Take a look at the IMDb staff picks for the best movies and series coming in August.

Staff Picks: What to Watch in August

Check out our calendar of everything coming to streaming during the month of August.

August 2025 TV and Streaming Premiere Dates

Alec Newman as "Leon Tell" in The Bastard Executioner"

Alec Newman wins BAFTA Games award for Performer in a Leading Role, London 2025

Alec Newman as Harry Rantz in “ Boys In The Boat”

Alec Newman and Saskia Reeves in Dune (2000)

Alec Newman in The Bastard Executioner (2015)

Alec Newman and Lee Jones in The Bastard Executioner (2015)

Alec Newman and Abby Brammell in Star Trek: Enterprise (2001)

Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Alec Newman in Dracula (2013)

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Thomas Kretschmann, and Alec Newman in Dracula (2013)

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Alec Newman, and Nonso Anozie in Dracula (2013)

Julie Cox, Daniela Amavia, and Alec Newman in Children of Dune (2003)

Julie Cox and Alec Newman in Children of Dune (2003)

Martin McDougall and Alec Newman in Children of Dune (2003)

(l-r) Edward Atterton as Duncan Idaho and Alec Newman as Paul Atreides

cc: (l-r) Edward Atterton as Duncan Idaho and Alec Newman as Paul Atreides

James McAvoy and Alec Newman in Children of Dune (2003)

Barbora Kodetová and Alec Newman in Children of Dune (2003)

Alec Newman and Karen Dunbar at BAFTA Games Nominees Party  2025

Winner- BAFTA Games Performer In a Leading Role, 2025

Alec Newman on the set of “Chevalier”

Alec Newman as Ziggy Snr in “Karen Pirie”

Alec Newman and Cora Bisset in “Shetland”

Alec Newman and Ariyon Bakare in “Karen Pirie”

Alec Newman was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

After graduating from LAMDA he built up a steady list of theatre and screen credits before landing the lead role of Paul Atreides in the Emmy award winning miniseries Dune (2000). Introduced to US audiences, a string of appearances on American TV and film followed. He won the coveted role of Barnabus Collins for a 2005 reboot of Dark Shadows (2005) produced by John Wells. Also for television, Frankenstein (2004) saw Newman in the title role, reunited with William Hurt as well as Donald Sutherland.

Continuing work on film included playing aspiring writer Paul in Penny Woolcock's The Principles of Lust (2003) and a supporting role in the Stephen Fry directed Bright Young Things (2003). Both films played at festivals worldwide including Cannes, Sundance and LIFF.

Newman has maintained a consistent presence on the London stage with work at the National Theatre, Almeida, Hampstead and Young Vic as well as the Donmar Warehouse. The 2011 Donmar production of "King Lear" starring Derek Jacobi, featured Newman as Edmund and transferred to BAM, New York. In 2015, the National Theatre production of "The Motherfucker with The Hat" in which he played the title role, garnered an Evening Standard award for Best Play.

Television series regular roles in Kurt Sutter's The Bastard Executioner (2015), Amazon's Rogue (2013) and HBO's Strike Back (2010) saw Newman in edgier often action oriented form, the turn as Strikeback villain Pavel Kuragin perhaps in particular.

In Guy Pitt's 2014 drama Greyhawk (2014) though, Newman's performance was low key and intimate, contributing to the film's nomination for that years EIFF Michael Powell award. Since then, he's been directed by Tomas Alfredson, Amma Assante and George Clooney among others.

A reputation for darker complex characters has some justification . His work in Showtrial (2021) and Karen Pirie (2022) are good examples, with Newman tackling characters in complex moral conflict.

Also a prolific voice artist, he's featured in numerous video game titles including Assassin's Creed: Valhalla (2020),Cyberpunk 2077 (2020),and Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (2022).

He is a huge football fan and has indulged his love of mountains by twice trekking in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest.

Newman lives with his wife and daughter in Surrey, England.

Photos

Alec Newman

More from this person

More to explore

Recently viewed