Derek Jacobi

Sir Derek George Jacobi (; born 22 October 1938) is an English actor. Jacobi is known for his work at the Royal National Theatre and for his film and television roles. He has received numerous accolades including a BAFTA Award, two Olivier Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award. He was given a knighthood for his services to theatre by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994.

Jacobi started his professional acting career with Laurence Olivier as one of the founding members of the National Theatre. He has appeared in numerous Shakespearean stage productions including ''Hamlet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', ''Macbeth'', ''Twelfth Night'', ''The Tempest'', ''King Lear'', and ''Romeo and Juliet''. Jacobi received the Laurence Olivier Award, for the title role in ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' in 1983 and Malvolio in ''Twelfth Night'' in 2009. He also won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role as Benedick in ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in 1985.

Jacobi has also made numerous television appearances including starring as Claudius in the BBC series ''I, Claudius'' (1976), for which he won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. He received two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for ''The Tenth Man'' (1988), and Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for ''Frasier'' (2001). He is also known for his roles in the medieval drama series ''Cadfael'' (1994–1998), the HBO film ''The Gathering Storm'' (2002), the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who (2005) as an incarnation of The Master, the ITV sitcom ''Vicious'' (2013-2016) and in BBC's ''Last Tango in Halifax'' (2012–2020). He portrayed Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor, in the third season of the acclaimed Netflix series ''The Crown'' in 2019.

Though principally a stage actor, Jacobi has appeared in a number of films, including ''Othello'' (1965), ''The Day of the Jackal'' (1973), ''Henry V'' (1989), ''Dead Again'' (1991), ''Hamlet'' (1996), ''Nanny McPhee'' (2005), ''The Riddle'' (2007), ''My Week with Marilyn'' (2011), ''Anonymous'' (2011), ''Cinderella'' (2015), and ''Murder on the Orient Express'' (2017). Jacobi portrayed Senator Gracchus in Ridley Scott's ''Gladiator'' (2000), later reprising his role for its sequel, ''Gladiator II'' (2024). Jacobi has also earned two Screen Actors Guild Awards along with the ensemble cast for Robert Altman's ''Gosford Park'' (2001), and Tom Hooper's ''The King's Speech'' (2010). Provided by Wikipedia