After enjoying the perks of keeping some anonymity throughout his career, actor Tobias Menzies will soon be catapulted to worldwide fame thanks to season three of The Crown. The actor has taken on his biggest role to date, playing Prince Philip after taking over the role from Matt Smith. So with fans preparing to binge-watch the new season as soon as it drops on Netflix on Sunday 17 November, we reveal everything you need to know about the British actor.
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Who is The Crown's Tobias Menzies?
Tobias Menzies is an English stage, television and film actor who was born in London. His mother was a teacher and his father a producer at the BBC. The 45-year-old studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), however, he didn't always want to be an actor. In a previous chat with Interview magazine, Tobias revealed that when he was a child he used to play tennis competitively and wanted to become a professional player. "That was what I was nuts about, what I used to dream about," he said. "The brutal truth was I probably wasn't quite good enough."
It wasn't until he attended RADA that he eventually caught the acting bug after initially enrolling to study theatre production and dance. "When I got to RADA, I was surrounded by a lot of people who had wanted to be actors since they were yay high and by the time I left, I'd really caught the bug for acting, the bug for straight performance," he added.
Tobias stars opposite Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter
Which TV shows has Tobias Menzies been in?
Tobias' first job out of drama school was on BBC One medical drama Casualty. He has also appeared on Foyle's War, Midsomer Murders, The Night Manager, The Terror, and Channel 4 sitcoms Catastrophe and This Way Up. He received a Golden Globe nomination in 2015 and 2016 for his dual role as Frank Randall and Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall in Outlander. He is perhaps best known for his work on Game Of Thrones, which he starred in from 2013 to 2016. He played Edmure Tully, the son and heir of Lord Hoster Tully and the groom in 'Red Wedding'.
He has also starred opposite Daniel Craig in Casino Royale as M's assistant and performed in The History Boys at the National, King Lear at the Young Vic and The Children's Hour opposite Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss in 2011 at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London.
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Is Tobias Menzies married?
Tobias briefly dated Kristen Scott Thomas
Tobias likes to keep his private life pretty secretive but as far as we can tell he is not married but has not divulged whether he is single or not. He was previously in a relationship with actress Kristin Scott Thomas between 2005 and 2006, however, their romance sparked some controversy. The former couple were rumoured to have started a relationship while Kristin was still married to François Olivennes, which reportedly is the reason behind their split and eventual divorce after seventeen years together.
MORE: The Crown season three review: Meet your new Queen
What has Tobias Menzies said about his role in The Crown?
Tobias plays Prince Philip while Olivia Colman portrays The Queen
Tobias will star as Prince Philip in both season three and season four of The Crown after taking over the role from Matt Smith. Speaking about how he prepared for the role, he previously told the Evening Standard that he did look to past seasons to pick up on Matt's "mannerisms and intonation", but mainly utilised archive footage of the Duke of Edinburgh to prepare. "He was less mannered when he was younger, much less of a Spitting Image puppet," he said. "In the Nineties and 2000s he became a more extreme version of himself."
When does The Crown season three air?
You can watch every episode of season three of The Crown on Sunday 17 November when it drops on Netflix.
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