Luke Thompson (actor)
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Born on July 4th, 1988, Luke Thompson is an English actor who has captivated audiences with his compelling performances. He's widely recognized for his portrayal of Benedict in the hit Netflix period drama, Bridgerton, gracing our screens from 2020 to the present. Prior to his Bridgerton fame, Thompson also made his mark in the BBC One drama, In the Club, from 2014 to 2016. His talent hasn't gone unnoticed; in 2024, he earned a prestigious Laurence Olivier Award nomination for his powerful performance in the stage play, A Little Life.
Thompson's journey began in Southampton, but he spent his formative years in France from the age of two. With an engineer father and a teacher mother, and being one of three children, his background is as rich as his acting. He proudly shared that his grandmother was "Indian English," making him a quarter Indian. His education was equally international, attending the Lycée International François-Ier in Fontainebleau, a French institution with an Anglophone section, from 1997 to 2005, where he became fluent in French. His linguistic skills extend to Italian as well. Upon returning to England in 2006, he dedicated a year to the Year Out Drama Company in Stratford-upon-Avon before pursuing his passion at the University of Bristol, studying English and Drama. His formal training culminated at the renowned Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, from which he graduated in 2013.
Thompson's professional acting career kicked off with a memorable role as Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the iconic Globe Theatre, earning him nominations for an Evening Standard Theatre Award and an Ian Charleson Award. He continued to impress at the Globe with roles in Blue Stockings, Julius Caesar, and The Broken Heart. His stage work also includes James in Tiger Country at the Hampstead Theatre, Orestes in the Oresteia at the Almeida Theatre, and Laertes in a 2017 production of Hamlet. In a notable turn in 2018, Thompson stepped into the role of Edgar in the Ian McKellen-starrer King Lear, taking over from Jonathan Bailey.
From 2014 to 2016, viewers saw Thompson as Simon in the BBC One drama, In the Club. He also lent his voice to narrate a new adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s novella, The Shepherd, for BBC Radio 3, broadcast on Christmas Eve in 2016. His feature film debut came with a small but impactful role as a warrant officer in Christopher Nolan's acclaimed 2017 World War II film, Dunkirk. He later appeared as Peter Hain in Misbehaviour, a film centered on the Miss World 1970 pageant. In 2019, Thompson secured the role that would bring him widespread recognition: Benedict, the second eldest Bridgerton sibling, in the highly anticipated Shondaland-produced Netflix period drama, Bridgerton, an adaptation of Julia Quinn's beloved novels.
Thompson's performance as Willem in the English-language stage adaptation of A Little Life, which premiered in March 2023 and toured various theatres, earned him a WhatsOnStage Award and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination. He also featured in the World War II miniseries Transatlantic on Netflix, playing Hiram Bingham IV. In January 2024, it was announced that Thompson would take on the role of Berowne in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Love's Labour's Lost, directed by Emily Burns. Looking ahead, Thompson is set to reprise his beloved role as Benedict in the fourth season of Bridgerton in 2026, which will focus on his character. Furthering his theatrical endeavors, it was announced in January 2025 that Thompson would join the production of Tim Crouch's unique play, "An Oak Tree," at the Young Vic Theatre in London.
Thompson values his privacy, choosing not to engage with social media and keeping the details of his personal life guarded. He explained in 2023 that "the more you give chunks of yourself out, the more you sort of colour how you're perceived. It's a personal thing... that's from my particular experience of what it's like to be an actor."
Luke Thompson (born 4 July 1988) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Benedict in the Netflix period drama Bridgerton (2020–present) and has also appeared in the BBC One drama In the Club (2014–2016). He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for his performance in the play A Little Life in 2024.
== Early life and education ==
Thompson was born in Southampton and brought up in France from the age of two. His father was an engineer and his mother a teacher. He is one of three children. Thompson stated his grandmother is "Indian English" and he is a quarter Indian.
Thompson attended the Lycée International François-Ier in Fontainebleau, a French school with an Anglophone section, from 1997 to 2005, where he became a native French speaker. He is also proficient in Italian. Upon returning to England in 2006, Thompson spent a year with the Year Out Drama Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. He studied English and Drama at the University of Bristol and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, graduating in 2013.
== Career ==
Thompson's first professional theatre role was as Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe Theatre, Thompson received nominations for an Evening Standard Theatre Award and an Ian Charleson Award. He would also appear in the Globe productions of Blue Stockings as Will Bennett, Julius Caesar as Mark Antony, and The Broken Heart as Ithocles. His other stage roles include James in Tiger Country at the Hampstead Theatre, Orestes in the Oresteia at the Almeida Theatre and Laertes in the 2017 production of Hamlet. Thompson took over the role of Edgar from Jonathan Bailey in the Ian McKellen-starrer King Lear in 2018 after Bailey passed on joining the West End transfer to do the musical Company instead.
From 2014 to 2016, Thompson played Simon in the BBC One drama In the Club. He narrated a new adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s novella The Shepherd for BBC Radio 3, broadcast on Christmas Eve, 2016. Thompson made his feature film debut with a small role as a warrant officer in Christopher Nolan's 2017 World War II film Dunkirk. He played Peter Hain in Misbehaviour, a film about Miss World 1970. In 2019, Thompson was cast as Benedict, the second eldest Bridgerton sibling, in the 2020 Shondaland-produced Netflix period drama Bridgerton, an adaptation of the novels by Julia Quinn.
Thompson played Willem in the English-language stage adaptation of A Little Life, which began at the Richmond Theatre in March 2023 before transferring to the Harold Pinter Theatre and then the Savoy Theatre. For his performance, he won a WhatsOnStage Award and received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination. Thompson also appeared in the World War II miniseries Transatlantic, also on Netflix, as Hiram Bingham IV.
In January 2024, it was announced that Thompson would star in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Love's Labour's Lost as Berowne. The play ran between 11 April to 18 May in 2024 and was directed by Emily Burns. Thompson reprised his role as Benedict in Bridgerton’s fourth series in 2026 which centered on his character. On January 22, 2025 it was announced that Thompson would join the production of Tim Crouch's cold-read play "An Oak Tree" at the Young Vic Theatre in London. The play ran from May 6 to May 17 in 2025.
== Personal life ==
Thompson does not have social media and keeps the details of his personal life private, stating in 2023: "the more you give chunks of yourself out, the more you sort of colour how you're perceived. It's a personal thing... that's from my particular experience of what it's like to be an actor."
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
=== Stage ===
=== Audio ===
== Awards and nominations ==
== References ==
== External links ==
Luke Thompson at IMDb
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