band called Door 66. He was educated at Highfield High School in Blackpool's Marton area. He later joined London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1984.

Career

Acting

Wheeler decided to use his mother's maiden name, Thewlis, for his stage name after attempting to register with the actors' union and discovering that his birth name, David Wheeler, was already used by someone else. His first professional role after doing so was in the play Buddy Holly at the Regal in Greenwich

He went on to play small roles in high-profile series such as BBC's Only Fools and Horses in 1985 and The Singing Detective in 1986, before being offered a more significant part in Alan Clarke's Road and in the ITV sitcom Valentine Park in 1987. That same year, Thewlis made his film debut in Little Dorrit.

His first big-screen leading role was opposite Clive Owen in Vroom, directed by Beeban Kidron in 1988, and he starred in Paul Greengrass's anti-Falkland War drama Resurrected in 1989, playing a presumed-dead soldier who returns to Britain. He collaborated with Mike Leigh on Life Is Sweet in 1990, in which he played Jane Horrocks' character's lover. He continued playing low-key supporting roles in films such as Damage in 1992, directed by Louis Malle and The Trial in 1993 directed by David Hugh Jones.

Thewlis's breakout role was 1993's Naked directed by Mike Leigh, as the main character Johnny, a homeless, highly intelligent, embittered, rambling street philosopher, for which Thewlis was named Best Actor by the National Society of Film Critics, the London Film Critics Circle, the Evening Standard, the New York Film Critics' Circle and the Cannes Film Festival. That same year, he appeared on television as a sexual predator named James Jackson in Prime Suspect 3, opposite Helen Mirren and Ciarán Hinds.

During the 1990s, Thewlis appeared in a variety of films, mostly fantasy and period pieces, including Restoration (1995), Black Beauty (1994), Total Eclipse (1995) with Leonardo DiCaprio, The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), Dragonheart (1996), and Seven Years in Tibet (1997), opposite Brad Pitt. He was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for Divorcing Jack (1998), and played Clov in a television film of Samuel Beckett's Endgame (2000). Notable appearances included Bernardo Bertolucci's Besieged (1998), the Coen brothers' The Big Lebowski (1998), and Paul McGuigan's Gangster No. 1 (2000), opposite Paul Bettany and Malcolm McDowell.

Thewlis auditioned for the role of Quirinus Quirrell in the Chris Columbus directed film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but the part went to Ian Hart. Despite missing out on the first film, he was cast in 2004 as Professor Remus Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. He did not have to audition as he was director Alfonso Cuarón's first choice for the role. Thewlis reprised the role in four other films in the series.

Thewlis appeared as an SS Commandant of a Nazi death camp and father of the main character in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, which was well received. His other credits include Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Terrence Malick's The New World (2005), and The Omen (2006).

Thewlis played the Dr Michael Aris, husband of Aung San Suu Kyi, with Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh as Suu Kyi, in the biopic The Lady directed by Luc Besson. In 2012, he received an International Festival of Independent Cinema Off Plus Camera Award. In the same year, he played in Separate We Come, Separate We Go, directed by Bonnie Wright.

In June 2015, Thewlis was reported to be filming scenes for a Donald Crowhurst biopic, The Mercy, on the beach at Teignmouth, Devon, playing Donald Crowhurst's press agent, Rodney Hallworth, while Colin Firth would play Donald Crowhurst. He starred in Regression, a thriller released in autumn 2015. In September 2015, Thewlis starred as Inspector Goole in Helen Edmundson's BBC TV adaptation of J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls. In October 2015, he played King Duncan in the film Macbeth.

Thewlis portrayed Ares in Wonder Woman (2017), the DC Comics film featuring the character Wonder Woman. He briefly reprised his role as Ares in Justice League (2017). That same year, he appeared as V. M. Varga, the main antagonist of the third season of Fargo. His performance was critically acclaimed, and earned him nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award, Critics' Choice Television Award and Golden Globe Award as a supporting actor.

He has voiced the Shame Wizard in the Netflix animated sitcom Big Mouth (2017–2025) and its spin-off Human Resources (2022–2023).

Thewlis starred in the Netflix film I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020), the HBO miniseries Landscapers (2021), the Netflix drama series The Sandman (2022), the Netflix film Enola Holmes 2 (2022), and the animated film The Amazing Maurice (2022). In 2023, he played Fagin in The Artful Dodger and in 2024, Hades in Kaos.

Filmmaking

Thewlis directed Hello, Hello, Hello in 1995, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Short Film at the 49th British Academy Film Awards. He also wrote, directed and starred in the feature Cheeky (2003).

Writing

Thewlis's black comedy novel set in the art world, The Late Hector Kipling, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2007. His second book, Shooting Martha, was published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in 2021.

Personal life

Thewlis married Welsh director and actress Sara Sugarman in 1992 and they divorced in 1994. He later dated English actress Kate Hardie for three years. He began a relationship with English actress Anna Friel in 2000, and they had a daughter named Gracie (born 2005) before they split up in 2010.

Thewlis married French designer and artist Hermine Poitou on 6 August 2016. They live in Sunningdale.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

References

1. Larman, Alexander. "Thewlis, David (1963-)". [[British Film Institute]].
2. "Thewlis, David 1963–".
3. "David Thewlis".
4. (14 March 2021). "Lancs Harry Potter star who started off as Only Fools and Horses extra". [[Reach plc]].
5. Grice, Elizabeth. (4 May 2005). "Anna has changed me for the better". [[The Daily Telegraph.
6. (2011-12-19). "David Thewlis says he cried over The Lady script". BBC News.
7. "David Thewlis".
8. Morris, Clint. (9 June 2004). "Interview: David Thewlis". Movie Hole.
9. "PICTURES: Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz on a Teignmouth film set".
10. Mendelson, Scott. "Gal Gadot Releases First 'Wonder Woman' Image While Warner Bros. Announces The Cast". Forbes.
11. Osborn, Alex. (19 February 2017). "Wonder Woman: Harry Potter Actor David Thewlis Reportedly Cast as Villain Ares". IGN.
12. Miller, Liz Shannon. (26 May 2017). "'Fargo': David Thewlis on the Details and Delight of Playing a Bad Guy Who's 'Out and Out Foul'". [[Penske Media Corporation]].
13. Tallerica, Brian. (21 June 2017). "Fargo Season-Finale Recap: The Great American Experiment". [[New York Media]].
14. Ryan, Maureen. (13 April 2017). "TV Review: ''Fargo'' Season 3 on FX". [[Penske Media Corporation]].
15. "Awards Search Results: Thewlis". [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]].
16. Rooney, David. (2003-09-18). "Cheeky".
17. Thewlis, David. (2007). "The Late Hector Kipling: A Novel". [[Simon & Schuster]].
18. (5 August 2021). "Shooting Martha". Orion.
19. Seddon, Aimee. (2024-03-20). "David Thewlis: to celebrate the Blackpool actor's birthday we explore his life story so far". [[Blackpool Gazette]].
20. Zeitchik, Steven. (2012-01-13). "David Thewlis is the 'Anonymous' actor who's everywhere". [[Los Angeles Times]].
21. MacDonald, Marianne. (26 September 2005). "Post-natal confession". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
22. Thewlis, David. (2021-07-09). "Gracie is 16 today. Happy Birthday my cheeky, charming and beautiful angel. What can I say? Your voice is from heaven, you're funnier than fun and you cheat at Uno. Oh... and I love you".
23. Ayres, Tom. (2010-12-14). "Friel, Thewlis split after nine years".
24. (25 July 2021). "David Thewlis: It does get to you, spending more waking hours as a character than oneself". [[The Guardian]].
25. Thewlis, David. (2021-08-06). "Five years ago today. Why would I ever keep such happiness a secret?".
26. Williams, Zoe. (2021-12-07). "David Thewlis on new show Landscapers and the misogyny of Naked: 'I find it much tougher to watch today'". [[The Guardian]].
27. Grobar, Matt. (23 June 2022). "Dennis Quaid, Isabelle Fuhrman, David Thewlis, Josh Hutcherson & Kiera Allen To Star In Sci-Fi Mystery 'Littlemouth' From Director Jonathan Sobol". [[Deadline Hollywood]].