Stewart Wright

'Stewart Wright' (qv) has built a reputation as a leading character actor, with great versatility, appearing regularly on screen for over 20 years.He was born in Hammersmith, London, on January 12th 1974, the son of two doctors. He attended Wellington College where he excelled in both acting and rugby, the latter leading to a place in the England U18 squad. He went on to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama where he graduated in 1996 with a first class BA in acting.His first film appearance was in _Fierce Creatures (1997)_ (qv), with 'John Cleese' (qv) and 'Jamie Lee Curtis' (qv), and his TV debut later that year was in _Alexei Sayle's Merry-Go-Round (1998)_ (qv). His first big break came when he secured the part of Nick Levick in BBC's award-winning mockumentary series _People Like Us (1999)_ (qv). He also appeared in acclaimed comedies _Black Books (2000)_ (qv) and _Smack the Pony (1999)_ (qv) before landing the lead role of Eddie Chisolm alongside Sally Phillips in BBC comedy drama _Rescue Me (2002)_ (qv), written by bestselling author David Nicholls. He went on to star opposite Dawn French in BBC sitcom _Wild West (2002)_ (qv) before taking the part of PC Mark Mylow in worldwide hit _Doc Martin (2004)_ (qv), a role reprised for a one-off episode in October 2019. Wright also flourished in lead roles in _Bonkers (2007)_ (qv) alongside 'Liza Tarbuck' (qv), and the highly successful _Love & Marriage (2013)_ (qv), also starring 'Alison Steadman' (qv), 'Ashley Jensen' (qv) and 'Celia Imrie' (qv). He has acted in a number of television dramas such as _Armadillo (2001)_ (qv), _The Nightmare Worlds of H.G. Wells (2016)_ (qv) and _Dirty Filthy Love (2004)_ (qv), working alongside 'Michael Sheen' (qv), 'Shirley Henderson' (qv), 'Ray Winstone' (qv) and 'Stephen Rea' (qv).Stewart has worked on several films, most notably _Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)_ (qv), _Ali G in da House (2002)_ (qv), _A Good Year (2006)_ (qv) and _Incendiary (2008)_ (qv). He also played Uncle Henry in _Nativity 3: Dude, Where's My Donkey?! (2014)_ (qv), directed by Debbie Isitt in an improvised style, a skill which Stewart excels at. This film also reunited him with Doc Martin co-star 'Martin Clunes' (qv). He has a lead role in the Bollywood film _Jungle Cry_ (qv) which premiered at Cannes in 2019. The film tells the real life story of a group of Indian street kids who surprised the world in 2007 when they came to the UK and won the junior Rugby World Cup. It is a particular passion project for the actor as it unites his twin loves of acting and rugby. Stewart plays Paul Walsh, the man who inspired the team to play.During his career Stewart has also proved himself as a successful stage actor, with roles as diverse as Frank Lubey in All My Sons at the National Theatre, The Prince of Wales in The Madness of George III at the Leeds Playhouse and the Dame in Lyric Hammersmith's pantomime. He played Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Bristol Old Vic, where he also played seven year old Roger in Swallows and Amazons which transferred to the West End.Stewart is married, and has two children.::Agnes Finlayson