Anton Lesser


Anton Lesser is a British actor. He is known for his roles as Qyburn in the HBO series Game of Thrones, Harold Macmillan in The Crown, Clement Attlee in A United Kingdom, Chief Superintendent Bright in Endeavour, and Major Lio Partagaz in Andor. An associate of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he has performed numerous Shakespearean roles on stage and television.

Early life and education

Anton Lesser was born in Birmingham on 14 February 1952, the son of David Lesser and his wife Amelia Cohen. He is from a Jewish background.
He was educated at Moseley Grammar School and at the University of Liverpool, where he earned a degree in architecture in 1973.
Lesser went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1974 until 1976, and on graduation in 1977 was awarded the Bancroft Gold Medal as the most promising actor of his year. His final performance there was as Gethin Price in Comedians by Trevor Griffiths.

Career

Lesser was spotted in The Comedians and offered a contract by the casting director for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
As an associate artist with the RSC, Lesser played many of Shakespeare's great roles. In the BBC Television Shakespeare productions, he was Troilus, Edgar, and Feste. On stage, he has portrayed Romeo, Prince Hamlet, Brutus, Petruchio, Richard III, and others.
When he moved to London, the reviews were less flattering than he had become accustomed to at the RSC. However, he continued to win roles on stage, including as Stanley in Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party, Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, Rover in Wild Oats and Brutus in Deborah Warner's Julius Caesar in 2005.
Lesser is a frequent radio contributor and played the title role in the BBC Radio adaptations of the first five Marcus Didius Falco mysteries by Lindsey Davis. He has also recorded many audiobooks, including much of the work of Charles Dickens. Lesser's recording of Great Expectations won him a Talkie Award. Other books range from John Milton's Paradise Lost, Homer and Rumi to contemporary novels by Robert Harris and Philip Pullman. For two months in 2013, Lesser was a regular cast member playing Robin Carrow in Ambridge Extra, a BBC Radio 4 Extra spin-off from the BBC Radio 4 drama The Archers.
In 2013, during the third season of the HBO Max series Game of Thrones, Lesser began playing the recurring role of Qyburn, an enigmatic mad scientist who served as part of the retinue of Cersei Lannister. Qyburn, and Lesser's portrayal of him, were popular with fans, particularly as the series went on and the character appeared more frequently and had greater influence over the narrative. The Ringer described him as "the last curious man in Westeros" and noted that the character "refuses to seem like a MacGuffin, despite totally being one." The character returned across the remainder of the series run until the penultimate episode in 2019; Qyburn was one of the characters who perished in the episode, which led to many fans producing memes about his abrupt death.
From 2013, Lesser also played Chief Superintendent Bright in the TV series Endeavour.
Lesser portrayed Thomas More in the BBC mini-series Wolf Hall, and received a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.
In 2022, Lesser played Major Lio Partagaz, a supporting antagonist in the Star Wars spinoff Andor. His performance of Partagaz, a ranking member of the Empire's intelligence agency, the Imperial Security Bureau, was noted by critics. Digital Spy commented that Lesser delivered dialogue on Imperial bureaucracy with "powerful coolness."
In July 2025, it was announced that he would play the role of Garrick Olivander in the upcoming Harry Potter TV series.

Other activities

In 2015, Lesser became a public supporter of Chapel Lane Theatre Company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Personal life

Lesser's daughter Lily Lesser is also an actor.

Acting credits

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1982The MissionaryYoung Man
1985The Assam GardenMr Sutton
1997FairyTale: A True StoryWounded Corporal
2000Esther KahnSean
2001Charlotte GrayMonsieur Renech
2003Imagining ArgentinaGeneral Guzmán
2003Y MabinogiTeyrnonVoice role
2005River QueenMajor Baine
2006Miss PotterHarold Warne
2011Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger TidesLord John Carteret
2011The LadyProfessor Finnis
2011FlutterBruno
2012The ScapegoatFather McReady
2014Closer to the MoonComrade Holban
2016A United KingdomPrime Minister Attlee
2016AlliedEmmanuel Lombard
2016The ExceptionGeneral Falkenberg
2017On Chesil BeachReverend Woollett
2017DisobedienceRav Krushka
2020The CourierBertrand
2020KindredDr Richards
2021BenedictionStephen Tennant
2025The World Will Tremble

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1981'TrofimovTelevision film
1982Crown CourtJohn Peat3 episodes
1983Good and Bad at GamesCoxTelevision film
1984SakharovValery ChalidzeTelevision film
1984FreudWilhelm FliessMiniseries, 5 episodes
1985Anna of the Five TownsWillie PriceMiniseries, 3 episodes
1987Great PerformancesRobberEpisode: "Monsignor Quixote"
1988Twelfth Night, or What You WillFesteTelevision film
1988Screen TwoStanley SpencerEpisode: "Stanley"
1988'VincenzoEpisode: "Airbase"
1989Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal StoryKarlTelevision film
1990ScreenPlayRobert CecilEpisode: "Traitors"
1991'Gustav LeviMiniseries, 8 episodes
1994GuinevereEnvoyTelevision film
1994Shakespeare: The Animated TalesLeontesVoice role, 1 episode: "The Winter's Tale"
1995'Mark HollisterMiniseries, 3 episodes
1995BugsPatrick MarcelEpisode: "Pulse"
1995MosesEliavMiniseries, 2 episodes
1996SharmanGalileeEpisode: "Pretend We're Dead"
1996Testament: The Bible in AnimationJosephVoice role, 1 episode: "Joseph"
1996'Ezra JenningsTelevision film
1997BodyguardsDusan MesicEpisode: "A Choice of Evils"
1998Invasion: EarthLt Charles TerrellMiniseries, 4 episodes
1998Vanity FairMr Pitt CrawleyMiniseries, 5 episodes
2000'King HerodVoice role, television film
2000'Antoine PicardEpisode: "Friends & Enemies"
2000Lorna DooneCounsellor DooneTelevision film
2001Perfect StrangersStephenMiniseries, 3 episodes
2001Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock HolmesMilburnMiniseries, 1 episode: "The White Knight Stratagem"
2001UprisingNathan LenskyTelevision film
2001Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real StoryVidas Merlinis - Research ScientistMiniseries, 2 episodes
2002Animated Tales of the WorldThe Flower of FernVoice role, 1 episode: "Flower of Fern, a Tale from Poland"
2002DickensCharles DickensMiniseries, 3 episodes
2002Sir Gawain and the Green KnightBertilak - Green KnightVoice role, television film
2002Waking the DeadProfessor Ray LevinEpisode: "Special Relationship"
2002'Stanley HallMiniseries, 2 episodes
2002Foyle's WarAustin CarmichaelEpisode: "Eagle Day"
2003EroicaSukowatyTelevision film
2003Midsomer MurdersEddie DarwinEpisode: "Birds of Prey"
2003Danielle Cable: EyewitnessHenry BattenTelevision film
2004Silent WitnessMarcus GwilymEpisode: "Death by Water"
2004Dirty Filthy LoveCharlesTelevision film
2004SpooksNicholas AshworthEpisode: "A Prayer for My Daughter"
2005Ahead of the ClassGraham RangerTelevision film
2005'GeorgeTelevision film
2005Class of '76Martin GibsonMiniseries, 2 episodes
2005NovaVoltaireEpisode: "E=mc²: Einstein's Big Idea"
2006Dalziel and PascoePaul GoodmanEpisode: "Guardian Angel"
2006Vital SignsDr. Lindsay4 episodes
2006New TricksPete MackintyreEpisode: "Bank Robbery"
2006'Dennis PriorEpisode: "Endangered Species"
2008Midsomer MurdersReverend Wallace StoneEpisode: "Talking to the Dead"
2008'Archbishop of Canterbury2 episodes
2008Agatha Christie's PoirotInspector KelseyEpisode: "Cat Among the Pigeons"
2008Einstein and EddingtonFritz HaberTelevision film
2008Little DorritMr. Merdle9 episodes
2009Casualty 1909Dr. Henry Head4 episodes
2010Holby CitySol CaplinEpisode: "Faith No More"
2010Five DaughtersDr. Nat CaryMiniseries, 2 episodes
2010Garrow's LawJohn Farmer4 episodes
2011PrimevalGideonRecurring role, 6 episodes
2011'Clarence FendleyMain role, 5 episodes
2011'Rudolf OldenTelevision film
2012Secret StateSir Michael RixMiniseries, 2 episodes
2012–2016'Duke of Exeter4 episodes
2013Spies of WarsawDoctor LappMiniseries, 4 episodes
2013Mad DogsAlex1 episode
2013Ripper StreetDr. Karl Crabbe2 episodes
2013'Richard Mayfield, QCMiniseries, 3 episodes
2013AtlantisKyrosEpisode: "Pandora's Box"
2013–2019Game of ThronesQyburnRecurring role, 22 episodes
2013–2023EndeavourChief Superintendent / ACC Reginald BrightMain role, 35 episodes
2014Father BrownFather IgnatiusEpisode: "The Mysteries of the Rosary"
2014'Émile De MauvoisinEpisode: "The Homecoming"
2014'CMiniseries, 1 episode
2015Wolf HallThomas MoreMiniseries, 4 episodes
2015Life in SquaresDr. HyslopMiniseries, 2 episodes
2015–2016DickensianFaginMain role, 15 episodes
2016Hooten & the LadyHerculesMiniseries, 1 episode: "Moscow"
2017WillWalsinghamEpisode: "The Play's the Thing"
2017'Harold MacmillanMain role, 8 episodes
2019–2020'Michael EddowesMiniseries, 6 episodes
2021'Rabbi Loew1 episode
2022Killing EveRobertEpisode: "Making Dead Things Look Nice"
20221899Henry Singleton8 episodes
2022–2025AndorMajor Lio Partagaz14 episodes
2023BetterVernon Marley4 episodes
2024Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the LightThomas More2 episodes
2027Harry PotterGarrick OllivanderUpcoming series

Theatre