Known for his roles in such BBC television dramas as Great Expectations and The Virgin Queen, he also appeared in numerous professional stage productions, earning a 2001 Laurence Olivier Award for his performance in Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along. After training for three years at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he performed in several Royal Shakespeare Company productions, including an Adrian Noble-directed staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream that went on to Broadway.
