Adrian Lester
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| Adrian Lester | |
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| Born | 14 August 1968 Birmingham, England |
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| Spouse(s) | Lolita Chakrabarti |
Adrian Lester (born 14 August 1968) is a British actor.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Personal life
Lester was born in Birmingham, England, the son of Jamaican immigrants Monica, a medical secretary, and Reginald, a manager for a contract cleaning company.[1][2][3] He began acting with the Birmingham Youth Theatre, attended Joseph Chamberlain VI Form College and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Lester is married to actress Lolita Chakrabarti. They live in South East London with their two daughters: both of whom were born in Lambeth, London: Lila Harvey Chakrabarti (born 2001) and Jasmine Harvey Chakrabarti (born 2004).
[edit] Career
Lester is known in the United Kingdom as the character of a big-time con artist Michael "Mickey Bricks" Stone in the first three series BBC TV series Hustle between 2004 and 2006. The character was written out of the fourth series and replaced by Ashley Walters, although he returned for the fifth series. In the United States, he played campaign manager Henry Burton in Mike Nichols's 1998 film Primary Colors, based on the novel by Anonymous (Joe Klein). His character is believed to represent George Stephanopoulos. This part earned him a Chicago Film Critics Association award nomination for "Most Promising Actor".
Lester appeared in Kenneth Branagh's Love's Labour's Lost, an adaptation of the William Shakespeare play, set in the 1930s. The film itself was poorly received, but Lester received a British Independent Film Awards nomination for his performance.
He has appeared on stage in the musical Company, for which he won an Olivier Award, in the title role of Hamlet(Carlton TV Theatre Award) and as Rosalind in Cheek by Jowl's 1991 production of As You Like It For which he won a Time Out Award. In 2003, Lester played Henry V in the Shakespeare play of the same name at the Royal National Theatre. Also, in The Day After Tomorrow, Lester has a minor role as Simon, one of the three researchers who drink a toast of "Twelve-year-old Scotch" shortly before freezing to death. Lester also appeared as Ellis in the hit sitcom Girlfriends from 2002 to 2003. He played a movie star who dated Tracee Ellis Ross' character, Joan.
In late 2005, Lester had a major guest starring role in Channel 4's hard hitting police drama, The Ghost Squad. Lester also filmed scenes for 2007's Spider-Man 3, as a research scientist who is sought after by the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) to find a cure for his ailing daughter. He was seen in one teaser trailer for the movie; however, his scenes were cut from the final theatrical version.
Also in 2007 Lester took part in Empire's Children for Channel 4. A Documentary exploring the journey taken by the actor's Grandfather, Kenneth Nathaniel Lester, part of the Windrush Generation, as he journeyed to the UK. Lester's Grandfather was unwell during filming in Jamaica and could not be interviewed. He died soon after the documentary completed filming. Kenneth Lester never saw the program aired.
In 2008, Adrian Lester starred in the BBC drama Bonekickers, a program focusing on a team of archaeologists. 2009 saw him return as Mickey Stone in Hustle. He will play the character named Myror in the British television drama Merlin.
[edit] Filmography
- Merlin (2009)
- Case 39 (2009)
- Sleep With Me (2009)
- Bonekickers (2008)
- Doomsday (2008)
- Being Human (2008) - appeared as Herrick in the pilot episode, but was replaced by Jason Watkins for the 2009 series.
- Case 39 (2007)
- Starting Out in the Evening (2007)
- Scenes of a Sexual Nature (2006)
- As You Like It (2006)
- Hustle (2004-2006, 2009-) as Mickey
- The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
- The Final Curtain (2002)
- The Tragedy of Hamlet (2002)
- Dust (2001)
- Born Romantic (2000)
- Maybe Baby (2000)
- Jason and the Argonauts (2000)
- Best (2000)
- Love's Labour's Lost (2000)
- Storm Damage (1999)
- Primary Colours (1998)
- Les Soeurs Soleil (1997)
- Up On the Roof (1997)
- Company (1996)
- The Affair (1995)
- Touch and Die (1991)
[edit] References
- ^ "Touch of Color takes Brum star Adrian to Hollywood.". Sunday Mercury. 1998-10-11. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60742360.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
- ^ MacDonald, Marianne (2006-02-03). "The player; Not only is Adrian Lester the National Theatre's Henry V, he's also the chief con man in Hustle. It's a sparkling career forged on a penniless childhood with an absent father and a struggling mother. Marianne Macdonald meets a man driven to succeed.". The Evening Standard. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-141647359.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
- ^ Leitch, Luke (2002-08-16). "NATIONAL'S NEW CHIEF CATS BLACK ACTOR AS HENRY V.". The Evening Standard. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-90433843.html. Retrieved on 2007-12-10.
