Callow, Simon (1949- )

English character actor, stage and screen director, and author. A commanding screen presence, he is equally adept at both dramatic and comic roles. He first won acclaim as Mozart in the theatre production of Amadeus (1979). He has worked in both US and UK cinema, appearing in films as diverse as A Room with a View (1985), Street Fighter (1994), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), and Bright Young Things (2003). In 1991 he directed the film The Ballad of the Sad Café and in 1998 featured in The Scarlet Tunic. In 2000 he was the star of the well-received The Mystery of Charles Dickens, a one-person play by Peter Ackroyd.

Callow also starred in the television version of The Mystery of Charles Dickens (2000); other television appearances include Don't Eat the Neighbours (2001) and Angels in America (2003). He has published several books, including studies of actor Charles Laughton and actor-director Orson Welles.