Jonathan James Cake (born 31 August 1967) is an English actor who has worked on various TV programmes and films. His notable screen roles include Jack Favell in ''
Rebecca'' (1997),
Oswald Mosley in ''
Mosley'' (1997),
Japheth in the NBC television film ''
Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark ( he, תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: ''Tevat Noaḥ'')The word "ark" in modern English comes from Old English ''aerca'', meaning a chest or box. (See Cresswell 2010, p.22) The Hebrew word for the vessel, ''teva'', occurs twice in ...
'' (1999), Tyrannus in the ABC miniseries ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' (2005) and Det.
Chuck Vance on the ABC drama series ''
Desperate Housewives'' (2011–2012).
Early life
Cake was born in
Worthing,
Sussex. His father was a glassware importer and his mother a school administrator.
He is the youngest of three sons.
When he was four years old, he was invited on stage during a traditional British
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speakin ...
for children. This exposure ignited his interest in the performing arts. By the age of eight, Jonathan had taken drama classes and took part in plays. As a teenager, he toured Britain with London's
National Youth Theatre.
After leaving school, Cake studied English at
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He became a rugby player in college and graduated in 1989. He attended a two-year training programme at the
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, then trained with the
Royal Shakespeare Company.
Career
In 1992, Jonathan Cake appeared in
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's play ''
As You Like It'', a
Royal Shakespeare Company production at the
Royal Shakespeare Theatre in
Stratford-upon-Avon. He also performed the play at the
Barbican Theatre in London in 1993. Also that year, he appeared in a Royal Shakespeare Company production of
Christopher Marlowe's ''
Tamburlaine the Great''. He then appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company in ''
Wallenstein'', ''
The Odyssey'' and ''
Beggar's Opera''.
In 1995, Cake acted in the
Shared Experience Theatre Company production of
George Eliot's novel ''
The Mill on the Floss'' at London's
Lyric Theatre. Cake branched out to the screen when he landed a guest spot in the British TV comedy series ''Press Gang'' in 1993. He made his first television film appearance alongside
Jasper Carrott and
Ann Bryson
Ann Bryson (born 1964) is a British actress who is best known for featuring in the television series '' Days Like These'' and '' Space Vets'', and Philadelphia cream cheese adverts with Sara Crowe
Sara Crowe is a Scottish film and stage ...
in BBC's ''Carrott U Like'' in 1994 and broke into the film business the following year with a small role in the American film ''
First Knight
''First Knight'' is a 1995 medieval film based on Arthurian legend, directed by Jerry Zucker. It stars Sean Connery as King Arthur, Richard Gere as Lancelot, Julia Ormond as Guinevere and Ben Cross as Malagant.
The film follows the rogue L ...
''.
After appearing in episodes of ''
Frank Stubbs Promotes
''Frank Stubbs Promotes'' (alternative title: Frank Stubbs) is a British comedy drama series by Simon Nye, that starred Timothy Spall, Lesley Sharp, Danniella Westbrook, Choy-Ling Man, Anne Jameson, Nick Reding, Trevor Cooper and Roy Marsden. Tw ...
'' and ''
Goodnight Sweetheart'', Cake was cast as Gareth in the BBC series ''Degrees of Error'' (1995), opposite
Beth Goddard,
Julian Glover and
Phyllida Law. He then played Ewan in two episodes of the series ''
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 ...
'' (1996), Nat in two episodes of ''
Cold Lazarus'' (1996), and Hattersley in the TV miniseries adaptation of
Anne Brontë
Anne Brontë (, commonly ; 17 January 1820 – 28 May 1849) was an English novelist and poet, and the youngest member of the Brontë literary family.
Anne Brontë was the daughter of Maria (born Branwell) and Patrick Brontë, a poor Irish cl ...
's ''
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
''The Tenant of Wildfell Hall'' is the second and final novel written by English author Anne Brontë. It was first published in 1848 under the pseudonym Acton Bell. Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, it had an instant and p ...
'' (1996). He was also cast in the TV films ''Nightlife'' (1996, with
Katrin Cartlidge and
Jane Horrocks
Barbara Jane Horrocks (born 18 January 1964) is a British actress. She portrayed the roles of Bubble and Katy Grin in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous''. She was nominated for the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for the title role in th ...
), ''The Girl'' (1996) and the 1996 pilot episode of ''Wings'' (a planned remake of the
American show of the same title, with
Una Stubbs). Also in 1996, Cake was in ''
True Blue'', a British sports film based on the book ''
True Blue: The Oxford Boat Race Mutiny'' by
Daniel Topolski
Daniel "Dan" Topolski (4 June 1945 – 21 February 2015) was a British author, rower, rowing coach and commentator on BBC television. He studied at the University of Oxford where he represented the Blue boat twice, in 1967 and 1968. In 1977, he w ...
and
Patrick Robinson, and in an episode of ''
The Thin Blue Line''.
Cake next worked in ''
Cows'' (1997), played Jack Favell in the 1997 Anglo-German miniseries ''
Rebecca'', based on
the 1938 novel of the same name by
Daphne du Maurier, and portrayed Peter Templer in a TV miniseries adaptation of
Anthony Powell's ''
A Dance to the Music of Time'' (1997), which starred
James Purefoy,
Simon Russell Beale
Sir Simon Russell Beale (born 12 January 1961) is an English actor. He is known for his appearances in film, television and theatre, and work on radio, on audiobooks and as a narrator. For his services to drama, he was knighted by Queen Elizabe ...
and
Paul Rhys. He also guest starred in ''
Jonathan Creek'' (1997). The next year, he starred in ''
Mosley'', which was based on the life of British fascist
Oswald Mosley. He also portrayed Regan Montana in the TV film ''
Diamond Girl'' and co-starred with
Adrian Dunbar and Susan Vidler in the TV series ''The Jump'' (both 1998). The actor closed the decade portraying Japheth in the NBC TV film ''
Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark ( he, תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: ''Tevat Noaḥ'')The word "ark" in modern English comes from Old English ''aerca'', meaning a chest or box. (See Cresswell 2010, p.22) The Hebrew word for the vessel, ''teva'', occurs twice in ...
'' (1999). He also worked with
Maria Aitken and
Leslie Grantham in the British TV film ''The Bench'' (1999).
In 2000, Cake played Andrew Pryce-Stevens in ''
Honest''. He revisited the stage with work in ''Baby Doll'' (2000), an adaptation of
the film of the same name by
Tennessee Williams, and was handed the Barclays Best Actor Award for his performance. The play performed first at the
Royal National Theatre and then in London's
West End.
Cake next appeared as Randolph Cleveland in an episode of ''
Dr. Terrible's House of Horrible'' (2001), co-starred with
Lara Belmont
Lara Belmont (born 1980) is an English actress, best known for her role as Jessie in the 1999 film ''The War Zone''. She also appeared in ITV's lavish costume drama ''Henry VIII'' as his eldest daughter Mary Tudor.
Belmont was born in Oxford, ...
and
Teresa Churcher in the television thriller ''The Swap'' (2002), starred as Jack Wellington in the short-lived Fox series ''
The American Embassy'' (2002), and was cast as Andrea in the British film ''
The One and Only'' (2002). Still in 2002, Cake made his
Broadway debut in the leading role of
Jason in the
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...
play ''
Medea''.
Cake appeared in the Canadian television film ''
Riverworld'' (2003), portrayed
Dr. Mengele in the Showtime TV film ''
Out of the Ashes'' (2003), and portrayed John Christow in the 2004 episode "The Hollow" of ''
Agatha Christie's Poirot''. He starred as Jason Shepherd in the film ''Fallen'' (2004), appeared as Dr. Malcolm Bowers in an episode of NBC's ''Inconceivable'' called "Sex, Lies and Sonograms" (2005), and portrayed
Alastair Campbell in the TV film ''
The Government Inspector'' (2005). He was also cast as a gladiator named Tyrannus in the ABC historical TV series ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'', which ran from 28 June 2005 to 26 July 2005.
Cake played the recurring role of Roy in the ABC short-lived drama series ''
Six Degrees'' (2006–07). He appeared in an episode of ''
Extras'' called "Sir
Ian McKellen" (2006) and played Marshall Crawford in the TV film ''The Mastersons of Manhattan'' (2007).
On stage, Cake played Father Flynn in
John Patrick Shanley's play ''
Doubt'' (2005) at the
Pasadena Playhouse. He then performed in ''
Coriolanus'' (2006) at London's
Shakespeare's Globe, and was cast in ''
Cymbeline'' (2007) at the
Vivian Beaumont Theater in New York City.
In 2008, Cake played Rex Mottram in ''
Brideshead Revisited''. He had a two episode role in ''
Law & Order: Criminal Intent''. The next year, he appeared as Bishop in the ABC TV film ''Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas'', starring
Jodelle Ferland,
Charlie McDermott and
Hal Holbrook
Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr. (February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021) was an American actor, television director, and screenwriter. He first received critical acclaim in 1954 for a one-man stage show that he developed called ''Mark Twain Tonight!'' ...
. He played Cole Barker in two episodes of the NBC series ''
Chuck'' called "Chuck Versus the Beefcake" and "Chuck Versus the Lethal Weapon". Cake appeared as Marcus Woll in the ''
Law & Order'' episodes "Boy Gone Astray" and "For the Defense".
In 2010, Cake teamed up with
Pedro Miguel Arce
Pedro Miguel Arce (17 June 1976 – 9 December 2022) was a Nicaraguan film and television actor based in Canada. He was known for his roles in ''Land of the Dead'' and '' Get Rich or Die Tryin, as well as television appearances in ''CSI: Mia ...
in the American film ''Krews'', by Hilbert Hakim. The same year, he also played Mark Easterbrook in the TV film ''Marple: The Pale Horse'', starring
Julia McKenzie as
Miss Marple. Cake is currently appearing as
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...
in the Royal Shakespeare Company's latest production of ''
Antony and Cleopatra''. In 2017 he played the Duke in the
Theatre for a New Audience
The Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) is a non-profit theater in New York City focused on producing Shakespeare and other classic dramas. Its off-Broadway productions have toured in the U.S. and internationally.
History
Theatre for a New Audienc ...
production of
Measure for Measure
In 2021, Cake had a recurring role on ''
Stargirl'' as
Shade.
Personal life
On 24 September 2004, Cake married American actress
Julianne Nicholson in Italy. The couple have two children: a son Ignatius Cake, born September 2007, and a daughter, Phoebe Margaret Cake, born 30 April 2009.
Cake was previously engaged to British actress
Olivia Williams; the relationship ended after seven years.
Filmography
References
External links
*
jonathancakefansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cake, Jonathan
1967 births
Living people
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
English male film actors
English male television actors
People from Worthing
Male actors from Sussex
Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
National Youth Theatre members
Theatre World Award winners