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Will Keen

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Will Keen
Born
William Walter Maurice Keen

(1970-03-04) 4 March 1970 (age 54)
OccupationActor
Years active1993–present
Spouse
María Fernández Ache
(m. 2002)
ChildrenDafne Keen
Relatives

William Walter Maurice Keen (born 4 March 1970)[1][2] is an English stage, television, and film actor. He has worked in theatre and television in both the United Kingdom and Spain. He was a trustee of the James Menzies Kitchin Award, an award set up for young theatre directors in memory of the director with whom Keen collaborated early in his career.

Early life

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Keen was born in Oxford, the son of Charles William Lyle Keen and Lady Priscilla Mary Rose Curzon, daughter of Edward Curzon, 6th Earl Howe.[3] His sisters are the poet Alice Oswald and the author Laura Beatty.[4][5] He studied at Eton College and has a first class degree in English literature from the University of Oxford.

Career

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Some of his notable British theatre credits include Ghosts, Waste, Tom & Viv, Five Gold Rings, Patriots (Almeida Theatre), Huis Clos (Trafalgar Studios), Macbeth, The Changeling (Cheek by Jowl, Barbican and international tours), The Arsonists (Royal Court Theatre), Kiss of the Spider Woman (Donmar Warehouse), The Rubenstein Kiss (Hampstead Theatre), Hysteria, Don Juan, Man and Superman (Theatre Royal, Bath), Pericles, The Prince of Homburg (Lyric Hammersmith), The Duchess of Malfi, The Coast of Utopia, Mary Stuart, Hove (National Theatre), The Two Noble Kinsmen, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, Dido, Queen of Carthage (Shakespeare's Globe), The Seagull, Present Laughter, The Tempest (West Yorkshire Playhouse), and Quartermaine's Terms, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Elton John's Glasses (West End).[citation needed]

His television credits include Wolf Hall, The Musketeers, Midsomer Murders, Silk, Sherlock, The Impressionists, Wired, Casualty 1907, Elizabeth I, New Tricks, Titanic, Foyle's War, The Colour of Magic, and The Refugees. His film credits include Nine Lives of Tomas Katz and Love and Other Disasters.

In 2016, he played the role of the Queen's longtime Private Secretary, Michael Adeane, in the Netflix series The Crown. In 2019, he appeared in the BBC TV series His Dark Materials, based on the critically acclaimed book trilogy by Philip Pullman, as Father MacPhail (his daughter, Dafne, is the series' lead actress), whilst in 2021 he appeared as David Epstein in Ridley Road. In 2022, he played Vladimir Putin in the opening run of Peter Morgan's play Patriots, about the life of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, at the Almeida Theatre in London.[6]

In Spain, he has performed plays in Spanish, Traición (Betrayal) and Cuento de Invierno (The Winter's Tale) as well as directing Hamlet and Romeo y Julieta. In the musical field, he has recorded the "Seven Scenes from Hamlet" by the Spanish composer Benet Casablancas, in collaboration with the Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, conducted by José Ramón Encinar (Stradivarius, 2010).[citation needed]

Personal life

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He is married to Spanish actress, theatre director, and writer Maria Fernandez Ache with whom he has a daughter, Dafne Keen, who is also an actress.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2000 The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz Cuthbert
2006 Love and Other Disasters David Williams
2012 Love Song Garcin
2014 Ghosts Pastor Manders
2015 Victor Frankenstein Surgeon
2018 The Man Who Killed Don Quixote Producer
2021 Operation Mincemeat Salvador Gomez-Beare
2022 The Man from Rome Arzobispo Corvo Spanish: La piel del tambor
2023 Consecration John
Dead Shot Woodville

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1993 Between the Lines P.C. James Willetts Episode: "What's the Strength of This?"
1994 The Inspector Alleyn Mysteries Ludovic Episode: "Scales of Justice"
Martin Chuzzlewit Todgers' Lodger Episode: "Episode Two"
1996, 1997 The Bill Charlie Roberts / Justin Guthrie 2 episodes
2000 Monsignor Renard Jean-Paul Dufosse Episode #1.3
2004 Murphy's Law Anthony Brody Episode: "Convent"
When I'm 64 Doctor Television film
2005 Midsomer Murders Preaching Pete Kubatski Episode: "Second Sight"
Holby City Andy Brack Episode: "Patience"
Elizabeth I Francis Bacon 2 episodes
2006 The Impressionists Paul Cézanne 3 episodes
2008 The Colour of Magic Ganmack Treehallett Miniseries; 2 episodes
Casualty 1907 Dr. James Sequeira 4 episodes
New Tricks Ronnie Glazebrooke Episode: "Mad Dogs"
2010, 2015 Foyle's War Alan Deakin 2 episodes
2011 The Man Who Crossed Hitler Hans Frank Television film
Garrow's Law Fullerton Episode #3.3
2011, 2012 Silk Michael Connolly 3 episodes
2012 Titanic Chief Officer Wilde 4 episodes
2014 Sherlock Major Reed Episode: "The Sign of Three"
2014–2015 The Refugees Samuel 7 episodes
2015 The Musketeers Fernando Perales 4 episodes
Wolf Hall Thomas Cranmer 5 episodes
The Scandalous Lady W Mr. Bearcroft Television film
2016–2017 The Crown Michael Adeane 15 episodes
2018 Genius: Picasso Paul Rosenberg 2 episodes
2019 Deep State Marcus Hobbes 2 episodes
2019–2022 His Dark Materials Father MacPhail Main role
2020–2021 Tell Me Who I Am Albert James 9 episodes
2021 The Pursuit of Love Sir Leicester 2 episodes
Ridley Road David Epstein 4 episodes
Temple Ed 2 episodes
2023 The Gold Hugh Vincent QC Episode: "Vengeance Is Easy, Justice Is Hard"
2024 My Lady Jane Duke of Norfolk 4 episodes
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Belzagar Episode: "The Eagle and the Sceptre"
TBA Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light Thomas Cranmer Post-production
TBA Dope Girls Frederick Asquith-Gore Post-production

Stage

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Year Title Roles Notes
2022–2023 Patriots Vladimir Putin Almeida Theatre/Noël Coward Theatre

References

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  1. ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, Burke's Peerage, Ltd, 2003, p. 1987.
  2. ^ Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage, 148th edition, Debrett's Peerage Ltd, 2011, p. 799
  3. ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, Burke's Peerage, Ltd, 2003, p. 1987
  4. ^ Armitstead, Claire (22 July 2016). "Alice Oswald: 'I like the way that the death of one thing is the beginning of something else'". The Guardian.
  5. ^ Dehn, Georgia (10 October 2015). "Mary Keen interview: 'people have accused me of being too traditional'". The Telegraph.
  6. ^ "Patriots review – Peter Morgan's compelling study of Russian dissidence". The Guardian. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
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