Harry Frederick Gerard Hadden-Paton (born 10 April 1981) is a British actor. He is perhaps best known for his television roles as Herbert "Bertie" Pelham, 7th Marquess of Hexham, in the television series Downton Abbey and Martin Charteris in The Crown.

Harry Hadden-Paton
Born
Harry Frederick Gerard Hadden-Paton[1]

(1981-04-10) 10 April 1981 (age 43)
Westminster, London, England
Education
OccupationActor
Spouse
(m. 2010)
Children3

Hadden-Paton played the lead role of Henry Higgins in the Lincoln Center Theater revival of My Fair Lady on Broadway, a performance for which he was nominated for the 2018 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

Life

edit

Family

edit

Hadden-Paton was born at Westminster Hospital in London,[1] the son of former cavalry officer Nigel Hadden-Paton, head of a landed gentry family of Rossway, near Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire,[2] and Sarah ('Bumble'), daughter of Brigadier Frederick Mellor, of The Cottage, Chiddingfold, Surrey.[3][4] He has three sisters: Polly, Clementine, and Alice.[citation needed] He is the godson of Sarah, Duchess of York.

He is married to fellow actress Rebecca Night, whom he met while performing in The Importance of Being Earnest.[5] They have been married since 2010 and have three children. Hadden-Paton and Night co-starred in the autumn of 2019 in The King's Speech at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Education

edit

Hadden-Paton was educated at Eton College[6] and Durham University.[5] He trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

Stage

edit

Since leaving LAMDA in 2006, Hadden-Paton has established himself as a leading stage actor. He was commended in the 2007 Ian Charleson Awards for his appearances in Romeo and Juliet at the Battersea Arts Centre and as John Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Peter Gill. His stand-out performances continued with Captain Jack Absolute in The Rivals at the Southwark Playhouse, as Hohenzollern in The Prince of Homburg at the Donmar Warehouse, and as Harry Villiers in the 2010 première of Posh at the Royal Court.

In 2011, he appeared as Teddy Graham in the Olivier Award-winning revival Flare Path at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, and as Jackie Jackson in a film adaptation of The Deep Blue Sea, both marking the centenary of their author, the English playwright Terence Rattigan.

Following the success of Flare Path he has appeared as Michael Palin in the premiere of Steve Thompson's No Naughty Bits at the Hampstead Theatre,[7] as Marlow in Jamie Lloyd's production of She Stoops to Conquer at the National Theatre, as Alsamero in the Young Vic's production of The Changeling, and as Phillip in the hit revival of Alexi Kaye Campbell's The Pride at the Trafalgar Studios. Hadden-Paton made his Broadway debut playing Henry Higgins in a revival of My Fair Lady, for which he received Tony and Grammy Award nominations.[8][9]

In 2021, Hadden-Paton originated a leading role in the new musical Flying Over Sunset, directed by James Lapine, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, Lincoln Center, New York. Having been postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the musical premiered on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on 11 November 2021 in previews with the official opening scheduled for 13 December 2021.[10] He resumed the role of Higgins at the London Coliseum in May 2022.

Film and TV

edit

On television, he is best known for playing Bertie Pelham, the Marquess of Hexham, suitor of Lady Edith Crawley on Downton Abbey; their characters were married in the 2015 Christmas special that concluded the series. He has also starred in Midsomer Murders, The Amazing Mrs Pritchard, Hotel Babylon, Silk, Waking the Dead, Drifters, Walter, Wallander, and Grantchester.

He is also notable for appearances in the Oscar-winning La Vie en Rose (2007),[11] The Deep Blue Sea (2011),[11] The Hollow Crown (2012),[12] and About Time (2013).[11]

From 2016 to 2017, he played the role of Martin Charteris in the first two seasons of the Netflix series The Crown.[13]

Filmography

edit

Film

edit
Year Title Role Notes
2007 La Vie en Rose Doug Davis
2009 In the Loop Civil Servant
2011 The Deep Blue Sea Jackie Jackson
2013 Having You Barry
About Time Rupert[14]
2018 The Little Stranger Dr David Granger
2019 Downton Abbey Herbert "Bertie" Pelham, 7th Marquess of Hexham
2022 Downton Abbey: A New Era Herbert "Bertie" Pelham, 7th Marquess of Hexham
2024 Twisters Ben
2025 Untitled Downton Abbey: A New Era sequel Herbert "Bertie" Pelham, 7th Marquess of Hexham Post-production

Television

edit
Year Title Role Notes
2006 The Amazing Mrs Pritchard Hilary's advisor Episode #1.3
2007 Hotel Babylon Lisa's new man Episode #2.4
2008 Waking the Dead James Malham Episodes: "Duty and Honour: Part 1 & 2"
2012 The Hollow Crown Green Episode: "Richard II"
Midsomer Murders Lawrence Janson Episode: "Written in the Stars"
2013 Drifters Waiter Episode: "Scabies"
2014 Silk Ashton Episode #3.2
Walter CS Charles Addison Television film
Grantchester William Calthorpe Episode #1.2
2014–2015 Downton Abbey Herbert "Bertie" Pelham, 7th Marquess of Hexham 7 episodes
2015 Wallander Hans von Enke Episodes: "A Lesson in Love", "The Troubled Man"
2016–2017 The Crown Martin Charteris 11 episodes
2017 Versailles Gaston 10 episodes
2018 Informer Sid Powell Episode: "Strawberry Fields"
2023 The Blacklist Nigel Sutton Episode: "The Sicilian Error of Color"

Video games

edit
Year Title Role Notes
2013 Divinity: Dragon Commander Edmund / Yorrick / Grumio
2014 Dragon Age: Inquisition Male Inquisitor (British Accent)
2015 Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward Artoirel
Dragon Age: Inquisition – Trespasser Male Inquisitor (British Accent)
Sword Coast Legends Dalanir Ch'fyr
2017 Divinity: Original Sin II The Red Prince
2018 Vampyr Clarence / Ichabod / Lord Finney / Swansea
2020 Avengers J.A.R.V.I.S.
2024 Dragon Age: The Veilguard Male Inquisitor (British Accent)

Theatre

edit
Year Title Role Notes
2007 Romeo and Juliet Mercutio Battersea Arts Centre
2008 The Importance of Being Earnest John Worthing Vaudeville Theatre
2010 The Rivals Captain Jack Absolute Southwark Playhouse
Posh Harry Villiers Royal Court Theatre
The Prince of Homburg Count Hohenzollern Donmar Warehouse
2011 Flare Path Teddy Graham Theatre Royal Haymarket
No Naughty Bits Michael Palin Hampstead Theatre
2012 She Stoops to Conquer Young Charles Marlow National Theatre
The Changeling Alsemero Young Vic
2013 The Pride Phillip Trafalgar Studios
2018 My Fair Lady Henry Higgins Vivian Beaumont Theater
2019 The King's Speech George VI Chicago Shakespeare Theater
2021 Flying Over Sunset Aldous Huxley Vivian Beaumont Theater
2022 My Fair Lady Henry Higgins London Coliseum

Awards and nominations

edit
Year Award Category Work Result
2017 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series The Crown Nominated
Downton Abbey Nominated
2018 Tony Award Best Actor in a Musical My Fair Lady Nominated
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical Nominated
Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Actor in a Musical Nominated
Theatre World Award Honoree
2019 Grammy Award Best Musical Theater Album Nominated

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Births". The Times. 13 April 1981. p. 24.
  2. ^ Burke's Landed Gentry, 17th edition, ed. L. G. Pine, 1952, 'Hadden-Paton of Rossway' pedigree
  3. ^ Country Life, vol. 151, 1977, p. 1283
  4. ^ de Zulueta, Paul. "Nigel Hadden-Paton". guardsmagazine.com.
  5. ^ a b Marshall, Charlotte (18 January 2012). "Harry Hadden-Paton". Official London Theatre. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  6. ^ Thorpe, Vanessa (21 January 2012). "Eton spawns a new breed of stage and screen luminaries". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  7. ^ Billington, Michael (14 September 2011). "No Naughty Bits – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  8. ^ Rooney, David (5 October 2017). "Lauren Ambrose, Harry Hadden-Paton to Lead 'My Fair Lady' Broadway Revival". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  9. ^ Milligan, Kaitlin (7 December 2018). "The Band's Visit, Carousel & More Nominated for 2019 Grammy Awards". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  10. ^ Gans, Andrew (13 May 2021). "Lincoln Center Theater's Flying Over Sunset Will Open This Fall; Intimate Apparel Sets 2022 Dates". Playbill. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  11. ^ a b c "Bio of Harry Hadden-Paton on Broadway, Where to See & Tickets". newyorktheatreguide.com. 29 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Harry Hadden-Paton | Lincoln Center Theater". Lincoln Center Theater. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  13. ^ Bley Griffiths, Eleanor (16 December 2016). "The Crown: Who was the real Martin Charteris?". Radio Times. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  14. ^ Felperin, Leslie (8 August 2013). "Film Review: 'About Time'". Variety. Variety Media, LLC. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
edit