Luke Thompson (actor)

Luke Thompson
Born	(1988-07-04) 4 July 1988 (age 36) Southampton, England
Education	University of Bristol Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2013–present

Luke Thompson (born 4 July 1988)[1] is an English actor. He is known for his role as Benedict in the Netflix period drama Bridgerton (2020–) and has also appeared in the BBC One drama In the Club (2014–2016). He was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for his performance in the play A Little Life in 2024.

Early life and education

Thompson was born in Southampton and brought up in France from the age of two. His father was an engineer and his mother a teacher. He is one of three children.[2][3] He attended the Lycée International François-Ier in Fontainebleau, a French school with an Anglophone section, from 1997 to 2005,[4]where he became a native French speaker. He is also proficient in Italian.[5][6]

Upon returning to England in 2006, Thompson spent a year with the Year Out Drama Company in Stratford-upon-Avon.[7] He studied English and Drama at the University of Bristol and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, graduating in 2013.[8][9]

Career

Thompson's first professional theatre role was as Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Globe Theatre, Thompson received nominations for an Evening Standard Theatre Award and an Ian Charleson Award. He would also appear in the Globe productions of Blue Stockings as Will Bennett, Julius Caesar as Mark Antony, and The Broken Heart as Ithocles. His other stage roles include James in Tiger Country at the Hampstead Theatre, Orestes in the Oresteia at the Almeida Theatre and Laertes in the 2017 production of Hamlet.[10] Thompson took over the role of Edgar from Jonathan Bailey in the Ian McKellen-starrer King Lear in 2018 after Bailey passed on joining the West End transfer to do the musical Company instead.[11][12]

From 2014 to 2016, Thompson played Simon in the BBC One drama In the Club.[13] He narrated a new adaptation of Frederick Forsyth’s novella The Shepherd for BBC Radio 3, broadcast on Christmas Eve, 2016.[14] Thompson made his feature film debut with a small role as a warrant officer in Christopher Nolan's 2017 World War II film Dunkirk.[15] He played Peter Hain in Misbehaviour, a film about Miss World 1970.[16] In 2019, Thompson was cast as Benedict, the second eldest Bridgerton sibling, in the 2020 Shondaland-produced Netflix period drama Bridgerton, an adaptation of the novels by Julia Quinn.[17]

Thompson played Willem in the English-language stage adaptation of A Little Life, which began at the Richmond Theatre in March 2023 before transferring to the Harold Pinter Theatre and then the Savoy Theatre.[18] For his performance, he won a WhatsOnStage Award and received a Laurence Olivier Award nomination. Thompson also appeared in the World War II miniseries Transatlantic, also on Netflix, as Hiram Bingham IV.[19]

In January 2024, it was announced that Thompson would star in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Love's Labour's Lost as Berowne. The play ran between 11 April to 18 May in 2024 and was directed by Emily Burns.[20]

On September 16, 2024 it was announced that Thompson would be one of two leads in Bridgerton season four, reprising his role as Benedict alongside Yerin Ha as Sophie Baek.

On January 22, 2025 it was announced that Thompson would join the production of Tim Crouch's cold-read play "An Oak Tree" at the Young Vic Theatre in London. The play is expected to run from May 6 to May 17 in 2025. [21]

Personal life

Thompson does not have social media and keeps the details of his personal life private, stating in 2023: "the more you give chunks of yourself out, the more you sort of colour how you're perceived. It's a personal thing... that's from my particular experience of what it's like to be an actor."[22]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014	Shakespeare's Globe: A Midsummer Night's Dream	Lysander	Live Recording
2015	Globe on Screen: Julius Caesar	Mark Antony	Live Recording
2016	The Complete Walk: Romeo and Juliet	Romeo	Short film
2017	Dunkirk	Warrant Officer
2018	King Lear	Edgar	National Theatre Live
2019	Making Noise Quietly	Oliver
2020	Misbehaviour	Peter Hain
2023	A Little Life	Willem	Live Recording

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014	The Suspicions of Mr Whicher	Joshua Hallows	Episode: "The Ties That Bind"
2014–2016	In the Club	Simon	Main role
2018	Hamlet	Laertes	Television film
	Kiss Me First	Connor	2 episodes
2020–present	Bridgerton	Benedict Bridgerton	Main role
2023	Transatlantic	Hiram 'Harry' Bingham	6 episodes

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Director	Venue	Ref.
2013	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Lysander	Dominic Dromgoole	Globe Theatre	[23]
	Blue Stockings	Will Bennett	John Dove		[23]
2014	Julius Caesar	Mark Antony	Dominic Dromgoole		[23]
	Tiger Country	James	Nina Raine	Hampstead Theatre	[24]
2015	The Broken Heart	Ithocles	Caroline Steinbeis	Sam Wanamaker Playhouse	[25]
	Oresteia	Orestes	Robert Icke	Almeida Theatre	[23]
2017	Hamlet	Laertes			[23]
				Harold Pinter Theatre	[26]
2019	King Lear	Edgar	Jonathan Munby	Duke of York's Theatre	[23]
2023	A Little Life	Willem	Ivo van Hove	Harold Pinter Theatre	[27]
				Richmond Theatre	[23]
				Savoy Theatre	[28]
2024	Love's Labour's Lost	Berowne	Emily Burns	Royal Shakespeare Theatre	[29][30]

Audio

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2016	The Shepherd	Narrator	BBC Radio 3
	Everyone Brave Is Forgiven	Narrator	Audible
2018	The Second Pan Book of Horror Stories: The Vertical Ladder	Riz	BBC Radio 4[31]
	The Second Pan Book of Horror Stories: The Judge's House	Malcolmson
2021	The Brothers Karamazov	Narrator	Penguin Classics
2021	While Paris Slept	Jean Luc	Audible
2023	Seventeen: A Coming of Age Story	Narrator	Simon & Schuster Audio UK
2024	Hard by a Great Forest	Narrator	Audible

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2013	Evening Standard Theatre Awards	Outstanding Newcomer	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Nominated	[3]
2014	Ian Charleson Awards			Nominated	[32]
2021	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Bridgerton	Nominated	[33]
2024	WhatsOnStage Awards	Best Supporting Performer in a Play	A Little Life	Won	[34]
	Laurence Olivier Awards	Best Actor in a Supporting Role		Nominated	[35]
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Bridgerton	Pending	[36]

References

1. "How old is Benedict from Bridgerton? - Luke Thompson". PopBuzz. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
2. Eyre, Hermione (2021-04-03). "Bridgerton's Luke Thompson on the joy of sex, secrets and sideburns". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2021-05-25.
3. "London Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2013: the ones to watch". The Evening Standard. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
4. "Memory Book". Anglophone Section. p. 41. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
5. "Profile". app.spotlight.com. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
6. "Luke Thompson". Sue Terry Voices. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
7. "See Luke in the cinema and in the West End". Year Out Drama Company. 22 July 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
8. "The Team". Activate Workshops. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
9. "Luke Thompson". RADA. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
10. Dillon, Luke (19 April 2018). "Ian McKellen finds his Company". West End Theatre. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
11. Wood, Alex (23 March 2022). "Stage stars to look out for in Bridgerton". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
12. Lash, Jolie (22 March 2022). "'Bridgerton' Star Luke Thompson on Expanding the Benedict-Anthony Relationship in Season 2". The Wrap. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
13. "Roanna & Simon". BBC. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
14. Between the Ears: The Shepherd
15. Mitchell, Molli (27 January 2021). "Bridgerton cast: Who is Luke Thompson? Meet the Benedict Bridgerton star". Express. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
16. Wiseman, Andreas (22 January 2021). "'Bridgerton' Star Luke Thompson Signs With UK Management Firm Insight". Deadline. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
17. Jordan, Marsha (29 January 2021). "'Bridgerton' cast members Luke Thompson, Luke Newton discuss season 2". ABC 7 Chicago. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
18. Wood, Alex (23 November 2022). "A Little Life to run in the West End with James Norton, Omari Douglas, Luke Thompson and Zach Wyatt". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
19. Flam, Charna (8 February 2023). "'Transatlantic': Netflix Reveals First Images of Upcoming Limited Series (TV News Roundup)". Variety. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
20. "New season announced for 2024/25 | Royal Shakespeare Company". www.rsc.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
21. Ramachandran, Naman (2025-01-22). "'Bridgerton' Star Luke Thompson, 'Gangs of London's' Sope Dirisu and More Join Cold-Read Play 'An Oak Tree' at Young Vic (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
22. "Luke Thompson: Social Media rots my brain!". Yahoo News. 2023-07-05. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
23. "Luke Thompson On Stage". London Theatre. 2024-02-29. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
24. Mountford, Fiona (2014-12-17). "Tiger Country, Hampstead - theatre review". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
25. Fisher, Philip (2015-03-21). "The Broken Heart proves a stylish, amusing and thoughtful play at Shakespeare's Globe". Wales Online. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
26. "Hamlet at Harold Pinter Theatre 2017". www.abouttheartists.com. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
27. Solomon, Anna (2023-04-04). "Bridgerton's Luke Thompson on bringing A Little Life to the theatre". Luxury London. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
28. "A Little Life to transfer to the Savoy Theatre starring James Norton, Omari Douglas, Luke Thompson, Zach Wyatt | West End Theatre". www.westendtheatre.com. 2023-03-10. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
29. "Luke Thompson | West End Theatre". www.westendtheatre.com. 2022-11-23. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
30. "Luke Thompson to star in LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST at RSC". West End Best Friend. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
31. "The Second Pan Book of Horror Stories: Episodes". BBC. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
32. "Jessie Buckley, Jack Lowden and Olivia Vinall among Ian Charleson shortlist". WhatsOnStage. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
33. "The 27th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards | Screen Actors Guild Awards". www.sagawards.org. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
34. "James Norton and Luke Thompson win WhatsOnStage Awards for A Little Life". 2024-02-11. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
35. "Olivier awards 2024: complete list of nominations". The Guardian. 2024-03-12. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
36. Busis, Hillary (2025-01-08). "2025 SAG Awards Nominations: See the Full List Here". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2025-01-08.

External links

• Luke Thompson at IMDb