Anatol Yusef
Anatol Yusef | |
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| Education | Bristol Old Vic Theatre School(2000) |
| Occupations |
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Anatol Yusefis an English film, television and stage actor, writer, director. He was born in Barking, East London and is best known for his work atThe Royal Shakespeare Company,for his portrayal ofMeyer Lanskyin the television seriesBoardwalk Empire,and Channel 4'sSouthcliffe.
Biography
[edit]As a teenager, Yusef found early work in television shows includingJeeves and Wooster,Grange Hill,andThe Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.He appeared in the films Batman and Aliens (director's cut). He received the country’s highest marks in GCSE and A-Level Drama studies which awarded him a scholarship from Essex County Council for Acting School. He then trained at theBristol Old Vic Theatre School.While training he worked on the television show,Thief Takersand was a finalist in theBBCCarleton Hobbs Radio Award.[1]
Upon graduating in 2000, Yusef was offered a role inFred Schepisi's award-winning filmLast Orders,playing the younger self ofBob Hoskins' "Ray" and working with British actors SirMichael Caine,DameHelen Mirren,Ray Winstone,David Hemmings,andTom Courtenay.[2]
He became a resident company member with theRoyal Shakespeare Company.In the RSC's production ofKing Lear,Nicholas de Jonghof theLondon Evening Standardclaimed "Anatol Yusef's tremendous Cornwall, the best [he] [had] ever seen".[3]
In 2006, Yusef's performance asMercutioinBill Bryden'sRomeo and Julietat theBirmingham Repwas heralded as "sparkl[ing]"[4]
In 2008, Yusef appeared in the title role in a New York off-off Broadway production ofRichard III,and was described byBackstageas "a superlative actor" and "magnetic".[5]Yusef has since remained in New York City. He has worked throughout New York, in 2011 appearing inA Movement of the Soul,playingThomas Hopkins Gallaudet,for which he learnedAmerican Sign Language.In 2012, he appeared in José Rivera’s “Massacre (Sing to Your Children)” and received special mention by David Rooney in The New York Times for his role as Joe.[6]
From 2009–2012 he was co-founder and joint-artistic director of Fixitsolife Theater Company in Manhattan, New York.
In 2010 he was cast asMeyer Lanskyin HBO'sBoardwalk Empire,first appearing in Episode 7 of Season 1, "Home"and remained throughout the series. In an interview withThe Morton Report,Yusef described Lansky as self-educated, a massively intelligent overachiever and "a ruthless, ruthless man".[7]Anatol's characterization of Mr. Lansky has been recognized in many publications, including from author and criticClive James's article in Prospect magazine, 'Martin Scorsese: American God’[8]where he describes Yusef’s as “the most impressive performance in the show,” as well as Michael Noble's review of the show onDen of Geek.[9]
In 2014 he appeared in a central ensemble including,Rory Kinnear,Shirley Henderson,Sean Harris,andEddie Marsan,inChannel 4'sBAFTA-nominatedSouthcliffe,receiving special mention in an article byIndieWireon the best TV episodes of 2014.[10]
In 2016, Yusef narrated theEuropean championship serieson Howler Radio, a collection of five podcast narratives written by a selection football journalists, the most popular being "The Summer Football Came Home".[11]
In 2017, he appeared as Laertes and the Player King in Sam Gold’sHamletat the Public Theatre withOscar Isaacin the title role. He received unilaterally excellent reviews including, Marilyn Stasio ofVarietywho stated that “he makes his presence felt in a riveting performance”[12]and Ben Brantley ofThe New York Timesadded that he “is splendid as a pugilistic Laertes and a lyrical Player King.”[13]Helen Shaw also commented that Anatol “does a speech as the Player that runs rings around the stars nearby.”[14][15]
In 2018, Anatol starred as King Leontes in Arin Arbus’ production ofThe Winter’s Taleat Theatre for a New Audience, again receiving positive reviews.Off Off Onlinepraised him as “completely convincing, masterly in the language and commanding a range of emotions.”[16]Jesse Green ofThe New York Timescalled the production terrific and haled Anatol’s performance.[17]
Anatol was last seen playing oppositeElizabeth McGovernin the two-handerAva: The Secret Conversations,directed byGaby Dellal,and written by McGovern. His portrayal of biographerPeter Evansas well as turns asFrank Sinatra,Mickey Rooney,andArtie Shawwere described as "capturing the essence of Ava’s trio of lovers with an interesting character performance that really brings the story to life.”[18]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Last Orders | Young Ray | |
| 2003 | Ten Minutes | Peter | Short |
| 2003 | The Gathering | The Gathering | |
| 2006 | O Jerusalem | Major Tell | |
| 2009 | The Reward | Felix | Short |
| 2011 | Corner Shop | Danny | Short |
| 2016 | Bastille Day | Tom Luddy | |
| 2020 | You can't Win | Dirty Dick | |
| 2023 | Day of the Fight |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990, 1992 | Jeeves and Wooster | Sydney Blumenfield | Seasons 1 and 3 |
| 1993 | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | Hubert Van Hook | Episode: "Benares, January 1910" |
| 1995 | Grange Hill | Mark | Episode #18.4 |
| 1999 | Thief Takers | Aziz | Episode: "Shadows" |
| 2000 | Second Sight: Kingdom of the Blind | Sandwich Shop Owner | TV movie |
| 2002, 2006 | The Bill | Rick Lessalles, Kevin Mann | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | Trial & Retribution | PC Barry Skinner | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | The Afternoon Play: Turkish Delight | Ahmed | |
| 2010–2014 | Boardwalk Empire | Meyer Lansky | 31 episodes |
| 2013 | Southcliffe | Paul Gould | TV miniseries |
| 2016 | Preacher | Deblanc | Season 1 |
Theatre
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | The Mysteries | Herod/Cain | |
| 2000 | Under Milk Wood | Rev. Eli Jenkins, Dai Bread | |
| 2000 | After Miss Julie | John | |
| 2002 | Blackbird | Sarhad | |
| 2004 | Best of Motives | Ahmed | |
| 2005 | King Lear | Duke of Cornwall | |
| 2005 | Romeo and Juliet | Sampson | |
| 2005 | Macbeth | Banquo | |
| 2006 | Romeo and Juliet | Mercutio | |
| 2007 | Startled Response | Umut | |
| 2008 | Richard III | Richard III | |
| 2009 | Moonlight | Jake | |
| 2010 | Proof | Hal | |
| 2010 | The Science of Guilt | Kevin | |
| 2011 | A Movement of the Soul | Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet | |
| 2012 | Massacre (Sing to Your Children) | Joe | |
| 2017 | Hamlet | Laertes,The Player King | |
| 2018 | The Winter's Tale | Leontes | |
| 2022 | Ava: The Secret Conversations | Peter Evans, Frank Sinatra, Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw |
References
[edit]- ^"Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Graduates".Winterbourne. Archived fromthe originalon 8 May 2010.
- ^"Last Orders Cast".IMDB.
- ^de Jongh, Nicholas."King Lear".Evening Standard.Retrieved1 July2004.
- ^Uusitalo, Irja."Romeo and Juliet".The Stage.Retrieved6 October2005.
- ^Cohen, Ron."Richard III".Backstage.Retrieved6 October2008.
- ^Rooney, David (16 April 2012)."They Kill the Tyrant but Can't Seem to Bury Him".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved1 October2022.
- ^The Morton Report."He's Not a Gangster, He Just Plays One on TV: An Interview with Boardwalk Empire's Anatol Yusef".Retrieved1 October2011.
- ^Higashi, Sumiko; Robinson, David; Scorsese, Martin (June 1997)."From Peep Show to Palace: The Birth of American Film".The American Historical Review.102(3): 910.doi:10.2307/2171678.ISSN0002-8762.JSTOR2171678.
- ^Noble, Michael (October 2013)."Boardwalk Empire season 4 episode 4 review: All In".Den of Geek.Retrieved17 December2014.
- ^The Playlist Staff (23 December 2014)."The 15 Best TV Episodes Of 2014".IndieWire.Retrieved17 August2016.
- ^"The Summer Football Came Home: The Story of Euro 96".
- ^Stasio, Marilyn (14 July 2017)."Off Broadway Review: Oscar Isaac in 'Hamlet'".Variety.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^Brantley, Ben (14 July 2017)."Review: The Greatest of Danes, as Oscar Isaac Takes On 'Hamlet'".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^Shaw, Helen."Hamlet".4columns.org.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^Rooney, David (13 July 2017)."'Hamlet': Theater Review ".The Hollywood Reporter.Retrieved31 August2022.
- ^"The Winter's Tale".Off Off Online.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^Green, Jesse (26 March 2018)."Review: A Moving 'Winter's Tale,' With Women in Charge".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved30 August2022.
- ^Philpott, Maryam."Anatol Yusef".Cultural Capital.Retrieved30 August2022.
External links
[edit]- English male film actors
- English male stage actors
- English male television actors
- English people of Turkish descent
- English people of Turkish Cypriot descent
- Actors from the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham
- Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
- Living people
- Male actors from London
- People from Barking, London