Anatol Yusef is an English stage, film and television actor, writer, director. He is best known for his work at The Royal Shakespeare Company, for his portrayal of

Meyer Lansky Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Lucky Luciano, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the deve ...

in the television series ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s an ...

'', and Channel 4's ''

Southcliffe ''Southcliffe'' is a British drama series that aired on Channel 4. Set in a fictional town on the North Kent Marshes, it employs a nonlinear narrative structure to tell the story of a series of shootings by a local man portrayed by Sean Harris, ...

''.

Biography

As a teenager, Yusef found early work in television shows including ''

Jeeves and Wooster ''Jeeves and Wooster'' is a British comedy-drama television series adapted by Clive Exton from P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves#Jeeves canon, "Jeeves" stories. It aired on the ITV (TV network), ITV network from 22 April 1990 to 20 June 1993, with the ...

'', ''

Grange Hill ''Grange Hill'' is a British children's television drama series, originally produced by the BBC and portraying life in a typical comprehensive school. The show began its run on 8 February 1978 on BBC1, and was one of the longest-running program ...

'', and '' The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles''. He appeared in the films Batman and Aliens (director's cut). He received the country’s highest marks in GCSE and A-Level Drama studies which awarded him a scholarship from Essex County Council for Acting School. He then trained at the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. ...

. While training he worked on the television show, ''

Thief Takers ''Thief Takers'' is a British television crime drama series, created by Roy Mitchell, and produced by Central Independent Television for the ITV network. The series depicts the work of a team of officers based in the Metropolitan Police Servic ...

'' and was a finalist in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

Carleton Hobbs Radio Award. Upon graduating in 2000, Yusef was offered a role in Fred Schepisi's award-winning film ''

Last Orders ''Last Orders'' is a 1996 novel by British writer Graham Swift. The book won the 1996 Booker Prize. In 2001, it was adapted for the film '' Last Orders'' by Australian writer and director Fred Schepisi. Plot The story makes much use of flashb ...

'', playing the younger self of

Bob Hoskins Robert William Hoskins (26 October 1942 – 29 April 2014) was an English actor. His work included lead roles in films and television series such as '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Long Good Friday'' (1980), ''Mona Lisa'' (1986), ''Who ...

' "Ray" and working with British actors Sir Michael Caine, Dame

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ...

, Ray Winstone, David Hemmings, and Tom Courtenay. He became a resident company member with the Royal Shakespeare Company. In the RSC's production of '' King Lear'',

Nicholas de Jongh Nicholas de Jongh is a British writer, theatre critic and playwright. He served as the senior drama critic of the ''Evening Standard'' from 1991 to 2009. Prior to that, he had worked for ''The Guardian'' for almost 20 years. In 2008, de Jongh ...

of the '' London Evening Standard'' claimed "Anatol Yusef's tremendous Cornwall, the best e adever seen". In 2006, Yusef's performance as

Mercutio Mercutio ( , ) is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's 1597 tragedy, ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is a close friend to Romeo and a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris. As such, Mercutio is one of the named characters in the p ...

Bill Bryden William Campbell Rough Bryden (12 April 1942 – 5 January 2022) was a Scottish stage and film director and screenwriter. Early life and career He worked as a trainee with Scottish Television before becoming assistant director at the Belgrad ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'' at the

Birmingham Rep Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson (director), Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's ...

was heralded as "sparkl ng In 2008, Yusef appeared in the title role in a New York off-off Broadway production of ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

'', and was described by

Backstage Backstage most commonly refers to backstage (theatre), also in motion picture and television production. Backstage may also refer to: Film and television * ''Back Stage'' (1969 film), a silent film starring Oliver Hardy * ''Back Stage'' (1942 fil ...

as "a superlative actor" and "magnetic". Yusef has since remained in New York City. He has worked throughout New York, in 2011 appearing in ''A Movement of the Soul'', playing

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (December 10, 1787 – September 10, 1851) was an American educator. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell, he co-founded the first permanent institution for the education of the deaf in North America, and he bec ...

, for which he learned

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...

. In 2012, he appeared in José Rivera’s “Massacre (Sing to Your Children)” and received special mention by David Rooney in The New York Times for his role as Joe. From 2009–2012 he was co-founder and joint-artistic director of Fixitsolife Theater Company in Manhattan, New York. In 2010 he was cast as

in HBO's ''

'', first appearing in Episode 7 of Season 1, " Home" and remained throughout the series. In an interview with

The Morton Report Andrew David Morton (born 1953) is an English journalist and writer who has published biographies of royal figures such as Diana, Princess of Wales, and celebrity subjects including Tom Cruise, Madonna, Angelina Jolie and Monica Lewinsky; seve ...

, Yusef described Lansky as self-educated, a massively intelligent overachiever and "a ruthless, ruthless man". Anatol's characterization of Mr. Lansky has been recognized in many publications, including from author and critic

Clive James Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.Martin Scorsese: American God
�� where he describes Yusef’s as “the most impressive performance in the show,” as well as Michael Noble's review of the show on

Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Ga ...

. In 2014 he appeared in a central ensemble including, Rory Kinnear,

Shirley Henderson Shirley Henderson (born 24 November 1965) is a Scottish actress. Her accolades include two Scottish BAFTAs, a VFCC Award and an Olivier Award, as well as BAFTA, BIFA, London Critics' Circle, Chlotrudis, Gotham, and Canadian Screen Award ...

, Sean Harris, and

Eddie Marsan Edward Maurice Charles Marsan (born 9 June 1968) is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008). He has featur ...

, in

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service in ...

's BAFTA-nominated ''

'', receiving special mention in an article by IndieWire on the best TV episodes of 2014. In 2016, Yusef narrated the European championship series on Howler Radio, a collection of five podcast narratives written by a selection football journalists, the most popular being "The Summer Football Came Home". In 2017, he appeared as Laertes and the Player King in Sam Gold’s '' Hamlet'' at the Public Theatre with

Oscar Isaac Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is a Guatemalan-born American actor. Known for his versatility, he has been credited with breaking stereotypes about Latino characters in Hollywood. He was named the best actor of his gene ...

in the title role. He received unilaterally excellent reviews including, Marilyn Stasio of ''Variety'' who stated that “he makes his presence felt in a riveting performance” and Ben Brantley of ''The New York Times'' added that he “is splendid as a pugilistic Laertes and a lyrical Player King.” Helen Shaw also commented that Anatol “does a speech as the Player that runs rings around the stars nearby.” In 2018, Anatol starred as King Leontes in Arin Arbus’ production of

The Winter’s Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some cr ...

at Theatre for a New Audience, again receiving positive reviews. ''Off Off Online'' praised him as “completely convincing, masterly in the language and commanding a range of emotions.” Jesse Green of ''The New York Times'' called the production terrific and haled Anatol’s performance. Anatol was last seen playing opposite

Elizabeth McGovern Elizabeth Lee McGovern (born July 18, 1961) is an American actress and musician. She has received many awards, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, three Golden Globe Award nominations, and one Academy Award nomination. Born in Evanston, Ill ...

in the two-hander ''Ava: The Secret Conversations'', directed by

Gaby Dellal Gaby Dellal (born 1961) is a British actress, film director and writer. She was born in London. Career In 2015, Dellal directed '' 3 Generations'', a movie about a transgender teen boy played by Elle Fanning whose decision to start hormone th ...

, and written by McGovern. His portrayal of biographer Peter Evans as well as turns as Frank Sinatra, Mickey Rooney, and

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

were described as "capturing the essence of Ava’s trio of lovers with an interesting character performance that really brings the story to life.”

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yusef, Anatol English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors English people of Turkish descent English people of Turkish Cypriot descent People from Barking, London Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Living people Year of birth missing (living people)