McBurney in August 2015
BornSimon Montagu McBurney
25 August 1957 (age 58)
Cambridge, England
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
OccupationActor 
writer 
theatre director 

Years active1988–present
Spouse(s)Cassie Yukawa
Children3

Simon Montagu McBurney, OBE (born 25 August 1957)[1] is an English actor, writer and director. He is the founder and artistic director of the Théâtre de Complicité, London. He has had roles in the films The Manchurian Candidate, Friends with Money, The Golden Compass, The Duchess, Robin Hood, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Magic in the Moonlight, The Theory of Everythingand Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.
 
Contents
  [hide] 
1Early life 
2Career 
3Personal life 
4Filmography 
4.1Film 
4.2Television 
5Accolades 
6References 
7External links 
 
Early life[edit]
McBurney was born in Cambridge, England. His father, Charles McBurney, was an American archaeologist and academic. Charles McBurney was the grandson of the American surgeon Charles McBurney (who was credited with describing medical sign McBurney's point, though critics have since challenged its existence). His mother, Anne Francis Edmondstone (née Charles), was a secretary; she was British, and of English, Scottish and Irish ancestry.[2] His parents were distant cousins who met during World War II.[3] He studied English literature at Peterhouse, Cambridge, graduating in 1980. After his father died, he moved to Paris and trained for the theatre at the Jacques Lecoq Institute.[3]
Career[edit]
McBurney is a founder and artistic director of the UK-based theatre company Complicite, which performs throughout the world.[4] He directed their productions of Street of Crocodiles (1992); The Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol (1994), which was adapted from the John Berger trilogy Into Their Labors; To the Wedding (another Berger collaboration); Mnemonic (1999); The Elephant Vanishes (2003); A Disappearing Number (2007); A Dog's Heart (2010); andThe Master and Margarita (2011).
 
McBurney at the Edinburgh International Festival on 6 August 2015
A Disappearing Number was a devised piece conceived and directed by McBurney, taking as its inspiration the story of the collaboration between two of the 20th century's most remarkable pure mathematicians, the Indian genius Srinivasa Ramanujan, and Cambridge don G.H. Hardy.[5] It played at the Barbican in autumn 2008 and toured internationally. In February 2009, McBurney directed the Complicite production Shun-kin, based on two texts by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki. It was produced in London and Tokyo in 2010.
On a freelance basis, McBurney directed the following: The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui and All My Sons (2008) (both in New York City), and live comedy shows, including Lenny Henry's So Much Things To Say and French and Saunders'Live in 2000.
McBurney is an established screen actor. He played the recurring role of Cecil the choirmaster in The Vicar of Dibley, CIA computer whiz Garland in Body of Lies, Dr. Atticus Noyle in The Manchurian Candidate (2004), Nigel Stone in The Last King of Scotland, the metrosexual husband Aaron in Friends with Money, Fra Pavel in The Golden Compass,Charles James Fox in The Duchess, and Oliver Lacon in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He also wrote the story and was an executive producer for Mr. Bean's Holiday.
From 2010 to 2014, he appeared in the BBC comedy television series Rev., portraying the role of Archdeacon Robert. McBurney provided the voice of Kreacher in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010). In the series The Borgias, he portrayed the canon law expert Johannes Burchart. He is the Artiste Associé of the 66th Festival d'Avignon(2012). In the premiere of The Encounter at the 2015 Edinburgh International Festival, McBurney tells the story of photographer Loren McIntyre, who in 1969, found himself lost amongst the remote Korubo people of the Javari Valley, on the border between Brazil andPeru.[6] In July 2015, he starred as Atlee, the director of MI6 and the secondary antagonist, in the blockbuster action spy thriller Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, and in 2016, he portrayed paranormal investigator Maurice Grosse in the horror film sequel The Conjuring 2.[7]
Personal life[edit]
He lives in London with his wife, the concert pianist Cassie Yukawa, and three children.[8] In the 2005 New Year Honours, McBurney was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to Drama".[9]
Filmography[edit]
Film[edit]
YearTitleRoleNotes
1991KafkaAssistant Oscar 
1994A Business AffairSalesman 
1994Being HumanHermas 
1994Tom & VivDr. Reginald Miller 
1994MesmerFranz 
1996The OgreBrigadier 
1997The Caucasian Chalk CircleAzdak the JudgeVideo
1998Cousin BetteVauvinet 
1999OneginMonsieur Triquet 
2000EisensteinSergei Eisenstein 
2003The ReckoningStephen 
2003Bright Young ThingsSneath (Photo-Rat) 
2003SkagerrakThomas 
2004The Manchurian CandidateDr. Atticus Noyle 
2004Human TouchBernard 
2006Friends with MoneyAaron 
2006The Last King of ScotlandNigel Stone 
2007The Golden CompassFra Pavel 
2008Body of LiesGarland 
2008The DuchessCharles James Fox 
2009Boogie WoogieRobert Freign 
2010Robin HoodFather Tancred 
2010Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1KreacherVoice
2011Jane EyreMr. Brocklehurst 
2011Tinker Tailor Soldier SpyOliver Lacon 
2013For Those Who Can Tell No TalesTim Clancy 
2014Magic in the MoonlightHoward Burkan 
2014The Theory of EverythingFrank Hawking 
2015Mission: Impossible – Rogue NationDirector Atlee 
2016The Conjuring 2Maurice Grosse 

Television[edit]
YearTitleRoleNotes
1988ScreenplayMartinEpisode: "Burning Ambition"
1989The Two of UsThe ManEpisode: "Trust"
1992The BillShaun AndertonEpisode: "Man of the People"
1992–93The Comic Strip PresentsMick / Madman2 episodes
1994–2004The Vicar of DibleyChoirmaster Cecil4 episodes
1995PerformanceAncient PistolEpisode: "Henry IV"
1996Absolutely FabulousConductorEpisode: "The Last Shout (Part 1)"
1999Midsomer MurdersHenry CarstairsEpisode: "Death of a Stranger"
2010–14Rev.Archdeacon Robert19 episodes
2011–13The BorgiasJohannes Burchart6 episodes
2014KnifemanHoudyshellUnsold pilot
2015The Casual VacancyColin "Cubby" WallMiniseries; 3 episodes