Oliver Mayer (born 9 September 1993), known professionally as Oliver Dench, is an English actor and theatre maker. He is co-founding artistic director of the

Revolve Theatre Company Revolve Theatre Company is a Henley-on-Thames based theatre company specialising in political and Shakespearean plays. The company is owned by Oliver Dench, Joe Morris and Tom Smith. History Revolve Theatre Company was formed in the summer of ...

. On television, he is known for his roles in

the CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

series ''

Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora (Greek: , derived from , ''pān'', i.e. "all" and , ''dōron'', i.e. "gift", thus "the all-endowed", "all-gifted" or "all-giving") was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hes ...

'' (2019–2020) and the

BritBox BritBox is an online digital video subscription service, founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, operating in nine countries across North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa.

period drama '' Hotel Portofino'' (2022–).

Early life

Dench was born in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. His maternal grandfather was

Jeffery Dench Jeffery Danny Dench (29 April 1928 – 27 March 2014) was an English actor, best known for his work with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was the older brother of actress Judi Dench. Personal life Jeffery Dench was born in Tyldesley, Lancash ...

, actor and brother of

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

. He attended

Gillotts School Gillotts School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The school is sited on a 33 acre verdant campus on the edge of Henley, incorporating a large Victorian manor house and two of its ...

and the Henley College. Dench has said he was "obsessed with

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 ...

as a child thanks to my granddad".

Career

In 2014, Dench formed the

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

-based

with Joe Morris and Tom Smith. Their debut show at the Henley Fringe Festival was Dench in a one-man version of ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' playing all fifteen roles. Dench made his television debut in 2016 as Will Palmerston in the Canadian YTV series ''

Ride Ride may refer to: People * MC Ride, a member of Death Grips * Sally Ride (1951–2012), American astronaut * William Ride (19262011), Australian zoologist Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Ride'' (1998 film), a 1998 comedy by Millicent ...

'' about an equestrian school in England. He made his London stage debut in ''School Play'' at

Southwark Playhouse Southwark Playhouse is a theatre in London, located between Borough and Elephant and Castle tube stations. History The Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice and Tom Wilson. They identified the need for a h ...

in 2017. He appeared in the 2018 Sky Kids series ''The Athena''. In 2019, Dench began starring in

science fiction series ''

'' as Xander Duvall, a role he would play for both seasons. He played Iullus in the first season of '' Domina'' before the role was taken over by Joseph Ollman. As of 2022, Dench stars as Lucian Ainsworth in the period drama '' Hotel Portofino''. He starred as Cliff in the Paris revival of ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

'' that December at

Le Lido Le Lido is a cabaret and burlesque show located on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France. It opened in 1946 at 78 Avenue des Champs-Élysées and moved to its current location in 1977. It is known for its exotic shows including dancers, singers ...

on the

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is lo ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

References

External links

*
Oliver Dench
at Eamonn Bedford {{DEFAULTSORT:Dench, Oliver Living people 21st-century English male actors Oliver English male stage actors Male actors from Reading, Berkshire Theatre practitioners 1993 births