Lloyd Owen

Marcus Richard Lloyd Owen (born 14 April 1966) is a British actor. Despite being born in London, he considers himself Welsh due to both his parents being from Wales and only having moved to London for purposes of professional progression. Trained at the National Youth Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, he is known for portraying Indiana Jones's father Professor Dr. Henry Jones Sr. in George Lucas's The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles between 1992 and 1993 and Paul Bowman-MacDonald in the BBC Scotland series Monarch of the Glen from 2002 to 2005. He starred as solicitor William Heelis in the film Miss Potter (2006) and commander Nathan Walker in Apollo 18 (2011). He plays the role of Elendil in the Amazon Prime fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022–present).

Lloyd Owen
Owen at LotR-TRoP Premiere 2022
Born	Marcus Richard Lloyd Owen (1966-04-14) 14 April 1966 (age 58) Charing Cross, London, England
Alma mater	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1987–present
Spouse	Juliette Mole
Children	2
Father	Glyn Owen

Early life

Owen was born on 14 April 1966 at the Charing Cross Hospital in Westminster, London.^[1] He was brought up in London, although both of his parents were Welsh – his father, actor Glyn Owen (1928–2004), was from Caernarfon, Gwynedd, while his mother, actress Patricia Mort, was from Morriston in Swansea. Owen considers himself Welsh.^[2] His sister is the actress Cathy Owen (b. 1968).

Owen said he grew up around "a mob of entertaining, troublesome, fascinating" actors involved in challenging the Lord Chamberlain during some of the most exciting days of a very controversial Royal Court Theatre.^[3] When he was at Highgate School,^[4] because his father was an actor, his teachers thought that he should be able to act, too. However, at first he was not interested. "I was always made to read plays at school but I never wanted to. Then I was made to take part in a school play and I didn't want to do that either but I started to get approval for my acting. I was reasonably academic, good at sport, but somehow with the acting, people said 'that was fantastic'. So I thought, 'maybe that's what I'll do then".^[5]

At 16, Owen went straight from school to the National Youth Theatre, and subsequently received formal training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, after which he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company.^[6] While at RADA he managed to get an acting job and an Equity card, but when he told the principal he needed a term off, the request was denied and he was expelled from the Academy after just a year. Fortunately, Owen landed a job with Cheek by Jowl and followed the theatre company on tour around the world performing Shakespeare plays.^[5] Owen has said that he wished he had gone to university, and that he had been "in too much of a rush".^[7]

Career

Owen's breakthrough role was Professor Henry Jones, Sr., father of Indiana Jones, in eight episodes of the TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles in 1992 and 1993. Subsequently, he portrayed the lead role of Paul Bowman-MacDonald in 28 episodes of the popular BBC Scotland series Monarch of the Glen between 2002 and 2005.^[8] He also played Professor Jon Ford in the BBC Northern Ireland series The Innocence Project (2006–2007).^[9] In 2014, Owen appeared in the second season of The CW's supernatural show The Originals as Ansel, Klaus's father. He also had a recurring role of the U.S. President Farrell in 2015 comedy series You, Me and the Apocalypse.^[10] In 2019, he played Dominic Swanson in the ITV drama Cleaning Up. In 2020, it was announced that Owen joined the cast of the Amazon Prime Video fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), where he plays the role of Elendil.^[11][12]

Owen's film career has included appearances in short films, and supporting roles in The Republic of Love (2003) (as Peter),^[13] which was based on a novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carol Shields, and in Miss Potter (2006) (as a solicitor named William Heelis who married children's author Beatrix Potter).^[14] In 2011, he starred in sci-fi film Apollo 18 as Commander Nathan "Nate" Walker. He also played officer John Clive in the 2018 Hindi film Thugs of Hindostan.

However, Owen's first love has always been the theatre. Early in his professional career he was involved in the Cheek by Jowl productions of Philoctetes and the Shakespeare plays Macbeth, The Tempest and Twelfth Night. Owen's break on stage was playing Nick in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, directed by Howard Davies, at the Almeida Theatre in London in 1996. Owen studied the play during his A-levels, and it is his favourite play. Other highlights of his stage career include playing Dan in Closer by Patrick Marber in 1998 and George in The York Realist by Peter Gill in 2002.^[1] Critics praised his performance in the latter play as "astonishing in its power, throttled fury and sadness"^[15] and "superb, richly voiced",^[16] and called him "a fast-rising star".^[17]

Personal life

Owen is married to actress and artist Juliette Mole. Together they have two children, Maxim (b. 1990) and Mimi (b. 1998).^[2][5]

Owen speaks fluent French.^[18]

Filmography

Film

Lloyd Owen at Miss Potter Premiere, Leicester Square, London 2006

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Between Dreams	Stephen Tredre	Short film
2002	The Seasons Alter	Oberon	Short film
2003	The Republic of Love	Peter
	Confused	Johnny	Short film
2004	Get the Picture	Jake Wells	Short film
2006	Miss Potter	William Heelis
2011	Apollo 18	Nathan Walker
2013	Free Ride	The Captain
2017	The Man with the Iron Heart	Commandant Schuster
2018	Thugs of Hindostan	John Clive
2022	Bounce	Surgeon	Short film; director and producer
2023	Wonderwell	Adam

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Boon	Pete Blisset	Series 3, episode 7: "Honourable Service"
1991	The Chief	PC Farrell	Series 2, episode 3: "Jack and Jill"
1992	Forever Green	Paul Sherringham	Series 2, episode 4
	Science Fiction	Lord Byron	Series 2, episode 6: "The Story of Frankenstein"
1992–1993	The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles	Professor Henry Jones, Sr.	8 episodes
1993	Stay Lucky	Gerry Cook	Series 4, episode 3: "A Quick Killing"
	All in the Game	Darren Matthews
1994	The Cinder Path	Charlie MacFell
1996	The Bill	David Seabrook	Series 12, episode 24: "Boy Meets Girl"
	Young Indiana Jones: Travels with Father	Professor Henry Jones, Sr.	Television film
1998	Get Real	Adam
1999	Casualty	Jack Chandler	2 episodes: "Calm Before the Storm"
2000	Harbour Lights	Inspector Nick Preston	Series 2, episode 2: "Thicker Than Water"
2001	Gypsy Girl	Jack	Series 1, episode 1
	Hearts and Bones	James Norton
2001–2002	Des del balcó	Patrick O'Brien
2002	Coupling	James	3 episodes
	Dead Gorgeous	Vic	Television film
	Wire in the Blood	Spencer Watts	2 episodes: "Justice Painted Blind"
2002–2005	Monarch of the Glen	Paul Bowman-MacDonald
2003	The Vice	Delaney	Series 5, episode 5: "Outcast"
2004	Dragons Alive	Narrator	Documentary
2005	The Ghost Squad	DI Bryce	Series 1, episode 1: "One of Us"
2006–2007	The Innocence Project	Professor Jon Ford
2007	Viva Laughlin	Ripley Holden
2008	Inseparable	Justin / Clyde	Television film
2009	Taking the Flak	Jack	Series 1, episode 1: "Bigfooting"
	Inside the Box	Kenneth Donnegan	Television film
2012	Fairly Legal	Robin Archer	2 episodes
2013	National Theatre Live: 50 Years On Stage	Tony Blair	Television film; segment "Stuff Happens"
2014	The Originals	Ansel	2 episodes
2015	Midsomer Murders	Louis Paynton	Series 17, episode 4: "A Vintage Murder"
	You, Me and the Apocalypse	U.S. President Farrell	6 episodes
	Der Beobachter	Tom Ward	Television film
2016	Death in Paradise	Dr Sam Blake	Series 5, episode 1: "The Complex Murder"
	Silent Witness	Det Supt Mitchell	2 episodes: "Life Licence"
2019	Cleaning Up	Dominic Swanson
2022–present	The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power	Elendil

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Ref.
	As You Like It	Charles / William	Wolsey Theatre	[19]
	The Passport		Young Vic
	The Parquet Floor		Young Vic
1987	Twelfth Night	Sebastian	Cheek by Jowl / Swan Theatre	[19]
1987–1988	Macbeth	Donalbain	Cheek by Jowl / York Theatre Royal
1988–1989	The Tempest	Ferdinand	Cheek by Jowl / Donmar Warehouse
	Philoctetes	Sailor	Cheek by Jowl / Donmar Warehouse
1989	Hamlet	Laertes	Leicester Haymarket Theatre
1994	Henry VI, Part 3	Edward IV	Royal Shakespeare Company / The Other Place
1995	Our Boys	Joe	Donmar Warehouse
	Grab the Dog		Royal National Theatre / The Studio
1996	East Lynne	Captain Francis Levison	Greenwich Theatre
1996–1997	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	Nick	Almeida Theatre / Aldwych Theatre, West End	[20]
1998	Closer	Dan	Lyric Theatre, West End	[21]
1999	Morphic Resonance	Wallace	Donmar Warehouse
2000	The Way of the World	Mirabell	Royal Exchange Theatre	[22]
	Julius Caesar	Brutus	Young Vic	[23]
2001	Edward II	Mortimer the Younger	Crucible Theatre	[24]
2001–2002	The York Realist	George	The Lowry / Bristol Old Vic / Royal Court Theatre / Strand Theatre, West End	[17][25]
2003	Iphigenia	Agamemnon	Crucible Theatre	[26]
2004	Clouds	Owen Shorter	Cambridge Arts Theatre / Yvonne Arnaud Theatre	[27]
2005	Paul	Peter	Royal National Theatre / Cottesloe Theatre	[28]
2010	Blood and Gifts	Jim Warnock	Royal National Theatre / Lyttelton Theatre
2011	Loyalty	Nick Beeching	Hampstead Theatre
2012–2013	The Bodyguard	Frank Farmer	Adelphi Theatre, West End	[29]
2014	Good People	Mike	Hampstead Theatre / Noël Coward Theatre, West End
2016	The End of Longing	Joseph	Playhouse Theatre, West End	[30]
2019–2020	Noises Off	Lloyd Dallas	Garrick Theatre, West End
2024	The New Real	Larry Yeates	The Other Place

Radio

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	'Tis Pity She's a Whore	Soranzo	BBC Radio 3
2007	Keep Your Pantheon	Lupus Albus	BBC Radio 4
2009	The Man in the Wooden Hat	Terry	BBC Radio 4
2010	Goldfinger	Felix Leiter	BBC Radio 4
	The School for Husbands and The Imaginary Cuckold	Valére	L.A. Theatre Works
2011	The Rivals	Captain Jack Absolute	L.A. Theatre Works
	England, Their England	Pendragon	BBC Radio 4
2012	Uncle Fred in the Springtime	Horace Pendlebury-Davenport	BBC Radio 4
2014	On Her Majesty's Secret Service	Franklin	BBC Radio 4
2015	Michael Frayn's Matchbox Theatre	Performer	BBC Radio 4
2020	The Man with the Golden Gun	Chief-of-Staff	BBC Radio 4
	Leave It to Psmith	Sebastian Beach	BBC Radio 4

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Star Wars: The Old Republic	Various characters
2017	Horizon Zero Dawn	Ted Faro / Jarm
2022	Horizon Forbidden West	Ted Faro

References

1. Terri Paddock (3 February 2003), 20 questions with... Lloyd Owen, WhatsOnStage.com, archived from the original on 30 November 2007.
2. Driscoll, Rob (4 November 2006). "Lloyd Owen: Everything but my dad". WalesOnline. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
3. Marshall, Charlotte (7 December 2012). "The Big Interview: Lloyd Owen". Official London Theatre. Society of London Theatre. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
4. As an alumnus of Highgate School, Owen is a member of the Old Cholmeleian Society and Old Cholmeleian Sports Club, both named after the school's founder Sir Roger Cholmeley: Famous Old Cholms: Lloyd Owen, Old Cholmeleian Sports Club, 21 December 2005, archived from the original on 9 October 2007, retrieved 27 June 2007.
5. Alison Maloney (October 2006), "From laird to lawyer", Sunday Post Magazine Online, archived from the original on 28 September 2007."
6. Taylor, Bryony Rae (2 October 2019). "Interview: Lloyd Owen Talks Noises Off at the Garrick Theatre". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
7. Monarch of the Glen: Live chat: Lloyd Owen, BBC, 15 November 2003, archived from the original on 27 August 2006, retrieved 25 January 2010.
8. See Return of the Monarch: Lloyd Owen talks about the final series of Monarch of the Glen, GMTV, 15 September 2005, archived from the original on 28 September 2007, retrieved 25 January 2010.
9. A BBC spokeswoman said the remaining episodes will "definitely be shown", but that it was not yet known when: Ben Dowell (3 December 2006), "Innocence lost on BBC1 viewers: Prime-time drama of young lawyers righting wrongs has been pulled from the schedules", The Guardian, archived from the original on 15 June 2009.
10. Lee, Ben (13 February 2015). "Lloyd Owen cast in Sky1 and NBC's Apocalypse Slough". Digital Spy. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
11. Otterson, Joe (3 December 2020). "'Lord of the Rings' Series at Amazon Adds 20 Actors to Cast". Variety. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
12. Coggan, Devan (13 July 2022). "Welcome to Númenor: Get an exclusive look at The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power". Entertainment Weekly. Meredith Corporation. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
13. "The Republic of Love (2003)", Movies & TV Dept., The New York Times, 2012, archived from the original on 26 October 2012, retrieved 25 January 2010.
14. About Miss Potter: The actors on their characters: Interview: Matyelok Gibbs and Lloyd Owen (Miss Wiggin & William Heelis), Visual Hollywood, 2006, archived from the original on 19 June 2008, retrieved 25 January 2010.
15. Nicholas de Jongh in the Evening Standard (9 January 2002): see Lloyd Owen at Actors in Good Company. Retrieved 27 June 2007.
16. Stephen Brown in The Times Literary Supplement (25 January 2002): Lloyd Owen at Actors in Good Company. Retrieved 27 June 2007.
17. Billington, Michael (9 January 2002). "The York Realist: Royal Court, London [theatre review]". The Guardian.
18. Lloyd Owen at the website of Hamilton Hodell, his agent Archived 5 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 June 2007.
19. "The production programme for Cheek by Jowl's 1987 – 1988 production of Macbeth" (PDF). Cheek by Jowl. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
20. Spencer, Charles (28 September 1996). "Howls of pain from the marital bearpit [review of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?]". The Daily Telegraph. ^{[dead link‍]}
21. "Archive Page for Closer". Albemarle of London. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
22. Hopkin, James (26 April 2000). "Just enough tomfoolery: The Way of the World: The Royal Exchange, Manchester [review]". The Guardian.
23. Billington, Michael (22 September 2000). "Poor start at the Young Vic [review of Julius Caesar]". The Guardian.
24. Billington, Michael (15 March 2001). "Majestic decline of Joseph Fiennes: Edward II: Crucible Theatre, Sheffield [review]". The Guardian. Spencer, Charles (15 March 2001). "Fiennes leaves Shakespeare in Hollywood [review of Edward II]". The Daily Telegraph.
25. Macaulay, Alastair (10 January 2002). "Flawless acting on a Yorkshire farm [review of The York Realist]". Financial Times. ^{[permanent dead link‍]} Spencer, Charles (10 January 2002). "Before the sixties began to swing [review of The York Realist]". The Daily Telegraph. "Say it with Vaseline: The York Realist: Royal Court, London SW1 [review]". The Guardian. 13 January 2002. Grayling, A.C. (13 January 2002). "The York Realist by Peter Gill: Royal Court Theatre 4 January – 2 February 2002". Online Review London. Archived from the original on 30 May 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2007. Dalglish, Darren (15 January 2002). "The York Realist". The London Theatre Guide Online. Retrieved 27 June 2007. "Reviews of Past Productions: The Royal Court presents The English Touring Theatre production of The York Realist written and directed by Peter Gill". Royal Court Theatre. 2002. Archived from the original on 26 April 2004. Retrieved 27 June 2007.
26. Billington, Michael (12 February 2003). "Iphigenia". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2022. Spencer, Charles (13 February 2003). "How to rip the heart out of Euripides". The Daily Telegraph. Shuttleworth, Ian (19 February 2003). "Unspeakable actions of wartime [review of Iphigenia]". Financial Times. ^{[permanent dead link‍]}
27. Spencer, Charles (18 November 2004). "Lost in the tropical haze [review of Clouds]". The Daily Telegraph. Billington, Michael (24 November 2004). "Clouds: Yvonne Arnaud, Guildford (theatre review)". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 January 2022. van Emst, Christine (24 November 2004). "Cirrus comedy". This is Local London. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
28. Billington, Michael (10 November 2005). "Paul: National, London". The Guardian. Nightingale, Benedict (10 November 2005). "Theatre: Paul". The Times. Spencer, Charles (10 November 2005). "A powerful and thrilling act of heresy [review of Paul]". The Daily Telegraph. Hemming, Sarah (11 November 2005). "The apostle, the songstress and the superficial Scrooge [review of Paul]". Financial Times. ^{[permanent dead link‍]} Sierz, Aleks (11 November 2005). "Paul". The Stage. Hemming, Sarah (15 November 2005). "Paul". Financial Times. ^{[permanent dead link‍]}
29. Limited, London Theatre Direct (1 May 2012). "Lloyd Owen to star in West End's hottest new show The Bodyguard". London Theatre Direct. Retrieved 12 October 2022. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
30. "Casting announced for Matthew Perry's The End of Longing". whatsonstage.com. Whats On Stage. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.

External links

• Lloyd Owen at IMDb
• Lloyd Owen at the Film & TV Database of the British Film Institute