George Asprey (born 1 October 1966) is a British stage, film, and television

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

. Since 2008, Asprey has played the part of

Scar A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrosis, fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other Organ (anatomy), organs, and biological tissue, t ...

in the

West End theatre West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, ...

production of the musical ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

''.

Early life

Of Asprey's origins, the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'' said that his world had been one of "indecent wealth" and he was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth but a "silver shovel". The only son of Edward Asprey, of

Asprey Asprey is a United Kingdom-based designer, manufacturer and retailer of jewellery, silverware, home goods, leather goods, timepieces, and books. With its flagship retail store located in Mayfair, London, Asprey is a luxury retailer for ro ...

the jewellers, he was educated at

Charterhouse School Charterhouse is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Godalming, Surrey, England. Founded by Thomas Sutton in 1611 on the site of the old Carthusian monastery in Charter ...

and was expected to join the family business on leaving school. Asprey rebelled, wishing instead to pursue an acting career. This was not welcomed by his father, and the pair did not speak for several months.Carole Aye Maung, "Rough diamond; Asprey rebel has a golden future as an actor", ''

'' (London), 23 May 1996
archived
at thefreelibrary.com, accessed 23 November 2021 Asprey subsequently studied business in the United States, with a view to joining the family firm, but while there was cast in a stage production of ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

''. This led him to audition for entry to the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

(LAMDA), and at the age of twenty he was one of nineteen new students accepted out of some 2,500 applicants.George Asprey
London Theatre Direct, accessed 23 November 2021

Career

Soon after leaving LAMDA, Asprey was cast as Sean Devereux in the television film ''The Dying of the Light'' (

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

, 1992). His character was a

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

aid worker who was murdered, and Asprey received good reviews for the performance. He appeared as a policeman in '' Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'' (1994). In 1995, Asprey was cast as Tony Paterson, a promiscuous hairdresser, in the ITV television serial ''An Independent Man''. In 2003 he played

Doc Holliday John Henry Holliday (August 14, 1851 – November 8, 1887), better known as Doc Holliday, was an American dentistry, dentist, gambling, gambler, and gunfighter who was a close friend and associate of Sheriff, lawman Wyatt Earp. Holliday is b ...

in a BBC production, in 2016 appeared as

Walter Monckton Walter Turner Monckton, 1st Viscount Monckton of Brenchley, (17 January 1891 – 9 January 1965) was a British lawyer and politician. Early years Monckton was born in the village of Plaxtol in north Kent. He was the eldest child of paper manu ...

in ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

'',Robert Lacey, ''The Crown: The official book of the hit Netflix series'' (Bonnier Publishing, 2017), p. 407 and in 2021 played Jonathan Rees QC in

Four Lives ''Four Lives'', originally and internationally titled ''The Barking Murders'', is a British three-part television drama, first aired from 3 to 5 January 2022 on BBC One. It follows the true story of the families of four young gay men (Anthony Wa ...

. Asprey's longest-running part on stage is as

in the West End production of ''

'', which he began to play in 2008 and was still performing in October 2019, when in an interview he described Scar as "probably the greatest baddie that Disney has ever written".Matt Wolf
"Longtime London The Lion King Star George Asprey Reflects on the Show's 20 Years in the West End"
broadway.com, 18 October 2019, accessed 23 November 2021 The production had to close in March 2020 due to the

COVID-19 lockdown During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numero ...

, but it reopened at the Lyceum Theatre in July 2021, with Asprey returning as Scar.

Personal life

In 1992, while they were both appearing in ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'', Asprey dated

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English media personality, actress and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent competition show '' Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the national ''H ...

. Asprey and his wife Kirsten have three daughters.

Filmography

Film

* ''The Dying of the Light'' (TV movie, 1992) as Sean Devereux *'' Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'' (1994) as PolicemanJohn Kenneth Muir, ''Horror Films of the 1990s'' (2011), p. 330 *''Secrets & Lines'' (2000) as Andrew *'' AKA'' (2002) as David, Lord Glendening *''

Out of Bounds In sports, out of bounds (or out-of-bounds) refers to being outside the playing boundaries of the field. The legality of going out of bounds (intentionally or not), and the ease of prevention, vary by sport. Sports that use this term include Am ...

'' (2003) as Matthew Van Huet *''

The Wedding Date ''The Wedding Date'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by Clare Kilner and starring Debra Messing, Dermot Mulroney, and Amy Adams. Based on the 2002 novel ''Asking for Trouble'' by Elizabeth Young, the film is about a single wo ...

'' (2005) as Pat *'' Ian Fleming: Bondmaker'' (2005) as Officer * ''

The Greatest Game Ever Played ''The Greatest Game Ever Played'' is a 2005 American biographical sports film based on the early life of amateur golf champion Francis Ouimet and his surprise winning of the 1913 U.S. Open. The film was directed by Bill Paxton, and was his las ...

'' (2005) as Wilfred Reid *''Riot at the Rite'' (2005) as Voucher, journalist *'' The Gentlemen'' (2019) as Lord Snowball *'' Without Remorse'' (2021) as Denis StewartWithout Remorse review
flickeringmyth.com, accessed 24 November 2021

Television

*'' A Breed of Heroes'' (BBC, 1994) as Second Lieutenant * ''An Independent Man'' (1995) as Tony Patterson * '' The Peter Principle'' (1995) as Frank *''

Supply and Demand In microeconomics, supply and demand is an economic model of price determination in a Market (economics), market. It postulates that, Ceteris_paribus#Applications, holding all else equal, the unit price for a particular Good (economics), good ...

'' (1997) as Barry Guard * '' Coming Home'' (1998) as Dr Jeremy Wells *''

Trial & Retribution ''Trial & Retribution'' is a feature-length ITV police procedural television drama series that first aired on 19 October 1997. Written and devised by Lynda La Plante as a follow-on from her successful television series ''Prime Suspect'', each e ...

'' (1998) as DC Jack Hutchens *''

The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...

'' (1998) as Andrew Stirling * ''

Nancherrow ''Nancherrow'' is a British TV movie sequel to Rosamunde Pilcher's '' Coming Home''. It aired on ITV television from 4 to 5 April 1999. The story is set in the country mansion called Nancherrow on the Cornish coast. Reception In a review for ...

'' (1999) as Dr Jeremy Wells *''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'' (2003) as Simon Hargreaves * ''The Wild West: Gunfight at the OK Corral'' (BBC, 2003) as

Shirley Ayn Linder, ''Doc Holliday in Film and Literature'' (McFarland, 2014)
p. 150
/ref> *'' Mayo'' (2006) as Adam Hendrick * '' Waking the Dead'' (2007) as Young Bruno Rivelli *'' Psychoville'' (2009) as

John Haigh John George Haigh ( ; 24 July 1909 – 10 August 1949), commonly known as the Acid Bath Murderer, was an English serial killer convicted for the murder of six people, although he claimed to have killed nine. Haigh battered to death or shot his ...

*'' Upstairs Downstairs'' (2010) as

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980), was a British aristocrat and politician who rose to fame during the 1920s and 1930s when he, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, turned to fascism. ...

*''

'' (2016) as

*'' The Barking Murders'' (2021) as Jonathon Rees QC"George Asprey"
waringandmckenna.com, accessed 26 November 2021

Notes

External links

"George Asprey"

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

"George Asprey"
London Theatre Direct
THE LION KING Education series: Episode 4 - An actor prepares

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asprey, George 1966 births Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art English male film actors English male stage actors English male television actors Living people People educated at Charterhouse School 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors