Fabien Joseph Frankel (born 6 April 1994) is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Ser Criston Cole in the HBO fantasy drama series House of the Dragon (2022–present).
Early life and education
Frankel was born at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in Chelsea, London, to English actor Mark Frankel and Italian-French advertising executive Caroline Besson.[1] His paternal grandmother was from a Jewish family from Iraq and India, and his paternal grandfather's family were Jewish emigrants from Russia and Poland to London's East End.[2][3][4] Frankel's father died in a road accident when he was two, while his mother was pregnant with his younger brother Max.[5][6] The two brothers were raised in London by their mother, and spoke French at home.[7] She introduced them to film by taking them to the cinema once a week.[8]
Frankel's career began on stage in the 2017 production of The Knowledge at Charing Cross Theatre.[11] He made his onscreen debut in 2019, in the romantic comedy film Last Christmas.[12] That same year, he was cast as the lead Theo Sipowicz in a pilot for a potential NYPD Blue spin-off series on ABC.[13]