Rufus Sewell

MARK EASTERBROOK, suave and sophisticated, Mark has everything a man could dream of: wealth, a beautiful home and an elegant, charming wife. Yet underneath the beautifully cut suits and the world class haircuts lies a deep and terrible grief that threatens to overwhelm him.

On being asked about his role in The Pale Horse, Rufus Sewell said: “I’ve always loved watching Agatha Christies. What appealed to me about this script and this character was that the veneer of sophistication, of class and luxury is only possible if it’s supported by a vicious, brutal underbelly. That’s what keeps it all nice.”

Rufus Sewell has recently wrapped on Florian Zeller’s feature, The Father, alongside Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman. He also recently completed four seasons of the hugely successful Amazon show The Man In The High Castle produced by Scott Free Television. He has also featured in the second season of Amy Sherman-Palladino’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, for Amazon, in which he’s received a 2019 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

He’s recently be seen in Rupert Goold’s feature, Judy, starring Renee Zellweger for BBC Films. Rufus received critical acclaim for his performance as ‘Lord Melbourne’ in Victoria for PBS and ITV. The Times said, "Rufus gives every word a kind, weary tenderness that is irresistible. Rufus has only to lift one of his eyebrows to have the nation's women reaching for their smelling salts."

Sewell first gained attention on screen for his performance as ‘Will Ladislaw’ in the BBC adaptation of Middlemarch. He received further acclaim in Christopher Hampton's feature film Carrington, opposite Emma Thompson and Jonathan Pryce, as well as in John Schlesinger's Cold Comfort Farm.

Sewell’s other screen work includes Hercules opposite John Hurt and Dwayne Johnson, directed by Brett Ratner; Hotel Noir directed by Sebastian Gutierrez; Timur Bekmambetov's Abraham Lincoln: The Vampire Hunter; Fabrice du Welz's Vinyan; Johan Renck's Downloading Nancy; Neil Burger's The Illusionist; Wes Craven’s Paris Je T’aime; Nancy Meyer's The Holiday opposite Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Cameron Diaz; Martin Campbell's The Legend Of Zorro; Kevin Reynold's Tristan & Isolde; Brian Helgeland's A Knight’s Tale; Alex Proyas' Dark City; Marshall Herskovitz's Dangerous Beauty; Illuminata directed by and co-starring John Turturro; Nick Hamm's The Very Thought of You; Chuck Russell's Bless The Child; Mark Peploe's Victory; Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet; Phil Agland's The Woodlanders; and Suri Krishnamma's A Man of No Importance.

Sewell’s television work includes the role of ‘Petruchio’ in the BBC production of The Taming of The Shrew, for which he received a BAFTA Best Actor nomination, and lead roles in Killing Jesus (History Channel); Zen (Left Bank Pictures/BBC); Pillars of the Earth (Starz/Channel 4); Eleventh Hour (produced by Jerry Bruckheimer); John Adams (HBO); Charles II, directed by Joe Wright (BBC); and Restless directed by Edward Hall.

On stage, Sewell was most recently in Art at the Old Vic, directed by Matthew Warchus. The Guardian said, “Rufus Sewell brings his charismatic presence to the role of Serge”, and The Financial Times added that, "Rufus Sewell is handsome, smooth and charming as Serge". He made his West End debut as 'Thomas Kratsky,' in Making It Better, which garnered him the London Critics Circles' Best Newcomer Award, and the following year he played 'Septimus Hodge' in the original production of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia at the National Theatre, for which he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at The Olivier Awards. In 2009, Sewell played ‘Jan’ in another Stoppard play, Rock n’ Roll at The Royal Court and the Ambassadors Theatre, where he won the Best Actor award at the Evening Standard, London Critics’ Circle and Olivier Awards, and then on Broadway, for which he received nominations for Best Actor nomination at the Tony Awards and Drama Desk Awards. Other theatre credits include the Broadway revival of Brian Friel's Translations; Rat In the Skull, directed by Stephen Daldry at The Royal Court; Macbeth, directed by John Crowley; Luther, directed by Peter Gill at the National Theatre; and of course a highly-lauded run on the West End in Pinter's Old Times, opposite Kristen Scott Thomas and directed by Ian Rickson.