Fabien Joseph Frankel (born 6 April 1994) is a British actor. He is known for his role as Ser Criston Cole in the HBO fantasy drama series ''

House of the Dragon ''House of the Dragon'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal for HBO. A prequel to '' Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), it is the second TV show in the '' A Song of Ice and Fire'' franch ...

'' (2022–).

Early life

Frankel was born at

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is a 430-bed teaching hospital located in Chelsea, London. Although the hospital has been at its present site since only 1993, the hospital has a rich history in that it serves as the new site for the Westminst ...

West London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: North Londo ...

to English actor

Mark Frankel Mark David Frankel (13 June 1962 – 24 September 1996) was a British actor, known for his leading roles in the British film ''Leon the Pig Farmer'' and the American TV series '' Kindred: The Embraced''. Early life Frankel was born on 13 June ...

and French-Italian advertising executive Caroline Besson. His paternal grandmother was from a Jewish family from India and Iraq, and his paternal grandfather's family were Jewish emigrants from Poland and Russia to London's East End. Frankel's father died in a road accident when he was two, while his mother was pregnant with his younger brother Max. The two brothers were raised in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

by their mother, and spoke French at home. She introduced them to film by taking them to the cinema once a week. Frankel took a year-long Foundation Course at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...

(RADA) before going on to graduate with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in Professional Acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) in 2017.

Career

Frankel's career began on stage in the 2017 production of ''The Knowledge'' at

Charing Cross Theatre The Charing Cross Theatre is a theatre under The Arches off Villiers Street below Charing Cross station. Founded in 1936, the venue occupied several premises in the West End of London before locating to its present site. The current site was o ...

. He made his onscreen debut in 2019 in the romantic comedy film ''

Last Christmas "Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!, originally released in December 1984 on CBS Records International, CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side and B-side, A-side on Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in the UK ...

''. That same year, he was cast as the lead Theo Sipowicz in a pilot for a potential '' NYPD Blue'' spin-off series on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. In 2021, Frankel appeared as Dominique Renelleau in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

and

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 fi ...

true crime drama '' The Serpent''. Frankel was named a 2021 Brit to Watch by ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''. As of 2022, he plays Ser Criston Cole, a knight from the Dornish Marches, in the HBO fantasy series ''

'', a prequel to '' Game of Thrones'' and adaptation of

George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...

's 2018 fictional history book '' Fire and Blood''. Frankel also starred opposite

Greta Bellamacina Greta Rosanna Bellamacina (born ) is a British actress, poet and model. Early life Bellamacina was born in Hampstead, London, England, and raised in Camden. She discovered an interest in performing at an early age. She attended Royal Academ ...

in the independent romance film '' Venice at Dawn''.

Filmography

Stage

References

External links

*
Fabien Frankel
at Curtis Brown
Fabien Frankel
on Instagram {{DEFAULTSORT:Frankel, Fabien 1994 births 21st-century English male actors Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art English male stage actors English male television actors English male actors of South Asian descent English people of French descent English people of Italian descent English people of Polish-Jewish descent English people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish English male actors Living people Male actors from London People from Chelsea, London