Douglas Hodge

Douglas Hodge is an English actor, director, and musician who has had an extensive career in theatre, as well as television and film where he has appeared in ''Robin Hood'' (2010), '' Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return'' and '' Diana'' (2013), ''Penny Dreadful'' (2016), ''Catastrophe'' (2018), '' Joker'' and ''Lost in Space'' (2019), '' The Great'' (2021),

Early life

When he was very young, his family moved to Wigmore, Gillingham, Kent. He attended Fairview Primary School and The Howard School in Rainham, Kent. He was awarded a position as student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), in London, but was not happy with the syllabus and left before graduating. This never affected his hunger to be an actor.

Career

Theatre

Hodge has acted in plays by Harold Pinter, including '' No Man's Land'' at the Comedy Theatre in February 1993; '' Moonlight'' at the Almeida Theatre in September 1993; ''A Kind of Alaska'','' The Lover''; '' The Collection'' at the Donmar Warehouse in May 1998; as Jerry in ''Betrayal'' at the Royal National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre, in November 1998; and as Aston in ''The Caretaker'' at the Comedy Theatre in November 2000, co-starring Michael Gambon (Davies) and Rupert Graves (Mick), directed by Patrick Marber – for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. For the National Theatre in May 1994 Hodge played the title role in Phyllida Lloyd's Olivier Theatre staging of Shakespeare's ''Pericles'' and Al in Stephen Poliakoff's ''Blinded by the Sun'' directed by Ron Daniels at the Cottesloe Theatre in May 1997.

In 2002, Hodge played Leontes in an RSC revival of ''The Winter's Tale'' at the Roundhouse. In April 2003 he portrayed Andrei in Michael Blakemore's revival of Chekhov's '' Three Sisters'' at the Playhouse Theatre. In 2004, he made his Royal Court debut as Barry in Joe Penhall's study of entrapment journalism ''Dumb Show'', directed by Terry Johnson. Hodge's directorial debut came in 2004, at the Oxford Playhouse in a double bill of ''The Dumb Waiter and Other Pieces''. Hodge appeared in the 2005 revival of ''Guys and Dolls'' at the Piccadilly Theatre playing Nathan Detroit opposite Ewan McGregor playing Sky Masterson. He received an Olivier Award nomination for his performance.

During the summer of 2006, he acted the title role in ''Titus Andronicus'', at Shakespeare's Globe. Simultaneously, he made his West End directorial debut with '' See How They Run'', a 1940s wartime farce by Philip King, preceded by a UK tour. When his production opened in the West End, Nancy Carroll took over from Hattie Morahan in the role of the vicar's young wife. In May 2007 he displayed a lyric tenor voice as Frank, the neurosurgeon in '' A Matter of Life and Death'' with the Kneehigh Theatre company at the National Theatre, a production with music, based on events in the film of the same name. Also in 2007 he guest starred in the '' Doctor Who'' audio dramas ''Urban Myths'' and '' Son of the Dragon''. In 2008, Hodge starred as Albin in the London revival of '' La Cage aux Folles'' which played originally at the Menier Chocolate Factory. He later reprised this role at the Playhouse Theatre in the West End and won the 2009 Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

In 2010, The London production of '' La Cage aux Folles'' transferred to Broadway, at the Longacre Theatre, with Hodge as Albin, and Kelsey Grammer as Georges. Hodge won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for his performance. A 2011 revival of John Osborne's ''Inadmissible Evidence'' at the Donmar Theatre, London, offered Hodge another role, as Maitland, the lawyer in crisis. Hodge received an Olivier Award nomination for his performance. In 2012, Hodge returned to Broadway when he starred as Cyrano de Bergerac in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' at the American Airlines Theatre. In October 2012, Hodge was cast as Willy Wonka in the musical '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical'' at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane London.

In 2015, Hodge made his debut as a Broadway director, helming a revival of Pinter's 1971 play ''Old Times'', which starred Clive Owen, Eve Best and Kelly Reilly, and opened at the American Airlines Theatre.

Writing

Hodge wrote a musical with Aschlin Ditta, temporarily called ''Meantime''. Josefina Gabrielle, Denis Lawson and several others participated in a cast recording, and actors including Rory Kinnear, Indira Varma and Cillian Murphy participated in a reading of the book.

He wrote the music and lyrics for the musical '' 101 Dalmatians'', based on the novel by Dodie Smith with a book by Johnny McKnight (from a stage adaptation by Zinnie Harris) at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. The musical was due to open in May 2020, however was postponed to July 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Directing

Hodge has parallel careers as a writer, director and composer, most recently directing ''Torch Song Trilogy'' at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2012. He was Associate Director at the Donmar Theatre directing ''Dimetos'' in 2009, ''Absurdia'' in 2007.

He directed the world premiere of ''Last Easter'' by Bryony Lavery at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, and ''See How They Run''.

Awards

Hodge has received Olivier Award nominations for Best Actor for ''Inadmissible Evidence'' in 2012 and Best Actor in a Musical for ''Guys and Dolls'' in 2006, winning Best Actor in a Musical for '' La Cage aux Folles'' in 2010. He was also nominated for Best Actor in the 2005 Evening Standard Awards for his role in ''Dumbshow'' at the Royal Court.

Douglas starred as Albin in the Broadway transfer of ''La Cage aux Folles'', for which his performance won him a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He originally played the role in London in 2008 at the Menier Chocolate Factory and then at the Playhouse Theatre in the West End.

Television

With Peter Searles, Hodge co-wrote ''Pacha Mama's Blessing'' and ''Forest People'', about the Amazon Rainforest, performed by the National Youth Theatre on BBC Television in 1989. He appeared in the BBC
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