Andrew Nyman (born 13 April 1966) is an English actor, director, writer and magician.

Early life and career

Nyman was born on 13 April 1966 in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

. His first noteworthy performance was in 2000 as Keith Whitehead in '' Dead Babies'', an adaptation of the Martin Amis novel of the same name. Soon after he appeared alongside

Jon Voight Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. He came to prominence in the late 1960s with his Academy Award–nominated performance as Joe Buck, a would-be gigolo, in ''Midnight Cowboy'' (1969). During the 1970s, h ...

David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom '' Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Prime ...

and

Leelee Sobieski Liliane Rudabet Gloria Elsveta "Leelee" Sobieski (born June 10, 1983) is an American artist and former actress. She achieved fame in her teens with roles in films such as '' Deep Impact'', ''Eyes Wide Shut'', '' Joy Ride'', '' Here on Earth'', a ...

Jon Avnet Jonathan Michael Avnet (born November 17, 1949), is an American director, writer and producer. Early life and education Avnet was born in Brooklyn, the son of Joan Bertha (née Grossman) and Lester Francis Avnet, a corporate executive with Avnet ...

's 2001 Emmy award-winning film ''

Uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

'' as a

Polish-Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

freedom fighter. His next film role was in the 2003 film ''

Coney Island Baby ''Coney Island Baby'' is the sixth solo studio album by American musician Lou Reed, released December 1975 in the US, and in January 1976 in the UK, by RCA Records. Music and lyrics The album has been described by Anthony DeCurtis as "perhaps ...

'' as a gay French gun dealer. In 2006 he appeared in horror-comedy ''

Severance Severance may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Severance'' (film), a 2006 British horror film * ''Severance'' (novel), a 2018 novel by Ling Ma *''Severance'', a 2006 short-story collection by Robert Olen Butler * ''Severance'' (TV series), a ...

'',

Herman Brood Hermanus "Herman" Brood (; 5 November 1946 – 11 July 2001) was a Dutch musician, painter, actor and poet. As a musician he achieved artistic and commercial success in the 1970s and 1980s, and was called "the greatest and only Dutch rock 'n' r ...

biopic '' Wild Romance'' and British romcom ''

Are You Ready for Love? ''Are You Ready for Love?'' is a 2006 British romantic comedy film directed by Helen M. Grace and starring Lucy Punch, Andy Nyman, and Ed Byrne. It was produced by Carnaby Films. Plot A pair of American authors promise to find love for three ...

''. That same year Nyman won the award for best actor at the 2006

Cherbourg-Octeville Cherbourg-Octeville () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France.

Festival of Irish & British Film for his role as Colin Frampton in ''

Shut Up and Shoot Me ''Shut Up and Shoot Me'' ( cs, Sklapni a zastřel mě) is a 2005 Czech black comedy film. It was written and directed by Steen Agro and stars Karel Roden, Andy Nyman, and Anna Geislerová. See also * ''Tribulations of a Chinaman in China'' (nov ...

''. In 2007, Nyman appeared as one of the leads in the

Frank Oz Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker. He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...

film '' Death at a Funeral,'' starring opposite Matthew Macfadyen, Ewen Bremner and Keely Hawes. In 2008, he starred as Patrick, a sleazy reality show producer, in

Charlie Brooker Charlton Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series ''Black Mirror'', and has written for comedy series such as ''Bras ...

's E4 horror satire ''

Dead Set ''Dead Set'' is a British zombie horror miniseries written and created by Charlie Brooker and directed by Yann Demange. The show takes place primarily on the set of a fictional series of the real television show '' Big Brother''. The five epi ...

'', and appeared in

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

's supernatural drama series ''

Crooked House ''Crooked House'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in March 1949 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 23 May of the same year. The action takes place in and near L ...

''. He portrayed the recurring character Jonty de Wolf in

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

's semi-improvised show ''

Campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

''. In 2013, Nyman appeared in '' Kick-Ass 2'', as "The Tumor." He did voice over work for the series '' Sarah & Duck'' and ''

Chuggington ''Chuggington'' (also known as ''Chuggington: Tales from the Rails'' since series six) is a British computer-animated children's television series aimed at toddlers, produced by Ludorum PLC (Series 1–5) and Herschend Entertainment Studios ( ...

'', and portrayed a young

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

in the BBC drama ''

Peaky Blinders The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham, England, which operated from the 1880s until the 1910s. The group consisted largely of young criminals from lower- to middle-class backgrounds. They engaged in robbery, violence, racke ...

''. In 2014 Nyman played the role of

Charles Guiteau Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

in the

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

musical ''

Assassins An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder. Assassin may also refer to: Origin of term * Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins Animals and insects * Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviida ...

'' at the

Menier Chocolate Factory The Menier Chocolate Factory is a 180-seat off-West End theatre, which comprises a restaurant, bar and rehearsal rooms. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate, Menier Chocolate Company factory at 53 Southwark Street, a major street in ...

, and appeared in the film ''Automata'' with

Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Antonio Ba ...

and

Dylan McDermott Dylan McDermott (born Mark Anthony McDermott; October 26, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the legal drama series ''The Practice'', which earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best ...

. In 2014, Nyman was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.

Work with Derren Brown

As an accomplished magician and mentalist, Nyman has frequently collaborated with psychological illusionist

Derren Brown Derren Brown (born 27 February 1971) is an English mentalist, illusionist, painter, and author. He began performing in 1992, making his television debut with ''Derren Brown: Mind Control'' in 2000, and has since produced several more shows f ...

. He is the co-creator and co-writer of the television shows ''Derren Brown – Mind Control'' and ''Trick of the Mind''. He and Brown wrote '' Russian Roulette'', ''

Séance A séance or seance (; ) is an attempt to communicate with spirits. The word ''séance'' comes from the French word for "session", from the Old French ''seoir'', "to sit". In French, the word's meaning is quite general: one may, for example, spe ...

'', and ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...

'', as well as three series of ''Trick of the Mind''. He also co-wrote and co-directed four of Brown's stage shows, all of which have toured and played the West End. For ''Something Wicked This Way Comes'' they were awarded the 2006

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

for Best Entertainment. Their fourth show ''

Enigma Enigma may refer to: *Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling Biology *ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain Computing and technology * Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup * Enigma machine, a family ...

'' was also nominated for Olivier Award 2010, and he was nominated for the

Lew Grade Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 ...

Award at the 2007

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

for his work on '' Derren Brown: The Heist'' (alongside collaborators Derren Brown, Simon Mills and Ben Caron). Nyman shares some of his magic "know-how" in the DVD, ''Insane''. Their latest collaboration is entitled ''Sacrifice'', which opened in March 2015 in the UK, and was premiered on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

in 2018.

''Ghost Stories''

Nyman is co-creator of the long-running horror stage-play ''Ghost Stories''. The show opened at the

Liverpool Playhouse The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actress ...

on 4 February 2010; from there it moved to the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, before transferring to the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...

in the West End, opening on 25 June 2010. Since then it has played in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, and was nominated for two

Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

in 2011, Best Sound and Best Entertainment. Nyman and

Jeremy Dyson Jeremy Dyson (born 14 June 1966) is a British author, musician and screenwriter who, along with Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, is one of the League of Gentlemen. He also created and co-wrote the West End show ''Ghost Stories ...

co-wrote the show and co-directed it along with Sean Holmes. The stage play ''Ghost Stories'' finished after 1,000 shows in the Duke of York's, on 15 March 2015. A

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

premiered in 2017, starring Nyman,

Paul Whitehouse Paul Julian Whitehouse (born 17 May 1958) is a Welsh actor, writer and comedian. He was one of the main stars of the BBC sketch comedy series ''The Fast Show'', and has also starred with Harry Enfield in the shows '' Harry & Paul'' and ''Harry ...

, and

Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most no ...

Personal life

Nyman is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and attended Chai Summer Camp.

Credits

Television

* ''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983. The programme focused on ...

'' as various characters (1989-1995) * ''

The Woman in Black ''The Woman in Black'' is a 1983 gothic horror novel by English writer Susan Hill. The plot concerns a mysterious spectre that haunts a small English town. A television film based on the story, also called '' The Woman in Black'', was produced ...

'' as Jackie (1989) (TV film) * ''

Five Children and It ''Five Children and It'' is a children's novel by English author E. Nesbit. It was originally published in 1902 in the '' Strand Magazine'' under the general title ''The Psammead, or the Gifts'', with a segment appearing each month from April ...

'' as Baker's Boy (1991) * ''

Archer's Goon ''Archer's Goon'' is a 1984 fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones both for the young adult and adult markets. It was nominated for the 1985 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel and is listed as an ALA Notable Children's Book, an ALA Best Book for You ...

'' as Museum attendant (1992) * ''New Voices'' as Jim (1995) * ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...

'' as Neil Kaplan (1997) * ''

'' as Calel Wasser (2001) (TV film) * ''

'' as Chatsworth and Dunbar (2008) * ''

'' as Patrick (2008) * ''

'' as Nicholas Duncalfe (2008) * ''

'' as Jonty de Wolfe (2009–2011) * ''Olly the Little White Van'' as Jethro, Royston, Mick, Bertie and other voices (2011) * ''

Stargazing Live ''Stargazing Live'' is a British live television programme on astronomy that was broadcast yearly on BBC Two over three nights every winter from 2011 to 2017. The series was primarily presented by scientist Brian Cox and comedian and amateur a ...

'' as Himself (2012) * '' Sarah & Duck'' as Bag and Cake (2013) * ''

'' as

(2013) * ''

Psychobitches ''Psychobitches'' is a Sky Arts British sketch comedy show directed by Jeremy Dyson. Here, famous women from history and fiction seek help from the psychologist Rebecca Front. Broadcast history ''Psychobitches'' was originally aired as a on ...

'' as Various characters (2014) * ''

Ballot Monkeys ''Ballot Monkeys'' is a 2015 British comedy series which appeared on Channel 4 in the run up to the 2015 general election. The five-part series was set on campaign buses belonging to the Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats and ...

'' as Gerry Stagg (2015) * ''

The Eichmann Show ''The Eichmann Show'' is a 2015 British BBC TV drama film produced by Laurence Bowen and Ken Marshall and directed by Paul Andrew Williams. It is based on the true story of how American TV producer Milton Fruchtman and blacklisted TV directo ...

'' as David Landor (2015) (TV film) * '' Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer's Llamas'' as Nuts (2015) (TV special) * ''

Shaun the Sheep ''Shaun the Sheep'' is a British stop-motion television series and a spin-off of the ''Wallace and Gromit'' franchise. The title character is Shaun (previously featured as the sheep named "Shaun" in the 1995 short film ''A Close Shave'' and t ...

'' as Nuts (2016) * '' Hanna'' as Jacobs (2019) *''

Unforgotten ''Unforgotten'' is a British crime drama television series, which initially aired on ITV on 8 October 2015. It was created and written by Chris Lang and directed by Andy Wilson. The programme follows a team of London detectives led by DCI Cas ...

'' as Dean Barton (series 4; 2021) * '' The Capture'' as

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

Rowan Gill (series 2; 2022)

Film

* '' Dead Babies'' as Keith (2000) * ''

'' as Franko (2003) * ''

'' as Colin (2005) * ''

'' as Gordon (2006) * '' Wild Romance'' as Leo Leitner (2006) * '' Played'' as Danny (2005) * ''

'' as Barry Schneider (2007) * '' Death at a Funeral'' as Howard (2007) * '' The Tournament'' as Tech Eddie (2009) * ''

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

'' as Dalywag (2010) * ''Glass Man'' as Martin Pritte (2011) * '' Kick-Ass 2'' as The Tumor (2013) * ''

Autómata ''Autómata'' is a 2014 English-language Spanish-Bulgarian science fiction action film directed by Gabe Ibáñez starring Antonio Banderas (who also co-produced). The film is co-written by Ibáñez with Igor Legarreta and Javier Sánchez Donate ...

'' (2014) * ''

Shaun the Sheep Movie ''Shaun the Sheep Movie'' is a 2015 stop-motion animated adventure comedy film based on the 2007 British television series ''Shaun the Sheep'', created by Nick Park, in turn a spin-off of the ''Wallace and Gromit'' film, ''A Close Shave'' (1995) ...

'' as Nuts (2015) * '' Minions'' as Additional Voices (2015) * ''

Despicable Me 3 ''Despicable Me 3'' is a 2017 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Illumination and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is the sequel to ''Despicable Me 2'' (2013), the third main installment, and the fourth installment overal ...

'' as Clive (2017) * ''

Ghost Stories A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature''. ...

'' as Professor Phillip Goodman (2017) * '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'' as Jail Guard (2017) * '' The Commuter'' as Tony (2018) * '' Judy'' as Dan (2019) * '' A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon'' as Nuts (2019) * ''

Jungle Cruise Jungle Cruise, formally named Jungle River Cruise, is a riverboat amusement ride located in the Adventureland themed section at various Disney theme parks worldwide. The attraction is a simulated riverboat cruise that travels along a waterway ...

'' as Sir James Hobbs-Cunningham (2021)

Theatre

* ''

Abigail's Party ''Abigail's Party'' is a play for stage and television, devised and directed in 1977 by Mike Leigh. It is a suburban situation comedy of manners, and a satire on the aspirations and tastes of the new middle class that emerged in Britain in the ...

'' as Lawrence (2012) * ''

'' as Charles Guiteau (2014-2015) * '' Hangmen'' as Syd (2015-2016) * ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...

'' as Tevye (2018-2019) * '' Hello, Dolly!'' as Horace Vandergelder (2020-2021)

Awards and nominations

Theatre

Other

*2006 - Cherbourg-Octeville Festival of Irish and British Film - Best Actor - Shut Up and Shoot Me * 2008 -

Member of the Inner Magic Circle The Magic Circle is a British organization dedicated to promoting and advancing the art of magic. Applicants must qualify for membership, either through a performance exam or by a written thesis on a branch of magic, after which they are des ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nyman, Andy 1966 births Living people 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors English Jews English male film actors English male television actors English male voice actors Magic consultants Male actors from Leicestershire People from Leicester