Rupert Graves (born 30 June 1963) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. He is known for his roles in A Room with a View, Maurice, The Madness of King George, and The Forsyte Saga. From 2010 to 2017 he starred as DI Lestrade in the BBC television series Sherlock.
Early life and education
Rupert Graves was born in Weston-super-Mare in Somerset, England, to Mary Lousilla (née Roberts) Graves, a travel co-ordinator, and Richard Harding Graves, a music teacher and musician.
Graves was educated at Wyvern Community School.
Career
Graves's first job after leaving school was as a circus clown. He has appeared in more than 25 films and more than 35 television productions. He has also appeared on stage.
He first came to prominence in costume-drama adaptations of E. M. Forster's novels A Room with a View (1985) and Maurice (1987), before appearing in films including A Handful of Dust (1988), The Madness of King George (1994), Different for Girls (1996), and Intimate Relations (1996).
His role in Intimate Relations won him the Best Actor award at the 1996 Montreal World Film Festival. He was also acclaimed for his portrayal of Young Jolyon Forsyte in the television miniseries The Forsyte Saga (2002).
In addition to his screen work, Graves has won acclaim for his stage acting, including roles in Broadway productions, in New York City, of the plays Closer (2000) and The Elephant Man (2002). His notable London theatre credits include his performance as Presley Stray in the original production of Philip Ridley's The Pitchfork Disney (1991) at the Bush Theatre, west London, which won him Best Actor at the 1991 Charrington London Fringe Awards; in Martin Sherman's A Madhouse in Goa (1989) opposite Vanessa Redgrave; and as Eddie in the Peter Hall Company's production of David Rabe's Hurlyburly (1997–98) at the Old Vic and Queen's Theatre, for which he was nominated for the 1998 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor.
Personal life
In 1987, Graves met Yvonne, a stained glass artist. They lived together in London, and he helped raise her two daughters. The couple were together for 13 years.
He later married Australian-born production co-ordinator Susie Lewis.
| James Lavender
| Series 1 episode 1
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| rowspan="6" | 2012
| Putin, Russia & The West
| Narrator
| 4 episodes
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| Terror at Sea: The Sinking of the Concordia
| Narrator
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| The Hunt for bin Laden
| Narrator
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|Air Force One Is Down
| Arkady Dragutin
| 2 Episodes
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| Doctor Who
| Riddell
| Series 7, Episode 2: "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship"
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| Secret State
| Felix Durrell
| 4 episodes
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| 2013
| The White Queen
| Lord Stanley
| 6 episodes
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| rowspan="4" | 2014
| Turks & Caicos
| Stirling Rogers
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| Salting the Battlefield
| Stirling Rogers
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| The Crimson Field
| Maj. Edward Crecy
| Episode 2
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| Last Tango in Halifax
| Gary
| Series 3
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| 2015
| Valentine's Kiss
| Nicholas Whiteley
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|-
| rowspan="2" | 2016
| The Nightmare Worlds of H. G. Wells
| Hapley
|Episode: "The Moth"
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| The Family
| John Warren
|
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| 2017
| 12 Monkeys
| Sebastian
| Series 3, Episode 8
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| 2018
| Krypton
| Ter-El
| Episode: "Pilot"
|-
| 2019
| The War of the Worlds
| Frederick
| 2 episodes
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| 2020
| Riviera
| Gabriel Hirsch
| 8 episodes
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| 2021
| McDonald & Dodds
| Gordon Elmwood
| Episode: "The Man Who Wasn't There
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| 2022
| Doc Martin
|Arthur Collins
|Episode: "Our Last Summer"
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| 2023
| The Burning Girls
| Simon Harper
| Main role
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| rowspan="2" | 2025
| Surface
|Henry Huntley
|7 episodes
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| Washington Black
| Mr. Goff
| Main role
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|2026
|Missed Call
|Jason Bradley
|Main role
|}
Theatre
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1983
| The Killing Of Mr. Toad by David Gooderson
| Alistair Graham, Mr. Toad
| The King's Head Theatre, London, director David Gooderson
|-
| 1983, 1984
| Sufficient Carbohydrate by Dennis Potter
| Clayton Vosper
| Hampstead Theatre and Albery Theatre, London, director Nancy Meckler
|-
| 1985
| Torch Song Trilogy (Part 2: 'Fugue in a Nursery') by Harvey Fierstein
| Alan
| Albery Theatre, London, director Robert Allan Ackerman
|-
| 1986
| Amadeus by Peter Shaffer
| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
| Theatr Clwyd, director Simon Callow
|-
| 1987
| The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
| Algernon Moncrieff
| Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, director Clare Venables
|-
| 1986–87
| Candida by George Bernard Shaw
| Marchbanks
| The King's Head Theatre, London, director Frank Hauser (director)
|-
| 1988
| Tis Pity She's a Whore by John Ford (dramatist)
| Giovanni
| Royal National Theatre (Olivier), London, director Alan Ayckbourn
|-
| 1989
| The History of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding, adapted by Andrew Wickes
| Tom Jones
| Watford Palace Theatre, director Matthew Francis
|-
| 1989
| A Madhouse in Goa by Martin Sherman
| David, Barnaby Grace
| Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith) and Apollo Theatre, London, director Robert Allan Ackerman
|-
| 1991
| The Pitchfork Disney by Philip Ridley
| Presley Stray
| Bush Theatre, London, director Matthew Lloyd
|-
| 1992
| A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
| Lysander
| Royal National Theatre (Olivier), London, director Robert Lepage
|-
| 1994
| Toyer by Gardner McKay
| Peter Matson
| Redgrave Theatre, Farnham, director Wyn Jones
|-
| 1995
| Design for Living by Noël Coward
| Otto
| Gielgud Theatre, London, director Sean Mathias
|-
| 1996
| Les Enfants du Paradis by Jacques Prévert, adapted by Simon Callow
| Baptiste
| Barbican Theatre|Barbican Centre, London, director Simon Callow
|-
| 1997, 1998
| Hurlyburly by David Rabe
| Eddie
|Peter Hall Company at the Old Vic and Queen's Theatre, London, director Wilson Milam
|-
| 1998
| The Iceman Cometh by Eugene O'Neill
| Don Parrit
| Almeida Theatre, London, director Howard Davies (director)
|-
| 1999
| Closer by Patrick Marber
| Dan
| Music Box Theater, Broadway, director Patrick Marber
|-
| 2000, 2000–01
| The Caretaker by Harold Pinter
| Mick
| Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, and Comedy Theatre, London, director Patrick Marber
|-
| 2001
| Speak Truth To Power: Voices From Beyond The Dark by Ariel Dorfman
| Third Voice
| Playhouse Theatre, London, director Gari Jones
|-
| 2002
| The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance
| Dr. Frederick Treves
| Royale Theatre, Broadway, director Sean Mathias
|-
| 2003
| A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde
| Lord Illingworth
| Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, director Adrian Noble
|-
| 2004
| Dumb Show by Joe Penhall
| Greg
| Royal Court Theatre, London, director Terry Johnson (dramatist)
|-
| 2006
| The Exonerated by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen
| Kerry
| Riverside Studios, London, director Bob Balaban
|-
| 2018
| Pinter Five – The Room/Victoria Station/Family Voices by Harold Pinter
| Bert Hudd/Driver/Voice Three
| Harold Pinter Theatre, London, director Patrick Marber
|} and primary archive sources.