Simon Callow

Simon Callow is a revolutionary actor, whose first taste of the theatre came from behind the Box Office at the National Theatre. After sending a fan letter to Sir Laurence Olivier, Simon was given the role that changed his life. Whilst selling tickets Simon watched the actors perform, and thus his passion began. At present, Simon is not just a successful actor but is the Patron of Michael Chekhov Studio London and London Oratory School Scholarship.

In 1973, Simon had his first debut opportunity, when he performed in The Thrie Estates at the Assembly Hall Theatre, Edinburgh. No more than two years later, he worked with the Gay Sweatshop Theatre Company to bring Martin Sherman’s critically acclaimed show, Passing By, to life. Simon went on to perform in The Plumber’s Progress in the West End and Snoo Wilson’s The Soul of the White Ant at The Bush Theatre. After joining the Joint Stock Theatre in 1977, Simon acted in Mary Barnes at the Royal Court, played the title roles in Titus Andronicus at the Bristol Old Vic and Arturo Ui at the Half Moon Theatre. As well as prospering on stage, Simon also took part in the 2004 Comic Relief episode of Little Britain. Due to his extensive contribution to the stage, Simon was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1999.

Notable recent acting work has included his performance as Count Fosco, the villain of Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White, both in film and on stage; as Pozzo in Beckett’s Waiting for Godot opposite Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Patrick Stewart and Ronald Pickup; and as the psychiatrist in Chichester Festival Theatre‘s production of Peter Shaffer’s Equus. Earlier this year, he appeared in Matthew Hurt’s one-man play, The Man Jesus, at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.

Simon has an active voice for LGBT+ rights and consistently celebrates his part in the gay community. As one of the first actors to publicly declare his homosexuality, through his 1984 novel Being an Actor, Simon hosted the London Gay Men’s Chorus Christmas Show and Make the Yuletide Gay at the Barbican Centre in London. Due to his continued advocacy for equal rights, Simon was listed in The Independent's 2007 "most influential gay men and women in the UK".