Simon Callow
Known for Acting · 183 credits
- Born
- 1949-06-13 (age 76)
- Place of birth
- Streatham, London, England, UK
- Also known as
- Simon Phillip Hugh Callow · 사이먼 캘로우 · سایمن کالو
Biography
Simon Phillip Hugh Callow CBE (born 15 June 1949) is an English actor. Known as a character actor on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Olivier Award and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for two BAFTA Awards. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to acting by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999.
Callow rose to prominence originating the title role of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the 1979 Peter Shaffer play Amadeus, for which he received a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role nomination. Callow joined the Miloš Forman 1984 film adaptation, this time portraying Emanuel Schikaneder. In 1992, Callow won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Director of a Musical for Carmen Jones. As an actor, he won acclaim for his comedic roles in A Room with a View (1985) and Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) earning a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role nomination for each. Other notable roles include in Maurice (1987), Howards End (1992), Shakespeare in Love (1998), and The Phantom of the Opera (2004).
His television roles include Tom Chance in the Channel 4 series Chance in a Million (1984) and The Duke of Sandringham in the series Outlander from 2014 to 2016. He portrayed Napoleon in The Man of Destiny (1981), and Charles Dickens in numerous television projects. He has also appeared on numerous shows such as Midsomer Murders, Rome, Angels in America, Doctor Who, Galavant, Hawkeye, and The Witcher.
Callow was born on 15 June 1949 in Streatham, South London, the son of Yvonne Mary (née Guise), a secretary and Neil Francis Callow, a businessman. His father was of French descent and his mother was of Danish and German ancestry. His father left when Simon was 18 months old, and he was brought up by his mother and grandmothers. He and his mother travelled to Northern Rhodesia (now called Zambia) when he was nine to try and reconcile with his father. This did not happen and Callow was sent for three years to boarding school in South Africa. He and his mother returned to Britain when he was twelve. He was raised as a Catholic. Callow was a student at the London Oratory School in West Brompton, and then went on to study briefly at Queen's University Belfast in Northern Ireland, where he was active in the gay liberation movement.[5] He gave up his degree course after a year to take a three-year acting course at the Drama Centre London.
He made his first film appearance in 1984 as Schikaneder in Amadeus. The following year, he appeared as the Reverend Mr Beebe in A Room with a View. His first television role was in the Carry On Laughing episode "Orgy and Bess" in 1975, but it was cut from the final print. He starred in several series of the Channel 4 situation comedy Chance in a Million, as Tom Chance, an eccentric individual to whom coincidences happened regularly. Roles like this and his part in Four Weddings and a Funeral brought him to a wider audience. Callow portrayed Pliny the Elder in CBBC's 2007 children's drama series, Roman Mysteries in the episode "The Secrets of Vesuvius". He played Armand Duquesne in Marvel's Hawkeye on Disney+.
Known For
TV Shows (61)
Midsomer Murders
1997
as Dr. Wellow
Doctor Who
2005
as Charles Dickens
Outlander
2014
as Duke of Sandringham
Death in Paradise
2011
as Larry South
Agatha Christie's Poirot
1989
as Dr. Lutz
NOVA
1974
as Galileo
The Witcher
2019
as Codringher
Agatha Christie's Marple
2004
as Colonel Melchett
Loose Women
1999
as Self
Omnibus
1967
as Self
Q&A
2008
as Self - Panellist
Inside No. 9
2014
as Dick
Question Time
1979
as Himself - Panellist
Inspector Morse
1987
as Theodore Kemp
Screen Two
1985
as Nathanial Quass
Hawkeye
2021
as Armand Duquesne III
The Sweeney
1975
as Detective Sergeant
Great British Menu
2006
as Self - Guest Judge
Parkinson
1998
as Self
Performance
1991
as John Mortimer
ScreenPlay
1986
as Raimondi
The Sarah Jane Adventures
2007
as Tree Blathereen (voice)
Playhouse Presents
2012
as Dudley
Trial & Retribution
1997
as Rupert Halliday
Galavant
2015
as Edwin the Magnificent
Plebs
2013
The Cleaner
2021
as Mr. Abahassine
A Ghost Story for Christmas
1971
as Aubrey Judd
Arn: The Knight Templar
2010
as Fader Henry
Shoebox Zoo
2004
as Wolfgang the Wolf (voice) / Hunter the Horse (voice)
Angels in America
2003
as Prior 2 / Prior Walter Ancestor #2 (uncredited)
The Company
2007
as MI6 liaison officer Elihu
Split Screen
1986
Étoile
2025
as Crispin Shamblee
Dennis the Menace and Gnasher
1996
as Hugo Trenchfoot (voice)
Testament: The Bible in Animation
1996
as Meneptah (voice)
Carry On Laughing
1975
as Crew Member
The Sunday Drama
1977
as The Prince
Tate Britain's Great Art Walks
2017
as Self
Victorian Scandals
1976
as Duval
David Copperfield
1986
as Wilkins Micawber
Ice
2011
as Prime Minister
Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale
2002
as Charles Dickens
The Curse of King Tut's Tomb
2006
as George Russell
The Rebel
2016
as Henry Palmer
Chance in a Million
1984
as Tom Chance
Don't Eat the Neighbours
2001
Them From That Thing
2012
as Various
Roman Mysteries
2007
as Pliny
The Boy That Never Was
2024
as Cozimo
Little Napoleons
1994
as Edward Feathers
Saturday Review
1984
as Self
The Addictions of Sin: WH Auden in His Own Words
2009
as Readings (voice)
Derren Brown: Trick or Treat
2007
as Himself
Dead Head
1986
as Hugo Silver
Jamie's Dream School
2011
as Himself
Westminster Abbey: Behind Closed Doors
2022
as Self - Narrator (voice)
A Very British Murder with Lucy Worsley
2013
as Self
Acting
1987
Lily Allen: From Riches to Rags
2011
as Narrator
Movies (122)
Amadeus
1984
as Emanuel Schikaneder
Notting Hill
1999
as Simon Callow (uncredited)
The Phantom of the Opera
2004
as Andre
Street Fighter
1994
as A. N. Official
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
1995
as Vincent Cadby
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2
2024
as Cavendish
Shakespeare in Love
1998
as Tilney
Four Weddings and a Funeral
1994
as Gareth
James and the Giant Peach
1996
as Grasshopper (voice)
Maurice
1987
as Mr. Ducie
Howards End
1992
as Music and Meaning Lecturer (uncredited)
A Room with a View
1986
as The Reverend Mr. Beebe
Ice
2011
as Prime Minister
Hampstead
2017
as Judge
Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye
2022
Postcards from the Edge
1990
as Simon Asquith
Mindhorn
2016
as Himself
There's Something About Romcoms
2016
as Self
Bright Young Things
2003
as King of Anatolia
The Man Who Invented Christmas
2017
as Leech
Arn: The Knight Templar
2007
as Father Henry
Bedrooms and Hallways
1998
as Keith
Thunderpants
2002
as Sir John Osgood
Eternal Return
2026
as Malcolm
Victoria & Abdul
2017
as Mr. Puccini
Blue Iguana
2018
as Uncle Martin
George and the Dragon
2004
as King Edgar
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
2014
as Self - Actor and Welles' Biographer
The Curse of King Tut's Tomb
2006
as George Russell
Viceroy's House
2017
as Cyril Radcliffe
The Man with the Plan
2026
as William Beveridge
Jefferson in Paris
1995
as Richard Cosway
No Man's Land
2001
as Colonel Soft
They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
2018
as Self
Christmas Carol: The Movie
2001
as Charles Dickens / Ebenezer Scrooge (voice)
Mr. & Mrs. Bridge
1990
as Dr. Alex Sauer
The Amazing Mr. Blunden
2021
as Mr. Blunden
Manifesto
1988
as Police Chief Hunt
Love's Kitchen
2011
as Guy Witherspoon
The Woman In White
1997
as Count Fosco
Chemical Wedding
2008
as Haddo
Merchant Ivory
2024
as Self
Bob the Butler
2005
as Mr. Butler
Ripley Under Ground
2005
as Dean Bentliffe
The Good Father
1985
as Mark Varda
Golden Years
2016
as Royston
Doctor Jekyll
2023
as Journalist
Judi Dench: Our National Treasure
2022
as Narrator
Shakespeare's Sonnets
2012
Late Bloomers
2011
as Richard
The Best Man
2005
as Big-Time Publisher
The Civilization of Maxwell Bright
2005
as Mr. Wroth
Dodger Special: Coronation
2023
as Archbishop of Canterbury
Femme Fatale
1993
as Vicar Ronnie
Surprised by Oxford
2023
as Dr. Sterling
Cariani and the Courtesans
1987
as Raimondi
Thank You, Doctor Rey
2003
as Bob
Revolutionary Witness
1989
as Franciscus Palloy
The Crucifer of Blood
1991
as Inspector Lestrade
Rag Tale
2005
as Cormac Rourke
The Fringe, Fame and Me
2022
as Self
Old Flames
1990
as Nathanial Quass
Theatreland
2009
as Self
Creditors
2015
Victory
1996
as Zangiacomo
It's Christmas!
2024
as Samuel
Deadly Appearances
2000
as Rick Spencer
Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story
2012
as Dickie Attenborough
Alexander Pope: Rediscovering a Genius
2021
as Alexander Pope
Orson Welles Over Europe
2009
as Himself - Presenter
Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration
2024
as Self
The Sarah Millican Television Programme - Best of Series 1-2
2013
as Self
The Trials of Oz
1991
as John Mortimer
England, My England
1995
as Charles II
Soft Top Hard Shoulder
1993
as Eddie Cherdowski
Royal Variety Performance 1984
1984
Revisiting Brideshead
2005
as Narrator
A Tribute To Ismail Merchant
2005
as Self (archive footage)
Acts of Godfrey
2012
as Godfrey
Rik Mayall: Lord of Misrule
2014
as Narrator (voice)
The Marvellous Maggie Smith: A Celebration
2022
as Self
The Madness of Boy George
2006
as Narrator (voice)
Art of Freedom
2011
as Self
Miss in Her Teens
2014
as The Author
Around The World In 80 Days
2000
as Phileas Fogg (voice)
El pasajero clandestino
1995
as Major Owens
American: An Odyssey to 1947
2022
as Self
Alec Guinness: A Class Act
2024
as self
Surveillance 24/7
2007
as St John
The Man of Destiny
1981
as Napoleon
Grindsploitation 3: Video Nasty
2017
The Scarlet Tunic
1998
as Captain Fairfax
How Gay Sex Changed the World
2007
as Self
Phantom of the Opera: Behind the Mask
2006
as Self
50 Years Legal
2017
as Self
Murder Ballads: How to Make It in Rock 'n' Roll
2023
as Richard O'Keefe
Instant Enlightenment Including VAT
1979
as Maximillian
The British Guide to Showing Off
2011
as Self
A Christmas Carol
2018
Camp Christmas
1993
The Dead Room
2018
as Aubrey Judd
The Unforgettable Harry Secombe
2010
as Self
Animated Epics: Don Quixote
2000
as Don Quixote
Nutcracker Delights: English National Ballet
2020
as Narrator
Moses
1996
as Meneptah II (voice)
The Pay Day
2022
as Gates
Honour, Profit & Pleasure
1985
as George Frideric Handel
The Reformation of Sister Edith
as Abbot Pentecost
The Mystery of Charles Dickens
2002
as Charles Dickens
Being Shakespeare
2012
An Audience with Charles Dickens
1996
as Charles Dickens
The Christmas Tree
1986
as Jacob Weinberg
Reviving Harry Lime
2006
as Himself
The Reluctant Dragon
1987
as Dragon (voice)
The First Silent Night: The Christmas Carol That United the World
2014
as Self - Host - Narrator
Amadeus: The Making of a Masterpiece
2025
as Himself
Save Our Bacon
2010
as The Swinesbury's Boss (voice)
Maggie Smith at the BBC: a portrait
2008
as Self
Men of Mystery
2006
as Himself
Galileo’s Battle for the Heavens
2002
as Galileo
About Simon Callow
Simon Phillip Hugh Callow CBE (born 15 June 1949) is an English actor. Known as a character actor on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Olivier Award and Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for two BAFTA Awards. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to acting by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999. Callow rose to prominence originating the title role of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the 1979 Peter Shaffer play Amadeus, for which he received a Laurence Olivier Award for… With 183 credits spanning from 1967 to 2026, Simon Callow has appeared in 122 films and 61 TV shows.
Fans searching for Simon Callow movies, Simon Callow filmography, or the latest projects starring Simon Callow can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Simon Callow Movies
- Amadeus (1984) — as Emanuel Schikaneder
- Notting Hill (1999) — as Simon Callow (uncredited)
- The Phantom of the Opera (2004) — as Andre
- Street Fighter (1994) — as A. N. Official
- Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995) — as Vincent Cadby
Where to Watch Simon Callow Films
Most Simon Callow movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Simon Callow, check our movies catalogue and browse page.