Simon Callow facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Simon Callow CBE
Callow in 2009
Born	Simon Phillip Hugh Callow (1949-06-15) 15 June 1949 (age 76) Streatham, London, England
Occupation	Actor director author musician singer
Years active	1973–present
Spouse(s)	Sebastian Fox ​ (m. 2016)​

Simon Callow (born June 15, 1949) is a famous English actor, director, and writer. He is known for playing many different kinds of characters in plays, movies, and TV shows. He has won several awards, including an Olivier Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 1999, Queen Elizabeth II made him a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his great work in acting.

Simon Callow became well-known for playing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the play Amadeus in 1979. He also appeared in the 1984 movie version of Amadeus, playing a different role. He won an Olivier Award for directing the musical Carmen Jones in 1992. People loved his funny roles in movies like A Room with a View (1985) and Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). He was even nominated for a BAFTA Award for these roles. Other famous movies he appeared in include Maurice (1987), Howards End (1992), Shakespeare in Love (1998), and The Phantom of the Opera (2004).

On TV, he played Tom Chance in the series Chance in a Million (1984) and the Duke of Sandringham in Outlander (2014–2016). He also played famous historical figures like Napoleon and Charles Dickens in various TV shows. You might have seen him in popular series such as Midsomer Murders, Rome, Doctor Who, and The Witcher.

Early Life and Education

Simon Callow was born in Streatham, London, on June 15, 1949. His mother, Yvonne Mary, was a secretary, and his father, Neil Francis Callow, was a businessman. His family background includes French, Danish, and German roots. He grew up as a Roman Catholic.

He went to the London Oratory School and then studied at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland. While there, he was involved in the civil rights movement. However, he decided to leave his university course to train as an actor at the Drama Centre London.

Acting Career

Simon Callow's journey into acting began when he wrote a fan letter to Sir Laurence Olivier, a very famous actor and director. Olivier was in charge of the National Theatre at the time. Olivier suggested Simon join the theatre's box office staff. While working there and watching actors rehearse, Simon realized he wanted to be on stage himself.

He made his first stage appearance in 1973 in a play called The Three Estates in Edinburgh. In the 1970s, he joined a theatre group called Gay Sweatshop. He also played Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the first-ever performance of Amadeus at the National Theatre in 1979. He later said that he already loved Mozart's music, which helped him get the role.

Simon Callow has appeared in many plays, including Total Eclipse (1982), The Relapse (1983), and Faust (1988). He also directed plays like The Infernal Machine (1986). In 2005, he played Count Fosco in the musical The Woman in White in London's West End.

In 2016, he starred in the comedy series The Rebel on the Gold TV channel. In 2022, he joined the cast of the musical Anything Goes for a UK tour and performances at the Barbican Centre.

He has also performed special shows, like "There Reigns Love" at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Canada in 2008, where he recited William Shakespeare's sonnets. He also performed "Dr. Marigold" and "Mr. Chops" by Charles Dickens at the Edinburgh Festival.

From 2009 to 2010, he played Pozzo in a famous play called Waiting for Godot, alongside actors Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart. In 2010, he started a one-man play called Shakespeare: the Man from Stratford, which later became Being Shakespeare. He performed this play in London, New York City, and Chicago.

In December 2022, Simon Callow appeared in the Christmas special of the BBC comedy Inside No. 9, called "The Bones of St Nicholas".

Film Roles

Simon Callow made his first movie appearance in 1984 in Amadeus. The next year, he was in A Room with a View. His roles in movies like Four Weddings and a Funeral helped him become known to a wider audience. He also played Pliny the Elder in the children's TV series Roman Mysteries in 2007. More recently, he played Armand Duquesne in Marvel's Hawkeye on Disney+.

Directing and Writing

Besides acting, Simon Callow has directed many plays and operas. He directed My Fair Lady in 1992 and a stage version of the French film Les Enfants du Paradis for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1995. He has also directed operas like Così fan tutte and Die Fledermaus.

He has written several books, including Being An Actor (1984), which talks about his early acting career. One of his well-known books is Love Is Where It Falls, which is about his long relationship with a theatre agent named Peggy Ramsay.

Simon Callow has a special interest in Charles Dickens, a famous writer. He has played Dickens many times, including in a one-man show, in films like Christmas Carol: The Movie, and on TV shows like Doctor Who.

Narration Work

Simon Callow has also lent his voice to many audiobooks. He read The Twits and The Witches for the Puffin Roald Dahl Audio Books Collection. He has also narrated several P.G. Wodehouse books featuring the character Jeeves. In 2009, he narrated "Mini Stories," a music recording with poetry.

Personal Life

Simon Callow has openly shared details about his personal life in his books. He married Sebastian Fox in June 2016.

He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1999 for his services to acting.

Filmography

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Movies

Simon Callow's film credits with year of release, film titles and roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Amadeus	Emanuel Schikaneder / Papageno	Callow created the role of Mozart in the premiere stage production
1985	The Good Father	Mark Varda
	A Room with a View	The Reverend Mr. Beebe	Nominated – BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting role
1987	Maurice	Mr. Ducie
1988	Manifesto	Police Chief Hunt
1990	Postcards from the Edge	Simon Asquith
	Mr. & Mrs. Bridge	Dr. Alex Sauer
1991	The Ballad of the Sad Cafe	N/A	Director Nominated – Golden Berlin Bear
1992	Howards End	Music and Meaning Lecturer	Cameo
	Soft Top Hard Shoulder	Eddie Cherdowski
1994	Four Weddings and a Funeral	Gareth	Nominated – BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
	Street Fighter	A.N. Official
1995	England, My England	Charles II
	Jefferson in Paris	Richard Cosway	Fifth Merchant-Ivory film
	Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls	Vincent Cadby
1996	James and the Giant Peach	Mr. Grasshopper	Voice role
1996	Victory	Zangiacomo
1998	The Scarlet Tunic	Captain Fairfax
	Bedrooms and Hallways	Keith
	Shakespeare in Love	Sir Edmund Tilney	Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1999	Around the World in 80 Days	Phileas Fogg	Voice role
	Junk	N/A
	Notting Hill	Himself	Uncredited film-within-a-film role
2001	No Man's Land	Colonel Soft
	Christmas Carol: The Movie	Ebenezer Scrooge	Voice role
2002	Thunderpants	Sir John Osgood
	Merci Docteur Rey	Bob
2003	Bright Young Things	King of Anatolia
2004	George and the Dragon	King Edgar
	The Phantom of the Opera	Andre
2005	Rag Tale	Fat Boy Rourke
	The Civilization of Maxwell Bright	Mr. Wroth
	Bob the Butler	Mr. Butler
2006	Sabina	Eugene Bleuler
2007	Chemical Wedding	Professor Haddo / Aleister Crowley
	Arn - The Knight Templar	Father Henry
2011	No Ordinary Trifle	Guy Witherspoon
2012	Acts of Godfrey	Godfrey
2014	Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles	Himself
2016	Golden Years	Royston
	Viceroy's House	Cyril Radcliffe
2017	Hampstead	The Judge
	Victoria & Abdul	Giacomo Puccini
	The Man Who Invented Christmas	John Leech
2018	Blue Iguana	Uncle Martin
2021	The Amazing Mr. Blunden	Mr. Blunden
2022	Surprised by Oxford	Dr. Sterling
2022	The Pay Day	Gates
2023	Doctor Jekyll	Journalist
2024	Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2	Mark Cavendish
TBA	Eternal Return	Malcolm	Post-production

Television Roles

Images for kids

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  Simon Callow in 2009

See Also

In Spanish: Simon Callow para niños