# Jasper Britton > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jasper_Britton > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jasper_Britton.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasper_Britton > Source revision: 1355904868 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|British actor (born 1962)}} {{Lead too short|date=July 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}} {{Use British English|date=August 2016}} {{Infobox person | name = Jasper Britton | image = Jasper Britton as Petruchio for the RSC.jpg | caption = Britton as Petruchio | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1962|12|11|df=y}} | birth_place = [Chelsea, London](/source/Chelsea%2C_London), England | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1989–present | parents = [Tony Britton](/source/Tony_Britton)
Eva Skytte Birkefeldt | relatives = [Fern Britton](/source/Fern_Britton)
(half-sister) }} '''Jasper Britton''' (born 11 December 1962) is an English actor. ==Early life and education== Britton was born in [Chelsea](/source/Chelsea%2C_London) in London, and educated at [Belmont Preparatory School](/source/Belmont_Preparatory_School), [Sussex House School](/source/Sussex_House_School){{cite web |title=About the School |url=https://www.sussexhouseschool.co.uk/about-sussex-house/ |website=Sussex House |access-date=3 September 2022}} and [Mill Hill School](/source/Mill_Hill_School), north London. Britton is the only son of the actor [Tony Britton](/source/Tony_Britton) and his second wife, the Danish sculptor Eva Castle Britton (''née'' Skytte Birkefeldt). His half-sisters are the television presenter [Fern Britton](/source/Fern_Britton) and scriptwriter Cherry Britton. ==Career== ===Stage=== Britton worked for six years as an [assistant stage manager](/source/assistant_stage_manager) and [sound operator](/source/sound_operator) until 1989 when, while working for [Jonathan Miller](/source/Jonathan_Miller) at the [Old Vic](/source/Old_Vic), he forced his way into Miller's office and refused to leave until Miller agreed to let him audition for ''[King Lear](/source/King_Lear)''. His King of France to [Eric Porter](/source/Eric_Porter)'s Lear was the beginning of a prolific stage career. Early plays included ''[The Visit](/source/The_Visit_(play))'' with [Théâtre de Complicité](/source/Th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre_de_Complicit%C3%A9) at the [Royal National Theatre](/source/Royal_National_Theatre), ''[The Cherry Orchard](/source/The_Cherry_Orchard)'', ''[Macbeth](/source/Macbeth)'' and ''A Flea in her Ear'' at [Nottingham Playhouse](/source/Nottingham_Playhouse). A season at the [Royal Shakespeare Company](/source/Royal_Shakespeare_Company) included ''[A Jovial Crew](/source/A_Jovial_Crew)'' for [Max Stafford-Clark](/source/Max_Stafford-Clark), ''[Tamburlaine](/source/Tamburlaine_(play))'' for [Terry Hands](/source/Terry_Hands) and ''[The Beggar's Opera](/source/The_Beggar's_Opera)'' and ''[Antony and Cleopatra](/source/Antony_and_Cleopatra)'' for John Caird. There followed the Dauphin in ''St Joan'' at the [Strand Theatre](/source/Novello_Theatre) and an award-winning {{Which|date=January 2015}} performance as Rupert in ''[Rope](/source/Rope_(play))'' at [Salisbury Playhouse](/source/Salisbury_Playhouse). Upon replacing [Eddie Izzard](/source/Eddie_Izzard) in the title role in [Brian Cox](/source/Brian_Cox_(actor))'s 1995 ''[Richard III](/source/Richard_III_(play))'', he garnered excellent reviews. He next played the groom role in ''[Blood Wedding](/source/Blood_Wedding_(play))'' at the [Young Vic](/source/Young_Vic), the first in a series of romantic leads, followed by [Rupert Goold](/source/Rupert_Goold)'s adaptation of ''End of the Affair'', [Jonathan Church](/source/Jonathan_Church)'s ''[Romeo and Juliet](/source/Romeo_and_Juliet)'' and [Bill Bryden](/source/Bill_Bryden)'s ''Three Sisters''. Britton was part of [Trevor Nunn](/source/Trevor_Nunn)'s ensemble company at the National Theatre in 1999, playing Thersites in ''[Troilus and Cressida](/source/Troilus_and_Cressida)'', Ryumin in [Maxim Gorky](/source/Maxim_Gorky)'s ''[Summerfolk](/source/Summerfolk)'', and Smooth in ''[Money](/source/Money_(play))''. Two seasons at the [Shakespeare's Globe](/source/Shakespeare's_Globe) for [Mark Rylance](/source/Mark_Rylance) followed, first playing Palamon in ''[The Two Noble Kinsmen](/source/The_Two_Noble_Kinsmen)'', and Caliban in ''[The Tempest](/source/The_Tempest)''. A year later he returned as ''Macbeth''. After [Simon Gray](/source/Simon_Gray)'s ''Japes'' for [Peter Hall](/source/Peter_Hall_(director)) at the [Haymarket Theatre](/source/Haymarket_Theatre) and [Alan Ayckbourn](/source/Alan_Ayckbourn)'s ''[Bedroom Farce](/source/Bedroom_Farce_(play))'' at the [Aldwych Theatre](/source/Aldwych_Theatre) came Britton's performance as Petruchio in ''[The Taming of the Shrew](/source/The_Taming_of_the_Shrew)'' and ''[The Tamer Tamed](/source/The_Tamer_Tamed)'' for [Gregory Doran](/source/Gregory_Doran) at the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Kennedy Centre in Washington, D.C. respectively, which transferred to the [Queen's Theatre](/source/Sondheim_Theatre) in London. In 2008, he played [John Gielgud](/source/John_Gielgud) in [Nicholas de Jongh](/source/Nicholas_de_Jongh)'s first play ''[Plague Over England](/source/Plague_Over_England)'', [Nansen](/source/Fridtjof_Nansen) in [Tony Harrison](/source/Tony_Harrison)'s ''[Fram](/source/Fram_(play))'' and [Creon](/source/Creon_of_Thebes) opposite [Ralph Fiennes](/source/Ralph_Fiennes) in ''[Oedipus the King](/source/Oedipus_Rex)'', the latter both at the National Theatre. In 2009, he played Elyot in ''[Private Lives](/source/Private_Lives)'' opposite [Claire Price](/source/Claire_Price) at [Hampstead Theatre](/source/Hampstead_Theatre), directed by Lucy Bailey. Most recently he played one third of Simon Gray's persona in ''The Last Cigarette'' at [Chichester Festival Theatre](/source/Chichester_Festival_Theatre) and the [Trafalgar Studios](/source/Trafalgar_Studios), with [Felicity Kendal](/source/Felicity_Kendal) and [Nicholas Le Prevost](/source/Nicholas_Le_Prevost); and Jack Lawson in [Mamet](/source/David_Mamet)'s ''[Race](/source/Race_(play))'' at the [Hampstead Theatre](/source/Hampstead_Theatre).{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} He played the title role Barabas in ''[The Jew of Malta](/source/The_Jew_of_Malta)'' production at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2015. He replaced [Nigel Lindsay](/source/Nigel_Lindsay) as Henry Bolingbroke when the RSC's 2013 production of ''[Richard II](/source/Richard_II_(play))'' was shown at the [Barbican Centre](/source/Barbican_Centre) as part of the King and Country Cycle, as well as reprising his role as the title character in ''Henry IV Parts I and II''. In 2017, he played Dr Rance in the [Leicester Curve](/source/Curve_(theatre)) production of ''[What the Butler Saw](/source/What_the_Butler_Saw_(play))''. In 2018, he played Johnny 'Rooster' Byron in the first revival of [Jez Butterworth](/source/Jez_Butterworth)'s ''[Jerusalem](/source/Jerusalem_(play))'' at the [Watermill Theatre, Newbury](/source/Watermill_Theatre). ===Film=== Britton played the Court Laureate in [Terrence Malick](/source/Terrence_Malick)'s ''[The New World](/source/The_New_World_(2005_film))'' alongside [Colin Farrell](/source/Colin_Farrell), [Jonathan Pryce](/source/Jonathan_Pryce) and [Christian Bale](/source/Christian_Bale). He donned bells and hankies to play Will Frosser, the foreman of the Millsham Morris Side in the film ''[Morris: A Life with Bells On](/source/Morris%3A_A_Life_with_Bells_On)''.{{cite web |url=https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/facilities/sil/books-and-archives/archives-rare-books/archives-info/jasper-britton-collection |title=The Jasper Britton collection |author= |website=birmingham.ac.uk |publisher=University of Birmingham |access-date=17 June 2024}} ===Television=== Britton's television credits include two series of ''[My Dad's the Prime Minister](/source/My_Dad's_the_Prime_Minister)'', and ''Brief Encounters: Semi-Detached'' for the BBC, as well as ''[Highlander: The Series](/source/Highlander%3A_The_Series)''. In 2006, he appeared in two TV films: as pirate William Howard in ''[Blackbeard](/source/Blackbeard_(2006_film))'' with [Mark Umbers](/source/Mark_Umbers) and [Stacy Keach](/source/Stacy_Keach), and alongside [Oliver Dimsdale](/source/Oliver_Dimsdale) and [Heathcote Williams](/source/Heathcote_Williams) as [Henry II](/source/Henry_II_of_France) in ''[Nostradamus](/source/Nostradamus_in_popular_culture)''.{{cite web |url=https://royalcourttheatre.com/cast/jasper-britton/ |title=Jasper Britton |author= |website=royalcourttheatre.com |publisher=Royal Court Theatre |access-date=17 June 2024}} == Filmography == === Film === {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !Year !Title !Role !class="unsortable" |Notes |- | 2005 | [''The New World''](/source/The_New_World_(2005_film)) | Laureate | |- | 2009 | ''[Morris: A Life with Bells On](/source/Morris%3A_A_Life_with_Bells_On)'' | Will Frosser | |- | 2011 | [''Anonymous''](/source/Anonymous_(2011_film)) | Pope | |- | 2012 | [''Blood''](/source/Blood_(2012_film)) | Daniel Heston | |- | rowspan="4"|2014 | ''Royal Shakespeare Company: Henry IV Part I'' | rowspan="2" |[Henry IV](/source/Henry_IV_of_England) | |- | ''Royal Shakespeare Company: Henry IV Part II'' | |- | ''[Night Will Fall](/source/Night_Will_Fall)'' | rowspan="2"|Narrator | rowspan="2"|Documentary |- | ''[German Concentration Camps Factual Survey](/source/German_Concentration_Camps_Factual_Survey)'' |- | 2015 | ''Rise of the Footsoldier Part II'' | Norton | |- | 2017 | ''What the Butler Saw.'' | Dr. Rance | Direct-to-video |- | 2019 | ''[Here Comes Hell](/source/Here_Comes_Hell)'' | The Host | |- |rowspan="2" |2023 |''[The Critic](/source/The_Critic_(2023_film))'' |Gideon Lambert |{{Cite web |title=The Critic |url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/the-critic/cast/2060155559/ |access-date=2025-07-12 |website=TVGuide.com |language=en}} |- |''[Hijack](/source/Hijack_(TV_series))'' |Terry Reid/Marcus Sutton | |} === Television === {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Title !Role !class="unsortable" |Notes |- | 1987 | ''[Ever Decreasing Circles](/source/Ever_Decreasing_Circles)'' | Football Supporter | Episode: "Relaxation" |- | rowspan="2"|1995 | ''[The Bill](/source/The_Bill)'' | Vernon | Episode: "Bad Pictures" |- | [''Casualty''](/source/Casualty_(TV_series)) | Graham Webster | Episode: "Castles in the Air" |- | 1996 | ''[Mike and Angelo](/source/Mike_and_Angelo)'' | [William Shakespeare](/source/William_Shakespeare) | Episode: "My Pal Puck" |- | rowspan="2"|1997 | [''Breakout''](/source/Breakout_(1997_film)) | Lenny Johnson | Television film |- | ''[Highlander: The Series](/source/Highlander%3A_The_Series)'' | Willie Kingsley | Episode: "Diplomatic Immunity" |- | 2000 | ''[Big Kids](/source/Big_Kids)'' | Ming | 3 episodes |- | rowspan="2"|2002 | [''The Cry''](/source/The_Cry_(2002_TV_series)) | Mark Billington | 4 episodes |- | [''Heartbeat''](/source/Heartbeat_(British_TV_series)) | Stanley Hodges | Episode: "A Many Splendoured Thing" |- | 2003 | [''Murder in Mind''](/source/Murder_in_Mind_(TV_series)) | George Blakeney | Episode: "Echoes" |- | 2003–2004 | ''[My Dad's the Prime Minister](/source/My_Dad's_the_Prime_Minister)'' | Duncan Packer | 13 episodes |- | rowspan="2"|2005 | ''[Midsomer Murders](/source/Midsomer_Murders)'' | Anselm Plummer | Episode: "Sauce for the Goose" |- | ''[Carrie & Barry](/source/Carrie_%26_Barry)'' | Policeman | Episode: "Banned Barry" |- | rowspan="4"|2006 | ''[The Royal](/source/The_Royal)'' | Paul Guthrie | Episode: "Thinking Too Hard" |- | ''Brief Encounters'' | Richard | Episode: "Semi-Detached" |- | ''Nostradamus'' | [Henry II of France](/source/Henry_II_of_France) | Television film |- | [''Blackbeard''](/source/Blackbeard_(miniseries)) | William Howard | 3 episodes |- | 2010 | ''[Garrow's Law](/source/Garrow's_Law)'' | Captain Colingwood | Episode #2.1 |- | 2023 | ''[Hijack](/source/Hijack_(TV_series))'' | Terry | 7 episodes |} === Other === {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !Year !Title !Role !class="unsortable" |Notes |- |rowspan="2"|2014 |Henry IV: Part I |King Henry IV |Royal Shakespeare Company{{Cite web |title=Production and rehearsal photos {{!}} Henry IV Part I {{!}} Royal Shakespeare Company |url=https://www.rsc.org.uk/henry-iv-part-i/past-productions/gregory-doran-2014-production/production-and-rehearsal-photos |access-date=2025-07-12 |website=www.rsc.org.uk |language=en-GB}} |- |Henry IV: Part II |King Henry IV |Royal Shakespeare Company{{Cite web |title=Rehearsal photos {{!}} Henry IV Part II {{!}} Royal Shakespeare Company |url=https://www.rsc.org.uk/henry-iv-part-ii/past-productions/gregory-doran-2014-production/rehearsal-photos |access-date=2025-07-12 |website=www.rsc.org.uk |language=en-GB}} |- |2023 |Hamlette |Gus |Podcast{{Cite web |title=Drama on 3 - Inspired by Hamlet: Hamlette - BBC Sounds |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001ryvq |access-date=2025-07-12 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en-GB}} |} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * {{IMDb name|0110192}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Britton, Jasper}} Category:1962 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Category:English male film actors Category:English male radio actors Category:English male Shakespearean actors Category:English male stage actors Category:English male television actors Category:English people of Danish descent Category:Male actors from London Category:People educated at Mill Hill School Category:People educated at Sussex House School Category:People from Chelsea, London Category:Royal Shakespeare Company members --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jasper Britton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasper_Britton) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasper_Britton?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.